Volume XLVI, Issue 9 October 17, 2014

the

Case Western Reserve University volume xlvi, issue 9 friday, 10/17/2014

Observer Where’s Spartie?

A tale of mistaken identities, politics and the search for spirit

pg. 18

The CWRU ghost researcher Graduate student to publish book about supernatural tourism Michele Hanks went from crying on Disney World’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride, to sitting by “the hanging tree” at Chillingham Castle in England, in the middle of the night. Alone, her eyes and ears covered, she waited like bait.

Michele Hanks’s new book “Haunted Heritage: The Cultural Politics of Ghost Tourism, Populism and the Past” includes her experiences and findings while she was doing fieldwork in England for 18 months.

She spent her time there studying all kinds of ghost tourism including ghost walks and people spending the night at haunted sites.

How did Hanks get to researching ghost investigating? She has a doctorate in Anthropology from University of Illinois at Urba-

na-Champaign, and in graduate school she became specifically interested in the way amateurs contribute to science, new ideas and community lore. Both of those things are found in ghost research. It combines how stories and local history affect people, and how people “ghost hunting” can possibly discover something new in science.

Hanks’ research wasn’t about proving whether ghosts were real or not, it was about what the people around her thought was real.

That being said, she still gets asked a lot if she believes in ghosts.

“I took a very agnostic view going in,” said Hanks.

While she was in England, she did experience what some would call hauntings, but the experiences mostly happened to other people. Others felt presences, saw

things, but she didn’t.

“I was a proxy to a lot of experiences,” she said.

Usually the people giving the ghost tours didn’t even believe in ghosts. The tourists did. Most ghost researchers feel the same way Michele does: that there is more that humans don’t know, and it is best to keep an open mind. Some have had experiences with spirits when they were younger, maybe with what they thought was a family member.

“Those experiences inspire people,” said Hanks.

As they get older, they attempt to find community ghosts (ones based off of community lore) instead of their own.

She said one of her scariest moments was when one of the people she was working with sensed a presence coming from the fireplace of The Golden Fleece

Pub. Her colleague said that the spirit was interested in Michele, especially her mouth. So Michele was put in a dark room with a camera trained on her face. She sat there for fifteen minutes.

When Hanks later sat near the hanging tree at Chillingham Castle, she was involved in a deprivation experiment, where researchers study what happens if people cannot hear or see. Michele had noise cancelling headphones on and goggles that made everything dark; so she was basically ghost bait.

On a side note, Hanks said ghost hunters wearing all black is an “aesthetic preference” for “professionalism.” It has nothing to do with hiding from ghosts.

Haunted Heritage: The Cultural Politics of Ghost Tourism, Populism and the Past comes out this December.

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Opinion

Sports

pg. 3 Law students sue Akron

pg. 9 Dark comedy comes to life

pg. 13 Homecoming raises spirit issue

pg. 20 Wyant Center dedication

Alex Clarke Staff Reporter

news 3, 2, 1, brooms up

Eight teams compete in CWRU Quidditch Club’s first tournament

Teams of students square of in the CWRU Quidditch Club’s inaugural tournament on Van Horn field.

Brittany Bishop Contributing Reporter Dozens of students straddle their brooms, the wind flying through their hair as they race towards the coveted quaffle.

But these Quidditch players aren’t at Hogwarts. They’re not wizards, and they’re not flying through the air on the latest Nimbus broomstick. They’re muggles, at the Van Horn Field at Case Western Reserve University, running around with an everyday broom stuck between their legs. *** In 1997, the first ever Quidditch match was played in children’s minds all across the world, when the young wizard in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” first mounted his magic broomstick. Not only did J.K. Rowling invent a world for readers to absorb themselves in, she invented a sport.

Eight years later, in 2005, students at Middlebury College in Vermont organized the first ever real-life Quidditch game.

Since then, the game has steadily caught wind, with hundreds of schools participating across the world. On Saturday, the sport found its way to CWRU. *** Eight teams from all across campus,

all new to the sport, came together to fight for the grand prize: a $750 donation to the charity of their choice. The tournament was planned by the CWRU Quidditch club.

Since most of the participants had never played before, the coaches from CWRUCIO, the Quidditch club’s team, had to guide them.

“A broom is just an extension of your body,” joked one coach.

Even with their lack of experience, most players got the hang of the sport within the first round. The taller players were quick to block the quaff le, the volleyball used to score points in the game, from entering the homemade hula-hoop goals. Within minutes, people weren’t tripping on their brooms.

One of the teams playing, Unix Felicis was the only team named from the books. The team, made up of members of CWRU’s Hacker’s Society, chose their name as a play on the magic potion, Felix Felicis, that brings the drinker luck for the rest of the day. Since the team was made up of computer scientists, they combined this with Unix, a computer operating system.

“It’s kind of intense,” said John Dulin, a senior and member of the Unix Felicis team. “Using one hand was hard.

That’s the biggest handicap. But that’s

what kind of makes it unique.”

“Running with a broom between my legs is not something I do on any day of the week,” added Alex Letwin, a senior who played on a team made up of members of Pi Beta Phi and Beta Theta Pi. *** The CWRU Quidditch club began in 2012 with junior Tasha Smith.

“I just knew that we needed it,” Smith said.

“There were two things missing at Case when I first got here, and that was a Quidditch team and a writer’s club, so I made both.”

Nicholas Shindler, tournament chair for the club, said that creating the team happened “like a snowball.” Despite having a shaky beginning, the team kept going, realized their potential, and “just kept rolling with it.”

“When I first founded it, I was like, it’ll be alright, it’ll be something to do... it’ll probably be a really good way to meet more Harry Potter fans,” Smith said. “But, no, I’m actually really addicted to the sport.”

Smith has been an avid Harry Potter fan for most of her life. She loves the books, the characters and other people who love the books. She constantly makes character connections, Harry Potter metaphors, and owns a Bellatrix costume that she’s had for eight years.

Courtesy CWRU Quidditch Club The books inf luenced her the “same way you would expect [them] to inf luence any massive nerd,” she said.

But the Quidditch club isn’t just for Harry Potter fans. The club is one of the only non-Greek organizations on campus that regularly mixes athletic and social events. They hold full practices twice a week, but also hold Harry Potter parties, such as the Yule Ball, which they host in the spring. There’s even a member that has never read the books or seen the movies. Even so, the member is an excellent Quidditch player.

“We have no qualms with that,” Smith said. “Being a Harry Potter nerd and playing Quidditch are actually two very separate things. You just happen to play with a broom between your legs. *** After four hours of broom riding, quaffle catching and snitch chasing, the Beta Theta Pi and Pi Beta Phi team won the final game. As Quidditch champions, the team donated the $750 prize to the Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland and Pi Beta Phi Foundation, the respective philanthropies for each organization.

Despite having a lucky name, Unix Felicis lost both games in the round-robin battle among the final three teams. In the end, they just needed a little bit more magic.

Courtesy CWRU Quidditch Club Top: Students play the “Harry Potter” inspired game.

Right: The winning team, made up of members of Beta Theta Pi and Pi Beta Phi, donated their $750 winnings to charities of their choice.

Courtesy CWRU Quidditch Club

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CWRU takes on tooth decay

Spotlight on research

Psychologist studies how pretend play helps coping and creativity Kushagra Gupta Staff Reporter

Courtesy Susan Griffith CWRU pediatric dental staff offered free dental services to Cleveland preschoolers.

Miriam Ridge Staff Reporter Case Western Reserve University pediatric dental staff provided free dental care to the preschoolers of the Bingham Early Learning Center on Oct. 10.

They gave the children a dental exam, followed by a cleaning, varnish, and fluoride treatment. Parents were given a report card informing them of their child’s dental health status: either no dental needs, minor dental needs or severe dental needs.

The event was one of many federally funded Head Start program preventative initiatives. Head Start is a national program that helps provide education, nutrition, health and social services to preschoolers.

Cleveland has one of the highest rates of untreated tooth decay in the country, and it is the most common un-

met health issue for children in Ohio.

Head Start programs treat between two and three thousand children annually in the greater Cleveland area. Since the program began visits to Head Start in 2007, CWRU pediatric dental staff have treated 23,544 children and provided $3 million in preventative care services.

“Six out of ten children are fine,” said Gerald Ferretti, the program director of Pediatric Dentistry at CWRU. “But four out of ten need some dental care or require an operation.”

The program also teaches parents what pediatric dentists do, and why dental health is important.

Offering this care gives CWRU pediatric dental staff an opportunity to gain essential experience and training.

“The program is very user friendly,” said Ferretti. “It provides the community with an important service.”

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It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s the building block for a successful childhood. Psychology Professor Sandra Russ has shown that pretend play boosts creativity and coping mechanisms among children.

Russ is currently working on finding a way to get children to play in anxiety-inducing situations, in order to help them emotionally. She is collaborating with a group from the Uppsala University in Sweden.

Russ’ research shows that play gives children better emotional coping skills and helps reduce anxiety. According to Russ, play simulates emotion. Because they’re pretending, children are able to feel a full range of emotions and become comfortable with them. This, in turn, helps them to regulate their emotions better, a useful tool when it comes to handling a problem.

Russ teaches a class that requires students to volunteer at the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, where they are able to play with children and learn the concept first hand. The playrooms at Rainbow Babies help Russ and her students watch children in emotionally taxing situations, and see how play helps them cope.

Russ realized that she wanted to be a clinical psychologist in eighth grade. Unfortunately, high schools, didn’t offer psychology courses at the time, so she had to wait to study the subject until college.

Through her undergraduate and graduate studies, she honed her interests more specifically towards creativity.

Afterwards, she worked as a staff psychologist at a child guidance center, where she first realized the benefits of play. From this interest, she decided to start developing her scale.

“To study play, you have to be able to measure it,” said Russ.

Russ first developed a standardized scale to measure play in the mid-1980s. She encountered a number of obstacles in the design, mainly that she wanted to make sure that the test didn’t measure anything equating to intelligence. There were a few scales that measured play existing at the time, but they generally focused on cognition. Russ wasn’t looking for an IQ test, though. She was only interested in measuring play.

Russ began by looking at the quality of the story a child could tell. The form of the story and how engaged the child was were both important as well.

“I wanted to look at emotion, as well as cognition,” she said.

Russ’ test gives a child, aged 6 to 10, five minutes to play, that is, to come up with a story using the toys at hand. Children are taped, and the video is then scored later on. The criteria analyzed include the quality of the story, how much emotion there was in the story, both positive and negative. The viewers also scored on the amount of difficulty and interest the child had in their play.

“It’s practice with expressing emotion,” said Russ. “They express anger, they express sadness. They learn to feel comfortable with emotion. They learn to remember emotion.”

Editor’s Choice

CWRU law students file suit on behalf of Akron’s homeless Alexander Wheaton Staff Reporter Three students and one graduate recently filed a lawsuit against the city of Akron on behalf of eleven homeless individuals who had their belongings seized and destroyed by the Akron Police Department.

Assistant Professor Avidan Cover is leading students Nathaniel Ehrman, Donielle Robinson, Emma Victorelli and graduate Rebecca Sremack. Cover is representing the eleven homeless individuals on an interim basis, while a petition to allow the students to participate is approved.

The eleven plaintiffs, who range from age 22 to 64, are suing for material and personal losses, mostly suffered during an Akron police raid on Nov. 6, 2013. Among the lawsuit’s six defendants are Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic, police chief James Nice and Akron Director of Public Service John Moore.

The CWRU law team is operating out of the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic, which allows law students to gain hands-on experience working on real cases giving free representation to people who would not be able to afford it otherwise.

The students argue that in raids dat-

ing back to 2010, the Akron Police Department has wrongfully seized and destroyed items essential to their plaintiffs’ survival and other personal affects, including tents, blankets, legal documents, military papers and mementos.

The Nov. 6 raid was conducted in downtown Akron. In response to complaints from nearby businesses, the Akron Police Department cleared the area where almost twenty homeless people were camping.

They seized the individuals’ property and threw away any items left behind.

The suit alleges that the raid deprived one plaintiff, George Suppan, of a pair of warm boots at the onset of one of Northeast Ohio’s worst winters. Without them, Suppan suffered frostbite and was hospitalized. Doctors later amputated two of his affected toes. He continues to suffer foot pain, has trouble keeping his balance and can no longer work.

The law students argue that the city told the individuals they could camp there.

“The property by and large wasn’t used for anything,” said Cover. “It’s our understanding that they were told they could be there even if they were on private property.”

According to a statement from the Akron Police Department, the individuals

were on public property and the city acted properly. Upon observation, the property appeared to be secluded and unused.

Unlike Cleveland, Akron requires homeless individuals to have a panhandler’s license in order to beg for money on the street. This law is part of recent attempts to crack down on homelessness in the city.

“There’s been an effort to gentrify in Akron,” said Cover. “It suggests a level of animosity for the homeless.”

This, along with stronger enforcement of loitering and trespassing laws, makes it difficult for homeless people to buy food, clothing and other essential items.

“Cleveland fought most of these cases back in the ’90s, but Akron has one of the most draconian policies regarding the homeless,” said Bryan Davis, Executive Director of the Northeastern Ohio Coalition for the Homeless.

The law team plans on arguing that the Akron Police did not give the plaintiffs sufficient notice to remove their belongings from the area.

“Regardless of the fact that they’re homeless, they still have constitutional rights,” said Ehrman.

The students are arguing that the gov-

ernment violated the individuals’ rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

They also say that the destruction of their property and the tents that were their homes was a violation of their fundamental rights to physical and emotional well being.

“It’s not normal procedure to destroy property,” said Robinson. “Even if you’re arrested, your possession are saved.”

In their suit, the students have asked the U.S. District Court to recognize the unconstitutionality of the city’s practices. The suit also requests a permanent injunction against the Akron Police Department’s continuation of such practices, and compensation for the eleven plaintiff’s damages.

Neither the Akron Police Department nor the mayor’s office responded to requests for comment.

“What we’re asking for is quite modest,” said Ehrman. “We’re seeking a change in policy so that the homeless don’t have property seized and so that, if they do, they have an opportunity to get it back.”

The complaint will go before the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Divison, once the students’ petition to represent the plaintiffs is approved.

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Homecoming

Homecoming heroes

Planners hope to increase school spirit with week of activities Anastazia Vanisko Staff Reporter Even though Case Western Reserve University’s Homecoming only lasts one week, the planning starts much earlier. This year, CWRU wanted Homecoming to focus more on school spirit and pride, requiring even more innovation and effort from the planners as they modified their approach.

Lou Stark, the vice president of Student Affairs, even went as far as making increasing school pride one of his division’s overarching goals. Crystal Sutton, assistant director of programs in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, says Homecoming is a good kickoff point for this.

Sutton believes that an increase in school pride will lead to greater student satisfaction with the university, which should increase their happiness and overall performance.

Danielle Turner, a CWRU junior and director of the University Programming Board’s Traditions Committee, believes that there is a lot of individual spirit at CWRU, but students aren’t given any outlets to express it.

“By increasing school spirit as a whole,

we hope to give people that outlet,” she said.

Turner notes that people often see school spirit as a result of having good sports teams, but she sees winning teams as a symptom of school spirit. Sutton thinks along the same lines, noting that sports can be a default way for students to identify how they show school pride. At schools where sports aren’t a big deal, most students don’t try to find other ways to express that pride.

But what exactly is school pride, if not associated with sports teams? According to Sutton, school pride is being excited that you go to the university and actually showing it.

As CWRU looked at ways to increase school spirit and pride, it became clear that whether students associate school pride with sports or their university is an issue at other schools, too. Sofia Alvarado, a senior working in the Office of First Year Experience, called other schools in CWRU’s athletic division to see how they approach school spirit.

According to Alvarado, officials from Washington University in St. Louis said that they don’t have much school spirit because they’re a Division III school, so students seem to identify with their major departments instead.

Administrators from Carnegie Mellon

University and Emory University, however, recognized that students can show pride in different ways. Representative from the universities told Alvarado that their students support each other by attending cultural shows and performances put on by campus groups.

During homecoming week, many student groups are trying to get their peers excited to support their friends. Rachel Sosnowchik, president of the Class Officer Collective for the Class of 2016, wants students to come out and show their support for students that are involved in the events, as well as the event planners.

Sosnowchik and fellow COC representative Claire Slusarz have been planning homecoming since the spring of last year, and spent a lot of time on the events over the summer.

While COC promoted many of the events through social media, information about the events mostly spread by word of mouth. One way of doing this was by encouraging students to wear homecoming apparel, which COC members hope will also improve school spirit.

Throughout the week, students were encouraged to post on social media the different things they liked about CWRU. For example, on Monday, students were

supposed to post a Man Crush Monday about their favorite guy at CWRU, while on Tuesday, they were asked to celebrate Traditions Tuesday by posting about their favorite tradition using a hashtag.

This is part of a larger class competition that COC has been promoting in an effort to foster class pride. The class with the most participation in each event during the week will win a celebratory dinner.

School pride is easy to see as an alumnus. Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications for CWRU’s Alumni Association Jessica Tremayne-Farkas notes that homecoming is the one time during the year when there are guaranteed to be alumni on campus.

The fact that alumni come shows they are proud to have attended CWRU. Sutton says that students can see how their experiences at CWRU will affect them in the future by looking at alumni, and alumni can show their pride by identifying with CWRU graduates.

However, students are the ones in charge of fostering school spirit and pride among their fellow students at CWRU. As Turner says, the focus is more on making students lead each other in creating school pride, rather than having the university lead the charge.

New Pre-Physician Assistant club works to spread awareness about growing profession Gabrielle Buffington Staff Reporter What does a physicians assistant (PA) do? Most people, even those planning to go into the medical profession, have no idea.

“I do… no, no, I don’t,” said junior pre-med Caitlynn Weston. “They’re like nurses, but better. I think they’re one step under a doctor.”

Sabrina Puvalowski, a junior PA major, recently started a Pre-Physician Assistant Club to try to raise awareness of the profession among CWRU students, especially pre-medical students, who will most likely work with a PA at some point in their career.

A PA is a nationally certified, state-licensed medical professional. The field was created in the 1960s due to a shortage of health care professionals. Unlike doctors, PAs don’t complete residency, and are able to start working with patients after a three year program and a certification test. “[PAs] are certified mid-level health care providers who work with a team of physicians, nurses, nurse aids, or any other health care providers,” said Puvalowski.

“They can do a lot of the same things as doctors, like prescribing medicine, analyzing tests, and treating patients, but they’re limited with the things they can do.”

“They can’t prescribe some drugs, such as narcotics, and they can’t be the main surgeon in an operating room, but they can assist in surgery,” she added.

“Their abilities also vary in each state.

For example, some states allow them to deliver babies, and some do not.”

Another reason Puvalowski created the club was to let students know that there is more than one way to get into the medical field. Puvalowski originally came to CWRU as a pre-med, but after talking to a few different people, she decided that becoming a PA was a better choice for her.

“The more I looked into it, the more I realized it was a better choice for me than the pre-med route,” said Puvalowski. “There is no residency for PAs. They just go to school for three years, and that really appealed to me.”

PAs help to fill the high demand for health professionals. They have a higher turnaround rate, and can get into the field quicker to start working with patients. Because of this, more and more

the

Freda Li/Observer Members of the Pre-Physicians Assistant Club hope to educate students about the role physicians assistants play in the health care industry. pre-med students are starting to consider switching to the PA field.

“I think [the club] would be a great opportunity to learn more,” said Weston.

“I’m not ruling anything out yet.”

Observer

The Pre-Physician Assistant Club is holding their next event on Oct. 31. They will host other PA students from Mount Union College and holding a question and answer panel about the profession.

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Professor ranked ninth most influential thinker Richard Boyatzis discusses research on emotional intelligence

John Brogan Contributing Reporter Does a four-year undergraduate education actually make your brain bigger?

This is one of the many questions that Professor Richard Boyatzis is interested in researching. Boyatzis, who teaches organizational behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, was recently ranked the ninth most inf luential thinker in the human resources sector in HR Magazine’s 2014 list.

If Boyatzis is anything, he’s a multi-tasker. Boyatzis is working on a number of different research projects while still teaching his Massive Open Online Course, “Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence,” which has been running for over a year.

Boyatzis frequently works with Associate Professor Tony Jack, combining his research on emotional intelligence with Jack’s research on brain imaging and behavioral research. Their recent Kickstarter campaign attempted to raise funds to further their research on how specific brain regions apply to leadership development, but it failed to raise the required funding in time. Boyatzis and Jack plan on pursuing further methods to fund their research.

Boyatzis came to Case Western Reserve University in 1987. Prior to accepting his teaching position, Boyatzis spent 11 years as a CEO at a consult-

ing company, specializing in outcome assessment research. He still uses that expertise in his research.

“CWRU got dinged as an outcome assessment research school,” said Boyatzis.

“We’re still doing that research today.

We’re initiating a study at the law school now, and have been doing various studies at the dental school.”

Surprisingly, Boyatzis’ undergraduate degree was in aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It took him six months of working as an engineer to realize it wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

He decided to go to Harvard University and get his doctorate in social psychology. His main interest was in intentional emotional change.

“That’s what I’ve been studying since I left aerospace,” said Boyatzis.

“How do people change and sustain desired ways, individually or in teams, organizations, communities, countries.”

Despite the differing subject matters, Boyatzis still applies his undergraduate knowledge to his current research.

“Aeronautics and astronautics really helped me in terms of approaching the study of life issues,” said Boyatzis. “Plus, I learned more calculus and thermodynamics than I ever used afterwards.”

Boyatzis’ early research focused on counseling individuals with substance abuse problems, specifically alcoholism. Through this research, he

Courtesy Richard Boyatzis Weatherhead Professor Richard Boyatzis studies organizational behavior, leadership, and emotional intelligence. found that emotional intelligence is a multi-faceted process.

“Working with alcoholics helped me appreciate the importance of relationships,” said Boyatzis. He found that, without the support system of friends and family, it became nearly impossible for patients to stop abusing alcohol.

“When encouraging intentional change, you must realize that you have to help them on multiple levels.”

Boyatzis has been on HR Magazine’s

list before, which ranked him as ninth in 2012. The list honors people making innovative moves in HR, bringing the field in new and original directions.

Other honorees include professors from Harvard Business School, the University of Southern California and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founder and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation and David Rock, director of the NeuroLeadership Institute.

Ebola infected nurse Three CWRU startups selected to participate traveled through Cleveland Hopkins Airport in prestigious entrepreneurship Julia Bianco News Editor

Mark Patteson Staff Reporter An internal team at the Blackstone Charitable Foundation selected three Blackstone Launchpad venture teams from Case Western Reserve University to participate in their Demo Day, a national entrepreneurship competition that they sponsor.The competition for $50,000 in prizes will take place in New York City and include a dinner hosted at the New York Stock Exchange.

The three teams representing CWRU are Carbon Origins, an aerospace company developing cost-efficient rockets and rocketry sensors, Everykey, a company that has created a Bluetooth enabled bracelet that enables password

and key access and SensID, a company that undergraduates Alexis Schilf and Jacob Schwartz founded.

The three teams will compete against 17 other teams from 14 other schools.

“Those are fantastic odds,” said Eugene Sasso, program manager for CWRU’s Blackstone LaunchPad. According to Sasso, the selections display the strength of CWRU’s entrepreneurship support system.

“It is a terrific win for Case,” Sasso said.

Participants will need to present their products and business plans to a panel of judges in only 10 minutes. In addition to the $50,000 prize pool, the competition will provide teams with an opportunity to network with potential venture supporters.

Follow us on Twitter! @CWRUObserver

Amber Joy Vinson, a nurse who helped treat the first U.S. Ebola patient at a Texas hospital, was recently diagnosed with the disease. There has been an epidemic of Ebola, a virus that is spread through contact with bodily f luids, in West Africa since early 2014.

The disease was brought to the U.S. by Thomas Eric Duncan, who contracted it while visiting family in Liberia.

Vinson spent time in Cleveland after being infected, flying into and out of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Oct. 10 and 13, respectively.

Vinson f lew to Cleveland to spend time with her family in Akron and plan her upcoming wedding. A graduate of Kent State, Vinson f lew on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth. At the time of the f light, she had a low fever, but was exhibiting no other symptoms.

The f light carried 132 passengers.

The CDC is asking that anyone who traveled on the f light contact them or their local health care provider as soon as possible. Public health officials are working to contact the passengers of the f light, to arrange follow-ups and monitor anyone at possible risk.

“The Ohio Department of Health has been working since July on its preparedness plan in the event that Ohio ever got positive case in the state, and we’re confident in our efforts to respond efficiently and effectively,” said Dr. Mary DiOrio, State Epidemiologist and interim chief of the Ohio Department of Health’s Division of Prevention and Health Promotion in a statement.

CDC director Tom Frieden said that anyone who came into contact with Ebola should have only been allowed “controlled movement” by charter plane or private car in order to avoid the risk of spreading the disease. He also said that, by law, people with Ebola exposure are supposed to notify authorities of their travel within 21 days, a rule that Vinson may or may not have been aware of.

The CDC will be sending key staff to Cleveland as early as last Wednesday night to help contain the situation.

According to Frieden, Vinson had a 99 degree fever while on the f light, below the threshold of 100.5 degrees, which is what doctors use to indicate that a patient is becoming contagious.

Vinson was one of around 50 health care workers who helped treat Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Duncan died on Oct. 8. Vinson, along with one other nurse, Nina Pham, were infected while treating him.

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Smashing pumpkins RHA prepares for annual Halloween pumpkin drop

Sruthi Meka Staff Reporter Nothing signifies fall quite as much on Case Western Reserve University’s campus as the Residence Hall Association’s annual pumpkin drop. On Oct. 31, students will be able to drop pumpkins from the 11th f loor of Clarke Tower and watch them smash on the ground below.

The pumpkin drop has been a campus tradition for more than 20 years.

“The RHA pumpkin drop is a fabulous event,” said Anish Selvam, presi-

dent of the RHA Clarke Tower Community Council. “People can eat some pies and stuff like that, and we’re going to have a couple of games and activities.

We’re going to have new music there.

It’s going to be a really good event.”

In preparation for the event, the council will purchase 300 pumpkins from a local market, which will be brought by truck to Clarke Tower. The council hopes the event will promote a sense of community and belonging within the student body, while letting students bond over their fascination with falling objects.

On the beat

Pumpkin Ale

We have reached the midpoint of the semester, a time where squirrels are frantically gathering acorns and people are getting in as much activity as they can before the sun starts going down. It is also a time where we usually start to see an increase in alcohol related incidents here at Case Western Reserve University.

Case Western Reserve University Police Department usually transports around 40 students a calendar year to the hospital for alcohol related issues, and those are just the most extreme cases.

We encourage students to notify us if you are dealing with someone who is intoxicated to the point of sickness or inability to care for themselves. Obviously, everyone’s priority is to get that person the medical care they need to prevent injury. Thousands of Americans die every year of alcohol related causes, and we don’t need to add to that here.

Additionally, it is undeniable that heavy alcohol consumption alters your behavior, and usually not for the better. Over the years, CWRU PD has had a lot of experience with these issues, ranging from finding students in bushes, passed out in a plate of food or throwing up in the Safe

Ride van to more serious issues such as combative, intoxicated students punching, biting, or kicking police officers.

It is also undeniable that excessive alcohol consumption can put you at greater risk for sexual assault or robbery, since judgement and coordination are the first things affected by alcohol use.

Everyone is different when it comes to the consumption of alcohol, but, in general, if you are starting to lose control of basic bodily functions or speaking a language no one else seems to understand, it is probably past time to quit.

There is a classic scene in the movie Animal House in which Dean Wormer advises a pledge that “fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” Remember Dean Wormer’s words, and enjoy alcohol if you choose, but use moderation.

Foundation pledges money to Blackstone LaunchPad, School of Law Tara Tran Staff Reporter The Burton D. Morgan Foundation recently granted more than $2.5 million to Case Western Reserve University. The bulk of the money will go to Blackstone LaunchPad and the School of Law’s intellectual property center.

The foundation’s mission is to cultivate entrepreneurship and creativity through community outreach and networking.

Blackstone LaunchPad is an initiative focused on giving university students and alumni the skills necessary to start new companies. The foundation pledged $1.03 million through 2017 to the program at CWRU and other campuses in Northeast Ohio, including Baldwin Wallace University, Kent State University, and Loraine County Community College.

The School of Law’s IP Venture Clin-

the

ic, which the foundation gave $679,400, gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in business and intellectual property law. The program will use the grant to include more students from a greater geographical reach.

Along with the Burton D. Morgan Foundation grant, the IP center also recently received a $3 million donation from the Spangenberg Family Foundation, an organization established by the family of alumnus Erich Spangenberg.

“These grants will not only help to draw upon the abundant entrepreneurial talents at Case Western Reserve University, but also, through the services of the IP Venture Clinic, enhance the capacity of Blackstone LaunchPad to meet the many challenges entrepreneurs confront in the startup process,” said Deborah Hoover, the foundation’s president and CEO, in a press release.

f cwruobserver @CWRUObserver observer.case.edu

Observer

FREE SNEAK PREVIEW

On the Beat is a weekly safety column written by Sergeant Jeffrey Daberko & Officer Mark (The Crossing Guard) Chavis of CWRU PD. We welcome questions, suggestions and gripes/groans/moans/complaints about campus life at policecolumn@case.edu.

CWRU Police Blotter Oct. 7 to Oct. 14 Oct. 8: Assault—physical dispute between students, Hitchcock House.

Oct. 10: Petty theft—cell phone taken, Medical School Library.

Oct. 11: Trespass—student found on train tracks, Murray Hill Road.

Oct. 12: Felony theft—cell phone and cash taken, 1981 Ford.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23 STROSACKER AUDITORIUM 7:30 PM

Tickets by reservation only.

Visit facebook.com/CWRUFilms for details.

fun

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fun page | 7

Ivory Tower

COMICS

‘Are you stealing those LCDs?’ ‘Yeah, but I’m doing it while my code compiles.’

By xkcd

by Kevin Yong

Crossword Puzzle Across 1. Killer whale 5. Shelf 10. Vipers 14. Gloomy atmosphere 15. Small egg 16. A person who lacks good judgment 17. Nonsectarian 19. Circuit breaker 20. Confederate soldier 21. They hold up heads 22. Delineated 23. Attack 25. Epee or saber 27. Attempt 28. Crowding 31. Small boat 34. Spot 35. Neither ___ 36. Test 37. Intelligent 38. Chills and fever 39. Shade tree 40. Fellow 41. Fastidious 42. Similar to a seed 44. Arrive (abbrev.)

45. Fry briefly 46. Foot lever 50. Not fresh 52. Cost 54. 18-wheeler 55. Throw up 56. Seer 58. Assist in crime 59. Filched 60. Heredity unit 61. Short run 62. Glacial ridge 63. At one time (archaic) Down 1. A drama set to music 2. Contests of speed 3. A card suit 4. A high alpine meadow 5. Lacking companions 6. Kick out 7. Dodge 8. Crystal 9. Snake-like fish 10. Assert 11. Measurements of water depth 12. Sit for a photo 13. Sleigh

18. Habituate 22. Forsaken 24. “Smallest” particle 26. Pause 28. Investment 29. French for “We” 30. Midway between white and black 31. C C C C 32. Spindle 33. People with the same name 34. Smudge pots 37. Narrow opening 38. Emanation 40. Color of the sky 41. Liberates 43. 4th Hebrew letter 44. Bowman 46. Name of a book 47. Clothesline alternative 48. Property claims 49. Heron 50. WW1 plane 51. Brass instrument 53. A chess piece 56. South southeast 57. How old you are

How could you choose avoiding a little pain over understanding a magic lightning machine? By xkcd

8 | fun page

10/17/14

Horoscopes Aries

It’s time to do something nice for someone else.

You never know what you’ll get in return.

Taurus

Just answer those emails you’ve been avoiding.

It’ll be easier than worrying about it.

Gemini

You’re the gem in my eye!

Cancer

Tonight’s the night to stay in and watch a movie with friends. It’ll end up being infinitely more fun than last weekend.

Leo

Out of Order.

Virgo

Take it easy this week!

You’ve had a whirlwind of stress and you need to “treat yo’self!”

Libra

xkcd

Ages

It’s called Libra because they started saying Library, then got too lazy to finish the thought.

Don’t be like the word Libra—go to the library and to your studying.

Scorpio

Show off your CWRU spirit, it’s Homecoming, have fun!

Sagittarius

Keep calm and prey on flesh...mmm brains!

Capricorn

Every age: “I’m glad I’m not the clueless person I was five years ago, but now I don’t want to get any older.”

You’ve lasted halfway through the semester. You got this. Just don’t get Ebola and you’ll be fine.

Aquarius

Rainy days are your insightful days. Don’t forget your umbrella. made mends mire moral notify nurse object observe phone point preen price rams rich roar shatter source table trade waste

Pisces

Go for a swim.

Wordsearch

album better bone broke build camera center choose consider deed dream event faith found gender image incentive interior known lease

If you were born between…

You are a…

March 21 April 19

Aries

April 20 - May 20

Taurus

May 21 - June 20

Gemini

June 21 - July 22

Cancer

July 23 August 22

Leo

August 23 September 22

Virgo

September 23 October 22

Libra

October 23 November 21

Scorpio

November 22 December 21

Sagittarius

December 22 January 19

Capricorn

January 20 February 18

Aquarius

February 19 March 20

Pisces

arts & entertainment

Mod Coffee

Rising Star Coffee Roaster opens in Little Italy Enio Chinca Staff Reporter

different types of coffee.

“We select which coffees go on the menu according to our opinion of what the three best coffees are that we currently have in stock,” said Tiller.

Coffee can be brewed as either pour-over or aeropress. The espresso menu is standard, centered heavily around the variety of flavors of espresso.

When I visited, they had coffee from Kenya, Ethiopia and Costa Rica. The menu described the differences between each one to help customers decide, and the employees were also helpful with navigating the menu to find what someone might prefer. I ordered the Ethiopian Coffee, which was strong, but sweet; good for people new to drinking good coffee.

Unfortunately, it took them a few minutes to make the coffee, so Rising Star will not fit the needs of people who are on the go and in need of a quick cup of joe. Also, the better quality comes with a high price. The coffees are not too expensive, but may seem too small for those expecting something similar to Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts.

When asked how Rising Star became what it is today, Tiller answered confidently. “Kim [Jenkins, the owner of the store] is the kind of person that when he does things, he does them the best,” said Tiller. “Coffee is a crop, and we want to highlight the effort of the growers.”

The long awaited Rising Star Coffee Roaster finally opened last Friday on the corner of Edge Hill and Murray Road. The store is not too eccentric, instead blending with the scenery around it, so you may not notice at first glance.

However, its unique take towards the brewing and consumption of coffee is anything but bland.

The design of the cafe is angular and has a modern feel. The register is in the center of the store, surrounded by a bar where visitors can sit, order coffee and study.

Manager Felicia Tiller noted, “A lot of students come here to study and do work. So why are there not any outlets? We opened in Little Italy because of the mix of cultures here. There is an old-school feel, but also tons of students coming through each day.

I have worked in places with a sea of laptops, and it can discourage conversation. To maintain the friendly theme of Little Italy, we opted to create a relaxed environment not focused on technology.”

The main attraction of Rising Star Coffee Roaster is the coffee itself. For coffee lovers concerned with the lack of high quality coffee near the Case Western Reserve University campus, Rising Star Coffee House is a refreshing change of pace.

The store features both an array of coffee and espressos. Rising Star always offers three

Rising Star uses its modern design to engage customers and encourage conversation.

All photos Harsha Chandupatla/Observer

Student director brings dark comedy to life A conversation with Anthony Newman

Temi Omilabu Staff Reporter On Oct. 16-18, The Player’s Theater Group’s newest student-directed play, “The Exit Interview” hits the black box and all Case Western Reserve University students have the privilege of watching the play for free.

The play revolves around Dick Fig, a professor who has been terminated from his university job and has an agonizing exit interview with Eunice, an absurd, very traditional man whose views vary vastly from Dick’s.

The play explores topics from religion to politics to science before reaching a conclusion that nobody would expect—one that in-

volves a gunman on campus. The play is also interactive, so audience participation makes the play even better.

I sat down with the director Anthony Newman, a third-year student at CWRU, to get the scoop on this new play.

Q: Why should students attend this show?

A: It’s freaking hilarious. This is a show that I picked out because I knew it would appeal to a college audience. It’s very irreverent and touches on a variety of topics from religion to politics. It also makes fun of a lot of modern day issues, kind of like how “South Park” or “Family Guy” does. I really think the campus will like it. The show also touches on sensitive topics that will make it a little uncomfortable for some people—but I think

that’s good. Not to give anything away, but at the end of the play, there’s a scene between the gunman and Dick, and it’s definitely the most human moment in the play. Although this show is comedy, no subject should be off-limits to comedy. This show creates great comedy out of dark subject matters, and that makes it special.

Q: So, what can people our age get out of this play?

A: A lot of people can relate to Dick— he’s a typical college dude, and he’s pretty open and liberal. We’ve all had beliefs we’ve had to hide from our parents back home or whoever else.

Q: What has been the hardest part about putting on this show?

A: It’s one of the most technically intensive plays I’ve ever put on. There are projections used, and there are a lot of quick changes since a lot of the actors play a couple of different roles. But it has been fun. The cast is talented and open, and we definitely have a very improvisational feel during rehearsals.

So many lines have been ad-libbed and then added to the script. They even see some aspects of the play in the script that I completely overlooked.

Q: Now’s your chance—do you have any words for the audience?

A: I hope that people come in with an open mind and are ready to laugh. Be open to laugh, be open to the weirdness. It’s not your typical play.

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Smaller screen can’t smash popular game “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS” stands strong Brian Sherman Staff Reporter The newest installment in the “Super Smash Bros.” series is here, but this time, it can fit in your pocket. Yes, for the first time, you can settle it in Smash when you’re on the go.

Despite being on a portable platform, “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS” does not skimp on content. Describing the contents of the game makes it sound like some kind of mythical horn of plenty. It’s got a wide variety of characters from games across multiple Nintendo and third-party franchises, most notably Namco-Bandai’s Pac-Man, Capcom’s Mega Man and Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

For each and every character, the game has RPG-like customization systems with a surprising amount of depth.

The game also has a number of game modes to supplement the classic fourplayer Smash battles, such as multi-man smash, classic and all-star modes, home run contest and Smash Run. While the other modes have been seen in past installments, Smash Run is a unique mode that is exclusive to “Super Smash Bros. 3DS” and will not appear on its Wii U counterpart. In this mode, players start on an expansive map and find themselves up against a wide variety of enemies taken from franchises present in the game.

After five minutes, the powered-up players are sent into battle against each other, which could be a regular battle or one with a variety of special rules.

With regard to stages, there are a whopping 34 to choose from. In this iteration of “Super Smash Bros.,” Nintendo has focused on creating stages inspired by handheld Nintendo games, although some of the list is made up of past “Super Smash Bros.” locales.

There’s plenty of variety on offer in terms of theme and layout, along with plenty of stage hazards to throw a bit of extra chaos into the mix. However, there is a significant addition to the stages in this iteration. For the first time, there’s an option to turn the stage into a Final Destination version of itself, which essentially means turning it into a f lat, non-interactive platform, albeit with the same visual style and backdrop.

There are 49 playable characters this time around, and as usual there are all-new brawlers to contend with.

Little Mac from “Punch-Out!,” Greninja from “Pokemon X & Y,” Palutena from “Kid Icarus” and Lucina and Robin from “Fire Emblem: Awakening” all make appearances, joined by some really interesting choices. Notably, Shulk from “Xenoblade Chronicles” gets to alter his fighting style based on various sword arts.

Even with this wide variety of modes and expansive roster of characters, the core gameplay is still solid. Fears that the game would be compressed to the point of being unrecognizable can safely be assuaged, as “Super Smash Bros.

3DS” proves this franchise belongs in players’ pockets just as much as it does on home consoles.

The game renders each climactic clash in a beautiful 60 frames per second, a higher framerate than its predecessor, “Super Smash Bros. Brawl.”

In addition to the customization provided for existing characters, players can create any character of their choosing through Miis. “Super Smash Bros.

3DS” allows players to turn any Mii on their system into a playable fighter, and it’s one of the more interesting parts of the game. By various choices, players can replicate any character of their choosing or create a new one of their own.

There’s an immediate familiarity with a Mii fighter’s techniques, making them a great starting point for the rest of the game’s roster. Players can customize Miis with outfits and hats to change their appearance, opening the possibility for wacky combinations like a wizard-pirate swordsman or a tuxedoed gunner.

This suite of customization options affords more control to players of the “Super Smash Bros.” series than ever before. However, they come with a catch: when playing online with strangers, players are unable to use any customized fighters, including Mii fighters, though this is likely done for balancing issues. Players can still use customized fighters when fighting locally or with a friend online.

It’s when playing online, though, that the game is both at its best and at its worst. There are a lot of modes online to choose from, most notably the “For Glory” mode, where players can fight in battles on Final Destinationstyle stages with disabled items, relying totally on their skill, and be ranked for online matchmaking.

However, connectivity issues have been reported by many players and reviewers of the game. While I can’t speak for every player of the game, I have had minimal lag when playing for Glory with others throughout the world, yet have had some lag when attempting to play with friends.

Ultimately, though, this game is indeed a fully-f ledged game in the “Super Smash Bros.” series and does not hide behind its mobile nature as an excuse to reduce its quality. “Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS” may suffer from some lag issues, and some non-returning characters may cause concern, but it does enough new stuff, and works so well as a solo or local multiplayer experience, that it holds up its end superbly.

Splish, Splash

Delta Gamma hosts annual philanthropy event

Mary Kate Macedonia/ Observer

On Sept. 26, Delta Gamma hosted their annual philanthropy event Anchor Splash. Held in the Veale Natatorium, the evening included four different events: beach ball relay, frozen t-shirt relay, raft relay and synchronized swimming. The synchronized swimming portion had a theme of “America,” setting it apart from the other three featured events.

Proceeds from the evening were donated to the Delta Gamma Foundation and the Cleveland Sight Center.

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Playlist of the Week Teddy Eisenberg Staff Reporter

“From The Night” — Stars This year marks 15 years since Stars debuted as a band, and “From The Night” bears the masterful seal of indie pop veterans. Despite the flamboyant disco of on this track, the heartfelt songcraft and dueling vocals of singers Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell make “From The Night” an intimate anthem to be danced to alone or with friends. “No One Is Lost” is the Canadian outfit’s seventh album, released Oct. 14 on ATO Records.

“Mesmerize” — Temples “Mesmerize, analyze everything that you need,” sings Temples’ frontman James Bagshaw on this track, imploring the listener to enter a world of velvety wailings guitars, guitars and walls of vocals.

The band’s debut album “Sun Structures” would be iconic had it been released in 1968; now, it’s merely the best psych-rock has to offer. Making quite a splash across the pond in their home country of England, Temples will be at the Grog Shop on Monday Oct. 20, supported by Nowhere and The Districts.

The show starts at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are $18.

“Workin’ The Job” — Sallie Ford “Workin’ The Job” is a tough song to place, jumping from electronica keyboard to muscular altrock guitars to a pop hook in just the first 30 seconds; but the fun that vocalist Sallie Ford imbues it with is not. Indeed, the most impressive element of this tune is Ford’s strong and idiosyncratic lead vocals, giving it a clear definition and concrete purpose. “Workin’ The Job” is the third track off of Sallie Ford’s latest record, “Slap Back,” and was released Oct. 14 on Vanguard Records.

“End Of Time” — Uno Lady

Uno Lady is quite literally just the work of Christa Ebert, one of the most unique talents to arrive on the Cleveland scene in the past five years. Deriving all of the sounds heard on her new album with just her voice, Ebert is a bewitching one-woman choir on the lighthearted “End Of Time.” Uno Lady will be formally releasing her new album “Amateur Hour” at the newly opened Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern this Saturday, Oct. 18 starting at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge.

“How Can You Really” — Foxygen

Foxygen approach rock music with a childlike wonder, conjuring songs from the imagination of someone who has just discovered the Rolling Stones or the Velvet Underground for the first time. The group continues their rock and roll trope borrowing on their latest effort, the sprawling and somewhat misguided double album “…And Star Power,” released Oct. 14 on Jagjaguwar Records. “How Can You Really” is the record’s first single, driven forward by perky piano, bright horns and an abundance of camp.

Retro Pick of the Week: “(Don’t Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We’re All Going To Go”— Curtis Mayfield In many ways, Curtis

Mayfield’s “Curtis” is the apex of soul music in the ‘70s, opening the genre to broader and richer musical canvases than ever before. “(Don’t Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We’re All Going To Go,” the album’s only hit single, crafts all of Mayfield’s life and musical experience into a stirring call to action on the immediate need for social and political change. Even if it weren’t a landmark album in the history of soul music, the hypnotic horn line and funk bass still render this extended jam an instant classic.

Teddy Eisenberg is a third year programmer at WRUW-FM 91.1 Cleveland. He hosts The ’59 Sound, an exploration of rock music, every Thursday morning from 8-10 a.m.. and co-hosts the variety talk show Max and Teddy in the Morning at Night (Sometimes) on Mondays from 5-6 p.m. The crackle of vinyl warms him on cold Cleveland nights.

All photos courtesy soundcloud.com, stereogum.com, originals.last.fm, unolady. com, pitchfork.com & spotify.com

Steven Wright, king of the one-liners, coming to Cleveland on Oct. 26 Julia Bianco News Editor “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?”

Steven Wright is a master of this type of one-liner. Bizarre, carefully put together jokes that crack an audience up with just a few words. He paces the stage as he delivers his jokes, deadpan and understated, flipping quickly from one joke to the next, always keeping his audience on their toes.

Wright has been a presence in the standup scene since 1982, when, at age 26, he was first invited to appear on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”

“My goal, my dream, my fantasy was to go on there some day,” said Wright, who started watching Carson when he was 15 years old. “It changed my career and my whole life.”

Wright was invited back to appear on the show again less than a week later, a rarity for Carson’s show. It quickly launched his career, and he went on to perform on “Saturday Night Live” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Wright’s first comedy album, “I Have a Pony,” released in 1985, was nominated for a Grammy. That same year, he had a special on HBO. Before 1990, Wright had appeared in four movies, another HBO special and won an Academy Award for a short film that he wrote and starred in.

Wright was also recently nominated for an Emmy for his work as a consulting pro-

ducer on the fourth season of FX’s “Louie.” “[Louis C.K.] would bounce stories off me,” said Wright, who had known C.K. for a couple of years before he asked him to work on the show. “It was a great thing for me. I never did anything like that before.

He’s a brilliant, brilliant comedian, and I was happy to work on the show with him.”

Still, besides his brief forays into television and movies, Wright has always focused mainly on touring. Unlike many comics, who use stand-up as a launchpad for acting or writing, Wright has spent his thirty-five years in the business performing live at theaters across the country.

“I’m just doing what I do,” said Wright.

“I write stuff, I try it out, and then I go on the road and do the show. I’ve been loving it for 35 years and so I’ll just be doing more of that.”

Wright’s stylistic children litter the stand-up world, with comics like Demetri Martin, Ben Kronberg and Zach Galifianakis taking their cues from his now classic style.

On Oct. 26, Wright will be performing his 85-minute stand-up show at the Ohio Theater in Playhouse Square.

“My show is like a painting that never ends,” said Wright. “I’m always adding things, taking things out, doing things I’ve never done before.”

“There’s a chance, a slight chance people might think [the show] is funny,” said Wright. “They can’t be in two places at once, so they might as well be there.”

“Far Cry 4” is far from mediocre Josie Krome Staff Reporter The fourth installment of the “Far Cry” series, by Ubisoft, is set for release this Nov. 18. And any fan of the “Far Cry” series should be super excited about this title.

Full disclosure: I haven’t played any “Far Cry” games myself, however, I have watched them played. Compared to “Far Cry 3,” this title has a lot that you may expect and some major features that may surprise you.

The game takes place in Kyrat in the Himalayas, which reminds me of the locations shown on “Ice Road Truckers: Dangerous Roads”—I’m embarrassed about making this reference, but I hope it can give you a visual. As with the general theme of “Far Cry,” the area is very secluded and picturesque with tiny sparse villages.

The story of the game surrounds a young man who is returning to his home, only to discover that a violent dictator has taken over his country in his absence. As with past “Far Cry” titles, you conquer enemy outposts and solve puzzles to disable towers. Of course, there is significant environment interaction and crafting, and many side missions in the open world format, with the same combat and survival skills leveling.

Going off of gameplay videos, the most noticeable feature for me is the camera movement, and it is not a good thing when the camera movement is in the forefront of

your mind in a game. The camera moves and bounces to simulate the actual view of the character, which would be cool and realistic if it weren’t so disorienting. Most games have a little of that to keep things real, but “Far Cry 4” does it to a point where it hurt my eyes and made me slightly nauseated from just the gameplay trailer.

That being said, this feature and beautiful graphics (in 1080p for Xbox One and PS4) make the game highly immersive. The most disorienting experience was when the player was riding in the gyrocopter, a new flying vehicle. On top of the gyrocopter, the game features the tut tut, a three-wheeled small car, and elephants.

Perhaps most interesting is “Far Cry 4’s” new multiplayer format. I’m particularly excited about Ubisoft’s promise to make co-op possible with a friend who doesn’t own the game. This is a great step for gaming, since nine times out of 10 this would never happen due to the developer trying to milk as much money out of you as possible.

In this case, a person like me, who has a PS4, can play with my friends who may have Xbox or even friends who are “computer-games-master-race-whatever.”

Also notable is the asymmetric multiplayer format. This means that there will be multiplayer modes in which the teams have different abilities, who need to play differently working towards different goals.

In any case, the game looks great and I’m excited to experience Kyrat and play with my friends.

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K.Flay on a Tuesday Mahall’s gets chill with indie rap

Anne Nickoloff Arts & Entertainment Editor Tucked in the dark back room of Mahall’s 20 Lanes, a group of over 50 hipsters gathered on the evening of Oct. 14, waiting for indie rapper K.Flay to take the tiny stage.

Leather jackets, piercings, skinny jeans and flannel shirts were in abundance. Many of the hipsters sipped cheap beer out of mason jars. Some leaned against the wall; others sat at old wooden benches. Most stood, once the seats were taken.

Like K.Flay’s indie-rap tunes, the venue was chill.

The opener wasn’t as calm; Night Riots jumped around with energy on the platform/ stage, their bubbly music filling the room.

Each song brought indie, funk-influenced bubblegum rock, including the song “Into the Night,” which turned their image to a modern day hipster boy band.

And, like all boy bands, there were avid fans.

During Night Riots’ performance, a woman in the back of the room started dancing wildly, combining select dance moves from Michael Jackson, Lorde and Napoleon Dynamite. It’s a little difficult to describe, but basically, she was the epitome of the phrase “dance like no one’s watching.”

As the woman gyrated around the small open space, wearing a red leather jacket that looked like it was pulled from “Fight Club’s” Tyler Durden, Night Riots ended their set and the crowd stood around waiting for K.Flay to arrive in front of them.

K.Flay (aka, Kristine Flaherty, an alum of Stanford University) released her first album, “Like a Dog” in June of this year. Coming off

of a Warped Tour-filled summer, her rap has spread in popularity even in the short period of time since the record’s release.

But, let me backtrack: It’s wrong to say K.Flay is just a rapper. Combining rock, metal, rap, indie, electronic and blues elements, Flaherty was a mixing pot of genres.

She was everything you wouldn’t expect, and even her outfit spoke against modern conceptions of female rappers. With an oversized t-shirt and a pair of jeans, very little makeup and no accessories, Flaherty brought the focus on her music, not her image.

When she emerged on the stage, the crowd immediately erupted. Green, blue and red lights flashed over fog, making Flaherty look like a ghost against the colorful background.

The tiny stage, with just two banners on each side (both displaying K.Flay’s name) and the large “Mahall’s” backdrop, was bare except for Flaherty and her drummer Nick Suhr.

She launched straight into her first song, “Everyone I know,” with the entire audience bobbing their heads. Then, Flaherty transferred into “Fever,” and by the end of the song, her long black hair was already stringy with sweat.

In the back of the room, the solo dancer held her toes in the air, crunching her feet in tiny jerks during K.Flay’s “Thicker than Dust.”

And during “Wishing it Was You,” after singing the lyrics, “Sucking on a bottle of Jim Beam, wishing it was you,” Flaherty slugged back on a bottle of Jim Beam herself. The audience cheered her on as the whiskey spilled out onto her chest and she squinted her eyes shut, clearly not enjoying the experience as much as the audience in front of her. Afterwards, Flaherty bantered with the audience.

Homecoming came to Thwing Tuesdays

Anne Nickoloff/Observer K.Flay performed to a packed house at Mahall’s on Tuesday.

“Kinda been a dangerous thing, doing this every night,” she said.

“Whiskey!” yelled a man in the middle of the audience.

Then, Flaherty changed the subject.

“I’m personally feeling kinda emotional tonight,” she said.

The entire room quieted, only to be interrupted by the same man yelling, with more emphasis this time, “WHISKEY!” Though her attempts at emotional connection were lost on much of the audience, Flaherty still managed to captivate them.

During “Can’t Sleep,” she had the audience singing along against the drum, and the rhythm sped up on the backbeats, tapping away into a danceable tune.

Meanwhile, the solo dancer in the back perched against a bench like a flamingo, bending around against the wall, do-

“Korra Alone” lives up to its predecessor Brian Sherman Staff Reporter

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer This past week’s Thwing Tuesday was so popular that its line wrapped around the Thwing Atrium.

Allison Duchin Staff Reporter This week the University Program Board went above and beyond to try and start the campuswide excitement about homecoming this weekend. One of its first success was at Thwing Tuesdays.

Thwing Tuesday this week had multiple different popular food vendors rather than just the typical one. These vendors included Dave’s Cosmic Subs, pizzaBOGO and Presti’s Bakery. The excitement about the food offerings was visible as the line was wrapped around the Thwing Atrium even before the event actually started. The line was longer than it has been in many of the previous weeks, so much so that seconds were not even called because so many people showed up in time to grab food the first time around.

This Thwing Tuesday also had another aspect that differed from other weeks during the semester. Going along with the theme to create excitement for Homecoming, UPB also had a large banner that they encouraged all people getting food to sign as a way of connecting a large portion of the student body together. As the final extra offer this week, UPB handed out custom Case Western Reserve University Spartan-inspired lunch boxes.

UPB Co-Chair Aditi Chaudhri provided the following statement, “The goal of this Thwing Tuesday is to bring the undergraduate campus community together to build Spartan Spirit and get people excited for Homecoming.”

Going off of the incredible success Thwing Tuesday produced this week, it is more than sufficient to say that the goal was more than adequately accomplished.

ing her own thing, unlike the rest of the crowd which remained gathered in a mob in front of the stage.

By the end of the night, the room had been packed with at least 20 more people, probably inching close to the limit for the tiny Mahall’s stage. This probably wasn’t new for K.Flay, who has experienced many sold-out shows in the past few weeks.

K.Flay played “Turn it Around” last of all, calming things down for the night. The collective crowd bobbed up and down, and the solo dancer settled into a steady jive.

When K.Flay finished up, she immediately stepped down from the stage at 12:20 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

People left as chill as they came in, passing by merch tables and bands waiting to talk.

There were no chants for an encore, but everyone left smiling.

The second episode of “The Legend of Korra: Book Four” might have raised an “Avatar” fan’s eyebrow upon hearing its title. “Korra Alone,” a callback to the episode “Zuko Alone” from the original “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” tells a very emotional tale of Korra’s physical and mental struggle over the three years since her battle with Zaheer at the end of “Book Three.”

Here’s a quick recap: The poison the Red Lotus used on Korra and the battle that followed had left Korra in a wheelchair, unable to use her legs. Rather than just have Korra appear three years later good as new, or show her recover in a short montage, the episode devotes nearly half of its time in flashbacks telling how Korra recovered. Korra’s two years of recovery involved mystical healing through waterbending as well as exercises and emotional guidance.

During the years she spends in recovery, her only contact with the outside world are the letters she receives from Mako, Bolin and Asami, who all tell her of the big changes going on in their lives and in the world around them.

Though the episode is primarily focused on Korra as the title implies, the letters provide a small glimpse into these characters’ personalities: Asami’s letter is heartfelt and she says she misses Korra, Mako awkwardly prefaces his letter by talking about the weather and other happenstances before finally asking how she

is doing and Bolin’s letter is incredibly formal, though touching, as he explains how he is helping to rebuild the Earth Kingdom.

By diverging from Korra, the show creatively splices in other characters’ happenings, making it more wellrounded than it would have been otherwise.

Seeing conflicts from Korra’s perspective, we learn that she sees not her opponent, but her shadow self on the other side of the ring, moving with an inhuman gait and attacking Korra with her chains. It’s a small thing, but symbolically it means a lot: Korra didn’t lose the fight to an earthbender; she lost the fight to herself.

It seems that though her body is healed, her mind is not. The producers of the show portray her inner battle just as well as one with a real foe.

Later, Korra runs into Toph Beifong, who smiles and says, “Nice to see you again, Twinkle Toes,” leaving watchers curious as to Toph’s background.

Everything about this episode makes it one of the best in the series. The writing is solid, with excellent symbolism showing Korra’s damaged psyche as well as her body. The emotional journey of Korra’s recovery is portrayed beautifully.

Every moment, from her struggling recovery to her soul-searching walk around the world, lands perfectly, thanks to a brilliant script, emotional music, beautiful visuals and steady pacing. If there is any reason you haven’t started “Book Four,” this episode is a good reason to pick it up.

opinion Editorial

Where’s the spirit?

With Homecoming already underway, Case Western Reserve University should be overflowing with the expression school spirit. However, as we walk through the quad it is obvious that this is not the case. Instead, students’ tepid interest is making it abundantly clear that this is one area in which CWRU is severely lacking. And this is not an issue that is only reserved to homecoming week. In fact, this problem can be traced throughout the entire school year.

For evidence of this claim, check out the attendance statistics for our home athletic events. From what we’ve seen, it usually ranks somewhere in the vicinity of abysmal. True, this is not on its own an indicator of our (lack of) school spirit; CWRU is a proudly self-admitted “nerd school,” and spectating at sporting events often does not rank highly in students’ interests. However, poor game attendance combined with a dearth of all-campus events which might otherwise replace sports as a channel for spirit does indicate a larger problem.

CWRU has few all-campus events to begin with, and those that draw crowds do so for pretty transparent reasons.

People attend the Thwing Study Over (or the first 45 minutes of it, anyway) for the free food, and campus swag.

They attend Greek Week because, for a significant subset of the campus community, it’s mandatory. Perhaps the only genuinely all-campus event that is well attended on its own merit is Springfest. And while that is all well and good for one day out of the year, that still leaves 364 days when our approach to school spirit could be described as Case Western Reserved.

Before this editorial goes any further, it does bear noting: CWRU has pride; what it lacks is spirit. As an ad hoc committee set up through the Office of Student Affairs to look into the spirit issue defined, pride is the feeling of satisfaction people have when they enjoy being a part of a group, while spirit is the outward expression of that pride.

This committee and The Observer are not alone in recognizing CWRU’s school spirit issue, and several groups on campus are working to turn our pride into spirit. The

Class Officer Collective is trying new initiatives to solidify class communities, notably with its homecoming competition, pitting the classes against each other in a battle of attendance. It’s a strong effort, and a way to build community within each class as a stepping stone to building whole university spirit.

Athletics, too, is aiming to bring in more student interest with more unique sporting events; activities like last year’s inaugural live-action battleship in canoes in the Veale Natatorium aim to draw students where more traditional sports such as football are largely failing to do so. These are only two more noteworthy examples of the many groups throwing their effort into attempts to raise the student body’s spirit. It’s great to see that CWRU is working on it.

With school pride a non-issue and programs in place to increase our spirit, then, why is this still such an issue?

One explanation is that students here are putting their demonstrations of pride toward specific groups rather than the school as a whole. There is no shortage of events happening on campus, but most of them are limited (by design or, more frequently, just by who chooses to show up) to a specific subset of students associated with whatever group is throwing the event.

Perhaps the most convincing explanation for this continued scarcity of spirit, though, is the scarcity of spirit itself: it’s a cycle. A few students show up at an event, see that it’s laughably under-attended, and head back to their dorms disappointed. The next time they see flyers for an event, they remember that time they went and were bored and they decide not to attend, thus contributing to this event being under-attended as well.

Given this explanation, the best course of action to right our lack of school spirit is clear: we simply need to participate. In the end, school spirit cannot come from on high, and no amount of administrative intervention or COC pep can make school spirit happen. If each of us contributes simply by lending our presence and willingness to interact with each other, we together can create this spirit.

Putting yourself first Sophomore slump Stephen Kolison You know those kids’ movies that taught us that we need to be selfless all the time to become better people? Remember how our parents would chastise us if we ever did something that was a little too self-centered?

Well in this hellish realm that is college, all I can say about those lessons is, “Screw that!”

The minute we got our acceptance letters, we were asked to make our first overtly selfish choice. For the most part, we came to school to better our lives. When choosing majors and classes, some of us did what was recommended, while others did their own thing. I remember being told a long time ago that college is the time to be selfish.

It is shocking to hear someone say that you need to be selfish in order to succeed in college. It’s probably surprising because for the first time in our lives, we are being told to not consider someone else’s feelings. I do believe, however, that there are two kinds of selfishness. There is one type where you act in complete disregard of another person. I highly doubt that someone would advise me to behave like a jerk.

There is something completely different going on if you take the time to make a solid judgment on a course of action. There is also something going on if you decide to isolate the public’s opinions for one moment and focus on just you. I like to call this “selfanalysis”; you are making an arrangement that comes from within but may have mixed reactions. The thing about making self-an-

alytical choices is that if you’re making the decision, it does not seem egocentric to you at all. The people who are on the outside trying to look in may perceive your actions as egotistic. I think that is why people say college is the time to be selfish; not because the act itself is rude or self-seeking, but because others are only able to see how your decision affects you.

I’m the type of person who has to think out every minute detail that a decision might affect. I’ll know if that choice would have an effect on my sleep schedule. If that choice also requires me to buy a Sedan from a guy with one eye at a Chevrolet dealership in Iowa, then you can bet I saw that outcome from a mile away. One thing that I have never been able to predict is how my friends and family would react to my “selfish” decision. The unfortunate thing about making strong bonds in college is that they can break so suddenly.

I had two friends who decided to transfer out of Case Western Reserve University.

I felt like I was being left in the dust. More importantly, I felt angry because they decided to choose themselves over our friendship.

Sometimes what is best for you is not the best for others. It took me a while to understand this, but I was not being fair to them at all.

I would have been the selfish one if I had forced them to stay somewhere they were not comfortable with. People get hurt in situations like these, and it sucks. Like the long time it took for you to make that choice, it will take just as long for the individuals in your life to come around and see that all you’re trying to do is be happy.

I can’t be Jesus, and I definitely cannot be “The Chosen One” who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone. If my friend is crying on the floor about Bobby Joe and I have a final the next day, unfortunately, my friend won’t be getting all of my attention. Life is one part taking care of your fellow man, but also two parts loving yourself. College is not really about being selfish but about reorganizing and reprioritizing the stuff in your life to figure out where you are and where you’re going.

You can call this whole thing of doing what is best for you selfishness, or you can call it self-analysis. I know that you can agree that it is all preparation for adulthood. To become an adult, you have to groom the individual. Taking care of everyone else’s needs before getting to your own will not make you a stronger adult. I have learned the hard way in school that if you keep giving bits of yourself to other people, you will having nothing left to give to back to yourself. What’s even scarier than potentially hurting someone’s feelings is losing myself because I simply did not take the time to care about me. I am not asking others to stop caring about their friends or family. I am just asking my fellow students to be fair to and love themselves just a little bit more.

Stephen Kolison is a sophomore psychology major and pre-unemployment student.

He is a jack of all trades and master of none in training, a member of IMPROVment and knits while watching Downton Abbey. He hopes to be a talk show host.

Finance over fitness Across the CWRUniverse Kassie Stewart No, CWRU is not notorious as a supergroup of bodybuilders, but many of our students choose to take advantage of the facilities that we pay for with our outstanding private school tuition. I’m not going to lie, I complained a lot about Veale before the most recent changes. The weight room was messy, the pool was open at inconvenient hours and schedules were never posted to tell when the track was closed. Since, there have been many improvements that have fixed these problems.

Thanks to the continuous efforts of students, the gym has longer hours and information is more accessible. These efforts are great, but not enough, especially due to how these changes were brought about.

But complaints have not ended. Instead of creating a recreational center for students to use as they please, One to One Fitness has taken over our athletic center. Whereas most universities offer opportunities for students to be helped by a trainer, see a dietician or take a fitness class for free, One to One has added that as a bonus charge for Case Western Reserve University students. Its business has become our school. The classes that are offered by the off-campus fitness center just recently affiliated with our university, though available, can only be taken for a significant price. In the one class that has been offered free of charge to students, only ten people per time slot were allowed to sign up, and the class filled within minutes of students being notified. Just down the road at Cleveland State University, the fees for classes such as these are included in their tuition, and this is not uncommon. Most schools across the nation, both public and private, understand that this is something that is included with the cost of attending a university. How, with the increasing price of schooling every year, are our needs not met the same way? Why are we not holding ourselves to the same standards?

It does not end with the offerings of fitness classes.There have also been major changes in the services that used to be offered as a courtesy. We now must pay an additional charge for something as basic as a towel, and, as of last week, those who pay for the service can only get one at a time. Though the fee may not seem like much to some, the principle of small charges for something like that is unacceptable. We pay a hefty amount to this university each year to have the opportunity to use facilities that have been built for us as we please, and tacking on extra charges both discourages students from being active and gives more opportunities to those with a higher financial standing.There are simple solutions to these problems we are facing in the gym. As students we should be given the opportunity to take these classes for free, since we pay the cost to attend school here, just as students can at most universities around the country. The services that were previously free should not have a new added charge, and students should be encouraged to go to the gym on campus, instead of being pushed away by added charges and membership fees. If we are really working toward a healthier university and positive life changes for students, then these alterations should be no problem. In the long run, having these opportunities will help students to become more active and will encourage them to continue this lifestyle after leaving CWRU. That’s when they can start paying a gym membership, too.

Kassie Stewart is a junior political science major. Self described as Amy Poehler and Joe Walsh’s love child, her mantra is “no day but today.” She enjoys napping, sarcasm and peanut butter.

14 opinion

10/17/14

Happiness can’t buy you money The meaning of Spartan life Jacob Martin Money complicates everything. Always has. But money is the most necessary of all tangible evils. Without at least some of it, a person is doomed to a squalid existence of struggle and dissatisfaction. Money is power, they say; money is good. Money can make you an important person. Money can transform things. Such is life.

What is money? More importantly, what is wealth?

Money is the tool used to attain wealth.

Money is not the key to happiness or purpose, and it shouldn’t be the ultimate goal of one’s life pursuit. Money is an enabler.

It allows one to purchase necessities of life and do a number of things in a lifetime. It purchases comfort.

Historically, America is rooted in communal values. America was founded partly on Puritanical work ethic, a notion summarized by labor omnia vincit, or Latin for “work conquers all.” Over the years, this country has decided that the goal of work is individual material and monetary wealth rather than communal wealth and social values like the Puritans tried to practice.

Today, we idolize money and the possessions it can buy. We can gossip and speak about personal matters like sex openly in society; yet talking about personal finances is considered among the biggest of

faux pas.

On paper, Marxism, socialism and communism are arguably near-perfect systems of social and political economics.

In practice, man screws it all up with his greed. Hobbes was right: human nature— however you define it—gets in the way.

I find it staggering that the sole reason many students are in college is to just get a job and make a lot of money someday.

Shouldn’t the purpose of an education be to learn in an environment where it’s safe to sit around and think day and night? Shouldn’t students be in pursuit of knowledge?

Unfortunately, this is a deeply idealistic fantasy that needs to be let go. We live in the 21st century where the internet, iPhones, drones, television and constantly emerging technology rule our lives. The need for deep thinkers is dwindling in American society.

Take the developmental progress around robotics. A half-century ago, Henry Ford’s assembly line still dominated the automobile manufacturing industry. Last week, a friend sent me a History Channel exposé on American BMW factories. I learned production floors were almost exclusively populated by machines rather than people.

Case Western Reserve University is no different from the rest of society. Maybe it can’t be, but its obsession with money is getting more prevalent as each day passes.

Our culture demands recognition of money. For example, look at our bastion

of egotism, the Tinkham Veale University Center. The 82,000 square-foot building’s name itself pays homage to a prolific donor.

And there are other names all over the space, offering politicized recognition of the people who funded the project.

The Tink’s Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Ballroom has been the talk of the town since the building’s opening. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has written about it, university administrators are quick to cite its prominence and annual events are already calling the space home. (Having been to a few events in this centerpiece, I personally think it’s a glorified barn. It offers nothing special but a window wall with a view of the bright yellow Guilford House. How exciting.)

All this raises a bigger question for me though. What is a “university center”? What is the purpose of the Tink?

It appears the building is not intended for student-dominated use, and calling it a student center will garner a corrective comment or two. Meal prices are too high, and room rental is too expensive.

With university offices tucked into obscure corners there is a lot of open area, but for what?

Clark Hall is falling apart. There has been scaffolding shrouded in transparent green material erected around its entrances for at least two years now. Why is it we have the money to build a new athletic facility, a new dormitory and a new university center

all at the same time, yet we can’t seem to fix the buildings we have?

I have also witnessed Thwing’s roof leaking substantially during a rainstorm.

By leaking substantially I mean water was flowing like a faucet and spilling onto the floor. Are these projects on some list that just takes forever to complete? Or is it no one care about these buildings because they cost money rather than make it?

The last time I checked, a university exists to provide students an education and conduct research. Thus, a university’s primary responsibility is to its students.

Furthermore, no matter how much money CWRU acquires from gifts or fundraising efforts, without student tuition, administrator, faculty and staff salaries do not get paid, and CWRU as we know it shuts down.

To return to the purpose of the Tink, perhaps the true answer will reveal itself after it has been here a while. Right now, however, a “university center” means money. It seems the purpose of our already hallowed mausoleum to excess is to show off to the public, appealing to potential donors and mass man alike.

Jacob Martin is one of the Observer’s weekly opinion columnists. Reach him at jem189@case.edu. He thanks whoever’s responsible for finally fixing Turning Point— our wet/dry fountain on Mather Quad—just in time for winter’s impending cold.

It’s the system, stupid The elephant in the room Andrew Breland As a freshman, when I lived in campus housing, I would regularly leave the TV on at night while I tried to fall asleep. Aside from the decreased quality of sleep this caused, I am sad to say that a common show on the screen was a rerun of Fox’s “Family Guy.” The laughter can commence now.

One common episode, “common” only based on my limited sample, was one from 2006 called “Stewie B. Goode.” There’s a scene in that episode in which Peter Griffin, the show’s protagonist, rants in news segments about “What Really Grinds My Gears.” Now in true Seth MacFarlane-style, the rants were about largely nonsensical nonissues. However, the sentiment is real; some things really do just drive us crazy.

The point of that elaboration, and the four-year-old anecdote that accompanies it, is because of a return of a certain activity to our campus. Something that, perhaps, really grinds my gears. This week we saw the return of an event that serves as the one of the largest laughingstocks for some current students and one of the worst inconveniences for others.

The admissions season has returned.

Last week, the Office of Undergraduate Admission hosted their first Admissions Open House, herding nearly 800 prospective students and their families onto campus and

into the new, aesthetically nauseating Tinkham Veale Center. On its face, it seems that an admissions open house is simply a byproduct of attending college. In the end, colleges do have to recruit new students. Hosting them for a day is an easy way to do that.

But there are better and worse ways to do that. Prospective students and admissions activities do not have to be a burden to the campus community, but instead could be an asset. However, our admissions office has demonstrated an ineptitude at managing that status. Instead, we herd “prospies” around in groups of 30-80, depending on the group, invading spaces that are inappropriate, all while screaming platitudes at the interested students, hardly giving any semblance of a true image of the university.

On Monday, I followed around a tour group during the Open House at a large enough distance where it was not noticeable, but close enough to hear what was being said. Nothing said on the tour could have been painted in a more positive light, which multiple parents and students vocally complained about.

People are not dumb. They understand that the school has problems. What these parents wanted, and what my own family appreciated during my college search, was a more truthful explanation of the school, complete with complaints. Telling them that gives them an informed decision. Without it, you risk one of two outcomes: unhappy parents and students during the open house or students who decide

The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer exists to report news affecting and/or involving students and to provide an editorial forum for the university community. Unsigned editorials are the majority opinion of the senior editorial staff. For advertising information, contact The Observer at (216) 302-4442 or e-mail observerads@case.edu.

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to apply to CWRU, get admitted, enroll and are then saddened to know they were betrayed in the admissions process.

Specifically there were a few comments that really stuck out in a tour that was otherwise replete with objectionable material. While walking through the university center: “You can use your meal plan everywhere. Naan has awesome food.” While this statement is technically true (CaseCash is part of the meal plan), anyone who has actually experienced this knows it is false. Later on the tour, on the quad: “There are tons of meal options for inbetween class.” Again, not false, but severely objectionable because there is one eaterie that accepts meal swipes on the quad. Otherwise you are limited to $7 bagel sandwiches and mediocre $8 pizza, if you’re willing to walk.

But there was another, not food-based, comment that really stuck out. Someone asked, “What have been your biggest complaints about Case?” The tour guide, a naive, probably-sophomore engineer, answered verbatim: “I haven’t had any. I’ve really loved my experience here.” That was it. Apparently her college experience is better than any of the other 21 million students enrolled in college in the US. It is unbelievable that a college student has no complaints. Claiming that, the student has alienated her tour group and led others to disbelieve everything she has spent her hour saying.

This is not necessarily her fault. It is the responsibility of the admissions staff to ensure

that families are getting a realistic treatment during their visit here. But even that expects too much of admissions. To have the tour guides describe CWRU accurately, it would take a commitment to giving prospective students the information they need to make an informed college choice for them. That is not admissions’ goal.

It comes down to a difference in ideology.

Students coming to visit are asking the question, “Why is Case Western Reserve University right for me?” The Admissions staff asks, “Why are you right for CWRU?” Making the university the actor in this relationship risks making admitted students a number. Admissions staff do a nice baitand-switch where they package the positive attributes of the university as a business. They are attracted to students who make them look good, when they should be attracted to the students the university can help. As a former tour guide myself, it was always stressed that we should talk about the good at CWRU and diminish the bad. It was our job to explain how students could fit into the machine that was CWRU, not how our machine helped them in their lives. With applications still rising in number, it is important that Admissions is selecting the right students to get here, not simply the ones that checked the right boxes.

Senior Andrew Breland is one of The Observer’s weekly opinion columnists.

Contact him at awb69@case.edu.

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opinion 15

observer.case.edu

Letters to the editor To the editor, In his column “None dare call it indoctrination,” Andrew Breland doesn’t want to mince words. He isn’t hesitating to label some things happening on campus as “indoctrination” or “brainwashing.” So I won’t mince words either. I am thoroughly embarrassed to share a campus with someone who can hold the opinions Breland does, and I am disappointed that The Observer continues to publish his work. In previous columns, Breland has called for a radical reform of the SAGES program. If somebody can make it through SAGES and still write with the complete lack of critical thought that Breland does, then reforming the program may be the only thing we agree on.

Breland is terrified of discussions of race, class or gender that might take the form of “mandatory re-education programs.” Throughout his piece, he uses, at turns, phrases like “groupthink,” “thought reform,” “re-education” and more in order to bring back our high school memories of 1984 and the thought police.

To quote Breland at length: “With calls for mandatory re-education programs—a more extreme person might call it brainwashing or indoctrination—universities have a responsibility not to give in to the

To the editor, (In response to “None dare call it indoctrination” by Andrew Breland) People like being contrarian. It just feels good to say “I disagree!” sometimes.

But these outbursts are seldom founded on any real opposition to what is being discussed, and more often on derailing and dismissal.

Andrew Breland seems to believe that just because the discussion on race is now active and progressive, not reactive and reactionary, that all of a sudden no new ideas will be accepted. This is just incorrect and contrarian simply for the fun of it, it seems. Breland argues that unless one espouses the “right” views, his or her voice will be shutdown. This is simply not the case. The only “right” view here is that students should be free from racism and othering of all forms. With that out of the way, the rest of the debate is open.

The fact that Breland finds diversity training “terrifying” is telling. Diversity training, while stopgap, does at least have the benefit of making everyone aware of intersectionality, race, and privilege, issues too often ignored otherwise. Case requires its employees to be drug-tested, able to work, etc., so why not require them to understand the people they will and are working with?

Despite the vague, pseudo-Orwellian allusions Breland makes, there is no conspiracy here to indoctrinate anybody. Rather, the debate on race at Case Western Reserve University has finally

‘politically-correct’ thought reformers, but instead they must double down on their commitments to academic freedom and free expression.”

And really, Breland wonders, is such reform necessary? He assures us that even before these programs, “someone shouting racial slurs on the quad would have been ostracized.” Anyone with the slightest exposure to critical thought about race will immediately recognize this as the classic canard of modern racism: It is no longer socially acceptable to use racial slurs in public, therefore racism no longer exists.

Another version goes: Black President!

Everything must be okay! I put my faith in the reader to make up their mind about this argument.

There is, however, a more substantive issue at stake here. Breland rails against these “re-education programs” in favor of a “marketplace of ideas.” He asks: Who gets to decide what the ‘right’ ways to think about race, class, or gender are? The only fair solution is to submit the various ideas to open expression in the “marketplace” and let the best, most competitive ideas win. The so-called “re-education programs” would confer an unfair advantage on one particular set of ideas over the rest, an unfair advantage which the market would eliminate.

It is here that the theological faith in the “marketplace” on which Breland’s argument relies most clearly reveals itself. I highly doubt I’m going to change Breland’s mind in an Observer column, so let me put it like this. Does anyone doubt that we internalize the values and norms of the culture we grow up in? And does anyone doubt that mainstream American culture continues to convey values and norms that are racist, heteronormative, patriarchal and more?

Again, I am sure that Breland and others will object to this latter point, and this letter to the editor is not the place for that debate. But if we accept as true both of the above ideas—ideas which I and hopefully most of The Observer’s readership take to be patently obvious—then the “marketplace of ideas” is a complete absurdity. It is tilted from the beginning in favor of ideas that support the status quo.

The “marketplace of ideas” is not some magically autonomous and independent sphere of reality where ideas can impartially battle it out. This “marketplace,” like every other market and every other part of our society, is shaped by hegemonic ideas about race, class and gender.

Breland’s feared “re-education programs” are necessary because we all grew up in a culture that values certain

identities while devaluing others. If we continue to submit this debate to the marketplace of the exact same culture, how could we expect anything different as a result? Breland appeals to some imaginary impartial marketplace do nothing more than hide himself behind the status quo. I would like to invite him out here into the area of critical thought, a place that might actually end up resembling his feted marketplace.

Breland closes his column with the following: “It seems, though, that as CWRU engages further in discussions of race, the ability to be contrarian is quickly escaping.” It is supremely ironic that during a moment of reactionary response to the economic crisis of 2007 and 2008, a moment in which we are witnessing the broadening and deepening of neoliberal hegemony, Breland somehow feels himself to be in a contrarian minority when he trumpets the hollowing out of the university in favor of a “marketplace of ideas.”

But if he truly feels that his “contrarian” position is becoming less and less acceptable on CWRU campus, then all the better. Breland is not so much a contrarian as he is colossally wrong.

been torn open, and those wishing to hastily tape it back together are grasping at straws.

Breland seems to think that if no one is shouting racial slurs, then everything is okay and we can move on. This is simply not so. Racism, systems of oppression and group relationships cannot simply be said to be “solved.” The dialogue will be continuous, because it has to be. New ideas and situations will crop up and be addressed, as the best movements allow them to be.

Speaking of continuity, Breland seems upset by Henton’s comparisons to the Civil Rights era. But this is another example of how continuous debate is beneficial. Henton draws on the legacy created by others to create dialogue that is meaningful and relevant to both the past and our current struggles. As members of a minority group, we often turn to our pasts to find examples of how our ancestors combated oppression and use them to create debate and action now. Breland seems skittish because of 1960s race riots (which actually existed before the Civil Rights movement, too), but this is telling.

People used the same “riots” line to fight the Civil Rights movement. They, and Breland, are not afraid of riots; the fear is of the dialogue itself.

What CWRU is doing, then, is not “telling us what to think.” It’s telling us to think.

To the editor,

we would expect that the reviewer would have had experience with improvisation so that they know how to properly critique it.

Reviewing improvisation is not the same as reviewing a Broadway show, similar to how you wouldn’t critique a music concert by saying choreography was lacking.

In any case, a review should at least not have blatant errors that even someone who walked into the last five minutes of our show would recognize.

Please don’t misunderstand this as us not being kind to criticism; we critique ourselves for every game after each show we do, along with having an aggressive rehearsal and workshopping schedule to improve ourselves as improvisors. When we have other improv troupes from outside the University visit us (which we normally do, several times a year) we welcome feedback from them and look at those special events as times to grow and develop our improvisation skills. The issue we want to raise is not that The Observer should not be doing reviews, but that the reviewers should take more care to be accurate, especially when the group being reviewed is a student organization that is dependant on students who read The Observer attending their productions.

We perform a show most every Saturday night throughout the year (our schedule is available at improv.case.edu). We would welcome The Observer staff to review or feature one of our shows again, though preferably with proper information.

Zak Khan Class of 2014

This week’s Opinion online exclusive: Who wins?

Written by Ted Howard, a student of Latin and Greek and their respective cultures at CWRU, the column takes a thoughtful look at what kind of candidates Howard would select during his career in executive search

Find it at observer.case.edu

We’re writing primarily in response to the article “IMPROVment brings ‘fetch’ back in latest show,” but this letter deals with many of the reviews that are published in The Observer on a regular basis.

We are performers at heart, and, as such, expect to be reviewed and critiqued from time to time if not every time we get on stage. However, as performers, one thing we really don’t appreciate is a review that doesn’t adequately reflect our performance or is inaccurate. Unfortunately, the article mentioned above falls into this category.

The review had errors throughout it, from not having the proper cast list to quoting the wrong lines in the wrong scenes.

Now everyone can make mistakes, but in this case we were left wondering whether the reviewer saw our show at all. The show did not run “Oct. 10-11” as quoted in the article (which was published on Oct. 10th) but in fact was performed Oct. 4, almost a full week before The Observer was published. This, and all of the other errors, could have been caught and corrected had the reviewer taken the time to approach us or contact us in any way.

The Observer has done feature pieces on IMPROVment before and we are always happy to help a reporter by answering questions and describing our games properly so that readers can both understand them and understand what we do as a whole. If the reporter wanted to do a blind review, that’s fine too, but in that case

Jason Walsh Class of 2015

The Cast of IMPROVment

Note: due to Fall Break, there will be no print issue on Friday, Oct. 24. We’ll be back on Friday, Oct. 31.

In the meantime, visit us at observer.case.edu for all your CWRU news.

16

sports

10/17/14

Sports Standings Conference

All

Men’s Soccer

Wins

Losses

Ties

Percent

Wins

Losses

Ties

Percent

Carnegie Mellon

1

0

1

0.500

7

3

1

0.636

Chicago

1

0

1

0.500

7

4

1

0.583

Brandeis

1

1

0

0.500

12

1

1

0.857

Emory

1

1

0

0.500

11

1

1

0.846

New York U.

1

1

0

0.500

10

2

0

0.833

Rochester

1

1

0

0.500

6

3

2

0.545

Case Western Reserve

1

1

0

0.500

7

4

2

0.538

Washington

0

2

0

0.000

6

4

1

0.545

Women’s Soccer

Conference

All

Wins

Losses

Ties

Percent

Wins

Losses

Ties

Percent

New York U.

2

0

0

1.000

9

3

0

0.750

Washington

1

0

1

0.500

10

0

2

0.833

Carnegie Mellon

1

1

0

0.500

9

1

0

0.900

Brandeis

1

1

0

0.500

11

2

0

0.846

Chicago

1

1

0

0.500

10

2

0

0.833

Rochester

1

1

0

0.500

5

4

3

0.417

Emory

0

1

1

0.000

7

1

3

0.636

Case Western Reserve

0

2

0

0.000

7

3

2

0.583

Volleyball

Conference

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Emory

3

0

1.000

24

2

0.923

Chicago

3

0

1.000

19

8

0.704

Washington

2

1

0.667

23

4

0.852

Carnegie Mellon

2

1

0.667

17

4

0.810

New York U.

1

2

0.333

16

8

0.667

Case Western Reserve

1

2

0.333

12

7

0.632

Rochester

0

3

0.000

11

14

0.440

Brandeis

0

3

0.000

5

13

0.278

Football (UAA) Case Western Reserve

Conference

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

1

0

1.000

2

3

0.400

Chicago

0

0

5

0

1.000

Washington

0

0

2

4

0.333

Carnegie Mellon

0

1

2

3

0.400

Football (PAC)

0.000

Conference

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Bethany

4

0

1.000

5

1

0.833

Washington & Jefferson

3

0

1.000

5

0

1.000

Waynesburg

3

1

0.750

5

1

0.833

Thomas More

3

1

0.750

4

2

0.667

St. Vincent

2

1

0.667

2

3

0.400

Carnegie Mellon

2

3

0.400

2

3

0.400

Case Western Reserve

2

3

0.400

2

3

0.400

Thiel

1

3

0.250

2

4

0.333

Westminster

1

3

0.250

1

5

0.167

Geneva

0

3

0.000

1

4

0.200

Grove City

0

3

0.000

0

5

0.000

Weekly Calendar Varsity Sport

Friday

Saturday

Football

Sunday

vs. Brandeis 11:30 AM, vs. Chicago 3:30 PM @ UAA Round Robin in Chicago IL

vs. Washington 1:00 PM, vs. New York U 3:30 PM @ UAA Round Robin in Chicago IL

Men's Soccer

Home vs. Washington 5:00 PM

Home vs. Chicago 11:00 AM

Women's Soccer

Home vs. Washington 7:30 PM

Home vs. Chicago 1:30 PM

Cross Country

Inter-regional Rumble @ Oberlin 11:00 AM

Women's Tennis

Oberlin Home 11:00 AM

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Football Volleyball Men's Soccer Women's Soccer

jolly.scholar @JollyScholar 216.368.0090

mpv3@case.edu

MTW RF Sat. Sun.

11a - 12a 11a - 2a 12p - 2a 12p - 12a

Halloween Party on Friday, October 31!

Psychic readers, DJs, & drink specials, oh my! Don’t forget to dress up in your best costume.

10pm until 2am Catering with the Scholar: We accomodate any and all budgets. Stop in to ask for details. We’ll make your event even Jollier!

Daily Lunch Specials: Only $7.50 every day.

Home vs. Geneva

Volleyball

Varsity Sport

The Jolly Scholar

@ Oberlin 7:00 PM

Thursday

Milkshake Happy Hour: Come enjoy your favorite frosty beverage.

11am to 6pm

sports

observer.case.edu

The most unique Cavs game of the season Joey Arko Staff Reporter With 2:58 left on the clock before halftime, an enthusiastic group of people dressed in Sugardale hot dog suits paraded onto the middle of the basketball court, led by the energetic Sir CC. Their mission was simple: to get the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers pumped up. With the score tied and the home team and crowd alike in need of an energy boost, Sir CC began firing Sugardale hot dog t-shirts out of a cannon and into the arms of the roaring fans within Quicken Loans Arena. The mission was a howling success.

And yet, not everyone was pleased.

“You wanna know what the Spurs are giving away at their home opening game?

Replica championship rings, not XXL hot dog t-shirts that no one will ever wear,” said a man simply known as “RJ.” RJ, an employee of SportsMEDIA Technology Corp (SMT), attends the game because of his job, which entails reviewing arena equipment and technology. He’s a Spurs fan, and since they are the defending NBA champions, he looks for ways to belittle the Cavs in any way he can, as they represent the greatest threat to dethroning his precious team from San Antonio. He isn’t the only one that doesn’t have love for the Cavs’ new look, either. Their sudden ascension to NBA powerhouse naturally opens the door for people to trash talk the starstudded squad.

However, in tonight’s contest, that star-studded squad isn’t in action. Both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are resting due to injury and soreness, and Tristan Thompson, a starter and key player, is sitting out as well.

Even Moondog, the main mascot that handles most mascot-responsibilities, sits out of tonight’s game with an illness.

The official Cavs twitter took the time to let everyone know that he couldn’t make it on his behalf. That’s why Sir CC was left with much more pressure to keep the crowd entertained and engaged—a task that normally should not be very hard during this upcoming season.

Tonight, however, was different.

With James, Irving, Thompson (and Moondog) sitting out, the Cavs simply didn’t have the energy or talent tonight that they will be deploying for the rest of the season. Cleveland fans knew the biggest names wouldn’t be playing, and as such, many elected not to come to the game. “Loudville” barely echoed, and the arena was never more than halfway full. The brand new Jumbotron was covered by a tarp since it wasn’t functioning yet, leaving the fans that did show up with the option of two smaller screens to watch for replays. Not to mention, the miserable Milwaukee Bucks were in town and they’re not known for being a “must-see” attraction.

At face value, these all sound like they will add up to a terrible, if not boring game; maybe the worst of the entire year.

In actuality, it’s a recipe for what may be the most unique game of the season.

With all the stars out of action, the Jumbotron cloaked and a vast array of empty seats, the audience is presented with the exclusive opportunity to take in that which is normally ignored at the Q, including both the arena and some of the players. Every game this year will be sold out, but not tonight.

Because of that, fans were left with a different experience and different ways to enjoy the game—including really taking a look at the Q, since it’s so empty. Despite RJ’s hatred of the new-look Cavs, even he marvels at the stadium.

“Organization-wise, I’m super impressed. They’re ready for anything,

know where everything is. They have a backup for everything and every scenario that could happen in this arena. This is the fifth arena I’ve been to in the past week and a half, and it’s the best I’ve seen by far in terms of technology and how prepared the staff is. I never expected to be talking to you about this at a Cavs game, but with ’Bron and Kyrie out, there isn’t much else to talk about.”

The arena isn’t the only thing that stands out with the stars resting and the fans at home.

Tonight, other lesser known players rose to the occasion. Bench players like A.J. Price, Joe Harris, Matthew Dellavedova and Alex Kirk all outperformed Milwaukee’s starting unit in the Cavaliers 106-100 victory. They relished the opportunity to play more minutes, demonstrating just how deep this Cavs roster is.

And that fact wasn’t left behind by some of the Cavaliers’ bigger stars, including head coach David Blatt. In his post-game press conference, Blatt lauded the efforts of two of his bench players: “Tonight was a good body of work from Alex Kirk, a guy trying to make our team, and he was playing against the first-team of Milwaukee, and he played respectably well. As for Matt [Dellavedova] we’re asking a lot of him…and I’m really happy with Matt.”

However, the NBA is all about its stars, and Coach Blatt knows that, too.

“No disrespect to Matt as a player, but I’m also really, really anxious for Kyrie to come back.”

The fans are too. They also want LBJ, Tristan and Moondog to come back as soon as possible as well. And they will.

Coach Blatt expects them all to be back either next game or the game after. Then the regular season will start and the crazy, sold-out games will begin.

Spartans fall on the road to Waynesburg Following harsh 35-15 loss, football team will look to rebound in homecoming JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor The Case Western Reserve University football squad fell in its matchup against Waynesburg University.

The match-up last weekend was the latest challenge of competing in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and the Spartans fell short, dropping the game by a score of 35-15 and drop to 2-3 on the season. We here at The Observer predicted a 35-17 loss for the Spartans and are adding this one to our win column, with us standing at 3-2 on the season in predicting outcomes.

The Spartans actually got on the scoreboard first in this one with a 40yard field goal as time expired on the first quarter. The kick was sophomore kicker Nick Bavaro’s longest of his career. The lead would not last long and sparked the scoring as the next two drives resulted in scores. The Case Western kickoff was returned by Waynesburg for an 86-yard touchdown.

The Spartans responded by marching downfield for 70 yards on nine plays and

retook the lead when senior quarterback Billy Beecher connected for a 20-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Erb. The Spartans missed the PAT and were briefly up 9-3 midway through the second quarter.

From there, Waynesburg took advantage scoring the next four touchdowns.

The first was following an 11 play, 64-yard drive which was capped with a 24-yard touchdown pass to put the Yellow Jackets up 14-9 with 6:30 left in the first half.

Waynesburg quarterback Carter Hill threw three more touchdowns in the half with a pair of touchdown passes. Case Western’s final score came on a 34-yard pass from freshman Connor Simpson to sophomore Zech Medved, with 2:30 left on the clock, but it was too little too late.

The Spartans led in yardage, but four passing touchdowns from Hill was too much firepower for the Spartans. Under center once again for the Spartans, Beecher completed 21 of his 31 attempts for 154 yards and the touchdown to Erb. Simpson went 3 for 3 and 49 yards including the touchdown to Medved.

Mistakes also hurt the Spartans, as they have in past games with an interception and a fumble eventually leading to 14

points for the hosts.

The Spartans will look to move back to 0.500 when they host the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes on Saturday. The threat from the Golden Tornadoes comes in the form of QB Aaron Channing, who has 1,059 yards with 10 touchdowns on the season, completing over a third of his passes. This could be of concern to the inconstant passing defense for the Spartans, and big passing gains could hurt like they did in the Waynesburg game.

Channing’s biggest target is senior wide receiver Josh Guiser who has 35 receptions on 363 yards and five touchdowns, making the defensive passing game crucial for the Spartans.

The Spartans will also be looking for more offensive firepower to help secure a victory. Our prediction formula came back with a tie, no clear winner, but with the added support flooding in from alumni, families and students to this game we at The Observer are calling a narrow 24-21 win for the Spartans.

The game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. at DiSanto field, the capping gem of this week’s homecoming celebration. Good luck and happy homecoming. Go Spartans.

17

Intramural soccer kicks-off season David Hoffman Staff Reporter Intramural soccer season is underway on campus, and teams in various groups are vying for the title of “Number One.” We begin with the co-rec league, which features 10 teams playing competitively and 14 teams in the noncompetitive division. The Red Hot Chili Players blanked the Macroballs 3-0. Not Sig Eg and Learned Foot played to a 2-2 tie.

The Honey Badgers edged out the Flo$$ Bosses 1-0. Pi Phi/SigEp was topped by a whopping Sigma Psi/Fiji 8-1.

Red Hot Chili Players followed up their first win by beating Sua Sponte 6-1. Delt/DG took care of AXO/Zeta Psi 7-2. Pi Phi/SigEp proceeded to best Learned Foot 6-4. AL-Hilal doubled up Theta/Beta 6-3. Normal Forces held on against The A-Team 3-2. AL-Hilal crushed Howe 5th 9-1.

Honey Badgers topped Da Smith Doh 6-1. AL-Hilal also beat ZBT/Phi Mu 4-1.

Flo$$ Bosses and Red Hot Chili Players played to a 2-2 tie. Sua Sponte topped MSA 6-1. Joe Loves Cats prevailed in an 8-7 slugfest over Macroballs. Sigma Psi/ Fiji prevailed 5-2 over Howe 5th.

Normal Forces and E-lemonators tied 3-3. The Meat Flanks beat Sua Sponte 5-1. Pi Phi/SigEp topped AXO/Zeta Psi 7-5. AL-Hilal also beat ZBT/Phi Mu 4-1.

The Meat Flanks doubled up Da Smith Doh 6-3. Normal Forces prevailed 3-2 over the A-Team. Not Sig Ep blanked Theta/Beta 7-0. Joe Loves Cats defeated MSA 4-2.

The Meat Flanks disposed of Sua Sponte 5-1. Team Forgot to “Do No Harm” won against tied Da Smith Doh 3-3. E-Lemonators earned a 2-1 victory over The Meat Flanks. ZBT/Phi Mu and Theta/Beta ultimately finished in a scoreless draw. Forgot to “Do No Harm” prevailed over Normal Forces by a 2-1 final.

On to the Fraternity league, which contains 13 competitive members and four noncompetitive.

Sigma Nu beat FIJI 3-2. Delta Chi blanked Theta Chi 1-0. SigEp A won 3-0 over Zeta Psi. ZBT edged out Zeta Psi 3-2. Sigma Chi was 5-3 over Phi Kappa Psi. Delta Upsilon doubled up Pi Kappa Phi 4-2. Sigma Nu eked out a 3-2 win over FIJI. SigEp A beat Sigma Nu 7-1. Beta Theta Phi prevailed 3-1 over SigEp C. Finally, we have the Open Free League that is comprised of 16 teams, all of them playing competitively. No Casualties and SODM United tied 4-4 in their match. The Stripes eked out a 3-2 victory over AAA/KIV. AAA/KIV later outlasted Globo Gym 9-5. SODM United beat BioMed FC 8-3. AAA/KIV defeated team Brenn 4-1.

The Washington Redskins and Suhail’s Revenge tied 2-2. Man-Chest-Hair United edged out The Washington Redskins 2-1. MI6 bested AL-Hilal 4-3. ALHilal crushed the BME Sundevils 8-2.

Man-Chest-Hair United also easily took care of Globo Gym 10-3. The Soccer Team took care of BioMed FC 7-4. The Soccer team defeated Charlie’s Angels 6-2. Finally, BioMed FC thrashed the F?tbol Team 8-1.

18

sports

10/17/14

Where’s Spartie?

An in depth look at the pride and spirit of the Case Western Reserve community JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor A horrible tragedy struck the members of the Case Western Reserve University community. Our beloved mascot has gone missing.

Spartie is no where to be found. He was last seen happily smiling and waving during orientation week. He flexed his muscles and helped freshmen move into their new residence halls, he pumped up our excitement for being back at our second homes. He hasn’t been seen since. Spartie has been missing from the past football games. At the kickoff to homecoming week at DiSanto Field last weekend he wasn’t present. No one can find him. His last Facebook post was Aug. 19.

We at The Observer are responding to his disappearance with the utmost concern.

Because it is homecoming week, his presence is expected and anticipated. Should he not show, the results would be devastating on the spirit of the campus community. If Spartie has not been seen at sporting events on campus, how can we expect him to show up after weeks of mysterious silence to the homecoming game? So this leaves us with the question, where is Spartie? *** We start our search at Spartie’s home base, which is not the athletic department but rather the Office of Student Activities and Leadership. Here is where the trail becomes slightly murky. People know that the Case sports teams compete under the moniker of the Spartans. Furthermore we can all recognize the intimidating blue and gray helmet logo that graces many of our CWRU team shirts. This fierce logo is the logically the property of the Case Western Athletic Department.

In contrast, our beloved Spartie is more of a softy than the fierce Spartan head logo and has therefore been employed by the Office of Student Activities and Leadership. Both athletics and student activities report to the Office of Student Affairs and so while the mascot does not work for athletics, he could still attends games and events with ease.

However, he seems to be kept on the sidelines, or in the locker room as he has been absent from any game that student activities isn’t also promoting.

In addition, Spartie works with another mascot on the aptly named mascot team.

Some of the upperclassmen will remember that this other mascot is the Spartan, a walking, living Spartan who is a verbal ambassador for the university at receptions and formal events. He and Spartie split the duty of representing the university, since Spartie, while being a bundle of energy, is unable to speak.

The Spartan role is taken on by one deserving student a year as a leadership role. At

{

}

“If we play on a Tuesday night or Sunday afternoon, I really don’t expect anyone to show up.”

–men’s basketball player Dane McLoughlin

this time, the listed Spartan is Nicholas Barron. However, Barron was a second-year student during the 2011-2012 school year and therefore has likely graduated.

We at The Observer were unable to contact Barron.

Therefore with both members of the mascot team strangely absent from campus we remain skeptical of the reliability of a Spartie reappearance for homecoming. Our mystery goes deeper, where is Spartie?

*** The next stop on the search for Spartie was to look at the wide variety of athletic spaces. Surely Spartie must be attending games and cheering on his fellow Spartans.

Walking around the campus on a nice day students can be seen jogging, playing basketball, ultimate Frisbee or soccer outside.

Everyday students utilized the Veale Center or the workout equipment in the Village. Students here care about their health and enjoy participating in sports. March Madness, the Super Bowl and the Browns Game are aired in most residences on campus. Hundreds of students compete on teams at the varsity, club and intramural levels.

{

Spartie isn’t here, but then again many students aren’t here either.

}

There is a population here at Case that cares about sports. However, this doesn’t transfer over to supporting the Case student athletes, despite their strong play against other top schools. Spartie isn’t here, but then again many students aren’t here either.

The average attendance at a Case Western football games is 1,603 people. This statistic was compiled using over seven years of attendance data. Since 2008 the season average attendance at home games has been 1,222 people in 2008, 1,799 people in 2009, 1,666 people in 2010, 1,618 in 2011, a whopping 2,031 people in 2012 and 1,605 people in 2013. This year, the average attendance over the first three home games has been 1,288 people in the stands or just generally around the stadium. These numbers are derived from estimates of the number of people watching a game not just in the stands, but around the fence or on the parking garage.

Furthermore, last seasons’ 1,605 people per game accounted for 35 percent of the student body, if all of those people had been students. Sadly, most of these fans are parents, siblings, alumni and even fans of the opposing team.

Matt Lake, the associate director of intramural and club sports here at CWRU, said “I would be ecstatic if we could get an eighth of the student body in the stands at every game.”

The attendance numbers aren’t there and the numbers are even lower for other sports.

Men’s basketball pulls an average of 324 people a game. Women’s basketball pulls even less, even with many of their games being played before or after a men’s game.

“The students here aren’t usually very interested in coming to athletic events,” said Julien Person, a member of the varsity basketball team.

“We usually get a decent crowd for Friday night games, but other than that it is pretty small,” added Dane McLoughlin, a teammate of Person, “If we play on a Tuesday night or Sunday afternoon, I really don’t expect anyone to show up.”

Sadder still is the attendance at baseball games in the spring. Over the past four seasons the Spartans have put around 126 people in the stands per game at Nobby’s Ballpark. Last season saw a mere 75 people per game compared to 148 the season before. Baseball is one of the three largest sports in this country, yet the Spartans only pull in roughly three percent of the student body per game, and most again aren’t students.

If students aren’t at the game, why would Spartie attend? We didn’t find him there, so where is Spartie? *** Historically, the Western Reserve University Red Cats and the Case Institute of

Technology Rough Riders once dominated this land. The Spartans had yet to arise to rule these lands along Euclid. The mascots of these schools were long standing rivals who were revered by their respective schools, with sports dating back to 1890 here, long before the professional teams in Cleveland were founded. As we know the rivalry eventually gave way to the federation of the mascots’ two parent schools, to form CWRU. For two years following the merger, the two schools still played as Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, even playing against each other. The rivalry still existed but sports became the unifying factor between the previously separate student bodies in the following years.

“I sit in the President’s box at the football games with visiting alumni,” said Assistant Athletic Director for Development Gary Pillar, “they will joke with each other, but no matter Case Institute of Technology alum or Western Reserve alum they come together to root for the Spartans.”

“They realize that the schools, while both great, are better together as one Case Western Reserve,” said Pat Kennedy, associate athletic director at CWRU. The students of the past, however, didn’t always join together for school spirit. The Captain’s Council, captains of the athletic teams, and our predecessors here at The Observer sponsored a contest to name the merged Case and WRU teams. There was no response to the contest. It is contested if the football team or the Captain’s Council eventually chose the name Spartans. ***

{

}

“No matter Case Institute of Technology alum or Western Reserve alum they come together to root for the Spartans.” –Gary Pillar

The modern Case Western student is more driven, more intelligent and more dedicated than ever before.

“Students here have their checklist for their college experience,” said Kennedy, “They do athletics, whether it be varsity, club or intramurals because it fits into their plan.

Attending games isn’t necessarily part of their overall plan toward a career or high education.” Students here have created hundreds of amazing programs and groups. However this events lack a sense of entire campus community, a lack of spirit, a lack of Spartie.

Also, the existence of so many events means a lack of knowledge about many of these events. So many programs happen at the same time that they spread the student body thin, further adding to the cycle of low attendance and low community spirit.

“I think if the students actually knew about a lot of the games or if there were any events going on during the games that might encourage students to be excited to be there, then we might have a few more students,” said Person.

CWRU students are proud of their accomplishments in and out of the classroom and have worked hard to see those endeavors come to fruition. They put a lot of effort into their plant. They have pride in their school. This pride doesn’t relay itself into school spirit. If there is no spirit, how could Spartie be there? So where is Spartie? Where is the spirit? *** This lack of spirit, this missing Spartie, has been addressed in part by a Student Affairs Presidents Advisory Committee headed

by Lake and by Crystal Sutton, the Assistant

Program Director in the Student Activities and Leadership office. This committee started their work by addressing the difference between pride and spirit.

“Pride is that feeling of contentment students have within them,” said Lake. “Spirit is the outward expression of that pride.”

Students here seem to have trouble expressing that pride as spirit. Many groups are now working on this dilemma. One possible cause is the fact that a lot of our pride resides in our work, rather than our institution.

“People seem like they have more pride in their micro-community than their macrocommunity,” said Lake, “at least they ex-

{

}

Students here seem to have trouble expressing that pride as spirit.

press more spirit in them.”

To change this, student affairs has been working on breaking down barriers between groups. Lou Stark, the vice president of Student Affairs has made it a top priority to build a sense of community, by encouraging working cross divisionally across offices and eventually across student groups.

“We want to break down the separation and be deliberate in working together,” said Stark.

These efforts include the new projects on campus like the Tink, the Wyant Center, and the ongoing Uptown development bring people together. The effort for homecoming groups like UPB and COC have put forth in bringing people together, starting at the class level.

“We want to create and community and make sure that all voices are heard,” said Stark, “One way to do that is to encourage student groups to work together, supporting each other. It makes for better, bigger, community building events.”

As for the athletics department, they are student-minded.

“We aren’t concerned with how much money we make in ticket sales,” said Kennedy. “We are here to provide a better student experience. We are here to present as many options as possible for you, the student. It is up to you to choose to participate.”

Athletics is also looking for ways to create the “game day” feeling associated with other schools; the buzz of excitement the accompanies Greek Week or Springfest on campus.

People are working to help find ways to show off that spirit and build community.

Case Western has made a lot of progress.

“I think there has been a vast improvement from year to year since we have been here at the basketball games,” Person said.

{

}

“There are more students with CWRU across their shirts than when I started here 25 years ago; there is more pride.” –Pat Kennedy

“We get a large crowd at the friday night games.”

The pride in Case has grown as well. “I can’t prove it numerically,” said Kennedy, “But there are more students with CWRU across their shirts than when I started here 25 years ago; there is more pride.”

So where is Spartie? He is present when there is school spirit. The pride is there and with work, the spirit will come.

That school spirit will be on full display this weekend for homecoming, and with a full campuswide effort both at sporting events and not, we just maybe might be seeing more of him and our spirit.

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Spartans succumb to Violets CWRU falls in double OT against NYU

Taylor Fletcher Staff Reporter Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team lost a heartbreaker in double OT this Saturday Oct. 11 against New York University (NYU) violets by the score of 1-0. The result drops the Spartans record to 0-2 in conference play and 7-3-2 overall record.

As been the part of the storyline of the season, the Spartans were just unable to find the final pass in the offensive third of the field. The squad values a tough defense and it prides itself with limiting opponents to only one goal. In fact, only in one game this season has the team allowed more than one opposing goal. On the flip side, the team has only scored more than one goal in three games. As a result, the Spartans usually only need one goal to make the difference. However, this style of play al-

lows the opposing squad to stick around in matches and gain confidence that if they can grab a goal then they will be able to hang on for the win.

The match was tightly contested the entire way. The Spartans were able to withstand early pressure from the Violets frontline. In the second minute of the match, The Violets had an early shot that senior goalkeeper Abbey Smith was able to push wide and deflect off the goalpost.

CWRU were able to recover from the early pressure from NYU with some breakout play of their own, which created an opportunity to score. The Spartans had their first big opportunity in the 21st minute when senior forward Caitlyn McGillis was able to beat her defender and whip an early cross into fellow senior forward Jessie Sabers who headed it on frame. But her effort was saved by the NYU goalkeeper.

The Violets edged the Spartans with a 10-8 shot advantage and also they had a

4-1 advantage on corner kicks. The Spartans held off the advances from the Violets through tough defending from the backline forward. The team was just unable to string enough passes together to help break the pressure from the NYU squad.

The only goal of the match was an unfortunate miscommunication with the Spartan defense. After Smith was able to smother another attack late in the second overtime period, the game looked as though it would end in a scoreless tie.

Smith proceeded to punt the ball out of her box, but the ball dropped to a NYU player, who passed the ball forward off a first-time volley. The perfectly weighted pass split the Spartans defense, springing NYU’s forward into the attack and a oneon-one opportunity with Smith. Smith valiantly tried to cut off the forward’s angle and make the save, but the opposing forward fired a perfect shot past her fingertips into side of the net. It was a rather

unfortunate end for the Spartans to a hardfought match.

The team looks to turn its attention to this weekend for the squad’s two biggest tests of the season. The squad first matches up against the No. 2 ranked team in the country Washington University in St. Louis this Friday at home. They have a short turnaround with a match on Sunday at home against the No. 11 ranked team University of Chicago.

The Spartans are still in contention for post-season berth with a strong non-conference record and with a couple of strong results this weekend, they will hopefully bolster their case for a NCAA tournament bid. These two matches will also be the final two home games of the year. The team will be honoring the seniors on Friday night before the game for their four years of excellence on and off the field. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Friday night and 1:30 p.m.

Sunday afternoon.

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer Left: Caitlyn McGillis strikes ball during match last Saturday against New York University. Middle: Women’s soccer team cheers at start of overtime against New York University. Right: Midfielder Amy Lindberg passes the ball forward in weekend match up.

Volleyball battles to victory in home finale JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor The Spartans rode the roar of the home crowd to victory Tuesday night.

After a weekend off following the first of two UAA round robins, the Spartans returned to the court to win a hard fought battle against Hiram College. The match was the Spartans’ last this season in Horsburgh Gymnasium. The win brings the Spartans to a 12-7 record on the year and to a 6-0 record on their home floor.

The Spartans battled for their win, and rallied after finding themselves with their backs to the wall on multiple occasions during the night. The match went all five sets with the Spartans winning the second, fourth and final and deciding set.

The first three margins of victory were large with the Terriers stealing the first set by a score of 25-17, and the third 25-19.

However, the Spartans took the second set decisively, 25-16 and forced the final set in a thrilling 29-27 finish in the fourth set.

The fifth and final set saw the Spartans facing an 8-2 deficit. A string of kills from Danielle Wirti, Katie Best, and Jessica Justice secured the set and the match for the Spartans in dramatic fashion, winning by a score of 15-10.

Carolyn Bogart and Kayla Pfaff led the

Spartans offensively with each putting up 13 kills. Haley Kauffman added another 11 kills of her own and setters. Justice and Lauren Gurd put up a season high 25 assists and another 18 assists respectfully.

Gurd also added 16 digs to reach her first double double of the season and her sixth as a Spartan. Best added 18 digs of her own to the stat sheet and Justice’s 13 digs earned her her first personal collegiate double-double.

The Spartans will spend the closing weekend of homecoming on the road as they face off against their remaining UAA rivals at the second round robin tournament of the season, this one being held in Chicago. The Spartans play their four final conference matches as they face off against Brandeis, University of Chicago, and Washington University in St. Louis and New York University over the two-day tournament. The hosts, Chicago and Washington will be the hardest competition the Spartans will face as they try to climb in the UAA standings.

The Washington Bears are ranked seventh in the nation and the hosting Maroons were just displaced from the top 25 list, but are still a top tier volleyball squad.

The Spartans will start the tournament against Brandeis Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. before taking on the Maroons

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer Members of Case Western volleyball team celebrates crucial point against Hiram College last Tuesday. The Spartans won in five sets.

arts & sports entertainment Editor’s Choice

Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center comes full circle Long awaited and highly anticipated building dedicated

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer Top Left: The new Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center was completed on the North Residential Village. Bottom Left: The Steve Belichick Varsity weight room awaits athletes and non-athletes alike. Right: President Barbara R. Snyder and building namesake and major donor Dr. James Wyant, a Case Institute of Technology alumnus cut the ribbon dedicating the new Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center.

JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor Where a year ago the Class of 2017 had their Orientation Week tent, there now stands a beautiful new athletic center. Students now patiently await the grand opening and the chance to utilize this much-needed new facility.

That time grows closer, and one of the first big milestones for the building took place last Thursday. The Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center opened its doors for the first time to a group of administrators, alumni, coaches, athletes and donors Thursday night as they gathered to dedicate the newest addition to Case Western’s campus.

“Athletics are some of my favorite memories from here,” said Dr. James Wyant who ran track and cross country as a Case Institute of Technology Alumnus and the building’s namesake. “it made it my time here wonderful.”

Case Western Reserve University President Barbara R. Snyder was on hand to mingle with the attendants and dedicate the new building.

“I see this as filling a need not just for the varsity athletes, but the health and wellness of the whole student community,” said Snyder.

Snyder also reminded the campus community of the need in her speech at the dedication.

“The Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center is an exceptional facility, but for students who live on this side of campus, well it’s a hike,” said Snyder. “According to Google maps, in fact, it is a one-mile hike, and depending on the route you choose, it is a 19 to 21 minute walk, add in the winter’s wind and snow, and the appeal of the Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center is obvious.”

The appeal is indeed obvious.

“I am excited for the weight room,” said Brooke Orcutt, a member of the women’s basketball team and one of four student athletes chosen to accompany Snyder and Wyant in the cutting of the ribbon to dedicate the center. Orcutt was joined by baseball pitcher Rob Winemiller, football player Adrian Cannon and track and field runner Rachel Tan on stage, and all of whom were joined by athletes from all the varsity teams to mingle with

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer Above: New cardio room in the Wyant Center. Right: Case Western Baseball players mingle with donor at the dedication event.

the donors and administrators in dedicating the new building. All the athletes expressed their excitement for the building.

The three-story building, which is 24,000 feet of workout space, study rooms and temporary team offices, will be open to the entire campus community.

“There are a few more things to get finished before we open, but athletics is working hard to open the building soon,” said Athletic Director Amy Backus.

Snyder also announced with great excitement that Wyant has committed an additional $5 million to the University to fund two additional projects. Wyant has committed $2 million to the newly announced phase two of the athletic center as well $3 million. The phase two will be a field house containing turf but is still on the horizon. Another $1 million will need to be fundraised for the building and planning completed before construction starts, but the announcement is another exciting project in the campus’ future.

The building, as many noticed, went up quickly, but it has been a long time coming.

An athletic center was in the original plans for the Village, but was eventually cut. “ The process for a building like this is driven through bringing in donors first and then through the process of designing the building before moving forward,” said Gary Pillar, executive director, major gifts and assistant athletic director for development, who spearheaded the project. “Athletics is secondary in fundraising, but we were lucky to have 206 generous donors who saw Dr. Wyant’s vision.”

“It was able to go up so fast because it isn’t a very intricate build,” said Pillar. “It has wide open spaces allowing it to be built quickly, despite losing weeks to the winter last year.”

This building fulfills the need on campus and will be an excellent addition to campus with its opening in the coming weeks.

“The building is better than I could have imagined,” said Wyant.

Courtesy OSPORTS Architecture and Engineering Firm Mock up of the newly announced phase two of the center, a $3 million field house with indoor turf.