The Observer, Volume LIV, Issue 9, 10/28/22

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Inside the RTA: Cleveland’s public transit

Milo Vetter Staff Writer Jarod Lau Contributing Writer

For many students, faculty and em ployees at Case Western Reserve Uni versity, the Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority (RTA) is a vital ser vice. The RTA’s light rail and bus sys tem is the best way to get to any places in Cleveland, especially for those who don’t own a car, when going to areas not covered by CWRU’s Safe Ride and shuttle service. Undergraduate students who have picked up their RTA pass— already paid for via tuition fees—from the basement of Thwing or Crawford can also use the RTA at any time for no additional cost, meaning that students don’t even need to pay extra to experi ence everything that Cleveland has to offer. The RTA is also extra helpful for getting to and from the Cleveland Hop kins International Airport; Cleveland is one of the few cities in the US with a light rail line that connects downtown with the airport with no transfers.

Given the importance of Cleve land’s public transit system in the lives of CWRU’s students, we at The Ob server decided to learn more about the RTA and how it really works, so we interviewed Dr. Floun’say Caver, the chief operating officer of the RTA. By doing so, we were able to have an idea of the big picture and nuts and bolts of the RTA.

Dr. Caver first described the strate gic plan that the RTA has for the future. The RTA is currently seeking to get bigger and better, with new cars, more frequent service and service to more ar eas. There are always improvements to be made, whether that be with regards to electrification, rail signal technology or the rail itself. However, they are also aware of the need to balance expansion with maintenance.

“We are currently at a space where we are aggressively looking to recapi talize our infrastructure,” Caver said. “Our rail cars are approximately 40 years old.”

The RTA is what public transit pro fessionals call a “legacy transit sys tem.” This means that it was built so long ago that the service has to deal with rapidly escalating maintenance costs, and the costs that come with re placing out-of-date technology with more modern systems.

The RTA is also focused on safety and security. Some CWRU students

may be reluctant to use the RTA fre quently due to safety concerns, espe cially during the night. However, Dr. Carver emphasized the multiple dif ferent ways that the RTA ensures the safety of its passengers.

First, the RTA has its own dedicated police department that is always avail able to any operator or staff member.

Second, every station, bus stop and train car has a surveillance system which is able to record any potentially dangerous incident.

In addition to these traditional secu rity measures, he also shared with us the recently-unveiled “ambassador” program. Due to nationwide shifting attitudes about policing—and a 2017 court decision that deemed the usage of Cleveland police to enforce fares to be unconstitutional—the RTA is trying a new way of mediating potential con flict on trains, buses and at stops.

“The fact is that the majority of police interactions nationally are for nonviolent reasons…so we are adding

social workers here,” Dr. Carver said. “So that when we’re engaging in those situations, we have a person who may be able to defuse that situation…We talk to them, we try to get them help if they need it.” These ambassadors, in addition to being on call when prob lems arise, are also on duty on trains and buses. The program is in its early stages, and there are relatively few am bassadors for the time being, but time will tell how effective of a replacement they end up being for the transit police.

Dr. Caver also addressed the great benefits that the RTA has had on Great er Cleveland. The HealthLine is one example of the RTA’s successes. The HealthLine is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, a sort of intermediary between a bus and a light rail. The HealthLine service starts at Cleveland’s Pub lic Square, goes down Euclid Ave., through Midtown, past the Cleveland Clinic, through University Circle and ends at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere. It has been praised for

its frequent service and dedicated bus lanes—features which many riders would like to see applied elsewhere in Cleveland. Completed in 2008, the HealthLine earned a silver ranking from the BRT Standard.

The RTA aims to work towards the philosophy of “transit-oriented de velopment,” which is a development style that creates mixed-use residen tial, commercial and office space with in walking distance of a transit stop. Transit-oriented development, when implemented properly, has a huge posi tive effect on the surrounding area, and a perfect example of this is the impact the HealthLine had on Uptown, right on CWRU’s campus.

“Euclid… through the late ‘70s and ‘80s, had regressed to be sort of an empty corridor. It doesn’t look like it now,” he said. “[The HealthLine] proj ect ended up helping to spur $9 billion worth of investment within a quarter of a mile…of Euclid Avenue.”

Continued on pg. 2

What you need to know about CWRU’s Reproductive Health Task Force

Grace Johnson News Editor

Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Or ganization decision, many institutions around the country have been making efforts to ensure their students still have access to reproductive healthcare, including Case Western Reserve Uni versity.

Following the Supreme Court’s de cision, President Eric Kaler sent an email to the CWRU community on June 24 announcing CWRU’s contin ued dedication to ensuring access to reproductive healthcare: “At this mo ment, we want to emphasize that Case Western Reserve is dedicated to pro

viding all members of our community the support and information they need. We also are committed to the health and well-being of every member of our community—today and every day.”

In that same email, President Kal er announced that the administration would continue to keep the campus community informed as to changes in Ohio legislation regarding abortion and how CWRU would be approach ing these potential changes.

Almost a month later on July 18, the CWRU community received another email from President Kaler outlining a new website for reproductive health resources. This website is divided into

three separate sections, one for stu dent resources, one outlining member ship for the Reproductive Health Task Force and another for faculty and staff resources. In addition, background and further information on the ruling is also provided to help with context and furthering knowledge for students and staff on this specific topic.

Eleven days later on July 29, Presi dent Kaler announced the creation of the Reproductive Health Task Force and outlined the members of faculty and staff involved and leading this ef fort. Appointed to co-chair this organi zation are chief of staff Katie Brancato and deputy general counsel Gabrielle

Lincoff. Student representation also matters, with Undergraduate Student President Ananya Hari acting as a sit ting member.

In this same email, Kaler outlined the new Student Health Emergency Fund, which “will provide financial assistance with health-related travel, lodging and care.” This was made to help ensure that, despite poten tial changes to Ohio’s laws regarding abortion and reproductive healthcare, CWRU students would theoretically still have the ability to access this care regardless of socioeconomic status.

The RTA is a vital service for CWRU students and faculty as well as an important tool for fighting poverty by bringing economic activity to an underserved commuity. Clay Preusch / The Observer

TASK FORCE continued from pg. 1

Then, in September, the Task Force hosted a webinar for members of the CWRU community outlining their role and resources offered through their efforts. These include the afore mentioned Student Health Emergency Fund; Reproductive Health Cards, which outline resources for students, faculty and staff; and Reproductive Health Kits, found in vending ma chines in the Flora Stone Mather Cen ter for Women, the LGBT Center (both in Tinkham Veale University Center), the Office of Multicultural Affairs (Sears 409), the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (Tomlinson Hall 215) and the Department of Athletics (Veale Con vocation, Recreation and Athletic

Center). The kits include condoms, pregnancy tests, Plan B contraception and related items. This webinar, cou pled with an email to the community, also discussed other health-related vending machines located in Fribley Commons, Leutner Pavilion and the Health Education Campus that con tain the aforementioned items along with ibuprofen and cough drops. As an added bonus, all of these items are free when you swipe your CaseID and your selection will remain confiden tial.

This week, the Reproductive Health Task Force updated the CWRU com munity again, outlining Ohio updates and further CWRU efforts surround

RTA continued from pg. 1

In a more general sense, the RTA and other public transit projects like it can have huge positive effects on the area that they service. They cre ate jobs, reduce traffic congestion, decrease dependence on cars and pro vide commuter transportation both for people who don’t want to or can’t af ford to drive. RTA officials argue that public transportation can contribute to increased economic development— after all, if you’re building an office

building, it makes logical sense to put it near a train station.

Public transportation can also be an extremely important tool in the fight against poverty. A major reason why poverty is such a vicious cycle is be cause impoverished neighborhoods provide few or no legal ways to make money. With jobs mostly in wealthier areas, working at those jobs can be nearly impossible if the person in ques tion is too poor to own a car and there

ing these changes. They announced the installation of the aforementioned vending machines and also announced that the “Task Force’s Academic Free dom Working Group is hosting three upcoming panel discussions on vari ous aspects of reproductive health: religious perspectives, history, and workplace implications of U.S. Su preme Court’s June 24 ruling on abor tion,” on Oct. 31, Nov. 8 and Nov. 30 (If you are interested in attending one of these sessions, you can sign up on CampusGroups).

These resources are incredibly im portant to CWRU students, especially with an impending election threaten ing the access to reproductive health

care for citizens of Ohio and sur rounding states. While these steps are incredibly important in helping the immediate CWRU community, not ev ery community is so fortunate to have this access. Further, if you would like to get involved with the Task Force, email taskforcechairs@case.edu with questions, comments or suggestions regarding this issue.

Finally, if you would like to get in volved in the overall governance pro cess regarding access to reproductive healthcare, make sure to vote in this impending election, no matter your personal views on the matter. Make your voice heard in this larger sphere of influence and cast your ballot.

are no other transit options available. This is where public transportation comes in and where RTA aims to serve their community most; adequate, af fordable transportation allows people to get to the jobs that will lift them out of poverty. Public transit also allows people to mitigate the effects of food deserts by bringing them to wealthier neighborhoods where healthier eating options are more readily available.

But these huge benefits don’t come

CWRU Film Society

Friday, October 28, 2022

7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

(2000)

Rated PG (92 min.)

Director: Des McAnuff

With Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander, Rene Russo, Piper Perabo Rocky and Bullwinkle have been living off reruns of their cartoon show for decades. Their foes, Boris and Natasha, somehow manage to cross over into reality and team up with Fearless Leader, now a media mogul with some evil plans up his sleeve. Rocky and Bullwinkle team up with FBI agent Karen Sympathy to keep the bad guys from winning the biggest prize of them all: an entire country.

on their own—Clevelanders have to make the choice to invest in the things that make our communities better.

“An investment in transit is an in vestment in healthy communities,” Caver said. “We know that light rail systems come with an economic im pact that is catalytic to communities… If we tried to build it today, it would cost $5 billion… We would never be able to…so we have to take care of that system.”

Saturday, October 29, 2022

7:00 p.m., 11:59* p.m.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Rated R (100 min.)

Director: Jim Sharman

With Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick

For the 25th year running (in heels!), the Film Society is going to “do the Time Warp again!”

Dress up and join the Rocky crowd in celebrating Halloween with this cult movie classic!

Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Janet, and the rest will all be there. A live performance by Voyeuristic Intentions, the campus Rocky cast, will accompany the midnight show.

*Get here by 11:00 for de-virginization games and prizes! Prop bags available for $1. Doors open at 10 and early arrival is strongly advised, or you risk missing out!

The Undergraduate Research Society partners with Delta Epsilon Mu to host an undergraduate research panel

Haddy Dardir Contributing Writer

The Undergraduate Research Soci ety (URS), and their Research Schol ars Program (RSP), provides students events, resources and mentorship to assist them on their journey as under graduate researchers.

One of their events this semes ter, an undergraduate research pan el, took place on Sunday, Oct. 9 in Thwing 101 from 3-4 p.m. Collabo rating with Delta Epsilon Mu (DEM), Case Western Reserve University’s premiere pre-health fraternity, the goal of the event was to help current research scholars, rising scholars and others interested in research engage with current student researchers’ sto ries. The panelists were Jessica Rose Hervol, Nihal Manjila, Ani Muralid haran, Aarushi Deo, Kiley Urquhart, Adhvika Arunkumar, Muskan Sidhu, Claire Poulton, Soumyaa “Mya” Das and Maggie Ginter-Frankovitch, an officer for DEM who helped organize the event.

Overall, the event was a success; Thwing 101 was packed with stu dents of different backgrounds and research interests. Throughout the hour, the panelists held students’ at tention and several students in the audience asked questions. One audi ence member even gave his experi ence in research by stating the impor tance of interacting with professors when looking for opportunities.

Along with Ginter-Frankovitch, RSP co-directors Abraham Nidhiry and Santosh Hanumanthu helped lead the event by asking the panel

ists questions such as, “How did you go about finding research?” “How do you identify red vs. green flags in a lab?” and “What is most surprising or challenging about research?”

Every panelist gave answers based on individual experiences. For exam ple, one panelist responded by say ing that students should “always be willing to apply to unique research opportunities because you never know what you’re gonna get,” after recounting his experience in a phar macology lab. Similarly, when asked about conducting research when on the pre-med track, another panelist described her own lab experience, during which she found, “if you’re working with patients, you need to be able to gain their trust.”

Although every panelist’s story was unique, some core pieces of ad vice were repeated by multiple pan elists throughout the event. These included “do what you’re interested in,” “advocate for yourself” and “if you work with the right people, you’ll feel supported.”

The event was designed for stu dents interested in pursuing research, helping people find their path by providing examples of successful student researchers.. When asked about the importance of the student panelists, panelist Nidhiry replied by saying, “Personally, I think they’re a good way for people to get a differ ent side of a perspective because a lot of people see research from ‘you get this opportunity to do this type of sci

ence to add to your resume.’ But this kind of event gave a perspective on lab culture and how it feels to go up to a mentor.”

Despite its significant role in fa cilitating undergraduate research en deavors, URS wasn’t the first organi zation that came up with the idea to organize this event; it was DEM that reached out first. “They are the prehealth undergraduate fraternity on campus, so they are more researchinclined and thought we would be the perfect group to collaborate with,” Hanumanthu said.

Research is not just about the nat ural sciences, and this was indicated by several of the student panelists, as they also spoke of their experience in dry labs and in research groups based in medical humanities.

“I think this event is very valuable just to see what type of research stu dents are doing. Not just for what’s part of their lab, but how others can get involved and apply for projects,” Hanumanthu stated. “And I person ally think that it’s great exposure to hear from a diverse group of people that research isn’t just all about bi ology or chemistry; we have a wide variety of disciplines you can partici pate in. We don’t tend to hear about the non-STEM areas of research, but it’s just as prominent on campus. It’s important for all disciplines.”

Comparing their past experiences with the resources available to stu dents now, the co-directors also ex plained how different their first year

was from the incoming students. “Our freshman year, it was all on Zoom, so we didn’t really have many of these types of events. Getting to meet peo ple was hard too,” Hanumanthu said.

With CWRU being back in person, many more resources are available to those interested in research.

Regarding the future of the RSP, Nidhiry has high hopes, especially regarding collaborations with the Support of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE). “For this month, we plan to reach out to SOURCE for some of the events they’re hosting, and they’ll apply to both research and rising scholars. We also have some of the events planned for November. For our diversity pan el coming up in November, there’ll be a faculty member speaking.”

As long as there are students inter ested in pursuing research, there will be supplemental events such as those organized by SOURCE and URS to help students explore their interests. Without the resources provided by events such as the research panel, many great minds would get over whelmed by the large sea of knowl edge and website links that accompa ny the process of finding a research position. When asked about why a program such as the RSP even exists when students can just email profes sors, Hanumanthu replied by saying, “We believe this program gives more of a structure.” Nidhiry added, “We just wanna give an undergraduate perspective on getting research.”

A deepdive with DYLYN: Discussing inspiration, The Sixty90s and the future

On Oct. 12, Canadian alt-rock band DYLYN performed at Cleve land’s Grog Shop, along with their tourmates, the Rare Americans. Their first full-length album, “The Sixty90s,” a fusion of ‘60s music with the heavier tones in ‘90s rock, released on Friday, Oct. 28, and is a beautiful ode to the band’s inspira tions. In preparation for their perfor mance and the release of the album, The Observer was invited to inter view lead-singer Gwen to talk about the band’s journey, their music and experiences as artists.

Admittedly, before being asked to conduct the interview, I had never heard of DYLYN or listened to any of their music. Now, however, I am a huge fan of their work now, espe cially after sitting down and talking with them. The entire interview pro cess was such a wonderful experi ence. Sitting down with Gwen, it felt like having a conversation with close friends. We discussed outfit inspira tion and our favorite thrifts. Even when we covered heavier topics, she maintained a comforting light-heart edness throughout.

Reflecting on living with her band mates, Gwen said “Like we love each other, we’re a big family.” Being brought into their close-knit circle as friends made the entire experience so much better.

For those of you who are unfa miliar with DYLYN’s music, let me introduce you. Their style is truly unique in the music industry, com bining the styles of different eras with the harder rock side of the ‘90s. Gwen describes the new album as having “a lot of heaviness to it. I’m pushing more like guitar tones… pulling from like [Black] Sabbath, Nine Inch Nails and a lot of ‘90s: Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins.” She was even wearing a Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt. A lot of their inspi ration comes from the music that they listened to growing up, including a lot of Beach Boys and Beatles. Gwen likes to pull from the pop structure, saying “I love a good two and a half, three minute song. And that’s where I kind of lean on the Beatles.” DYLYN is able to pull from these different eras to create something that is truly revolutionary.

Their current musical identity was formed out of a former band and sty listic transition. When asked what inspired her transition, Gwen said “I think well, when I was first starting music, I was in a band. And if you listen back to those songs, it sounds like what I’m doing now. So I just, like, took a U-turn.” She continued by talking about the pressure of being a young artist, just trying to make ev eryone happy. “And yeah, it’s like, so hard to be, like, who are you? That’s such a hard question to ask yourself. Really. It seems easy, but it’s like, fuck, I have no idea. So, yeah, that really helped. Just being truthful with myself and I made that decision. And that scared me. And that’s when you know, you’re doing the right thing, you know?”

She repeatedly described coming to terms with her identity as an art ist, finding herself through her music and finding motivation to write music in the first place. For her, the Beach

Boys teleported her to a safe place at a time when she was struggling in her life. She makes music “so that person can listen to it and teleport to their place that they need to go to.” The music isn’t about her, but instead the listener, and the moments that the au diences can listen back to and think of. If one doesn’t become an instant fan just talking to Gwen, they’ll un doubtedly fall in love after listening to their music or watching them live, just as I did.

After the interview, I had a chance to stay for the concert, and it did not disappoint. DYLYN played a ton of their recognizable songs like “Skin and Bones,” “Liberate Me” and “Make it Naked,” which were all incredible to listen to live. Gwen’s stage presence was truly something to experience, as she was practical ly gliding across the stage in a punk rock manner. Her makeup only fur ther emulated that style, with rhine stones seemingly crying from one of her eyes. Everyone in the crowd was

up and moving, rocking their head back and forth with the lyrics. And DYLYN didn’t limit themselves to their own music either, paying hom age to their inspirations by perform ing songs from Nirvana and Wheatus. For their set, it was truly their stage and the entire venue could feel it.

I asked about their plans after this tour was completed, seeing if there was potential for a world tour in the future. “Maybe not a world tour,” she said, “but my plan next year is to tour as much as I can.” For her, touring is something of a tradition in the rock genre, a kind of old school methodol ogy for reaching an audience. Gwen talked about going out and working the merchandise table, where she gets to actually have deep meaning ful conversations with people. Her conversations with fans aren’t neces sarily about spreading their message, but just being willing to talk and lis ten, “because that’s how you really make friends. And fans, you know?”

Before I said goodbye to my new

top Spotify artist, I asked one final question for the Case Western Re serve University audience: do you have any advice for college students? Without missing a beat, Gwen said to follow that little voice in our heads and if you’re a little bit scared, you’re good. In college “you do what your friends do. You do a little bit of what your family says to do. You do stuff for yourself, but ultimately, it’s like, what do you want?” Ultimately, we must be truthful with ourselves and find the things that make us happy; it’s never too late to find joy.

Overall, I had such a great time meeting DYLYN and getting to know them. The way they’ve made their way into almost all of my playlists, alongside much of the music I grew up listening to, really shows the power of their music. Their first al bum came out on Friday, Oct. 28, so if you like their music or this inter view piqued your interest, give them a listen—you might just find out that alt-rock is your genre.

Joey Gonzalez Life Editor

Alt-rock band DYLYN takes over Cleveland’s Grog Shop with their ‘60s and ‘90s inspired music. Clay Preusch/ The Observer.

Hippo Campus: An indie girl’s dream band comes to Cleveland

When I bought tickets to the Hippo Campus concert in Cleveland, I didn’t know much about the band. I had heard a few songs here and there, and had liked them, but nothing much further than that. As my Uber pulled up to The Agora Theatre and Ballroom on Oct. 11, 2022, I was surprised to see such a long line of people about my age, many of their outfits fitting into the “indie aes thetic.”

The band started in Minneapolis in 2013, founded by lead singer Jake Lup pen, guitarist Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen and bassist Zach Sutton, who all met in high school at St. Paul. A few years later, DeCarlo Jackson joined the band on trumpet. Their first album, “Landmark,” was released in spring 2017, reaching No. 140 in the Billboard 200. Since then the band has continued to gain traction, with the group accu mulating over 100,000,000 listeners on their most popular song, “Buttercup,” with “Way it Goes” following closely behind.

The 2022 tour had music from a va riety of the band’s albums, though it was centered around their new album, “LP3,” which was released in February 2022. By the time I had walked down to the main stage of the Agora, the venue was filled with anticipatory fans and a common excitement.

Anticipation only continued to grow as the crowd waited for the band; you could feel the tension in the room as the stage was being set up. Then, sud

denly, the lights went off, and it was clear that the show was about to begin.

I felt a euphoric, visceral excitement when the lead act made their first ap pearance. I joined in as screams erupted across the room. The band entered onto the stage—backed by an image of their album cover and lit by dark blue stage lights—and began to play their first song, “2 Young 2 Die.” The concert’s setlist was very diverse, with tear jerk ers like “Monsoon” and “Ease Up Kid,” more upbeat songs like “Bad Dream Baby” and everything in between.

The band’s very active stage pres ence made you feel how excited they were to be performing their music in the theater. As Luppen and Stocker danced around the stage, all of the girls in the audience seemed to swoon. The band members were visibly hyping each other up on stage which made for a really fun performance. You could see their chemistry as a group and their love for their craft. The various light ing changes throughout the show were also visually interesting, changing from dark blue, to pink, to orange and green and so on. The band’s creativity in their music added to their performance. Lup pen used vocal effects for part of the concert and various members switched guitars from electric to acoustic and back again. The band also uses a lot of sound samples in their music, making for a more interesting listening expe rience. Throughout the night, I got to hear a lot of new music from them and

What to do in Lakewood

Cleveland Outings

Shreyas Banerjee Executive Editor

Sometimes the outings that you least expect are the ones that you enjoy the most. A few weeks ago, I got a text out of the blue from a friend who said he was visiting the Cleveland area for the day. Within a few hours I found myself on the other side of town with him en joying a concert of aggressive elevator music in a retro-themed bowling alley/ bar/performance venue. These are the sorts of experiences you can only have in Lakewood, Ohio. Lakewood is a suburb of Cleveland, bordering on the northwest side, but it feels just as cos mopolitan as any area in the city proper.

Filled with great restaurants, cool shops and fun attractions, there is plenty to do. Lakewood is also extremely walk able and contains an extensive bike lane system, making it a model for the rest of Northeast Ohio. While students of Case Western Reserve University hardly make it out of University Circle, let alone the other side of the river, the trip is well worth the effort. Getting out and exploring the Cleveland area can be one of the most rewarding experi ences available for CWRU students, and it also makes for a good break from the constant studying and work that ac companies being on campus. I hope this guide will assist in your own Cleveland outings.

How to get there:

It is an unfortunate reality that it is hard to get to Lakewood from CWRU if you don’t have a car. While CWRU is on the easternmost boundary of Cleveland, Lakewood resides near the westernmost area of the city. As such, taking pub lic transportation to Lakewood is long and arduous, with the trip taking about an hour. If you intend to do so, take the RTA Red Line rapid transit train from either the Little Italy-University Circle station or the Cedar-University station.

After quite a few stops, get off at the West Boulevard-Cudell station and then take the 26-26A bus all the way to the Detroit Avenue and Bell Avenue stop.

You’ll be right in the heart of Lakewood and can go any which way on foot from there. If that all sounds like a bit much, I’d recommend just finding a friend with a car or taking an Uber—it’s about a 25 minute drive.

In February 2022, Hippo Campus released a new album “LP3” in which the band gets deep with themes of loneliness and self-discovery. Courtesy of Tonje Thilesen.

I loved every second of it. But the most anticipated and well-known song, and the only one I knew from them before the show, would come at the very end of the performance.

As the band left the stage, the audi ence started chanting for an encore, and

after a minute they reappeared to mon strous cheering and played their two final songs of the night, “Poems,” and their most popular song, “Buttercup.” Overall, the show was an incredible ex perience and I left it having found a new band to fangirl over and enjoy.

What to do:

Once you are there, the world—well I suppose just Lakewood—is your oys ter. As I stated before, there are tons of things to do and places to visit. If it’s a nice day, I recommend starting with a visit to Lakewood Park, which is right on Lake Erie and the many coin-operat ed telescopes provide stunning views of the Cleveland skyline from afar. There’s also a skate park, a swimming pool, tennis courts, a performance space that

often has bands playing and a beauti ful promenade from which you can enjoy the lake views. The highlights of the park, however, are the Solstice Steps, which are giant concrete steps where you can watch the setting of the sun over Lake Erie each evening. It’s a great place to just hang around and en joy the end of the day.

the Lakewood Truck Park, which al ways has two different food trucks sta tioned there, rotating on a daily basis. Next to the trucks are plenty of seating areas, both indoor and outdoor, where you can enjoy your meal. There are also plenty of great coffee shops to check out, whether you want a good cup of joe or just a nice, vibey study space. Fa vorites of mine include the Root Cafe, Brewella’s, Goodkind Coffee and the fittingly named Caffeine.

Walking south from there, you arrive in central Lakewood, which is filled with great restaurants from across many different cuisines. I recommend hitting up Thai Kitchen, El Carnicero, India Garden, Harlow’s Pizza and Buckeye Beer Engine. Though not a restaurant, La Plaza Supermarket, a Latino gro cery store, contains a taquería within that makes the best tacos and burritos in Cleveland, bar none. If you want a quicker bite, Lakewood also contains

Beyond that, Lakewood also features various establishments that all provide unique experiences. Shopping in Lake wood is always a treat, with various themed stores, including the antique and novelty store Cleveland Curiosities, candy store Campbell’s Sweets Factory and various local bookstores and comic book stores. However, the local business that you probably want to check out the most is Mahall’s—the retro bowling al ley/bar/music venue I previously men tioned. There you can have some of the most fun you’ll ever have in the Cleve land area. Local, national and interna tional music acts all come to Mahall’s to perform, making it a great place to catch some live music—I caught a show of city pop band Ginger Root when they came in and the experience was electric. They also hold various themed events, such as “Taylorween,” a Taylor Swift Halloween party being held this Sun day, Oct. 30. Every weekend, without fail, there is always something exciting happening at Mahall’s, but it’s also just a great place to bowl if that’s your thing.

There’s plenty more to do in Lake wood—I didn’t even mention all the great themed bars and the amazing near by metropark, the Rocky River Reser vation—and all of it is worth visiting. It makes for a great break from CWRU’s bubble, even in spite of the time and ef fort required to make the trip.

Dasha Degterev Layout Designer

You can catch many entertaining acts at Mahall’s in Lakewood, such as the indie soul artist Ginger Root (above). Shreyas Banerjee/The Observer.

Netflix’s “The Sea Beast” offers both unique and familiar elements in its compelling story

Over our fall break last week, I had the chance to catch up on some of the movies that comprise my ever-growing “to watch” list. One of these movies, called “The Sea Beast,” is an animated, family adventure that was released on Netflix over the summer, much to the ac claim of audiences. It made its way onto my list after it reached Netflix’s Top 10 Movies list around mid-July. Beyond seeing this and the movie’s thumbnail, however, I went in completely blind; I wasn’t entirely sure of what to expect when I started watching it. Imagine my surprise, then, when I learned that it was directed and co-written by Chris Wil liams, the director behind Disney mov ies like “Moana” and “Big Hero 6.” I figured that I was in for a Disney-esque story with superb animation that would transport me into a new world—I got that and so much more.

Set in a fictitious colonial period where sea monsters exist and hunting them is revered, “The Sea Beast” fol lows a young orphan girl named Maisie Brumble (Zaris-Angel Hator) who des perately longs to be a hunter. She stows away on the finest monster-hunting ship of them all, The Inevitable, whose leg ends and stories she is already familiar with. Maisie finds herself among the likes of Captain Crow (Jared Harris), a hardened sea veteran who’s after the most menacing beast in the ocean: the Red Bluster, and the famed Jacob Hol land (Karl Urban), the most capable, swashbuckling hunter who grew up on this ship. As they set out to sea to track down the Red Bluster, the characters are forced to decide who the real beasts are: the sea creatures or themselves.

Among the many features of this

movie, the water animation particularly stands out. It manages to be hyper-real istic; the way in which the ocean natu rally ripples, flows and splashes, when something lands in it is amazingly life like. The water even intricately stained and dried on the wooden ship, becoming more visible when the seawater sloshed onboard and then slowly dried under the sun. Unsurprisingly, it was similar to the kind of water animation featured in re cent Disney films “Moana” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

Similarly, the effort put into the hu man character design was evident throughout, especially in the character’s faces and their attire. The exceptional detail of many of the characters’ faces was reminiscent of those from a slew of animated Disney movies, such as “En canto,” “Frozen” and “Tangled.” Their clothing was also painstakingly crafted in a way that felt similar to other ani mated films of our era; however, it was also stylized to the time period of the movie, with its faded pirate shirts and jackets, worn-in boots and large belts holstering swords and firearms. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is that this pirate aesthetic is uniquely reinforced by the movie’s dialogue; the characters tend to speak in a sort of oldEnglish manner where words like “my” and “those” are replaced with “me” and “them,” and words like “ye” and “ain’t” are interspersed throughout.

I was shocked to see the design for some of the creatures, like the Red Bluster and Maisie’s “pet” called Blue, because they didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the high quality animation. They appear as almost gelatinous and rubbery blobs of their namesake colors, resem

bling watery claymation rather than con temporary software-generated figures. It was truly bizarre to see these creatures interact with the animation styles of the water and human characters, almost akin to watching two different animated mov ies mashed into one. This isn’t to say that their animation was bad by any means— it was actually quite clean and vivid— but rather that I find it hard to see why the animators would make this stylistic choice when they clearly could have done otherwise.

However, it is this mix of the common and the uncommon features that I feel makes it a worthwhile watch. And while some may say that certain aspects of the story and some design elements have

been plucked from the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise, I still think that “The Sea Beast” has plenty to offer. With Williams at the helm, you can certainly expect to have top-tier animation, an enthralling plot and a wholesome mes sage at the movie’s end. Since this isn’t a Disney film, there may have been more of a creative license to experiment with the dialogue, creature design and the plot structure. The surprising climax to the movie—that I won’t give away— that made an interesting point, especially for a kids movie. So, if you’re interested in a visually appealing, mostly lighthearted high seas adventure, then I’d encourage you to check out “The Sea Beast,” cur rently streaming on Netflix.

“House of the Dragon” season finale: A song of death and duty

Spoiler warning for the entire first season of “House of Dragon”

On Sunday Oct. 23, HBO’s critically acclaimed “House of the Dragon” fin ished its first season, leaving fans won dering and wanting more. As a prequel to “Game of Thrones,” the show is set about 170 years before its events and follows the Targaryen family, who sit on the Iron Throne and rule the seven kingdoms of Westeros. Despite being set in a time of relative peace, the show introduces several potential heirs to the throne, shattering that fragile peace. Through this first season we see the conflict brewing between the two sides: the Blacks and the Greens. The season finale leaves off on the precipice of allout war, as the two sides prepare to take up arms—and dragons—against one an other.

The final episode opens with firstborn child Princess Rhaenyra learning of her father’s death and her half-brother Aegon’s seizure of the Iron Throne. The Hightower family consists of Otto, Aegon’s grandfather; Alicent, former Queen and mother to Aegon; and Ae mond, Aegon’s brother. They move quickly after the king’s death to force an ascension to the throne in Rhaenyra’s absence, who had returned to Dragon stone to deliver her child. Alicent even imprisoned Princess Rhaenys, cousin to Viserys, who eventually escapes to Dragonstone with news of the king’s death. Upon her arrival, Princess Rhae nyra learns that not only her father is dead, but that the throne has been sto len from her. Rhaenyra, in her own as cension ceremony, becomes queen of

the Seven Kingdoms and maintains her claim to the Iron Throne, despite still being on Dragonstone. Everyone under stands that a war is brewing and it is only a matter of time before they are in direct conflict with one another. But the ques tion remains: who is allied with who?

That question serves as the basis for much of the action in the finale, as Rhaenyra attempts to figure out who her allies are. As she just gave birth, unfor tunately to a stillborn baby, Rhaenyra cannot fly to the Great Houses, who had all previously sworn fealty to her, to hold them to their promises. Instead, she sends her two sons, Jacaerys and Lucerys, to House Stark, Baratheon and Tully, whose loyalties are unknown to the queen. The two depart from Dragon stone with their respective missions, and one does not return home. After arriving at House Baratheon, Lucerys encounters his uncle Aemond, brother to ‘King Ae gon.’ The two have quarreled since they were children, with one fight having re sulted in Aemond losing an eye. Lucerys leaves on his dragon without Barathe on’s support and is pursued by his uncle, which at first seems like a game of tag, but quickly escalates into one of life and death. Aemond’s dragon does not obey him and bites Lucerys’ much smaller dragon to pieces, killing both boy and stead.

Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra does not yet know of her son’s death. Instead, she contemplates Otto Hightower’s terms of surrender, in which her family is allowed to live and retain their status as high-ranking leaders in Westeros, but must acknowledge Aegon as the right ful king. As she now wears a crown, a

physical depiction of the power and re sponsibility that she has always carried, Rhaenyra understands what all-out war will mean for the seven kingdoms. She controls the strongest fleet in Weste ros and her army outnumber the Greens with dragons. Yet, Rhaenyra is hesitant to begin the war, as the last time “drag ons flew to war, everything burned.” She struggles with her duty to the seven kingdoms, and whether she should give up the crown for the benefit of all her people. She argues that she cannot let her personal ambition come before her duty to the people that they rule.

The season ends with Rhaenyra be ing delivered a message, assumedly the news of her son’s death. She clutches her stomach before turning back towards the

camera with a fire behind her eyes. She seems ready to abandon her “duty” to the kingdom and to burn it all down. This is where the season ends, with Rhae nyra seemingly deciding to pursue war with the Greens, with the conflict that has been building since the first episode coming to a boil. The show has been re newed for a second season, which will most likely show more of the oncoming war. While we wait for the second sea son, I recommend re-watching “Game of Thrones,” or perhaps watching it for the first time. If you made it this far and somehow haven’t already watched the show, I definitely recommend grabbing some popcorn and binging it all. Who knows, you might just find your new ob session.

Joey Gonzalez Life Editor

Netflix’s animated movie “The Sea Beast” follows young Maisie Brumble as she sets sail to catch sea beasts with Captain Crow and Jacob Holland. Courtesy of Netflix.

In the season finale of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” the newly crowned Queen Rhaenyra prepares for a war that will pit dragon versus dragon and Targaryen versus Targaryen. Courtesy of HBO.

Eight

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Two of Wands (Upright)

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The Chariot (Upright)

The Hanged

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(Reversed)

It is, yet again, that time of the se mester when everything feels a bit hopeless. We are at the highpoint of schoolwork so far, the weather is getting colder and the days are get ting shorter. This sentiment of being overwhelmed has been echoed time and time again throughout the semes ter—especially by The Observer—, so what we are saying is nothing new. However, this weekend (technically Monday) is Halloween, and while there may be no escape from stress at Case Western Reserve University, the holiday may be the chance to destress, at least temporarily.

The most obvious way to celebrate the holiday weekend is to dress up and go out with friends. The excitement of putting together and showing off a

costume—whether it be the low-effort all-black clothes, drawn-on cat whis kers and cat ears or a well-thought-out Smitty Werbenjägermanjensen from Spongebob Squarepants—allows stu dents to mellow out for a night or two. Spending time with friends is essential to feeling less isolated; even though you will have assignments and tasks to complete the next day, new diver sions and activities can be the change in pace you need to tackle the rest of the week.

However, if putting on a costume and going out isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the holiday weekend, including decorat ing your dorm room or apartment. Shopping at a Target, Walmart, Good will, HomeGoods or any other store

within your price range is, again, a great way to put yourself in a different atmosphere. Buy some fake cobwebs, spooky lights, Halloween figurines or even a fall-scented candle. Often just changing the space you spend your every waking hour in, especially to seasonal themes, can help you break through the constant tension the se mester brings about. Even a quick trip to the store to buy some pumpkins— to decorate with friends or alone—can be the break you need.

Another activity for holiday home bodies is movie marathons. Make a night out of it by popping some pop corn, ordering takeout, eating Hal loween-themed candy and binging Halloween-esque movies. Whether you are watching all of the “Hal

Creeped out by the unknown

Beau Bilinovich Development Editor

That banshee shriek you hear from the woods late at night or that barely visible figure standing in the dark background—instances where you might jump back and put yourself on high alert. Your palms get sweaty, your knees weaken and your heart starts racing. But why? Why do you feel so much terror?

The answer can be found in am biguity, the unknown, the uncertain yet real possibility of danger—this is where the true horror lies.

Acclaimed horror fiction writer Ste phen King proposes three different categories of horror: the Gross Out, the Horror and the Terror.

The Gross Out is exactly as it sounds: icky, disgusting monsters con

torting every which way; think severed arms and body parts. Gore is the main driving force.

The Horror is what King defines as “the unnatural”: the thing that shouldn’t be possible and seems fright eningly out of place. Think of zombies or even the character Chucky, a sen tient doll possessed by the mind of a serial killer.

The final category, the Terror, is what creators of horror strive to achieve. To best describe the Terror, imagine you are walking down the street at night: Everything is quiet, yet there is a thought in the back of your mind that you are being watched. You look around, only to find that no one is there—at least, that’s what it seems.

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 refle ct 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.

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You can’t point to a specific person or thing following your every footstep; you can only feel it.

At the highest level of horror, an at mosphere of ambiguity and uncertain ty engulfs you. You don’t know where or what the danger is. You feel uneasy, creeped out—and because of this, you are truly frightened.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are the cheap tricks many horror direc tors employ to get a quick scare out of the audience. These are the jump scares and sudden loud noises which, though startling, do not evoke that uneasy kind of fear. These tricks rely on a fight-or-flight response—which various systems of the brain carry out, including the amygdala and hippocam

friday, february 18,

friday, october 28,

issue

Editorial: The “Halloweekend” may be what we all need

loweentown” series or classic horror flicks such as “The Shining” or “The Conjuring,” there is probably some film out there for you.

Regardless of whether or not you feel like embracing the Halloween spirit, it’s crucial to take a real break at some point. The semester post-fall break can be tough, and after expe riencing some stress-free moments, it can be hard to find the motivation to keep going. However, you are not alone. We are all feeling quite stressed and overwhelmed, and the inconsis tent weather certainly does not help. Hopefully, you find some time for yourself, especially this “Halloweek end,” to embrace the spooky spirit, and, more importantly, take care of yourself.

pus. The amygdala sends out signals to prepare the body to either defend it self (fight) or run away (flight). Stress hormones begin to flow and the sym pathetic nervous system activates. We jump back because of the unexpected stimulus in front of us, hence “jump scare.”

But these tropes ruin the viewing experience. The best kind of horror avoids these pitfalls and instead creates tension by building suspense. There doesn’t need to be a scene where the monster is revealed in full form; subtle references or hints of its presence can work just as well, if not more so.

Two movies that utilize subtlety and ambiguity in genius ways are “The Babadook” and “The Killing of a Sa

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergraduate students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher SHREYAS BANERJEE

director of print SARA KHORSHIDI director of digital media JOCELYN ORTIZ director of design TARUN SEPURI director of business operations KHUSHALI DESAI development editor BEAU BILINOVICH engagement editor MULAN MA news editor GRACE JOHNSON life editor JOEY GONZALEZ opinion editor KARUNA LAKHIANI sports editor PUNEET BANSAL social media editor SOPHIA POPKIN photo editor CLAY PREUSCH web editor COLLIN WONG copy editors SHIVANGI NANDA, LEXY JENSEN, RACHEL ALEXANDER, ELIE AOUN, KATE GORDON, CHARLOTTE GOYAL layout designers DASHA DEGTEREV, SHIFRA NARASIMHAN graphic designer TYLER VU business managers MATTHEW CHANG, MOHIT KOSURU, RYAN CHOU

CREEPED OUT continued from pg. 8

cred Deer.” Continued on page 8

“The Babadook,” which has become a cult classic since its release in 2014, tells the story of a single mother rais ing a troubled child. The film analyzes the effects of grief and loss and how it can alter a mother-son relationship.

The movie does a fantastic job of hiding the monster from the audience, whereas many horror films want to show it. There are only a few scenes where you can see the villain in com plete form. The rest of the experience relies on tension and mystery—this is what King means by the Terror. You can’t see the monster, yet you know

it’s there and can feel its presence. This is why “The Babadook” has been one of the only horror movies to terrify me and make me uncomfortable.

Working in tandem with “The Babadook” is “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” The movie, based on the Greek myth of Iphigenia, follows the story of a surgeon who is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after earning the trust of a teenage boy.

Right off the bat, the dialogue is specific and overly formal to the point of being uncanny. Every character says exactly what they’re thinking or feel ing, ironically leaving you with more

questions than answers. During my first and only viewing of the movie, I frequently asked myself, “Why are they talking like that? Why does ev erything feel off?” Because it was off. That’s the whole point. The movie never fails to make the viewer uncom fortable, and in fact, the experience becomes more strange and unnerving the longer you watch. That’s the Terror working as intended.

These are only two out of an end less vault of horror films. Many others have their own unique strategies and scares. And this isn’t to say that mov ies with jump scares are automatically

bad. They have their own place in hor ror tradition, but relying on that strat egy too much is boring and ineffective. By depriving the viewer of knowledge and introducing uncertainty, they can have a much more rewarding experi ence.

Scaring people is a delicate form of art. It is so much more than a quick spook here or a startling moment there. Horror is a whole experience that should tap directly into the deepest parts of your fear center. When you are terrified by what you don’t see, that’s how you know you are truly fright ened.

The versatility of Halloween costumes

Enya Eettickal Staff Writer

All Halloween lovers can agree, there are different reasons why people enjoy the day, or rather the weekend— whether it’s the candy, the scary mov ies, haunted houses or the parties. But for me, and many others, my favorite part of Halloween is the costumes. I love dressing up and seeing others dress up in fun, expressive, show-stopping, humorous and clever ways. There are a million different directions you can go with a costume; the only limitation is the creator’s creativity.

However, because of the extent of freedom people have with costume de sign, I am always a bit sad when I see minimal effort costumes. When I’m talking minimal effort, I specifically mean hoodies, jerseys or clothes that don’t replicate any specific character. In essence, costumes which are vague. Although, if it’s enough to float your

boat, I’m not here to tell you what to do on your “Halloweekend.” So long as you’re having fun, more power to you. But if you are stuck on what to do for your costume, look no further. Let’s walk through the different types of cos tumes you can try out this Halloween.

“Hot” costumes

These are the cute or flirtatious cos tumes you mostly see on a college cam pus while the parties are alive and well. As a result, this is the most obvious type of costume for college students to con sider.

Scary costumes

This option is the scarcest and the most impressive. I often see artists fall into this category more than anyone else. Whether it be with special effects makeup or crafty methods of creating

a terrifying costume, this category is a great one to consider if you’re a lover of horror or artistically inclined, especially with makeup.

Funny/Clever Costumes

Finally, this option is my personal fa vorite. I lump the two together because they tend to overlap, though they can also be considered independent of each other. These costumes result from an un canny resemblance to a character, a play on words, an abstract representation of a concept or perhaps just something ran dom or odd. This is usually where you see people wear character onesies or put together mismatched clothing items to emulate a certain character’s outfit.

The big issue with costumes I’ve run into is a lack of time or budget. I don’t really want to drop $40 on an Elmo

Are there too many of us?

Aambar Agarwal Social Media Manager

On Nov. 15, the United Nations (UN) projects that there will be eight billion humans living on Earth. To put that in perspective, there were barely two bil lion humans alive a century ago—not even a quarter of the current population. The UN further predicts that by 2080, the world population could reach up to 10.4 billion.

The dramatic increase in population makes sense; public health, nutrition, hygiene and medicine have vastly im proved in the past few decades. But, can the world sustain such a large popula tion?

As the population continues to grow, humans will consume Earth’s limited re sources more rapidly. Food, water, hous ing, energy and healthcare are just some of the basic human necessities. Seeking out more land to cultivate food or wood to harness energy will lead to greater de forestation, such as in the Amazon rain forest. Greater deforestation and food production efforts will drastically affect the climate, releasing more greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and acceler ating climate change. Climate change will then impact the lives of humans to a far greater extent than it already has. Extreme weather events will become more powerful and common—such as heatwaves and hurricanes—and diseasecarrying vectors and waterborne diseas es will expand.

The destruction of wildlife habitats will additionally increase human contact with wild animals carrying novel patho

gens. The pathogens could drive the next pandemic, as with COVID-19, and eas ily spread throughout the overcrowded world. The growing scarcity of natural resources will trigger more conflicts within and among nations as they fight over access, which will cause further un necessary human suffering and sacrifice.

In seeking more resources to fulfill their needs, humans will ravage the earth and hinder their collective ability to sur vive in the long term. Thus, the world will not be able to sustain such a large population of humans.

The impact of the world’s limited and ineffectively distributed resources is reflected in the 2.3 billion people who were moderately or severely food in secure in 2021 and the 2.2 billion who lacked access to safe drinking water in 2019. If so many humans cannot cur rently fulfill their basic needs, how can 2.4 billion more people be sustained?

How is it okay to continue overpopu lating the world when such a vast num ber of people cannot access food and clean drinking water, when overpopula tion is creating an uninhabitable Earth?

The UN argues that population growth will level off by 2100 and later decline. So, since the population will naturally come down in a few decades, there is no need to address overpopula tion now, right?

However, the population may not level off as soon as the UN projects. If climate change continues unchecked, developed countries with low birthrates

could be driven into poverty, pushing their birthrates back up.

Even if the population levels off, the world will still have to support 10.4 bil lion people for several decades. Regard less of whether the population declines in the future, the repercussions will still be felt during and after the population is at its peak. Resources will be scarce, climate change will worsen and rates of sickness and conflict will increase.

So, if humans want to avoid a slow and excruciating demise, society must address the looming issue of overpop ulation. Luckily, the fix is relatively straightforward: humans need to stop having so many kids, if any. The Earth’s population will eventually decrease if the global birth rate dips below the re placement level.

Many share the sentiment that it is our responsibility to society to have kids, and popular media further propa gates that. A few months ago, Elon Musk tweeted that the world is undergo ing an underpopulation crisis that poses a “much bigger risk to civilization than global warming.” Aside from being bla tantly incorrect, Musk is entirely miss ing the point. This disinterest in having children is especially prevalent in coun tries where the economy and education system have improved over the decades, leading people to spend more time re ceiving education and seeking more complex jobs. These take up lots of time

onesie. That being said, I almost did but stopped when I saw the after-Halloween delivery date. I’m sure this is a similar issue many of you have run into—per haps not with an Elmo onesie, but a similar situation. And that’s okay. It just means that it’s time to lean into my cre ative side and figure out another way to dress up for Halloween. Even if the ac tual pieces of clothing aren’t exact, half of a costume is also in the act. Commit ting to the character you’ve dressed up as can elevate an ensemble by leaps and bounds. Finding random items to use as props or getting people to collaborate with you can make the costume effort more successful and fun for everyone. Whatever route you choose to go with your costume, have a safe and happy Halloween, and I hope that you enjoy the costumes and candy just as much as I will.

and energy, and as a result, people put less emphasis on having children.

Yet still, many people cannot wrap their minds around the idea that some individuals just do not want to have kids; they feel that everyone should have kids as their responsibility to society or, oth erwise, they will regret their decision. For example, when young women try to get their tubes tied, gynecologists refuse them; they say that the women are too young and will likely change their minds in the future, ignoring the fact that it is the woman’s choice to decide whether to have the procedure done. People are denied the right to abortion in various countries, even though it is ultimately their choice to have a child. Further more, many politicians worldwide try to restrict contraception.

In short, we must change our soci etal attitudes toward having children; only then can we fix the growing is sue of overpopulation. By accepting and encouraging individuals to remain child-free and providing open access to sterilization, abortion and contraception, we can begin to slow the birthrate and lessen the strain on Earth’s resources. In doing so, we can ensure that humanity survives for at least a few more decades with a better quality of life.

So, don’t feel obligated to have chil dren and even consider going childfree—for the sake of the planet and hu manity’s future.

rts

Volleyball sweeps third UAA Round Robin for 7 straight wins

After beginning conference play in mid-September with sub-par perfor mances, the Case Western Reserve Uni versity volleyball team has found its groove just in time before the postseason. On Oct. 16, the Spartans defeated Carn egie Mellon University 3-2 and upset No. 4 Washington University in St. Louis 3-2 in the third and final University Ath letic Association Round Robin. With the victories, the Spartans improved to 20-4 overall and finished conference play with an improved 4-3 showing.

CWRU and CMU exchanged points early in the first set, with the score be ing 8-6 in favor of the Spartans midway through. CWRU capitalized and took six of the next 7 points and pushed the lead to 14-7, led by three straight kills from first-year outside hitter Kalli Wall. The Tartans made a couple small runs but the Spartans pulled away 25-16 following another kill from Wall to take the 1-0 set lead.

CWRU rode the momentum to an early 10-5 lead in the second set, but the Tartans snapped back, tying it at 12-12 following 3 straight points, forcing a CWRU timeout. The Spartans tried to hold on, but blocking and handling errors tallied up and the Tartans won the set 2418, tying it 1-1.

The competition was neck-and-neck for most of the third set. CMU was poised to run away with the win after a service ace for the 22-17 lead. The Spar tans came back with 3 straight points following kills from second-year outside hitter Rea Marfatia and third-year mid dle blocker Jennifer Ngo. However, the game slipped out of the Spartans’ hands as CMU took advantage of an attack er ror and a service ace to win it 25-20, tak ing the 2-1 set lead.

The Spartans’ backs were against the wall for a pivotal fourth set and played with a sense of urgency, jumping to a quick 9-3 lead. The Tartans fought back to tie it at 11-11 and eventually took the 22-19 lead following two kills. With an opportunity to put the match away, the Tartans committed a service error and CWRU owned the rest of the set. The Spartans scored 5 straight points, featur ing two kills from Marfatia, to win the set 24-22, staying alive at 2-2.

The deciding set went back and forth and CWRU owned an 8-7 lead at the mid-set break. Wall and Ngo notched a block to make it 14-11, but the Tartans stubbornly tied it at 15-15. The Spartans responded with one last run, featuring a kill from Ngo and a CMU attack error to win the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.

Wall tallied a career-high 16 kills,

Marfatia had 13, Ngo had 12, fourthyear outside/right side hitter Gianna Lambert had 10 and second-year outside hitter Carly Scott had 10 as well. Thirdyear libero Alyssa Blessinger led with 21 digs and second-year defensive specialist Maria Tuepker notched a season-high 13 digs.

Washington controlled the first set from the start, capitalizing on attack er rors and defensive miscommunications to take a commanding 15-6 lead. The Spartans tried to answer with 4 straight points, but the deficit was too wide to close. Washington took the 25-17 win for the 1-0 set lead.

CWRU was more engaged in the second set and took a 14-11 lead follow ing a pair of kills from Scott and Wall. The Spartans built a 7-point lead but the Bears answered back and cut the deficit

to 23-18. CWRU withstood a couple more pushes from the Bears as first-year middle blocker Amanda Ngo iced the set 25-20 with a kill to tie the match 1-1.

The third set was the tightest as nei ther team led by more than 2 points until the Spartans edged to a 17-14 advantage. Washington answered with 2 points but the Spartans’ 5-1 run pushed their lead to 22-17. The Bears made a strong 4-0 run to make the score 24-22. The Spartans didn’t collapse as Amanda Ngo spiked a kill for the 25-22 win and a 2-1 match lead.

The Spartans took an early 2-0 lead in the fourth set but the Bears were deter mined to stay alive, scoring four straight points to take a two point lead and never looking back. Washington won the set 24-18, forcing the match-deciding fifth set.

Blocks and kills by Jennifer Ngo and Wall gave CWRU an early 5-2 lead. The Bears cut the lead to 6-5 but the Spartans scored 4 of the next 5 points to take a 10-6 lead. Following a timeout, the Bears rolled back into the game and tied it at 13-13. Wall and Marfatia put the finish ing touches on the upset with two kills to take the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.

Amanda Ngo led the offensive with 15 kills and the defense with 7 blocks, including 3 solo. Jennifer Ngo added 11 kills, 5 digs and 6 blocks while Marfatia tallied 10 kills and 15 digs. Second-year setter Ansley Yamaato led with 27 assists and 10 digs while Blessinger tallied a team-high 29 digs.

The Spartans will play their regular season finale at home against The Col lege of Wooster in the Horsburgh Gym nasium on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. CWRU will be honoring five graduating members as part of Senior Day.

Hopper and Aduru crowned ITA Cup champions

Puneet Bansal Sports Editor

The Case Western Reserve University men’s tennis team continues to build on their historic spring season, with the dou bles team of fourth-year James Hopper and third-year Vishwa Aduru taking the Division III Intercollegiate Tennis Asso ciation (ITA) Cup Doubles Champion ship on Oct. 15. This marks the second National Championship win for CWRU in the last three years, having previously been claimed by Hopper and Matthew Chen in 2019.

On the first of the three-day tourna ment in Rome, Georgia, the third-seeded duo faced John Zakowski and Luke Van Donslear of the University of WisconsinWhitewater. Hopper and Aduru lost the first set 6-3 but mounted a comeback, winning the second and third sets 6-1 and 10-7, respectively. With the win, Hopper and Aduru advanced to the quarterfinals and earned All-America honors for this season, the fourth for Hopper and the first for Aduru.

The next day, Hopper and Aduru faced Matthew Feng and Eshaan Lumba of Pomona-Pitzer in the quarterfinals, claiming the victory with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 showing. Having advanced to the semi finals, Hopper and Aduru battled James Yu and Thomas Yu of Johns Hopkins University. Again, the Spartan duo did not miss a beat and won in straight sets of 7-6 (2), 6-2.

With these victories, Hopper and Ad

uru advanced to the ITA Cup finals, fac ing Derin Acaroglu and Vuk Vuksanovic of Tufts University the following day.

The first set was incredibly close, but Hopper and Aduru could not hold on, losing 7-5 to the Tufts duo. However, the Spartans came back with vengeance in the second, rallying for the 6-4 victory and taking it all the way to the top of the podium with the 10-3 win the third set. The win secured the championship, as the pair improved to 9-2 overall in dou bles play this season.

The title win has given Hopper and Aduru the right to submit their names for a wildcard berth in the ITA Fall Na tional Championships in San Diego. The competition will feature the top 32 men’s double teams in college tennis.

Hopper and Aduru were named the UAA Athletes of the Week and the Spar tan Club Athletes of the Week. Hopper earned his 10th UAA honor, building on his highly successful collegiate career which includes the coveted 2022 NCAA Division III Doubles Championship win alongside CWRU tennis alum Jonathan Powell. The UAA honor was the first for Aduru.

The rest of the team concluded their 2022 fall season on Oct. 14 at the Every body vs. Cancer Invitational hosted by the University of Toledo. In addition to Division III rival Denison College, mul tiple Division I competitors were present,

including Toledo, Marquette University, Duquesne University and Indiana Uni versity–Purdue University Indianapolis.

The Spartans finished 14-10 in the singles and 8-5 in doubles play. Secondyear Ajay Mahenthiran led the Spartans after going 3-1 in singles play. Thirdyear Daniel French, second-year Casey Hishinuma and Third-year Yuvraj Nara ng went undefeated in singles play (2-0).

For the doubles, fourth-year Chris

Provenzano led the Spartans in the dou bles competitions, taking a 4-0 mark while fourth-year Michael Sutanto add ed a 3-1 record. Third-year Sahil Dayal went 2-0 while fourth-year Diego Maza recorded a 2-1 doubles mark.

With the fall season complete, the team will return to the courts on Feb. 10 to face Wayne State University and Northwestern Ohio University to begin their spring campaign.

Bansal

First-year outside hitter Kalli Wall serves the ball during a match against Washington University in St. Louis, helping CWRU secure an upset against the fourth-ranked school. Courtesy of CWRU Athletics

Fourth-year James Hopper (center) and third-year Vishwa Aduru (right)— along with CWRU tennis alum Chaitanya Aduru (left)—pose with the win ning ITA cup trophies. Courtesy of CWRU Athletics