The Observer, Volume LIV, Issue 5, 9/23/22

CWRU falls to No.44 in 2022-2023 US News rankings

Nihal Manjila Staff Writer

The U.S. News and World Report recently announced its 2022–2023 National University rankings, plac ing Case Western Reserve University at No. 44, tied with Brandeis Univer sity, Georgia Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and Tulane University. This is a small drop from the No. 42 ranking CWRU held the previous year. A total of 443 univer sities are considered in the rankings, placing CWRU in the top 10% of con sidered universities.

The methodology used to deter mine the university ranking accounts for several different factors, including “Graduation and Retention Rates,” “Social Mobility,” “Graduation Rate Performance,” “Undergraduate Aca demic Reputation,” “Faculty Resourc es” in the previous year, “Student Selectivity” for the previous year’s entering class and more. Each catego ry is defined by a number of different metrics, which are outlined further in the U.S. News and World Report web site.

Students and professors have had varied reactions to this change in ranking.

“We are motivated by interacting with students, not by a ranking,” said Dr. Nicole Crown, an assistant pro fessor of biology. “It changes noth ing about how we teach.” She then explained that parents see the ranking as an indicator of what university they should send their children to, and that administrators see the ranking as in dicative of how competitive a univer sity will be when it comes to student admissions.

“I think education is far more about the relationships you develop and the mentoring you receive,” said Dr.

Crown. When asked about what stu dents should look for when applying to college, she said, “It’s worth apply ing to schools based on if you want to go there or not, then decide based on factors like tuition.”

The nursing program rose to No. 5 from its No. 10 in the previous year, and is now tied with University of Washington, University of North Car olina at Chapel Hill and Ohio State University.

“Students from our program are very successful,” said Dr. Beverly Capper, the Director of the BSN Pro gram at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at CWRU. “We have great faculty that support them in their learning.”

The nursing program also benefited from the move to the Health Educa tion Campus (HEC), giving it access to state-of-the-art labs.

“There is much more space and technology to do the skill labs,” said Dr. Capper. “We do a lot of collab orative experiences with medical and dental students and social workers.”

The nursing program also of fers students the opportunity to gain around 1,300 clinical hours beginning in their first semester at CWRU.

“We care very much that they have the skills to go in and practice safely,” said Dr. Capper when asked about the goals of the program.

The engineering school remained at No. 45, with many of the other pro gram rankings hidden behind a pay wall.

CWRU also holds the No. 22 rank ing in Undergraduate Research/Cre ative Projects, tied with Agnes Scott College, Bowdoin College, Dart mouth College, Hope College and

With the release of the U.S. News and World Report’s 2022-2023 National University Rankings this fall, CWRU falls from No. 42 (2021) to No. 44 (2022). Zhuoqing Song

Swarthmore College. This ranking was determined by the results of a peer assessment survey conducted by U.S. News of college presidents, provosts and deans, in which they were asked to nominate 15 schools that demon strated excellence in the category.

“I don’t think it changes the qual ity of my education, but it slightly changes my view of the school,” said fourth-year psychology major Gianlu ca Baglioni. When asked if he kept up with CWRU’s ranking after he began

attending college, Baglioni respond ed, “Not anymore, but I remember back in high school I looked at college rankings.”

As with any ranking system, it is always important to understand the methodology and that no ranking is definitive—all of them prioritize cer tain factors over others in ways that can be nebulous. The U.S. News uni versity rankings should not be the sole factor in determining what school to attend.

Euclid Avenue Starbucks undergoes renovations through the end of the month

Cameron Ward Staff Writer

We have reached every student’s favorite season: there’s a cool breeze, golden leaves are floating onto the ground and the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. Nevertheless, stu dents looking to get their quick pickme-up on their way to the Case Quad have been unable to since mid-August, when the Euclid Avenue Starbucks closed for renovations. Luckily for those missing their coffee, however, the store is planning on reopening by the end of the month after receiving a necessary remodeling.

According to workers on site, the renovations were well overdue. They said that the store manager had been very eager for the renovations, calling them a “much-needed” overhaul of the store. It is normal for a retail or com mercial space to be updated every few years or so, and it seems this Starbucks store had been delaying its routine facelift. The renovation is good news, and not just for cosmetics, either; all of the equipment will receive an overhaul too, meaning there will be better coffee and smoother service for customers.

As to exactly what changes are be ing made, almost all aspects of the store are seeing shifts. The store is looking to improve efficiency with new machines and updated workspaces for

baristas. To accomplish this, there will be a second workroom added, which will hopefully decrease preparation time and improve efficiency, and the bar space is going to see expansion as well, allowing the baristas more room to work. All the shiny new equipment will be dispersed across these spaces.

For customers, the experience will also be changed with new seating arrange ments (such as window seats), tables and a new door placement.

For those of us who don’t care what the store looks like and just want our coffee back, relief is on the way. The renovations on the infrastructural side

should be done by next Wednesday, barring any supply or shipping delays.

The space will then be handed back to Starbucks for the finishing touches, with a projected reopening date of Fri day, Sept. 30. I’ll be fine as long as they open before it’s Peppermint Mocha season.

CWRU students can look forward to the Euclid Avenue Starbucks reopening on Sept. 30 after undergoingextensive renovations. Chris Heerman/The Observer

A peek into Climate Action Week

Benjamin George Contributing Writer Ina Martin, Contributing Writer Paola Van der Linden Costello Contributing Writer

At Case Western Reserve Univer sity most students and faculty alike understand the major impact climate change has on our world. Knowing this, many in the CWRU community have come together to try and help mitigate this issue and to bring aware ness to it.

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published a 2022 report outlining this issue, dis cussing how “human-induced climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and re lated losses and damages to nature and people, beyond natural climate variability.” Further, these trends will continue to worsen absent “deep reductions in CO2 and other green house gas emissions.”

The CWRU Climate Action Net work (CWRU CAN) encourages stu dents, faculty and staff to engage in climate change education and action on campus. CWRU CAN is an inter

disciplinary network that provides a wide range of engagement opportuni ties for diverse stakeholders centered around sustainability and climate change.

To further engage and educate our campus community, CWRU CAN is organizing the university’s second “Climate Action Week.” The week kicks off with the annual Farm Har vest Festival at the University Farm on Saturday, Sep. 24. Over the course of the next week, a variety of events have been organized to provide con text, advocacy and hands-on work shops to educate the campus on the responses and impact of climate change.

From local ramifications to global challenges, Climate Action Week will be sponsoring a film highlight ing Lake Erie, our local Great Lake, a discussion about Supreme Court cases and more. CWRU CAN invites the whole campus community to reg ister and attend these events, the de

tails for which can be found on the new CWRU CAN website. Through out the week, the campus is encour aged to engage in the climate action and education efforts of the day by taking the pledge to be more sustain able. At the end of the week, CWRU CAN hopes our campus community will become more informed and more empowered to create large-scale posi tive change.

Fall 2022 Climate Action Week Events:

Wednesday, Sept. 21: Warm up for Climate Action Week with BikeC leveland’s Bike to Work Day!

Join us during Climate Action Week for:

Saturday, Sept. 24

Farm Harvest Festival, 1-6 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 26

Thinkbox FixIt Workshop: Cloth ing Repair and Fast Fashion, 3 -7 p.m.

Undergraduate Research Society September General Body Meeting -

CWRU Film Society

Friday, September 23, 2022

7:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 11:59 p.m.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Rated R (133 min.)

Director: John Landis

With John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy One night only: the fabulous Blues Brothers! Jake Blues reunites with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police and coming across legendary musical guests aplenty on the brothers’ “mission from God”. All weekend long, come with your brother or sister and get half price admission. That’s a lot of entertainment for $2!

Sustainability Workshop, 5:30- 6:15 p.m.

“Getting involved locally! How communities acquire electricity and why it matters to the CWRU commu nity” 6-8 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 27

Healing Spaces: An Environmental Justice Initiative: 9-10 a.m.

Climate Goes To Court: How re cent and upcoming supreme court decisions are shaping climate policy: 5-7 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 28

CCEL Climate Action Week Ser vice Event, 1-3 p.m.

Film: The Erie Situation, 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29

Climate and Health Panel with Partners in Health Engage, Ameri can Medical Student Association and Public Health Association, 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30

Fall 2022 Community Service Fair, 12:30–2 p.m.

Saturday, September 24, 2022

7:00 p.m., 9:15 p.m.

Sister Act (1992)

Rated PG (100 min.)

Director: Emile Ardolino

With Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Harvey Keitel

Keep the classic tunes (and the brother/sister discount) going as we celebrate 30 years of holy motown! Reno lounge singer Deloris witnesses a mob murder and the cops stash her in a nunnery for protection. The Mother Superior does not trust her or like her influence on the other nuns. But “Sister Mary Clarence” rescues the failing choir with her own brand of music and revitalizes the convent’s interest in the community. The increased attention is a blessing and a curse, though, as Deloris’s whereabouts are discovered.

General Admission $4.00 - Bring your Brother/Sister for $2 off admission this weekend! Strosacker Auditorium, CWRU Campus Quad Free Parking: Lot 44 at Adelbert Rd and Murray Hill FILMS.CWRU.EDU

The Cleveland Pickle Fest: A pickle-lover’s dream

On Saturday, Sept. 17, pickle lov ers across Cleveland gathered for the fourth annual Cleveland Pickle Fest, with music, pickles and so much more. This event had a little some thing for everyone—even those of us who are not avid pickle connois seurs—featuring vendors of all kinds, food trucks, live music and even a pickle-eating contest. As someone who casually enjoys pickles, I attend ed the event with few expectations, mostly hoping for some good food. I certainly wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic turnout for the event, as people arrived in pickle costumes complete with green face paint. And with an attendance of about 16,000 people for their first festival, it was almost guaranteed that people would be crowded around this year to try some of the delicious pickles. People seemed to have a genuine love for the festival and pickles in general.

The weather during the festival was absolutely gorgeous, and the outdoor park setting definitely con tributed to the overall atmosphere of the event. It truly was the perfect day to lie in the grass and gorge my self on some sliced bread and butter pickles. The live music—although at times reminding me of a dad’s cover band—was actually pretty good and allowed several bands to showcase their talents. Attendees brought lawn chairs and sat in front of the stage to really enjoy the music—I settled for a spot on the vibrant grass. People were mingling, discussing their fa vorite pickled treats, playing with pets, sipping pickle beer and enjoy ing the vibe of the festival. Although the lines were fairly long for all of the vendors and food trucks, there was no shortage of entertainment while you waited, from conversing with your neighbor to listening to the live mu sic.

The food was definitely the star of the show and surely the reason for such an incredible attendance. The event wasn’t just limited to your traditional pickles, though there was certainly no shortage of those. Sev eral local vendors attended the event to sell their Cleveland-brewed pick les, from pickles-on-a-stick to con tainers of sliced pickles with differ ent flavors and spices. These weren’t just your average dill pickles either, and the ones from the grocery store stood no chance next to these Cleve land originals. My personal favorite was either the bread and butter pick les—my usual go-to—or the spicy garlic dill. I downed about two half containers of these pickles right there on the grass. Some of the options were definitely for more adventurous pickle lovers, from pickle popsicles to barbeque pulled pork pickle mac ‘n’ cheese. One vendor was even sell ing pickle boba and pickle slushies, which consisted of blending several whole pickles together. Unfortunate ly, I was not as brave or committed as some of the other festival attend ees, and I strayed away from these unique pickle renditions, sticking to the familiar slices. That’s not to say that these options didn’t have their fair share of patrons, as I saw several people walking around and enjoying these unique pickle options, but for

those of us who were just looking for a good bite, there were a ton of op tions for non-pickle related food that surely didn’t disappoint.

While I did enjoy the event, I think the novelty of it wore off quickly. Maybe it was the exorbitant amount of pickles that I consumed or just be ing in the sun for too long, but the event wasn’t something I could have

attended for an entire day. Person ally, the theme of pickles doesn’t lend itself to an all-day event. It was definitely a good time, and in no way do I intend to discount that, but my heart just wasn’t dedicated to the pickles like some other patrons. The festival was a great way to get out side and enjoy some of the last bits of summer weather, consume good

food and make a few new friends, whether human or pet. Unfortunately, the festival is only held once a year, so those interested will have to wait until next year to sink their teeth into some Cleveland pickles. But if you’re looking for something to do with your friends, even as a casual pickle en joyer, I definitely recommend check ing out the Cleveland Pickle Fest.

The annual Cleveland Pickle Fest draws a large enthusiastic crowd of casual pickle enjoyers and pickle aficiona dos alike. Courtesy of @clevelandpicklefest.

Joey Gonzalez Life Editor

Life Editor Joey Gonzalez reclines on the verdant grass of Downtown Cleveland as he rejoices in the taste of au thentic Cleveland-brewed pickles. Courtesy of Joey Gonzalez.

“Do Revenge” is Netflix’s dark love letter to the teenage girl coming-of-age genre

Netflix recently released “Do Re venge,” a dark teen comedy that fol lows two teenage protagonists, Drea (Camila Mendes) and Eleanor (Maya Hawke) as they team up and plot to “do each other’s revenge.” Drea wants to get back at her ex-boyfriend Max (Austin Abrams), who leaked her nude video to the school but claims that he was hacked. Eleanor wants payback on her childhood sum mer camp bully, Carissa (Ava Capri).

The film follows both Eleanor and Drea’s perspectives as they pursue vengeance and develop their friend ship.

The movie’s cast is certainly recog nizable, with its main and supporting characters alike known for their pre vious roles in popular teen and adult shows. Mendes is known for her role as Veronica in “Riverdale,” Hawke is known for being Robin in “Stranger Things” and other cast members come from “Outer Banks,” “Eupho ria,” “13 Reasons Why,” “Game of Thrones,” “Alexa and Katie,” “Ms. Marvel” and more. Mendes is type cast as the mean girl, similar to her role in “Riverdale”; however, most of the other cast members separate themselves from their previous roles, resulting in an entertaining watch for the cast alone. Despite them having very little screen time, actors like Jonathan Daviss (Pope from “Outer Banks”) and Sophie Turner (Sansa in “Game of Thrones”) absolutely make their short appearances worthwhile.

It was also a nice surprise to see Sar ah Michelle Gellar—known for her roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the live-action “Scooby-Doo” movie—playing the headmistress.

It’s an amusing and diverse cast, with multiple people of color in non-ste reotypical roles. It would have been nice, however, if the film could have featured more up-and-coming actors and actresses, just to increase the cast variety.

One of the major tropes from the genre that “Do Revenge” beauti fully adapts for their audience is that of the “gay best friend.” In the ‘90s and ‘00s, there was almost always one male character that served as the coming-of-age film’s only positive queer representation. All they really did was emotionally support the main character—think Damian in “Mean Girls” or Christian in “Clueless”. In “Do Revenge,” the focus was shifted toward gay female representation, with three of the main female char acters in the film being openly queer, including Eleanor. It’s amazing to see a film from this genre finally taking a step away from the stereotype of the “gay best friend” and opt for a more accurate portrayal of queer people— specifically queer women, who are often underrepresented.

However, what really sets this film apart from a lot of other recent com ing-of-age movies is that it expertly blends several different ‘90s and ‘00s movies of the same genre. We don’t want to give any spoilers, but the film has a major twist that we definitely were not expecting. In this sense, “Do Revenge” takes the themes and tropes of these cult classics and cre ates a fresh and updated version for the 2020s, highlighting the best as pects of the genre. Inspiration seems to be drawn from “Mean Girls,” with their distinctions of high school cliques—now including things like Greta Thunburg obsessors, Insta gram witches and the classic mean girls—as well as the makeover mon

tage from “Clueless” and some dark humor elements from “Heathers,” among others. Even the appearance of Y2K it-girl Sarah Michelle Gellar is an homage to that era. The movie is just packed with everything you could want from a guilty pleasure teen comedy: romance, drama and the complexities of friendship be tween high school girls.

Although the character choices and tropes are memorable, the cos tume design throughout the film is probably one of its most notable fea tures. At the private high school that the students attend, everyone wears preppy pastel green and purple uni forms, with most girls sporting a pleated plaid skirt—likely another homage to “Clueless.” But, you can still get a feel for each character’s personality and identity, even when they are in their uniforms. Their trendy accessories and shoes, as well as the uniform pieces that they choose to wear, allow parts of each character to be portrayed physically. For example, many of the queer fe male characters opt to wear the khaki pants and sweaters that the boys of the school usually wear.

The scenes outside of school are truly where the costume department shines. Costume designer Alana Mo reshead hits the nail on the head with each individual character’s style, es pecially Drea and Eleanor. Through out the film, Drea is dressed in incredibly elaborate, bright and wellput-together feminine outfits, show ing her perfectionist nature—in her own words, “[Drea] spent 17 years

meticulously curating the perfect life.” However, in scenes where she is struggling mentally, Drea’s outfits are quite toned down. This is likely because her outfits also serve as a sort of emotional guard to make her seem tough yet proper. On the contrary, El eanor’s style is much more androgy nous and starts out a bit disheveled. This changes when Drea gives her a makeover and we see Eleanor devel op her cool-girl persona with touches of her queer and quirky personality mixed in. Another noteworthy aspect of the costume design is simply the fact that Moreshead made a point to feature a lot of independent, womanowned businesses and brands in her costuming choices. The amount of thought that went into the costume design for each individual character did not go unnoticed, and we really enjoyed how much the unique pieces contributed to the overall aesthetic of the highly stylized film.

Another aspect outside of the plot that needs to be discussed is the film’s immaculate soundtrack. Of course, the movie has a ton of different mod ern bangers including songs like Ol ivia Rodrigo’s angsty track “brutal,” “CYBAH” from Syd’s most recent R&B album, Caroline Palochek’s “So Hot You’re Hurting my Feelings” and the iconic MUNA and Phoebe Bridg ers queer collab “Silk Chiffon.” But the film also cites its genre’s forefa thers yet again through the inclusion of several ‘90s and early 2000s bops.

For example, you can hear “The Im pression That I Get” by the ska band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, as

well as a cover of “Kids in America,” sung by Maude Latour. These can be directly linked to the movie “Clue less.” The Mighty Mighty Bosstones actually make an appearance in the film when Cher and her friends go dancing , with “Kids in America” being the song that plays during the opening scene. Outside of those two songs, the soundtrack has plenty of other turn-of-the-century tunes like “Deceptacon’’ by Le Tigre, “Celeb rity Skin” by Hole and “Dreams” by The Cranberries, all of which teem with ‘90s/Y2K teen girl vibes. Over all, this soundtrack really is the cher ry on top of a fantastic homage to the teenage girl coming-of-age genre.

While there are multiple positives to the movie, there are also some cri tiques to be made—mainly with the dialogue and somewhat rushed end ing. Yes, there are plenty of iconic and witty lines, but there are definite ly just as many cringe-worthy mo ments. Furthermore, the last 30 or so minutes of the movie felt extremely rushed and tied together too neatly, undermining the unpredictable plot twist. “Do Revenge” certainly isn’t representative of real high school ers—similar to other teen shows like “Euphoria”—and our main characters are problematic and, at times, unlike able. However, the film is definitely worth a watch, especially to appre ciate the cast, costumes, soundtrack and of course, the plot twist. “Do Re venge” is girls-night-in approved, so grab your PJs, your besties and your popcorn to enjoy this modern take on a classic genre.

Sophia Popkin Social Media Editor Karuna Lakhiani Opinion Editor

Camila Mendes’ Drea (left) and Maya Hawkes’ Eleanor (right) stumble upon more than one dark secret over the course of Netflix’s new teen comedy “Do Revenge.”. Courtesy of Netflix.

UPBack to School Bash returns to ring in the academic year

There’s nothing like the beginning of the academic year at Case Western Reserve University. The days are warm and bright, classes haven’t gotten too overwhelming yet, new people are ev erywhere and there is always something to do. This is the first year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic where there are almost no restrictions on gatherings of students—and as a result, student life is back and flourishing. Around every corner there are events for students to attend, such as performances, dinners, giveaways and activities. There has only been one event that has combined all of the above, however: the University Pro gram Board’s (UPB) “UPBack to School Bash.” The festivities, meant to welcome students back to CWRU after months away, combine the best of all student events and sets a high standard for the rest of this year’s programming.

The last time I covered the UPBack to School Bash in 2021, it took place just as students were returning to campus after several semesters of remote instruction. I called last year’s event “an unmitigated success” for bringing back on-campus programming when all we had at the time were Zoom meetings. However, this year’s event surpassed last year’s in almost every aspect, marking the true return to normalcy in student program ming all the more apparent.

Hosted on Sept. 16 at East Bell Com mons, this year’s rendition of the UP Back to School Bash had everything you could want at a large on-campus event. There were fun activities—how many times do you get to ride a mechani cal bull, try a surfing simulator or go down an inflatable slide while you’re at CWRU? There were giveaways—while all the paraphernalia was UPB branded, they included essentials for students such as backpacks, portable chargers and keychains. There were performances— the big stage set up on East Bell Com

mons played host to alternative hip-hop duo Paris Texas and indie songwriter Forrest Nolan, making for a fun concert. Lastly, there was the food. Oh, there was indeed food. Between Uptown restau rants like Lee’s Seafood Boil and the new campus favorite Build the Pho, in addi tion to iconic Cleveland food trucks like the Jackpot Chicken Food Truck, Barrio and Kona Ice, there were certainly plenty of options for students to enjoy. Notably, students were actually able to enjoy their food at the event, as last year’s restric tion of only allowing pre-packaged car ry-out food is no longer in effect. As a result, tables and chairs littered East Bell Commons, with students sitting, talking and eating. Several students indicated that the food was the main reason why they had come at all to the event, which makes sense—we are all hungry college students.

“I came here for the food,” said fourth-year chemical biology student Lily Kwiatkowski, who was making her way towards the exit after ordering from Build the Pho’s table. She did indicate that she enjoyed the event overall, say ing “I think it’s funny to watch people on the mechanical bull … the food’s good though.”

Other students mentioned similar mo tivations regarding the food, but the pres ence of activities also made for a good bonus.

“I think the event is a lot of fun,” said fourth-year computer science student Pritish Mishra. “I’m going to have a lot of free food and free stuff, and to defeat my friend in bull-riding again.”

The organizers of the event didn’t seem to mind that attendees were moti vated by the food and giveaways.

“We want students to have the chance to do what they want at our events,” said fourth-year Dominic Orosa, vice presi dent of UPB. “If they want to just grab food and go, that’s completely fine, but

if they want to stay for longer and enjoy the atmosphere, we completely encour age them to do so.”

Orosa said that the cotton candy ma chine was the coolest part of the event to him, saying, “I just think cotton candy is magic, with the way the sugar crystal lizes and all.” When I pointed out that he was manning the popcorn machine in stead, he resignedly said, “We can’t have everything we want in life.”

Orosa is part of a larger 11-person ex ecutive committee that planned most of the event, with some aspects of planning going back all the way to April—though most logistics were figured out between early August and now. The event ended up drawing in an estimated 1,400 stu dents, making it the largest studentplanned campus event of the year thus far.

That being said, UPB still has many

Picture of the Week

Sara

events planned for the rest of the academ ic year, starting this Saturday, Sept. 24 with UPBreakfast, where breakfast food will be served from the Inn on Coventry at Leutner Pavilion. Other UPB events coming up include their concert planned for Homecoming Weekend, trips to Ce dar Point and a to-be-announced trip to be held over fall break.

With all these events in the near fu ture, Orosa took satisfaction in being part of an organization that brings the CWRU community together.

“I love the people. I meet a lot of people and a lot of students across all of our events and activities,” Orosa said while popping popcorn for hungry stu dents waiting in line. “But I really love that we are impacting student life here [at CWRU]. I think if any organization, from my perspective, were to be the most full of school spirit, it would be UPB.”

CWRU students gather at East Bell Commons in preparation for headliner Paris Texas and special guest Forrest Nolan. Courtesy of Margaret Zimmer.

Tower (Upright)

of Wands (Reversed)

of Wands (Reversed)

(Upright)

The Moon (Upright)

is taking the best of you.

The Emperor (Upright)

logical thinking over personal feelings this week.

Justice (Reversed)

may have done something to your

but bypassed your own morals.

future decisions and try to

what’s right next time.

The Star (Upright)

as this

represents new change and a fresh start.

The Hermit (Reversed)

into a

and hide

out in a time like this

The Lovers (Reversed)

may be feeling conflicted due to inner disconnect lately.

Strength (Upright)

may be someone coming your way who brings strong feelings of passion. Embrace it.

The World (Upright)

coming together with

patience

sweet

Taylor

through

in

“C”

outdoor

Gala,

ducky’s

the nose

between

in

League of

opinion

opinion

Editorial: CWRU administration is ignoring the living conditions of current students

Between new residential halls and renovations to the Case Quad and research buildings, the physical expansion of Case Western Reserve University is well underway. While this is beneficial for future students and faculty, it simultaneously ignores the current issues facing the CWRU community.

The current infrastructure projects seem to ignore the biggest issues fac ing students right now—namely, the living conditions in first-year and second-year residence halls are far from ideal, and, when compared to other universities, are downright de plorable. First-year halls are littered with cockroaches, leaking bathrooms and falling ceiling tiles. Secondyear halls, especially the ones in the Carlton Road community, have had reports of rats, ant infestations and frequent flooding issues. While some underclassmen live in upperclass

men housing, such as the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Residence Hall or The Village at 115th, most underclassmen are forced to live in disgusting con ditions. While it’s not as bad as first and second-year housing, on-campus upperclassmen housing is no picnic either, with dangerous heating and air conditioning malfunctions, mold in dishwashers, mice infestations and more.

Beyond living conditions, dis tance and safety also play a factor in the inadequacy of student housing. Students that rely on shuttles have seen how unreliable they are, forcing many to be late to various responsi bilities, including work and class.

The disregard of living conditions is only part of the problem—there is also disregard to crowding on cam pus. As mentioned earlier, there are new construction plans, such as the $300 million research building re

placing Yost. However, instead of investing more money into a costly new research facility—which is an area CWRU already regularly invests in—what about investing in a new student center space? The renova tion of Eldred Theater is all well and good, but where is our Identity Cen ter? Such a student center has been in the cards for years but CWRU has continued to deprioritize it over the years. And as we continue to invest in new STEM buildings, we must ask whether the humanities buildings on Mather Quad will ever be updated?

As we expand our student body we can clearly see that CWRU is over capacity already. It is evident in long food and bathroom lines, limited free seating in almost all common student spaces, jam-packed lecture sections and the nonexistent extra availability for on-campus living. If CWRU con tinues to admit more and more stu

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 layout designers DASHA DEGTEREV, SHIFRA NARASIMHAN advertising manager MATTHEW CHANG

dents, then the university space needs to reflect it—especially in student center spaces. Moreover, CWRU continues to ignore its humanities and social science communities— these spaces are in a desperate need of a retrofit.

CWRU needs to invest in the liv ing conditions of its current students. We cannot accept living in environ ments that are unsanitary and hazard ous. Before we build a new research center of the future, we must address the needs of the students today. We must invest in our infrastructure but it needs to be in the right areas— such as more conveniently located on-campus living, better humanities spaces and additional campus student centers. As we plan for the future of CWRU, the administration should work to improve the lives of current students, and to help the departments most in need today.

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 editori al forum for the university community. Unsigned editorials are typically written by the opinion editor but reflect the majo rity 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) 3024442 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.

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Rejecting death of the author: why “Percy Jackson” succeeds over “Harry Potter”

Sarah Karkoff Contributing Writer

In terms of commercial success, there is no comparison between the “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson” franchises. I easily concede that J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” franchise is a financial juggernaut. Rowling has sold approxi mately 500 million copies of her series, whereas Rick Riordan, the author of the “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” (PJO) series, has only sold 180 million copies thus far. This gross is not even counting the momentous earnings from the “Harry Potter” movies and theme parks. Despite this, the “Percy Jackson” franchise is leagues ahead of “Harry Potter’’ for a multitude of reasons.

With the release of the trailer for Disney+’s upcoming PJO show, I am reminded of why Riordan’s children’s literature franchise is the better of the two. While I do enjoy the actual writing of Riordan’s works more, the success of his works lies in his commitment to representing diversity. The displays of inclusivity are important when consider ing an author’s body of work, especially when discussing books targeted toward adolescents.

Death of the author, conceptualized by French theorist Roland Barthes, is tradi tionally concerned with how people read and understand the meaning of a certain text. To sum it up, Barthes’ philosophy states that the intentions and background of the person who wrote a text are ulti mately meaningless. The significance of a literary text should be imbued by the reader; the reader’s interpretation reigns supreme. Outside of academia, this con cept’s meaning has morphed to include the debate of whether the author’s ac tions and words outside of the explicit text should influence people’s support of the work as a whole.

Rowling’s recent transphobic tweets have generated a good amount of contro versy, causing some fans to go as far as to boycott the series. In contrast, other fans argue the “death of the author” line of rea soning. One example of these tweets is when Rowling wrote, “People who men struate. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” in re sponse to an opinion piece titled “Creat ing a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.” Now, I’m not arguing that die-hard fans of “Harry Potter” are morally obligated to boycott the franchise. Rather, the author’s ac tions should impact outward support of their works—especially when they are currently alive and being rewarded mon

etarily from said support.

The “Harry Potter” series may not be directly related to Rowling’s numerous transphobic spoutings on Twitter, but with this new look at Rowling’s char acter, the books should be reevaluated with a new lens. The goblins, who act as bankers, feature many anti-Semetic stereotypes. There aren’t many people of color (POC) characters in the fran chise, and those who are there also suf fer from a chronic lack of forethought on the author’s part—Cho Chang herself has a name consisting of two stereotypi cal surnames. Additionally, some fans take issue with the author making some of the Death Eaters—which resemble Nazi ideology—sympathetic. The books, which are rife with stereotypes and poor ly executed POC characters, are aimed at young readers, who are not equipped with critical thinking for complex media literacy.

On the other hand, Riordan began his book series intending to make kids with ADHD and dyslexia feel more normal ized. Though Riordan started with this commendable goal, his earliest set of books, PJO, lacks any other diversity. In Riordan’s “Heroes of Olympus” series, the sequel series to PJO, he aimed to cor rect this mistake and added diversity to

the characters’ main cast.

Riordan, understanding the impor tance of children seeing themselves rep resented, committed to race-blind casting in the new PJO Disney+ series, allowing casting of anyone who was best for the role. He stated his full commitment to Disney’s company policy of inclusivity, saying, “We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without re gard to disability, gender, race and eth nicity, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law.”

After being cast as Annabeth, Leah Jeffries was bombarded with hate be cause she is Black. In response to this, Riordan leapt to her defense and spoke against fans of the series who were up set with the decision. Riordan wrote, “The core message of Percy Jackson has always been that difference is strength. There is power in plurality… You should never judge someone by how well they fit your preconceived notions… If you don’t get that, if you’re still upset about the casting of this marvelous trio, then it doesn’t matter how many times you have read the books. You didn’t learn any thing from them.” This type of uproar is not new. Following Disney’s live-action

It’s not that deep, or is it?

Enya Eettickal Staff Editor

I love and hate the malleable way our generation uses language. We quickly create and pick up on new phrases and slang from ethnic or internet cultures. While there are several reasons why our use of language in this manner is admirable, a number of problems also arise on the same grounds. When we frequently use new phrases or words in inapplicable contexts, these new say ings end up losing their original mean ing.

I realized this was an issue when one of my favorite phrases was used one too many times: My friend was relay ing a series of arduous circumstances they had to navigate and ended it all by saying that “it’s not that deep.” While my friend’s dismissal of their struggles is alarming in its own way, it keyed me into a larger issue. I’m someone who confers importance to the use of lan guage, but I also say “it’s not that deep” at least once a day (usually to myself); nevertheless, my friend’s use of the

phrase started to bother me a bit. The expression itself has a particular mean ing, but its accidental and purposeful misuse has slowly started to remove its connotation. Therefore, it’s impor tant to discuss what “it’s not that deep” means, how it’s misused and why that’s a problem.

I’m sure you’ve all heard someone say the term at least once before, but “it’s not that deep” comes up fairly reg ularly in my circles. To be clear, “it’s not that deep” conveys that the topic or subject should not carry a significant amount of emotional weight or be made overly complicated.

I’m sure this phrase was used in a comical sense at first, only poking fun at friends for being dramatic or over ly reactive, but over time I found the phrase being used in heavier situations. As a response to experiencing emotion al distress for extended periods of time, friends might say “it’s not that deep” as a genuine reminder to diffuse some un

necessary tension or pressure. “It’s not that deep” has become a mantra for a number of people now, all of whom try to minimize their complaints and wor ries by experiencing life at face value. And for a generation that is perceived as “sensitive,” trying to adopt this op posing outlook on life is greatly benefi cial. However, because of both the co medic and serious intention behind “it’s not that deep,” there is a disconnect in how it’s said and perceived. Whether a misuse of it is intentional or accidental, an insensitive response from the listen er is still a potential outcome.

The biggest miscommunication that can happen is when people use a joking iteration of the phrase for a significant situation. The risk of harm is that those who are overwhelmed with legitimate struggle are met with a dismissive re sponse. Our generation has a tendency to overcompensate for its perception of being sensitive by trying to act like a “realist,” removing emotionality from

“The Little Mermaid” trailer, many on the internet were up in arms about Halle Bailey portraying Ariel.

Riordan is also able to use his plat form to prop up other authors through “Riordan Presents.” The explicit goal of this enterprise is to “publish great middle grade authors from underrepresented cultures and backgrounds, to let them tell their own stories inspired by the mythol ogy and folklore of their own heritage.”

While Riordan’s writing is not without its pitfalls, his choice to use his influence to support underrepresented voices is one we don’t often witness in publishing.

When writing for children’s literature, an author’s actions are important to con sider. Riordan succeeds not because of monetary gains or his superior writing, but because his franchise encapsulates what the focus of children’s literature should be. If you are recommending one of these two highly popularized and suc cessful franchises for children to read, it probably should not be the one that tac itly agrees to objectionable stereotypes and relegates diversity to the sidelines. Supporting the PJO show indirectly en dorses the message that Riordan is at tempting to push by enforcing an opencasting call. When the series releases in 2024, I hope you tune in.

trivial and serious circumstances alike. However, not everyone who says they are level-headed realists actually are, with some using the mindset as a cover to be covertly dismissive. Beyond just the phrase “it’s not that deep,” these in dividuals refuse to validate or respond to the emotions displayed by anyone else to affirm their so-called realism. This type of approach ruins the duality of the phrase “it’s not that deep.” It’s one thing to use it in one capacity or an other—however, using it intentionally incorrectly to be dismissive isn’t okay.

The best solution to this problem is to simply call out misuses of the phrase as they happen. If someone is purpose fully trying to convince you that your circumstances do not warrant distress or discomfort, draw a boundary. There fore, the next time one of my friends is venting and ends by saying “it’s not that deep,” I’m going to ask them to take a step back and reevaluate because may be, just maybe, it is that deep.

Known for the diversity of his characters, Rick Riordan did not disappoint with the new trio for his Percy Jackson TV series. From left to right: Annabeth Chase (Leah Jeffries), Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) and Grover Under wood (Aryan Simhadri). Courtesy of RadioTimes.com.

Spartan football upset Wash. & Jeff 14-10 with Saxton’s and Dahlem’s late-game heroics

Though they suffered a beatdown from John Hopkins University in their season opener, the Case West ern Reserve University football team has found its groove. After an in tense 45-31 win against Waynesburg University on the road, the Spartans escaped with the clutch 14-10 vic tory against No. 25 Washington and Jefferson College (W&J) on Satur day, Sept. 17.

Coming off the strong win against Waynesburg, Head Coach Greg De beljak complimented the offense, saying “We ran the ball well and threw it well. We haven’t had a turn over yet this season… We got a lot of guys involved [and] played multiple quarterbacks, so we were happy with the offense.”

Coach Debeljak was quick to ad dress weaknesses on the other side of the field, adding that “defensively in the first half we played extremely well [but] faded as the game went on… I think the defense has the abil ity to play much better than they’ve shown, and I know they’ll get better each week.”

W&J’s fiery offense certainly de manded defensive fortitude. Com ing into Saturday’s game in Cleve land, the Presidents rolled through John Carroll University 35-26 and Saint Vincent College 52-21. In both games, they dominated the passing yards and time of possession while also forcing multiple turnovers.

“They’re a great program, always have been,” said Coach Debeljak. “I

think it’ll get down to how it usually does: can we not turn over the ball [and] can we force turnovers? If we can do that, that’ll be the key to win. They’re very good in all aspects of the game… You’re going to have to play very well to beat them.”

In front of a roaring crowd at DiS anto Field, with strong representa tion for both teams, the Spartans and the Presidents spent most of the first half trading possessions. Stalwart defenses on both sides dominated the game, as CWRU forced nine straight punts through the first three quarters , made 7 sacks and made 9 tackles for loss in the game.

With 20 seconds remaining in the first half, the Spartans were near the middle of the field facing a secondand-16 hole. Fourth-year quarterback Drew Saxton kept his composure and threw a rainbow to second-year wide receiver Noah Coyne. It was a dan gerous pass that bounced off the de fender’s shoulder but Coyne miracu lously caught it and sprinted into the endzone for the touchdown.

CWRU’s strong defense contin ued in the second half, limiting W&J to just 24 rushing yards—more than 150 yards less than their season av erage of 177.0. However, the Presi dents were not about to fold to the 7-0 hole and broke through in the fourth quarter. CWRU fumbled the ball following a punt reception. Un fortunately, W&J recovered it at the 17-yard line and capitalized on the mistake with a quick touchdown to

even the score at 7-7.

The momentum was on the Presi dents’ side now. They immediately forced CWRU to punt it and spent five minutes on the next drive, which culminated in a successful field goal to take the 10-7 lead.

The pressure was squarely on Sax ton and the offense. Only 5:20 re mained in the game and the Spartans had no choice but to score a touch down to win or at least a field goal to tie the game. The offense came on the field after a 23-yard return at their own 30-yard line for the most important possession of the evening.

On the first two downs, the Presi dents’ defense blasted through the offensive line, swarming Saxton and forcing two incompletions. Fortu nately for the Spartans, W&J com mitted an offside penalty, advancing the Spartans five yards. Saxton threw a quick pass to Coyne for 6 yards to get the first down at the 41-yard line.

Though the Spartans had a fresh set of downs, Saxton wasted no time in capping off the drive. Following the snap, Saxton quickly surveyed the field and saw second-year wide receiver Ethan Dahlem running down the middle of the field. Saxton launched the deep throw and con nected with Dahlem, who outran the two defenders for the 59-yard touch down, making a 14-10 lead.

The drive lasted just a minute, and now it was up to the CWRU defense to put the clamps on W&J to secure the game. The Presidents

quickly reached the Spartan eightyard line with 2:22 left. However, third-year linemen Kaden Tong and AJ Dudowski sacked W&J’s quarter back on the first down. The rattled offense fumbled the snap and lost two yards. The Spartans continued to press W&J and forced two incom plete passes to bring out the CWRU offense once again.

The teams traded possessions once more before the Spartans ran out the clock to secure the victory.

Saxton finished with 297 yards on 22-for-32 attempts and was named the Presidents’ Athletic Confer ence Offensive Player of the Week. Dahlem’s game-winning touchdown marked the first score of his career to go along with a career-high 108 receiving yards. Coyne finished with 62 yards while third-year wide receiver Riley Knurek notched 74 yards.

On the defensive end, Tong fin ished with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble, third-year Marco Toth re corded 2 sacks and a forced fumble, third-year Ryan Cabrera recorded a team high 7 tackles while secondyear defensive back Nate Cikalo and third-year linebacker Gabe Troch each added 6 tackles.

The Spartans will now turn their attention to a two-game road trip. On Sept. 24, the team will head to Bea ver Falls, Pennsylvania to take on Geneva College. A week later, they will kick off October with a match against Grove City College.

Catching a deflected pass from Saxton, second-year wide receiever Noah Cohen’s first career touchdown opened scoring in the first half. Courtesy of CWRU Athletics

Men’s tennis team opens with a strong start to the regular season

Kyle Grover Staff Writer

This past weekend, Case Western Reserve University’s men’s tennis team started their regular season at the UT Rocket Invitational at the University of Toledo and the Kenyon Invitational at Kenyon College. The Spartans were looking to build upon their success in the previous regular season and con tinue their undefeated streak against Di vision III opponents in the new regular season.

CWRU tennis started their week end off with stiff competition at the UT Rocket Invitational where the Spartans played matches against Division I Holy Cross and Toledo, Division III Denison University and the University of Chica go (the previous NCAA national cham pions) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Northwestern Ohio. The men’s tennis team finished the tournament with a strong record of 15-5 in singles and 11-4 in doubles. The Spartans continued this momentum at the Kenyon Invitational where they fin ished with a record of 17-14 in singles and 7-8 in doubles.

In addition to the team’s success, CWRU’s men’s tennis second-year Ajay Mahenthiran and third-year Sahil Dayal were selected to the All-Tournament team. Mahenthiran was also selected as the UAA Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career. Mahenthiran had an outstanding performance at the in vitationals with a 5-1 record in singles matches. He defeated Mees Sebgrets of Northwestern Ohio (6-0, 6-0), Marek Michulka of UChicago (6-3, 6-1), Andy

Women’s

at Kenyon

Ohio

Upcoming Games

at

John

Upcoming Games

Denison Invitational

Mackler of Denison (6-0, 6-4), Laurenz Flender of Holy Cross (6-3, 6-3) and Matias Ilivero of Toledo (6-1, 6-4).

“I think the weekend was a big test for us because coming into it, the invita tional was the first weekend of competi tion where we didn’t have our leaders from last year,” said Mahenthiran when asked to reflect on the team’s perfor mance. “It was really on us to create our energy and compete on our own as a new team. I thought we maybe started off the weekend slow ... but by the sec ond match we really hit our stride and competed well as a team. It especially felt good to take down University of Chicago after last year’s national cham pionship match.”

Mahenthiran was satisfied with his own playing in the invitationals, adding, “I think, for me personally, the weekend was really special because I played ex tremely well against the highest caliber of opponents I had ever played in col lege. It really showed me that all the work I had put in during the summer and into fall paid off.”

Fourth-year James Hopper, third-year Vishwa Aduru and second-year Ansh Shah will compete in the main singles draw at the ITA Fall Regional Champi onships in St. Louis from Sept. 24-26. Mahenthiran, Dayal, second-year Casey Hisinuma, fourth-year Michael Sutanto and fourth-year Chris Provenzano will compete in the main doubles draw. The rest of the Spartans will travel to Gran ville, Ohio for the Denison Invitational on Sept. 24.

Volleyball

CWRU vs Baldwin Wallace (9/14)

vs Emory (9/17)

vs Chicago (9/17)

vs

(9/18)

Upcoming Games

CWRU vs Kenyon (9/24)

at Denison (9/27)

Spartan Invite (9/16) - 10th out of

Invite (9/16) - 12th out of

Spartan Invite (9/16) - 14th out of

Invite (9/16) - 10th out of

Third-year Sahil Dayal was selected to the All-Tournament team for his stellar perforamance in singles (1-0) and doubles (5-2). Courtesy of CWRU Athletics