November 3rd, 2021

Since 1919

The Emory Wheel Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Volume 102, Issue 13

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Printed every other wednesday

Felicia Moore Advances to Mayoral Runoff, Dickens Holds Close Lead Over Reed

Sexual battery reported at SPC concert

By Gabriella Lewis and Claire Fenton Digital Operations Editor and Associate Editor

tion at the Emory Presbyterian Church polling station.

When the polls opened at 7 a.m., there was no line at the church.

Sophia Demar-Sales (24C) said she felt compelled to vote because she felt it was her civic duty, saying, “I just felt like if I had the opportunity I should exercise my right to vote. It’s your job as someone who lives here.”

Damer-Sales said her time in Chicago influenced the importance of local voting for her, particularly during a mayoral election.

“Mayoral decisions made a huge impact, especially when it came to education,” Damer-Sales said. ”Those are the ones that affect people the most directly.”

Several students echoed the sentiment that the mayoral race was the main reason why they decided to vote in this election.

“There’s not an incumbent running again so I thought it would be an

The Emory Police Department (EPD) received an anonymous complaint of sexual battery on Oct. 22 which detailed an incident that occurred at the Student Programming Council’s (SPC) Homecoming concert at McDonough Field on Oct. 16.

The EPD incident report stated that an anonymous first-year female student told the University’s Campus Security Authority that “she was fondled by an unknown male student” while attending the concert. Upon seeing the alleged offender fondle several other women, the female student “tried to get the attention of the Emory Police to intervene but was unable to do so.”

In a Nov. 2 statement to the Wheel, Assistant Vice President of Communications and Marketing Laura Diamond said on behalf of the University and EPD that they did not have “enough information to conduct a formal investigation” because the report was anonymous.

The report was officially filed to keep track of incidents for the annual safety report.

“We know some survivors choose not to come forward, and Emory continues to work on ways to make them feel empowered to report these incidents,” Diamond wrote. “Students may submit these reports anonymously.” ” SPC acknowledged the incident on Oct. 27 and noted their support for the survivors in a post on their Instagram.

“We are aware that some students have expressed safety concerns about the

See STUDENTS, Page 2

See EPD, Page 3

Felicia Moore (Left) advanced the Atlanta mayoral runoff election set for Nov. 30. Candidates Kasim Reed (Middle) and Andre Dickens (R ight) are in a close race for second place in the general election.

By Anjali Huynh, Kira Barich and Sarah Davis Executive Editor, Contributing Writer and News Editor Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore led Tuesday’s Atlanta mayoral election as of 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday with 39,202 (41%) of 95,317 votes, according to data from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution collected from Fulton and DeKalb Counties. The Associated Press called around 11 p.m. that Moore had won one of two spots in the runoff election slated to occur on Nov. 30.

The second position in that runoff was too close to call as of 1:30 a.m., with 100% of ballots reported in Fulton and DeKalb. Councilman Andre Dickens had the second most votes with 22,153 (23%) and former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed stood in third place with 21,541 votes (22.5%).

The mayoral race garnered national attention after Mayor Keisha Lance

Bottoms announced she would not run for re-election on May 7, the first mayor not to seek a second term since World War II. Following this announcement, 14 candidates launched their campaigns.

“This has been a campaign of the heart,” Moore told WSB-TV at a watchparty for her supporters. “These people have put their heart and soul and time and money and prayers towards a new Atlanta, an Atlanta where everyone’s gonna feel safe, an Atlanta where when you spend your money for your taxes and your services, you’re gonna get them.”

Dickens declared victory for the second runoff position, which was not yet called by outlets.

Reed, meanwhile, indicated he has not given up. AJC reporter Patricia Murphy tweeted that the former mayor told his supporters, “I said it would be worth it. I didn’t say it would be easy.”

The election for Atlanta City Council president was another major local race without an incumbent after Moore

announced her candidacy. That race is also poised to head towards a runoff between Emory alum Doug Shipman (95C), who led the race at 1:30 a.m. with 27,562 votes (31%), and Councilwoman Natalyn Mosby Achibong, who polled the second-highest with 24,923 votes (28%). Courtney English was in third with 22,400 votes (25%).

Alex Wan dominated the City Council District 6 race, which represents Emory properties, accumulating 72% of votes.

Emory student Royce Carter Mann (24C), who ran for Atlanta School Board District 7 At Large, polled fourth out of five candidates at 1:30 a.m. with 8,726 of 70,091 votes (12%).

Emory University students were eligible to vote in Atlanta municipal elections for the first time this year after the City Council annexed the school and surrounding properties into city limits in 2018, shortly after the 2017 mayoral election. Many Emory students took the newfound opportunity to cast their vote in Tuesday’s elec-

Hearing set for suspect charged Oxford deems professor’s 2012 song ‘disturbing’ B E R with Autism Center vandalism Contributing Writer y

By Lauren Baydaline Staff Writer A preliminary hearing for the suspect who allegedly vandalized the Emory Autism Center is set to take place on Nov. 4, according to Director of Communications for the DeKalb County District Attorney Yvette Jones.

Former Emory Universitycontracted employee Roy Lee Gordon Jr. was arrested on Sept. 22 on seconddegree burglary charges.

The vandalism incident occurred over the weekend of Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, when Gordon allegedly painted the center with the N-word and swastikas.

An Emory Police Department (EPD) report of the incident stated that vending machines were broken into and a glass door was left shattered.

A University employee discovered the

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vandalism on Aug. 9 and called EPD to report property damage to the center.

“To the best of my knowledge, [Gordon is] in jail,” said EPD Records Manager Ed Shoemaker. “I don’t think he’s bonded out.”

Gordon, who is Black, was employed at a company contracted by the University. He was not charged with a hate crime.

A press release from the University on Sept. 23 announcing the arrest did not mention Gordon’s race. –0 Georgia’s hate crime law, which was enacted in 2020, defines a hate crime as an offense committed because of a victim’s “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, mental disabilty, or physical disability.”

See SUSPECT, Page 2

EDITORIAL Admin, Listen to Student Voices...

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Students at Oxford College have raised concerns over a 2012 song written

by Associate Professor of History David Leinweber titled “Little Sophomore Girl.” Students have described the song’s lyrics, which Leinweber said recount a professor’s reaction to a student’s negative course evaluation, as “disturbing” and having “sexual undertones.”

The song was removed from all internet streaming platforms in 2013 at the request of the College’s administration.

Oxford College Dean Douglas Hicks told the Wheel in a statement that he recently learned about the song and called the lyrics “inappropriate and disturbing.”

“I understand how coming across such lyrics is as distressing now as it would have been back then,” Hicks wrote. “Emory is committed to creating a safe environment for our students and to treating everyone with dignity and respect so they can

A&E

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achieve their highest potential.”

Many students have read the alleged lyrics on a copy of a blogpost written by a student at Oxford at the time of the song’s publication.

According to the blog, lyrics on the song include, “So cute when she is speaking/don’t let her catch you peeking,” and, “guess it’s really quite the switch/indeed the irony is rich/the course evaluation from a little sophomore b*tch.”

Students who read copies of the lyrics online said they found them upsetting.

Daniel Jarvis (23Ox) called the song “really creepy and out of pocket, and just not something anyone should put out in the world, let alone a professor.”

Leinweber, who was tenured in 1999, has taught several history courses every semester, including four courses in fall 2021. He is not slated to teach any courses in the spring.

In a lengthy statement to the Wheel, Leinweber apologized for publishing the song but said the song intended to

address what he called online harassment from students.

“This song was written over ten years ago as a commentary on the course evaluations professors sometimes receive, which can be cruel and unfair,” Leinweber wrote. “I removed this song from the internet long ago and deeply regret having written it in the first place, let alone putting it on the internet.”

Leinweber stated that he has received “ridiculously low course evaluation scores” from students over the years who make “hurtful comments” that have “a dramatic impact on my life and career.”

“This song was – to me – a human reaction to the unfair evaluations certain students will sometimes give, which can affect me psychologically for weeks,” Leinweber wrote.

After sending the statement, Leinweber sent another email to the Wheel two days later stating that

See STUDENTS, Page 3

A Deadly Obsession: EMORY LIFE Emory SPORTS Braves Win Newest Season of ‘You’ ... Pride Hosts Annual Drag First World Series in 26 PAGE 6 Show ...

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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

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After COVID-19-related uncertainty, Diwali celebrations take place this week

By Karina Nehra Contributing Writer After months of uncertainty over whether Diwali celebrations would occur in the fall due to COVID-19-related complications, celebrations started taking place Nov. 1. Emory University’s Diwali celebration, spearheaded by the Indian Cultural Association (ICA) and the Hindu Students Association (HSA), is typically among the largest student events of the year.

While most students will be away from home, Emory’s Hindu Chaplain Shweta Chaitanya said there will be no shortage of Diwali celebrations on campus.

Among the events are an ICA and HSA sponsored mehndi night on Nov. 4, a planned pooja by HSA on Nov. 5 which will include reenactments of portions of the Hindu epic “Ramayana” and ICA’s Diwali bash at McDonough Field on Nov. 6. Rollins School of Public Health students also have tentative plans to create traditional rangoli art forms.

The Oxford campus will host a Diwali celebration orchestrated by the Oxford HSA on Nov. 11.

ICA Cultural Chair Tanu Pendharkar (20Ox, 22C) also noted that ICA moved India Week, which is usually held in the spring, to this semester. The week consists of a weekful of events beginning Nov. 1 and culminating in the Diwali extravaganza on Nov. 6.

In addition to the mehndi night on Thursday, there will be a movie night on Wednesday and a lunch at the Canon Chapel hosted by International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS).

Diwali, which falls on Nov. 4 this year, is a major religious festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists that represents the triumph of the forces of light over darkness.

Chaitanya, who was hired in February, understands the long-held importance of Diwali as a highlight event for the University’s Hindu community, South Asian student body and

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

Diwali, which falls on Nov. 4 this year, is a major religious festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists. students at large.

In discussing the significance of Diwali for Hindus, Chaitanya noted that Hindus “come to it in many different ways.” While the occasion is deeply religious for some, she said the holiday is of a more cultural nature for others.

Chaitanya noted that the term Diwali originated from the Sanskrit word dipavali, which translates to “row of lights.”

The religious meanings attributed to the festival vary. Some Hindus view Diwali as symbolic of the defeat of the demon-king Ravana by the deity Rama, as chronicled in Hindu literature, while others also associate the holiday with the god Krishna.

One of the prominent rituals during the festivities is Lakshmi Pooja. Chaitanya

said this ceremony involves worshipping the Hindu goddess of prosperity by lighting lamps to invite her presence into families’ homes.

The familial component of celebrating Diwali cannot be understated, Chaitanya said, explaining that families often bond by cooking large amounts of traditional foods and deep cleaning the house together.

The Diwali party, which will take place this Saturday from 7-11 p.m., is a scaled-down version of the typical annual celebration.

Pendharkar detailed three main components to this year’s Diwali celebration: food, performances and presentations.

The food involves a full dinner and dessert featuring North and South Indian

Students reflect on value of local elections

Continued from Page 1

important one,” Ruby Grodin (25C) said.

Stella Fox (25C), a first-time voter from Massachusetts, said that she felt like it was important for her to cast her vote in Georgia.

“I always wanted to vote in Georgia versus Massachusetts because I feel like it makes more of a difference when I vote, especially if Massachusetts is always blue,” Fox said.

Students like Iris Chen (22C) stressed the importance of voting in local elections because of the issues at stake in those races, saying, “They impact Emory and the city that we’re in.”

In particular, Chen said that she believed the mayoral race was important because of how the mayor’s office influences police policy. Over the last several months, the city increased the portion of the city budget dedicated towards the Atlanta Police Department and passed a proposal to lease land to the Atlanta Police Foundation for a new police and fire training facility Chen also cited the importance of council decisions in improving road infrastructure and the value of school board elections.

“There’s a lot of education inequity in the city of Atlanta,” Chen said.

“Voting in the school board is what changes that, or at least hopes to.”

Ethan Feldman (22C), who worked on Moore’s campaign doing research and election data visualization, said he knew many students were interested in city policing policies based on protests in summer 2020 and that this election is “basically a referendum on

cuisines, along with a food truck serving chai and other hot drinks given the chilly outdoor environment.

Several groups are lined up to perform, including dance teams Karma Bhangra, Savera and SaRaas that will showcase an array of traditional and folk South Asian dances.

There will also be presentation segments by the ICA board to explain the meaning of Diwali. After the fixed programming, there will be a DJ and an open dance floor.

Pendharkar shed light on the pandemic-related logistics that complicated planning for the traditional Diwali bash. The Diwali party is usually hosted at a hotel in Atlanta, such as the Omni Hotel which was used in 2019, which was the intended venue for this year.

Lin Yu/Staff Photographer

— Contact Karina Nehra at knehra@emory.edu

Suspect worked for University contractor

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The Emory Presbyterian Church served as one of two polling locations near the Emory campus. because of how important local races that [policing].”

Voter turnout for young people is are, people often don’t turn out for consistently low, with the 18-29 year them,” Shankar said.

Shankar said that “getting people old demographic only breaking a 50% turnout rate in 2020. While Feldman aware that there was an election hapsaid that he is “pretty skeptical” about pening” was essential. young voter turnout increasing, he said “It was really important to me that he believes it is important to connect we bring awareness about how critical the issues of each election to Emory these small decisions that are being students. made in local government are, just as Other students got involved by lead- much as the ones that are happening at ing efforts to encourage young voters the national level,” Shankar said. “We have the tools to be able to change the to cast a ballot in the local elections.

Young Democrats of Emory city of Atlanta in so many ways.”

Secretary Ash Meenakumari Shankar (23C) helped organize a ballot break— Contact Anjali Huynh at alhuynh@emory.edu, Sarah Davis down posted on social media and visat sarah.davis@emory.edu and its from various candidates. He also Kira Barich at did canvassing work, talking to voters and putting up flyers for the Dekalb kira.barich@emory.edu County Democrats.

“The reason I got involved was

There were two COVID-19 restrictions this fall that made using venues unfeasible, causing ICA to initially postpone Diwali festivities to the spring semester. For one, the event capacity would have been limited to 250 people under University guidelines. The event traditionally has crowds of 700 to 800.

Moreover, the restrictions prevent school-sponsored organizations from serving food indoors, so all food would have to come in pre-packaged boxes and be consumed outdoors.

Pendharkar discussed ICA members’ collective disappointment of not celebrating the festival during its actual occurrence, given its cultural importance to many South Asians. Accordingly, ICA discussed hosting a small outdoor celebration.

“As the event started coming together, we realized that we had the capabilities to make it almost as grand as it usually is,” Pendharkar said.

Nevertheless, there will be some missing elements from past Diwali celebrations due to the planning uncertainties and the event being held outdoors.

For instance, ICA was unable to contract a decorating vendor in time and assumed personal responsibility for the decorations.

The event will also be at reduced capacity compared to 2019 levels. While around 800 attendees were expected in 2019, 500 are expected this year.

Pendharkar noted that University professors and staff are still welcome to attend the festivities.

Though ICA is still planning celebratory festivities in the spring, Pendharkar said that this will be ICA’s main Diwali event “from the point of view of should we go all out or should people expect a really fancy event.”

“We do hope to make it special, even if it is in a modified setting,” Pendharkar said.

While Gordon’s alleged vandalism included racist slurs and symbols, Emory Professor of Law Kay Levine told the Wheel that “the words of the statute technically fit the behavior,” but it will be up to the prosecutor to use the new hate crime statute.

“I can tell you that in most places, the hate crime statute carries a higher level of intent that the prosecutor has to prove, and higher penalties, than a basic crime like second-degree burglary,” Levine wrote in an email to the Wheel.

“But the prosecutor is under no obligation to charge either the more serious crime or the less serious crime.”

Employees at the Emory Autism Center felt horrified in the aftermath

of the alleged vandalism. “People were very upset; they felt very concerned that their sense of trust and safety for the center was at risk,” said Director of Emory Autism Center Mikle South.

“Their mission is to help the autism community, so they felt like the mission was disrupted by this intruder.”

The center has since implemented new security measures such as video monitoring and requiring visitors to use their IDs to swipe in. South added that Campus Services and the University will conduct their own background checks when employing outside contractors going forward.

— Contact Lauren Baydaline at lauren.baydaline@emory.edu

Courtesy of Emory University

The Emory Autism Center was vandalized with racist slurs and swastikas over the weekend of Aug. 7.

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The Emory Wheel

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

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Emory will not operate mass Students react to inappropriate lyrics booster distribution site Continued from Page 1

By Madison Hopkins Senior Staff Writer Certain recipients of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, as well as anyone over 18 years old who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, may now receive booster vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Oct. 21.

The CDC had previously announced recommendations only for the Pfizer vaccine, but the latest statement includes guidelines for the other two vaccines available in the U.S. According to CDC guidelines, recipients of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are eligible for a booster if they are at least 65 years old. Those at least 18 years old and a member of one of three at-risk groups — those living in long-term care facilities, those with “underlying medical conditions” and those who face high occupational exposure risk — are also eligible for a booster.

The type of booster vaccine received does not have to match the type received for the initial series. Not everyone who is eligible may need to receive a booster dose.

“We do encourage everyone who believes they may be eligible to consult with their primary health care physician to really understand, one, if they are eligible, and two, if they should receive the booster,” said Associate Vice President and Executive Director of COVID-19 Response and Recovery Amir St. Clair. “Just because you are eligible, doesn’t mean that you are actually recommended to get the vaccine.”

Emory University responded to the

Courtesy of Ayushi A rgawal

The CDC now recommends anyone over 18 years old who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and anyone at least 65 years old who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines to get a booster shot. new recommendations in an Oct. 27 series for those who are severely immuemail to students from St. Clair. Booster nocompromised, while booster doses vaccines are not currently required for are given after the protection provided any faculty, staff or students. by the initial series has faded over time.

Emory Healthcare will not operBooster vaccines are available to a ate a central distribution site, like the wider population than third doses, but Northlake Vaccination Center that was students should contact SHS, or the clinopen throughout the spring and sum- ic where they plan to receive a vaccine, to determine if they are eligible, said mer, to administer boosters.

“The administration and distribution Executive Director of Student Health of boosters will look different than the Services Sharon Rabinovitz.

“If students have any questions, they first and second dose series,” St. Clair explained. “It’ll come in different waves can send a message in the [patient] portal and more staggered, and it is not required.” to the COVID vaccine nurse,” Rabinovitz Students can receive COVID-19 said. “They can work through the provaccines at Emory University Student cess and understand whether they meet Health Services (SHS), whether it is the the criteria or not, or if it’s in their best first or second dose of an initial vaccine interest or not given the situation.” series, a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna or a booster dose.

— Contact Madison Hopkins at Third doses supplement the initial mhopki6@emory.edu

he planned to publish a video to his YouTube account detailing “how cruel” students can be to their professors. He noted that the video would highlight the Wheel reporter who contacted him and another named student.

Leinweber said he would speak in this video, which would be interspersed with clips of him playing guitar, about how students could be “young, sheltered, ambitious careerists.”

“I know this video will generate a lot of interest … I want to make sure my perspective gets out there, along with my guitar playing,” Leinweber wrote.

By press time, Leinweber had not published such a video.

Hicks wrote that he was “deeply disturbed” by the second email that Leinweber sent to the Wheel, saying that “this interaction crossed the lines of decorum and professionalism.”

“We conveyed to the professor that his action was unacceptable, and he has apologized to the student,” Hicks said. “As this is a personnel matter, Emory is unable to provide additional information.”

Some students suggested the song is a deterrent to taking his class, saying they would feel “uncomfortable” with him as a professor.

Oumy Gueye (23Ox) first recalled reading the copy of the song lyrics on one of the field trips for a pre-orientation program.

“No matter how many times I read it, it shocks me because of how many explicit things he says about the ‘little sophomore girl,’” Gueye said. “With being a professor on such a small campus, it’s just not okay because he could have those thoughts and write it out about anyone, whether you

Univ. kicks off ‘2O36’ fundraising campaign, denies rumor about misused COVID-19 funds

By Kelly Zhuang Contributing Writer In anticipation of Emory University’s bicentennial anniversary, the school launched the 2O36 campaign on Oct. 22 as the second phase of a fundraising initiative designed to garner $4 billion by 2025.

According to the campaign website, fundraising efforts will focus on student flourishing, faculty eminence and research excellence by “investing in people for the benefit of people.” The campaign aims to set aside $750 million for student support and $900 million for faculty support.

The silent phase of the campaign, during which the University raised money without publicly announcing it, ran from Sept. 1, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2021. During the subsequent leadership phase, the University secured $2.6 billion from more than 75,000 individual donors.

The campaign kickoff, which occurred at an event on the quad, signified the beginning of the community phase. Moving forward, the University will seek to inform potential donors of the campaign’s goals and make the campaign’s progress available to the public.

“The 2O36 Campaign is all about forging partnerships with great purpose and bold ambition to invest in our people who will shape our destiny while broadcasting the Emory story with pride,” University President Gregory L. Fenves said in a speech at the event.

The campaign will focus on expanding and strengthening student opportunities by allocating funds to student support groups. The University will utilize the funds to provide ample resources and solid foundations for students who positively impact the Emory community. “​​ It is philanthropy that brings these incredible students to Emory so they can flourish with a distinc-

tive college education and experience that prepares them for a lifetime of accomplishment and service,” Fenves said.

Investment in endowed professorship, which is providing support and compensation for distinct professors, is also fundamental, the campaign website notes.

To foster community and incentivize faculty to work for the University, the campaign will aim to strengthen the endowed professorships, which Fenves said “are too few and woefully underfunded,” by adding 154 new endowed professorships to the current 77. “[Students] are immersed in a curriculum carefully cultivated by dedicated faculty,” said Dean of the Candler School of Theology Jan Love. “That deliberately engages the communities around us as educational laboratories in learning how to bring about positive change in individual lives and in society.”

The 17 schools, student life, research and academic institutions at the University all have different campaign priorities. The Goizueta Business School wants to expand its entrepreneurship program, Emory College wants to increase need-based scholarships and the Rollins School of Public Health hopes to expand careerenhancing experiences.

“I want this campaign to reveal who we truly are at Emory and what we can contribute so that we can reach new heights,” Fenves said. “If we boldly invest in student flourishing, faculty eminence and research excellence, Emory will lead like never before.”

In the days before the event, some students claimed on social media that they believed the University used a portion of federal COVID-19 relief funds to finance the kickoff.

Several chalked messages including “Sponsored by the Emory COVID Relief fund” on the quad during the campaign.

However, Assistant Vice President

Courtesy of Emory University

Associate Professor of History David Leinweber wrote the song “Little Sophomore Girl” in 2012.

take his class or not.”

A female student in one of Leinweber’s classes, who was granted anonymity because of fear of backlash from Leinweber, said that some of the lyrics’ sexual undertones have made “every interaction you have with him uncomfortable.” This student said she has subsequently changed the way she dresses in the class to be less revealing.

“I’ll never be able to go to him for help because I’ll always be overthinking how he looks at me,” she said.

Sham Kassisieh (23Ox) expressed discomfort with the lack of wider acknowledgement of the song from Oxford.

“I thought there would be a zero-tolerance policy for anything of this sort,” Kassisieh said. “It honestly makes me question what kind of school this is.”

— Contact Eva Roytburg at eva.roytburg@emory.edu

EPD cannot investigate sexual battery

Continued from Page 1

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

Dean of the Emory School of Medicine Vikas Sukhatme speaks at Emory University’s “2O36” fundraising campaign. of Communications and Marketing Laura Diamond wrote in an Oct. 27 email to the Wheel that “no federal COVID-19 relief funds were used to support the 2O36 kick-off or any other aspect of the campaign.”

Diamond also stated that no tuition or student fees were used to fund the event.

Diamond wrote the event was funded with money from the University’s general funds, drawing specifically from interest and earnings on cash and short-term investments.

Emory received about $33 million total in federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund awards through three phases. From July 1 through Sep. 30, 2021, Emory distributed $22 million directly to students with significant financial need, according to Diamond.

“The remaining $11 million was used to offset a small portion of the cost of keeping students and community safe during the pandemic, this includes COVID-19 testing, quarantine and isolation care of students,

and other programs and services,” Diamond wrote.

— Contact Kelly Zhuang at kelly.zhuang@emory.edu

Homecoming concert,” the post read. “We want to make sure students who may have been impacted have resources.”

SPC President Thomas Heagy (22B) did not provide further comment on the SPC post, instead referencing the Instagram post. He reiterated that there are resources for students affected by these incidents.

Students looking for resources can contact the EPD at (404) 727-6115 or Emory’s Title IX Office and Office of Respect.

Diamond wrote that anyone is encouraged to contact interim Title IX Coordinator for Students Marti McCaleb at marti.mccaleb@emory.edu to learn about survivor resources and rights.

— Contact Gabriella Lewis at gvlewis@emory.edu and Claire Fenton at claire.fenton@emory.edu

The Emory Wheel Volume 102, Issue 13 © 2021 The Emory Wheel Alumni Memorial University Center, Room 401 630 Means Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30322 Business (404) 727-6178 Editor-in-Chief Isaiah Poritz iporitz@emory.edu

Founded in 1919, The Emory Wheel is the financially and editorially independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University in Atlanta. The Wheel is a member publication of Media Council, Emory’s organization of student publications. The Wheel reserves the rights to all content as it appears in these pages, and permission to reproduce material must be granted by the editor-in-chief.

The statements and opinions expressed in the Wheel are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Wheel Editorial Board or of Emory University, its faculty, staff or administration.

The Wheel is also available online at www.emorywheel.com.

The Emory Wheel

O������ W��������, N������� 3, 2021 | Opinion Editors: Sophia Ling (sophia.ling@emory.edu) & Martin Li (martin.li2@emory.edu)

EDITORIALS

Admin, listen to student voices Facebook’s new imperialism About 150 students at Howard University (D.C.) conducted a sit-in protest in early October against negligent administrators who refused to attend town hall meetings about unsanitary and unsafe living conditions. These conditions include mold, flooding and lack of air conditioning and cleaning supplies in student dorms. For 21 days, students have been occupying Blackburn Hall in tents but have been met with both administrative calls to end the sit-in and increases in police presence to forcibly remove students from the Hall.

Howard University, one of America’s elite Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), has set an extensive precedent for student mobilization. The unreceptive Howard administration has dealt with similar student protests in the past, like the call to incorporate Black studies in the university curriculum. As recently as 2018, Howard students staged a 9-day protest over issues with housing, tuition and representation.

Although they reached a deal with the administration back then, students saw little direct action or substantive change, only empty promises that the university would try its best to meet the demands.

These historic protests also follow a larger trend of student unrest across the country, where university administrations at large continue to ignore student demands with meaningless platitudes to pacify student bodies.

Universities should not seek to suppress their students; rather, administrators should strive to incorporate student input to increase the quality and care of student experience at their institutions.

Currently, Howard students have a short list of demands for their administrators: an in-person town hall with University President Wayne

A. I. Frederick, reinstitution of student, faculty and alumni positions on the Board of Trustees with voting power, a meeting with student leadership about the university’s housing plan and no academic retaliation against student protesters. Two of these four demands are only meetings. But rather than comply with student demands, the administration has deployed both the media and Washington, D.C. police to suppress and delegitimize student voices in an attempt to preserve their institution’s neat, trimmed image of a functioning university.

The brewing discontent between university administrations and their student bodies reflect an ingrained, often unspoken, power dynamic

University administrations at large continue to ignore student demands with meaningful platitudes to pacify student bodies. between leadership and students.

Howard senior and student activist Folasade Fashina told the Wheel that the protest “isn’t just a Howard issue or even an HBCU issue. This is an institution issue. For far too long institutions have been allowed to prioritize their existence over the well-being of those they claim to serve.”

These words ring especially true as we witness campus demonstrations at other schools including graduate student strikes at Columbia University (N.Y.), housing protests across the Atlanta University Center Consortium and in recent years, Emory’s

own graduate union organizing for fairer wage practices.

Student activism has historically played an influential role in reshaping higher education and the current state of the institutions that we attend. At the height of the civil rights movement, college students protested against their universities to increase diversity and protect marginalized groups from further discrimination. Sometimes, students have changed policies and encouraged administrators to rethink the status quo, but more often than not, they are met with inaction and condemnation. So, rather than enhancing a culture of fear and disconnection, Howard administrators must give their students the town hall they are demanding to discuss the housing crisis, rising tuition costs and reinstatement of all affiliate trustee positions. By heeding the requests of students, it would not only improve the quality of life for those at Howard but also prove to students that their opinions are valued and not just background noise.

Through raising awareness and attention of #BlackburnTakeover by posting on Twitter, creating petitions and donating to the student activists, Emory students must stand in solidarity with student protesters. Sharing videos from The Live Movement, the group that started all of this, of the student protests on Tik Tok and Instagram also spreads the word of where protests are and what they look like.

It’s never a time to turn a blind eye on our peer institutions, especially in the face of unrelenting institutional subversion. Universities pretend to acknowledge student voices, but show little patience and ignore their demands. But what they ask for is not difficult or time-consuming: just the bare minimum of communication.

Last week, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta. The announcement came after weeks of public scrutiny following the release of the “Facebook Papers,” a trove of leaked documents exposing the inner workings of the tech behemoth. The leaks revealed more of what Facebook actually is — a powerful corporation whose neo-colonial tendencies threaten access to free information and privacy.

Although based in the U.S., Facebook is primarily an international company. About 70% of the platform’s users are outside the U.S., and it exerts considerable influence on global sociopolitical affairs. This influence often fuels polarization, misinformation campaigns and bigoted messages under the guise of free speech. The Facebook Papers give us a peek into the real-world effects of the company’s internal decisions, from CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s personal call last year to cut down on “anti-state” posts in Vietnam, to the platform’s role in fanning ethnic violence in India. How Zuckerberg, a private citizen with no public accountability, runs this social media giant has major repercussions around the world.

Zuckerberg’s vision for Meta, where online social interactions are done through a virtual reality-mediated platform run by Facebook, hopes to redefine his metaverse as “the successor to the mobile internet.” Although this vision is still far from fruition, the idea of the internet being mediated through one private corporation has damning implications for the fruition of media and political isolation. A similar phenomenon is occurring as Facebook expands into Africa. Its long-term plan to become “synonymous with the internet” in developing countries without a solution for the proliferation of fake news will only increase

polarization.

Many scholars, including Emory Professor of English Deepika Bahri, accuse Facebook of engaging in neo-colonialism by using indirect means of economic and cultural imperialism to gain political control of developing nations. Today, the internet is the most recent avenue of neo-colonialism. The lack of fact checking and widespread popularity of Whatsapp in Brazil helped elect right-wing demagogue Jair Bolsanaro to the presidency. As such, when racism, hate speech and disinformation run unbridled on the app, it leads to real-life harm like abduction rumors that led to mobs beating people to death in India.

Zuckerberg’s successes and bold ambitions are driving Facebook to unprecedented heights. Yet his unilateral decisions are only loosely held accountable by his shareholders and competing multi-billionaire media magnates. Without governmentmandated transparency and stringent oversight, Zuckerberg’s true intentions within Facebook will remain largely unknown to users.

Facebook is one of the most influential media sites of the information age, and will likely maintain its global reach. How it shapes the world will leave us reliant on virtual realities and create an isolated generation more prone to depression. In the face of its political, social and ethical concerns, many of which have come to light in the past few years, we must continue to probe Facebook’s intentions and call for governmentenforced accountability for the media site.

It is up to our generation to ensure that Facebook does not achieve its goal of becoming an all-encompassing Internet monopoly, especially in “underdeveloped nations” where it could entrench even greater dominance.

The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board.

The Editorial Board is composed of Viviana Barreto, Rachel Broun, Kyle Chan-Shue, Sara Khan, Martin Li, Sophia Ling, Demetrios Mammas, Daniel Matin, Daniela Parra del Riego Valencia, Sara Perez, Sophia Peyser, Ben Thomas, Chaya Tong and Leah Woldai.

The Emory Wheel Volume 102 | Number 13

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The Emory Wheel welcomes letters and op-ed submissions from the Emory community. Letters should be limited to 300 words and op-eds should be at least 500. Those selected may be shortened to fit allotted space or edited for grammar, punctuation and libelous content. Submissions reflect the opinions of individual writers and not of the Wheel’s Editorial Board or Emory University. Send emails to emorywheelexec@gmail.com or postal mail to The Emory Wheel, Drawer W, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322.

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The Emory Wheel

OPINION

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

5

Emory, reinstate landfill trashcans on campus When I walked into my freshman dorm on move-in day, it appeared to have everything I would need: a bed, desk, multiple drawers and dressers.

That is, until I had to throw away some of my moving day trash. To my surprise, my dorm room only came with a single bright blue recycling bin. Nothing more.

Little did I know, this was only the beginning. I soon found that the entire campus seemed to suffer from a mysterious lack of landfill bins. The meal containers from food trucks on Saturday nights. The twist ties on my chip bags. The gum wrapper in my pocket.

They all proved difficult to throw out.

While Emory’s attention to sustainability is admirable, eliminating landfill bins is not the solution. If Emory truly wants to encourage recycling and sustainability, it must put more trash bins on campus.

Students want sustainability just as much as the University, but the inability to put trash in the landfill exacerbates the problem. “I’m a little skeptical that the lack of landfill bins available on campus actually results in greater sustainability,” Ada Demling (25C) said.

“I think that Emory should be more realistic with their approach to landfill on campus.”

Emory students frequently have no choice but to put their trash in the

wrong place. Not all waste can be trash to make sure recycling centers that would otherwise be recycled. Brothrown in the compost or recycling, but can run efficiently. ken glass shards and loose shredded waste thrown in the wrong bin could When a load of recyclable materials paper also pose a problem, getting contaminate the entire load. “When gets contaminated by landfill items, the mixed in with other items and making there aren't trash cans them difficult to recover in close proximity, stuand sort. Emory’s lack dents usually try to of landfill only serves to decide if their trash is encourage recycling more closely related to contamination.

As compost or recycling Goodgold pointed out, and put it in one of “It is inevitable that those bins,” Deena students will need to Goodgold (25C) said. In throw away some trash other words, when studuring the day, and dents inevitably throw having trash cans in landfill items into those addition to recycling blue recycling bins, it and compost bins can brings the entire recyhelp sort the waste cling process down. more accurately.”

Emory uses both “fiveLandfill items also stream recycling” and a affect the entire efficacy “dual-stream setup.” of recycling centers. For ALLY HOM/PHOTO EDITOR The first includes comone, the machines that post, plastics and metsort recycling are only Emory needs more composting bins to improve efficiency. als, mixed paper, white able to sort recycling. In paper, and landfill while 2015, The Chicago Trithe latter only has recybune reported on plascling and compost. One of Emory’s entire shipment will be turned away. tic bags clogging machines at recycling recycling vendors sorts out items that The average recycling contamination centers around the city, with one direcare not recyclable and burns them for rate is 25%, meaning that 1 in every 4 tor estimating that it costs an extra fuel. Given that sorting itself takes an recycled items is contaminated. One $9,500 a month in labor to untangle enormous amount of time and major issue is food contamination. bags from machines. Every setback resources, Emory’s sorting system puts Items like pizza boxes and unrinsed delays the process and backs up the the burden on students to sort their jars can taint an entire load of material recycling center.

Recycling helps the environment and decreases waste, but not at the expense of eliminating trash cans from our lives completely. Emory should continue its efforts at sustainability, and adding landfill bins would, ironically, be a major step forward. Dorm rooms should come with both recycling and landfill bins, so that students would not be forced to automatically throw items meant for the landfill into the recycling or compost for lack of options. Instead of forcing students to sort recycling into three different bins, the University should encourage students to differentiate between landfill and recycling — the only sorting that ultimately makes a difference. In addition, Emory should work harder to educate students about where items should be sorted, and the recycling process as a whole.

Emory wish cycles, tossing anything and everything into the recycling with the hope that it is somehow recyclable.

In doing so, it sabotages its own efforts at creating a sustainable campus, and inhibits the recycling process all together.

Landfill is not something that magically becomes recyclable or can be wished away. It must be thrown out.

Chaya Tong (25C) is from the Bay Area, California.

Stock vending machines with baking and cooking supplies Two weeks ago, I spent my Friday afternoon hounding down staff members at the Emporium, DCT, Cox dining hall and Kaldis asking for one common food item: cornstarch for making pastry cream. My wild goose chase turned up nothing.

While I trudged back to my room on the other side of campus, I had an idea. What if vending machines had baking and cooking supplies?

Think about it: what if you’re homesick and want to enjoy food that reminds you of home? I often wish I could eat my mom’s pork rib soup or cook myself a plate of eggs and tomatoes, a classic Chinese dish. The lack of healthy food options, compounded by Emory’s distance from any reputable grocery store, only proves to me that it’s time for the University to invest in both baking supplies and fresh groceries.

Unfortunately, the effort to make one meal in a dorm is grossly inefficient. One grocery trip will inevitably lead to buying far more than you need, resulting not only in potential food waste but also a complete time suck. The same applies to baking; buying a bag of flour and sugar inevitably means you have to continue to bake to use up your supplies. But baking bread or cooking in college require advanced scheduling, accounting for time spent not just to cook or bake, but also buying groceries and waiting on transportation.

In a metropolitan city like Atlanta, owning a car seems almost unnecessary; certainly, the MARTA, Emory shuttles, and other buses across the city would be sufficient for a quick grocery trip to the nearest Kroger or Publix. I was mistaken. Public transportation in Atlanta, as is in the rest of the U.S., continues to be an abysmal disappointment. Obtaining

a parking permit at Emory is $336 of sushi is nearly $11 and not even syrup, marshmallows and other per semester – and depending on payable with meal swipes. Unfortu- sweets does not benefit students how often you have time to go out, nately, a lot of the meal options at trying to focus on their health. this price tag, in addition to paying Emory are not healthy, despite the Sometimes people want to eat more for gas and car than just raw salad maintenance, vegetables each doesn’t seem day, and having worth it. Similarly, the chance to cook waiting for an those vegetables to Uber, getting the personal prefergroceries and then ence is healthy coming back to and rewarding. campus wastes Though organiunnecessary time zations like Emory where you could Cooking Club and be doing homeEmory’s chapter of work or working Spoon University on a new hobby can be effective in like playing guitar. sharing low-cost, People are unable easy-to-make to carve out space meals for even the in their schedule most incompetent for a home cooked cooks, it’s useless meal and must if no one can settle for the rotatobtain the items ing DCT menu they need. People that serves nachos will just scroll past and quesadillas the email like they for lunch and dindid with President ner for nearly a Greg Fenves’ feeweek. As a result, ble platitude about people with cars mental health. and a means of V e n d i n g transportation machines, albeit ALISON BARLOW/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR become a despersometimes also ate social compricey, offer innuEmory needs vending machines stocked with fresh groceries and baking supplies. modity that everymerable benefits, one wants to especially for the befriend. high tempo, nonBut for the rest routine college of us who are too socially anxious to school’s lofty claims otherwise. lifestyle: they are efficient, carry a ask our friend’s roommate for a ride Adding dieting and nutritional facts diverse number of products and keep or walk up to random people on does not automatically imply that all people happy on a whim. But these campus and ask if they have a car, the food that is served meets those machines can be filled with more vending machines are the next best standards: repeatedly offering bacon than processed fast food – quite way to get what we need. and tater tots, both fried foods, as frankly, the fact that we haven’t For most Emory students, their well as pancakes and French toast thought to put other items in them is primary source of food is the dining where people have the option to pile not only a waste of resources. There halls or the Emporium, where a box the stacks high with chocolate chips, are vending machines around cam-

pus that have school supplies, so how difficult would it be to tuck fresh groceries and baking supplies into metal spirals in a box?

In fact, fresh food in a vending machine is not a dream or some far-fetched plan. VendLife, a Chinabased vending machine manufacturer, sells products from traditional drinks and snacks to fresh food and wine. In particular, the fruits and vegetables in the machine are in a temperature-controlled box and catered to a small enough serving size that all the food can be eaten in one meal to prevent food waste.

Though VendLife doesn’t have it yet, vending machines could include measuring cups, measuring bowls and whisks for those more inclined toward baking. They can also easily be stocked with non-perishable cooking supplies like cornstarch, a vital ingredient to making pastry cream for cream puffs, or yeast for bread.

Sure, increasing accessibility of these household items isn’t guaranteed to satisfy all your cravings – but at the very least, it eliminates a significant portion of time that you would have had to spend. Instead, with the press of a couple of buttons, you could be well on your way to enjoying a hearty meal reminiscent of home.

Stop thinking about vending machines just as an unhealthy quick fix or a meal replacement when you’re almost late to class. They are the cornerstones of convenience and an inevitable staple in college life when you’re awake at 3:30 in the morning for the fifth time in one week just trying to find some greener and less greasier food.

Sophia Ling (24C) is from Carmel Indiana.

&

The Emory Wheel

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2021 | Arts & Entertainment Editors: Eythen Anthony (eaantho@emory.edu) and Jackson Schneider (jdschn3@emory.edu)

A deadly obsession: the newest season of ‘You’

BY AMA OFOSU

Contributing Writer This review contains spoilers

NOOR ALDAYEH / Contributing Writer

JPEGMAFIA celebrates the birth of ‘LP!’ at the Masquerade

BY ELAINE ZHOU

Contributing Writer I heard “1539 N. Calvert” for the first time in my junior year of high school at a poorly-lit basement soirée. After asking about the song on AUX, some guy with longer, tousled hair and paintstained denim retorted, “It’s JPEGMAFIA … he’s underground, so you probably won’t know him.”

That was the year Barrington Hendricks — professionally known as JPEGMAFIA, but more endearingly known as Peggy — released “Veteran,” and no amount of external gatekeeping could have kept that album out of my rotation. Between his experimental production, zealous rap style and defiant lyricism that subverted political structures, Peggy’s music possessed a rawness that was novel and aweinspiring.

Nearly four years and four albums later, the Brooklyn-bred rapper seized the stage at the Masquerade venue in downtown Atlanta. Peggy came on for an after-hours show at around 1 a.m., and fittingly so: the whole set played out like a surrealist dream reminiscent of a religious experience.

When the lights dimmed,

Peggy flew onto the stage, which was just adorned with a table and two laptops for his beats. The minimalism only magnified Peggy’s electric stage-presence when he opened with, “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot.” With fans counting him in with “HEYs,” he metamorphosed into JPEGMAFIA, bolting up to the crowd as they devoutly shouted every word back to him. Peggy was our deity tonight.

Sporting his signature paisley bandana, a “JP” branded utility vest and 5-inch shorts, JPEGMAFIA exhibited his playful wittiness when he asked, “Where the bald people at?” A fan ascended from the crowd, and JPEGMAFIA placed a hand on his naked head: a tender christening. It was the perfect segue into his track “BALD!”. As soon as the airy instrumentals faded in, the crowd ecstatically sang; his fans alone carried the song to finish.

In a conglomeration of distorted glitches, textured bass and jumpy instrumentals, JPEGMAFIA’s avant-garde sound rocketed off of every wall, and dissonance never sounded so heavenly. Apparent in “I Cannot Fucking Wait Til Morrissey Dies,”

Peggy performed his duly abrasive and self-explanatory track, and I saw first-hand the fiery, unapologetic rapper that his fans revere so much. The crowd was moved in unity by Peggy’s fervid confrontation of the figures we collectively hate most.

His Atlanta show date doubled as the “LP!” release date and his birthday. Indulging in a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Champagne just before, JPEGMAFIA possessed a comfortability that translated into his movements. His dancing ranged from fluid to explosive to fabulous.

One of the most memorable moments was when he was reduced to the stage floor, profoundly lying in a fetal position.

Just when I thought the absurdism was at a peak, two large men sauntered on stage in skeleton makeup and a mask depicting Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF).

Nobody could have anticipated when skeleton-man (who was actually Darby Allin) and Peggy lifted MJF and proceeded to suplex him into a table, destroying it past no return. The bit was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the night’s surrealism and has now been ingrained in my memory.

It is an incredible sensation to attend a show where the fans love the artist just as much as their artist loves them. JPEGMAFIA frequently interacted with the crowd, dapping-up people in the front row and even taking a fan on stage. The crowd reciprocated his kind energy in serenading JPEGMAFIA with “Happy Birthday”: an acapella in celebration of his 32nd. The atmosphere was especially intimate during the penultimate song “Free The Frail,” where the only light source in the venue was from a multitude of cellular flashlights raised to the air.

Concluding with his grimey track “Rainbow Six,” JPEGMAFIA hunched over in exhaustion as fans ruptured in cheering. Glistening in sweat under the bright stage hues, he had left nothing on the table. From blasting “Veteran” through my headphones in high school to experiencing his galvanizing presence in real time, I speak on behalf of everyone there when I say I was moved to sublimity at the night’s closing.

Thank you Peggy, and happy birthday.

NOOR ALDAYEH / Contributing Writer

JPEGMAFIA, affectionately known as “Peggy” celebrates his birthday and the release of his new album, “LP!”, at the Masquerade in Atlanta.

- Contact Elaine Zhou at elaine.hsihang.zhou@emory.edu

Netflix’s “You” is an exceptional dark thriller that captured its viewers’ hearts in its first two seasons. The psychological series garnered great ratings because of its ability to make the audience side with, and even fall for, a sociopathic serial killer. Season three is no different. The plot and character development continue to challenge our moral convictions. It is not easy to sow doubt in the viewers’ minds with a murder drama, but “You” pulls this off with a combination of a charismatic lead, a dose of social commentary and lots of voice-over narration.

The first season introduces us to Joe (Penn Badgley), who at face value, is the average nice guy who works at the bookstore. However, this image quickly dissolves as Joe starts to stalk a customer named Beck (Elizabeth Lail). Joe is truly under the impression that he is the only one who is capable of protecting her, leading him to commit heinous acts in the name of love. Once Beck catches on to his obsession, Joe kills her. Season two brings us to Los Angeles,

where Joe seeks a fresh start.

There, he falls in love with a woman named Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) and follows her around just as he did Beck. Right as Joe is about to kill Love, she reveals to him that she is pregnant.

Season three of “You” brings us to the town of Madre Linda, a liberal, upper-class mecca full of tacky athleisure, keto diets and lifestyle blogs. Joe and Love Quinn-Goldberg are tasked with blending in to escape their murder-filled past. Joe’s twisted but somewhat relatable internal dialogue is our tour guide as he navigates this suburban utopia.

Season three introduces a fresh challenge as the newlyweds have a go at parenthood. Joe and Love get acclimated to their new community as the new family on the block. That is, until Joe falls for his wealthy neighbor, Natalie.

In true Joe nature, an obsession forms, and he resorts to breaking and entering, theft and textbook stalking. The cycle continues. Unlike the previous seasons, however, Joe now has a wife who is as crazy as him. To say that this couple is toxic is an understatement.

The juxtaposition of murder sprees to the white-picket lifestyle requires us to constantly remind ourselves that these people are se-

See NETFLIX page 7

PENN BADGLEY as JOE GOLDBERG in episode 301 of ‘YOU’

Cr. JOHN P. FLEENOR/NETFLIX © 2021

Classic books you should read: Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Sundial’

BY DEMETRIOS MAMMAS Editorial Board Member

After concluding “Hangsaman,” I can definitively say I fell in love with Shirley Jackson’s writing and her stinging critiques of U.S. society. Then, while searching for another compelling read, I stumbled on one of Jackson’s more comical works: “The Sundial” (1958). The novel is an absurd and dynamically constructed joyride with fascinating core characters that keep the dark comedy fresh in yet another magnificent analysis of the plight of female empowerment and wealth inequalities.

The story revolves around the Halloran family and the peculiar death of Lionel Halloran, the deed master of the exquisite, but borderline garish Halloran manor.

Suspicions arise within the family, and many believe his mother, Orianna, murdered Lionel. She stands to inherit the home in the event of his death because her

husband, Richard, is under her guardianship due to his advanced age and ailments. At that point, I thought the plot would unfold predictably by following beats similar to Rian Johnson’s film “Knives Out” (2019), dimming my will to continue. Yet, Jackson turns the dynamic of a family murder-mystery on its head, weaving a tale about doomsday cults and the apocalypse.

Aunt Fanny, Richard’s sister living at the manor, fears Orianna’s ownership of the deed, as Orianna despises her and will undoubtedly try to force her out of the family home. Distraught, Fanny wanders into the manor’s sprawling, mazelike gardens and stumbles upon a sundial, where she allegedly hears the voice of her father, the patriarch who built the manor. Her father warns of the onset of the end times and urges that the family must stick together to protect themselves and the manor. Consequently, the novel’s focus shifts with the resul-

See SHIRLEY page 7

The Emory Wheel

A&E

Netflix Thriller Delivers Exciting New Season Continued from page 6 rial killers. The third season is a back-and-forth of Love and Joe’s internal battles with their pasts and present desires as they struggle to embody the image of a perfect family. Both Love and Joe are stuck in an endless cycle of trying to convince themselves that they are a perfectly normal family, and it is the world around them that is wicked. Moments like bringing their child along to bury a dead body and fighting over whether it would scar the child are ironically funny.

Joe and Love are certainly troubled, but “You” offers something deeper than the shock value of next-door murderers. Instead, Joe and Love are funhouse mirrors that, at their core, are a reflection of us in an extreme, twisted, exaggerated way.

We are so convinced that our desires are puzzle pieces to internal peace and external acceptance. Joe wants to love and be cared for, and we root for him because it is something that we all want. Joe is a master architect of delusion and manipulation, and that is why we end up empathizing with him. He is the perfect antihero.

To my own shock, I found myself villainizing the townspeople of Madre Linda, but I did appreciate the subtle social commentary sprinkled throughout the season. The show touches on issues surrounding anti-vaxxers, missing white woman syndrome and addiction. Did I agree with

Love’s decision to knock out an anti-vaxxer with a bat? No. But did I feel bad for him? No. The show engages viewers in a dark way that allows them to live out fantasies that would not be accepted in the real world. Joe tortures a father who both conceals his son’s sex crimes and later bribes Ivy League admission officers. The world rarely prosecutes people of that class, and the show gives us a fictional but cathartic form of justice.

Also, the show points out and mocks the many shams of influencer culture. From preaching for environmental awareness but driving Jeep Wranglers to advocating for body positivity but outcasting everyone over a size two, this show calls out the hypocrisy that makes the people of the town seem more delusional than Love and Joe. Badgley’s amazing performance is the backbone of the show. The twisted charisma (and not to mention, attractiveness) that he brings to his role is what makes this show so compelling.

Only Badgley could make us feel so charmed by a murderer who chops up their victims’ bodies in a bakery and frames innocent people for the crime. As long as Badgley remains on the show, viewers will continue to watch murder after murder.

- Contact Ama Ofosu at ama.a.ofosu@emory.edu

Shirley Jackson Novel is a Must-Read

Continued from page 6

tant backstabbing, power-grabbing and general wanton chaos that emerges among the family members. Yet, their struggle to prepare themselves for the apocalypse is so over the top that it’s downright hysterical, thus lightening the darker overtones of the story.

A key selling point of “The Sundial” involves how the family dynamic before and after the apocalypse revelation underscores the struggle for female empowerment. In both cases, Orianna is evidently meant to serve as the vehicle for that dialogue.

Undisputedly, she is the family’s matriarch: dictating the coordination of preparations, providing authoritative direction and keeping the family in check. However, in Orianna’s pursuit to do so, she’s depicted as an emotionless harpy who is willing to kill her son and as dictatorial for imposing guidelines for her ideal female-centric society to emerge from the ashes of the old world order.

In Orianna’s view, her female-centric society is meant to contradict everything she despises about the present male-focused world. To Orianna, her husband’s incapacity, her son’s death and the potential of an apocalypse have afforded her authority that, at every other point of life, she’s either clawed to achieve or been forced to be silent. Perhaps that is why Orianna’s struggle is so sympathetic, even though her overarching characterization borders on that of a comedic villain — it reflects how ambitious women were falsely construed to be issues, not assets, during the 1950s. While such problems may not be as pronounced within today’s society, women across the board still face systemic inequality, which manifests in unequal pay, inadequate protection from violence, and sexist perceptions that degrade or objectify women.

Additionally, the Hallorans frequently belittle and disregard the capacity of the lower class.

Many in the family argue that the lower class is not worthy of being saved due to a lack of sophistication; thus, they should not know

about the apocalypse. Instead, the family chooses to host an end-ofthe-world party for them as a token of sympathy.

Yet, at that party, the wit and general normalness of the townsfolk is on full display. Whether it is the librarian or butcher, each individual takes the opportunity to elucidate the Hallorans’ ludicrous excesses, ability to waste time and eccentric behavior.

Moreover, during the entire novel, the Halloran manor’s appearance is reinforced for its splendor, excess and dignity; however, as the work progresses, the local townsfolk unveil a darker, more sinister story. The manor built by Richard’s father was done using unscrupulous means, whether through eminent domain, abusing contract laws to sue people into submission or buying them out by providing them better facilities to do business.

Together, these elements reflect oft seen inequalities in the ability of the rich to worry about nonsensical concerns compared to the working class’s desperate efforts to make ends meet. It also underscores the unethical lengths prominent business people today take to ascertain power and wealth.

In its finest moments, Jackson’s “The Sundial'' is a poignant reflection of the plight of female empowerment and inequalities experienced by the lower class.

Furthermore, the persistent absurdity of the Hallorans’ will to embrace the questionable doomsday proclamation makes for an oddly satisfying comedic payoff to its darker subjects.

As a whole, “The Sundial” is a masterful work of subverted expectations, creating stinging social commentary that intertwines beautifully with moments of hilarity to deliver a delightful read.

Mammas’ article is part of an ongoing column featuring reviews of classic books that one should read.

- Contact Demetrios Mammas at demetrios.christos.mammas@emory.edu

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

7

Shaky Knees 2021: Kept on two feet by the classics

COURTESY OF SYDNEY GAWLIK and Shaky Knees

Crowds gather at Shaky Knees 2019. This year’s festival was the first since COVID-19 disrupted the live music industry.

BY GABRIEL HARR-SIEBENLIST Contributing Writer

Shaky Knees, held this year from Oct. 22-24 at Central Park in the Old Fourth Ward, is an Atlanta music festival with a distinctly matured (for better or worse) crowd and feel. Rather than the showy rave outfits and glitter bombs at Music Midtown, I was lost in a blur of flannel Tshirts worn by 35-year-old weekenders commuting to check out some of their favorite alternative acts.

Friday’s artists cemented the first day of the festival as its most energetic. Despite his confessed exhaustion, Dominic Fike led a powerful performance hinging on the quality of his musicianship and discography. “Westcoast Collective” and “Vampire” were stand-outs, profiting from hardhitting drums and beautiful solos

by Fike himself. “3 Nights,” owing to its popularity, served well as a closer and fan-favorite. While not his most passionate showing, Fike delivered a technically excellent performance that would have fulfilled the standards of any fan hoping to see him live.

Replete with bucket hats and a Freddy Mercury-esque call and response consisting of screeching, Mac DeMarco strutted across the stage with the off-putting swagger we’ve come to expect. “Ode to Viceroy” was eerie and lush, and “My Old Man” performed with a quick switch to the acoustic guitar was emblematic of much of DeMarco’s entire set — hypnotic.

The performance maintained all fullness present on record, and any derivation was only in the positive — moments of melodic manipulation and drum solos satisfied those already enamored with him and impressed first-time listeners.

Foo Fighters, as the veteran act of the night and substitutes for Stevie Nicks, were eagerly awaited. It may be my bias as a rock-lover and student of Grohl, but Foo was the highpoint of my night and weekend. Opening with “Times Like These,” Foo asserted their long-perfected balance of heaviness and melody before transferring into a clamoring performance of “The Pretender,” asking the crowd the rhetorical question: “Do you love rock music?!”

Another highlight was drummer Taylor Hawkins hopping on vocals and Grohl taking back up the drums to perform a cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

Grohl went guitarless and fully assumed his position as frontman to close their performance and the first night with the always-appropriate “Everlong.”

Saturday’s show was stolen

by Alice Cooper, whose age only contributed to his intentionally ghoulish appearance. Opening with the appropriately spooky “Be My Frankenstein,” Cooper played with the passion and stamina of a much younger rockstar. Cooper’s act is akin to a B-list horror film, complete with towering demon babies, Jason from “Friday the 13th,”, and decapitation per-

“Rather than the showy rave outfits and glitter bombs at Music Midtown, I was lost in a blur of flannel T-shirts worn by 35-year-old weekenders commuting to check out some of their favorite alternative acts.”

formed by Cooper’s wife (and performer) Sheryl Goddard. Even if you don’t know the tunes, you’re always in for a show.

Run the Jewels brought the heat as they closed the night. The Atlanta duo, playing their first live show in 3 years, was overjoyed to be performing to an Atlanta crowd. I couldn’t count the number of times Killer Mike shoutedout his hometown throughout the set. RTJ’s defining ear-piercing, crashing, and screeching sound came through with unquestionable drive. The band moved through a set of new and old: “ooh la la,” “holy calamafuck” and “out of sight” in the opening few minutes setting the tone for the performance.

RTJ also raised awareness on racial injustices, reminding the crowd of the unjust death of Ahmaud Arbery and urging the audience to oppose gentrification in Atlanta. At times a casual boogie to their lyrics railing for equality seemed inappropriate; yet headbanging ensued and mosh-pits formed, cementing why a hip hop

group like RTJ fits right in at a rock festival.

On Sunday I dragged my feet; the threat of classes on Monday invariably harshing my mellow.

Phoebe Bridgers took the stage as the sun began to set; her band dressed in iconic skeleton suits.

Opening with “Motion Sickness” was a solid choice, as the song might be the most energetic in her arsenal for the night.

“Kyoto” was gorgeous, supported by Bridgers’ precise and emotional vocal performance, and her violinist and trumpet player added a dreamy layer to her already warm sound. The rolling drum thunder and velvety string arrangements in “Chinese Satellite” were perfect for the middle of her set, allowing a melancholy night a medial moment of rock and roll.

Bridgers did a great job, and her fans clearly appreciated the moments of interaction with the crowd. However, her sound feels ill-fitting for a music festival; the atmosphere after her set would have been best described as sleepy if not for the excitement for the final act of the night.

The Strokes, who were 18 minutes late to the stage. Their first song, “Hard to Explain,” suffered from the worst vocal effect in my recent memory and singer Julian Casablancas was either jet-lagged or intoxicated.

Casablancas spent his night either forgetting lyrics or counting down the minutes of his contractually obligated set time.

I’m disappointed that a household name in indie rock, playing a festival in the middle of a pandemic which threatened live music entirely, couldn’t find it in themselves to muster an element of excitement. The aging rockers finished their set with an admittedly fiery performance of “Last Nite,” as the last night of Shaky Knees was brought to a close on shaky grounds.

Musical festivals are a bit like cruises: for a discounted price, you get to see a lot of your favorite things, but not for too long and always with limited attention. The performers of the weekend felt that distraction and performed accordingly, but as always, the veteran musicians knew just how to bring spectacle to the stage.

- Contact Gabriel Harr-Siebenlist at gabe.harr-siebenlist@emory.edu

The Emory Wheel

Emory Life

Wednesday, November 3, 2021 | Emory Life Editors: Lauren Blaustein (lblaust@emory.edu) and Kaitlin Mottley (kaitlin.michelle.mottley@emory.edu)

Emory Pride hosts annual Drag Show Scorpio season is upon

us. Here’s what it means.

By Rachel Broun Associate Editor

L auren Baydaline/Contributing Writer

The Student Programming Council (SPC) performing their exciting entry to the Emory Pride drag show.

By Lauren Baydaline Contributing Writer On the evening before Halloween, in the auditorium of Glenn Memorial Church, the light’s went out, wigs went on and performances commenced. A stage was brightly lit in anticipation of the acts, and LGBTQ+ and pansexual flags adorned the podiums as the audience prepared for the show to begin.

To cap off LGBTQ+ history month, Emory Pride hosts its annual Drag Show, which began in 2004. The show offers student organizations on campus the opportunity to receive additional funding by performing in allout drag.

Jaqueline Veliz, program coordinator at the Office of LGBTQ Life; Taina Figueroa, assistant director of the Office for Racial and Cultural Engagement; and Huong Truong, coordinator of Sorority and Fraternity Life at the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life; served as judges for the event.

“Drag has provided a space for queer expression when homophobia, transphobia and racism make the world unsafe,” Emory Pride President Layla Aberman (23C) said. “Drag is about family.”

The first half of the event featured acts from Emory Spoke, the Student Program Council, Climate Reality and High Tunes Acapella.

Tommy Greenler (22C) served as the host and was clad in full drag queen attire as ‘Pam.’ They said a show like this wouldn’t be possible without the “many people who have come before us and [the] shoulders we are standing on.”

QR codes and donation bins were located throughout the church for attendees to donate to the Trevor Project, a national confidential crisis support hotline for LGBTQ youth.

During the intermission, a costume competition took place in which audience members and performers took part in a costume competition where they shared their looks in the hopes of winning a $20 Starbucks gift card.

The winning look was “Hunky Dory Natasha” from Emory Spoke.

For show participants and audience members alike, the event serves as a space where individuals felt full comfort in their attire. Emily Ogden (23C), an attendee and participant in the costume competition, was excited to have the opportunity to connect with the queer community through the event.

“As a woman with visibly queer friends on a college campus, going out

comes with the fear of being harassed for wearing what feels comfortable,” Ogden said. “This was one of the few times that that thought didn’t even cross my mind.”

The second act featured performances from Blaze Dance Crew, Persuasion Dance Crew, Oxford Pride and a non-competitive act from the Student Program Council. The winning act of the entire show and recipient of a $250 prize was again “Hunky Dory Natasha” from the Emory Spoke.

Blaze Dance Crew received honorable mention.

While the prizes were exciting for audience members, the true joy came from the event itself. The Drag Show, with its ability to unite students across Emory’s campuses, is an event students don’t want to miss in future years, participants said.

“There’s something surreal about being in such a massive group of people who not only support but laud all forms of gender and aesthetic expression,” Ogden said. “It gives people a safe place to experiment with performance.”

— Contact Lauren Baydaline at lauren.baydaline@emory.edu

On Oct. 23, the sun entered Scorpio, officially marking the beginning of a secretive and dark Scorpio season.

This particular sign, which will last until Nov. 21, accompanies autumn in the northern hemisphere, and it pushes us all toward preparation and waiting as we prepare for the tough winter. As we hunker down and prepare for this Scorpio season, here is what to expect.

Water signs revolve around emotions, and Scorpio season is an intense reminder of their focus. During this time, expect to be more in tune with your emotional self. This could manifest in many ways — more crying in the shower, or maybe longer walks with Taylor Swift or Lorde on repeat.

Courtesy of Mia Usman/Staff Illustrator

Getting in touch with your emotional side is not something to fear; instead, think of Scorpio season as a time of rebirth. Tears are a means of release, and as we begin to prepare for the long winter ahead, we need to release what can no longer serve us. Rebirth comes in many forms: makeovers, to-do lists, discovering new music or finally cleaning your bathroom for the first time since you moved in. It is necessary to take a moment for rebuilding in preparation for the positivity of Sagittarius season (insert here broadly what to rebuild towards), especially after this difficult semester.

Despite communication issues, Scorpio season is a time to emphasize close relationships and analyze what people mean to you. Reflecting on your relationships with friends,

coworkers or classmates may offer insight into what the future brings.

Who’s on your team? Who advocates for you? Do you advocate for yourself? Keep your friends close and your enemies far. Scorpio season is a time for complex relationships to flourish by being open communicative.

Those with a Scorpio sun, though, can be stubborn. With the sun in their territory for so long, everyone might feel in tune with this stubborn nature.

Instead of succumbing to this energy, look for ways to be flexible to your surroundings. Don’t get hung up on the little things; look instead at the bigger picture for your semester goals.

Even though Scorpio is a water sign, the season is filled with unbridled passion in numerous ways: relationships, future endeavours or anything that excites us. Intense passion is nothing to be afraid of; instead, it is a tool for rebirth. Focus this passion on rebuilding yourself positively and communicating effectively with the people around you. Positive transformations take time, but utilizing passion allows for you to enter the next season with your head held high.

For Scorpio suns, gear up. This will be a difficult season for you.

Communication, emotions and relationships are all in flux. Without careful consideration for your word choice, you might be at risk of upsetting someone you care for deeply. Resist the natural urge to be secretive; openness will lead you to the life you crave.

No matter what your sign is, have grace with yourself as we enter this difficult time. Emotional affairs are difficult to navigate even during the clearest times, but during Scorpio season many things can get confusing and secretive. Think of it as a time to rebuild yourself from the depths of your imagination — you never know what you could become.

— Contact Rachel Broun at rachel.c.broun@emory.edu

Oxford students enjoy a memorable Halloweek

By Kelly Zhuang Contributing Writer October is a month notoriously busy with midterms; it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the schoolwork.

But for Oxford students, Halloweek is something that everyone can look forward to.

Hosted by Oxford’s Student Activities Committee (SAC), Halloweek consists of an event every night from Oct. 25 to 29 to celebrate Halloween.

The preparation for the festivities began in the summer. SAC members broke up into three ad hoc groups: one for Monday; one for Tuesday and Thursday; and one for Wednesday and Friday. For each group, there were two executive members in charge of that evening’s program.

Halloweek kicked off with “Dooley’s Sweet Demise,” an event where students solved the mystery of Dooley’s death by going to different stations around Oxford’s campus, earning sweet treats along the way. Successful investigators received an SAC shirt if

they solved the mystery.

SAC President Anya Kasubhai (22Ox) was thrilled with the turnout for Monday’s event and excited to provide students with fun activities such as the mystery.

“Overall, it went really well; we had a lot of people come,” Kasubhai said.

“We hope to just brighten up the campus a bit and give students a break from schoolwork.”

“Paint and Sip” took place in the Oxford Student Center on Tuesday, where students could paint pumpkins and square canvases while enjoying apple cider and hot chocolate. Wednesday continued with food festivities, and students could watch “Twilight” in Williams Hall while indulging in various snacks and drinks. Many students enjoyed the diversity of activities across the week.

“I didn’t know I had such artistic talent for drawing on canvas,” Caroline Li (23Ox) said. “It was so nice to decorate my dorm with the canvas with little ghosts that I drew. Wednesday’s movie was also a highlight with the lights off and the skull light in the

front. It was awesome to have all of us make the same reaction when Edward walks into the dining hall.”

Even as the week was coming to a close, there was no shortage of events. “Frightful Frolic,” a haunted house adventure in Candler Hall on Thursday, gave students another opportunity to get a OxSAC shirt by finding them hidden throughout the building. To create this spooky setting, the hall was pitch black, with spider webs lining the walls and SAC staff dressed as ghosts. As if the hall was not scary enough, suspenseful music and a television set playing black and white videos added to energy.

Even before the event started at 8 p.m., there were huge lines outside of Candler Hall. For many, the haunted house was the perfect event to bask in the Halloween spirit.

“It was the best night in the entire week for me,” Iris Zheng (23Ox) said.

“It felt so good to take a break off all the tests and have fun.”

The last event for Halloweek was a collaboration between SAC and Oxford Sexual Assault Peer Advocates

K elly Zhuang/Contributing Writer

Students painting pumpkins and square canvases in the Oxford Student Center last Tuesday.

(OxSAPA) called “My Costume Is Not “My friends and I had so much Consent.” The party was a celebration fun dancing,” Nina Shangguan (23Ox) of safe sex, consent, safe practices and said. “I love seeing people in all kinds connecting students with resources on of costumes which I don’t get to see campus. Many students came wearing normally.” all kinds of costumes, and they danced the night away at the Oxford Student — Contact Kelly Zhuang at Center. Needless to say, it was the perkelly.zhuang@emory.edu fect end to an eventful week.

9

EMORY LIFE

Wednesday, November 3 , 2021

The Emory Wheel

An ode to sushi

By Sophia Ling Opinion Editor

Sushi holds a special place in my heart. Not just as the ideal first date feast, but also as the go-to meal for my high school friends and I. Back home in Indiana, we would get sushi at Sushi Bar on every possible occasion: after school, celebrating someone’s birthday or after a sudden palate craving.

Now that I am in Atlanta for college, I have been searching for a sushi spot that reminds me of the comfort of home. Although it took a lot of searching, I have found the place I have been looking for: Nakato Japanese Restaurant.

While located only a few miles away from Campus Crossings and Emory University’s main campus, Nakato seems to reside in its own little world – complete with neatly trimmed bushes, stone steps that lead straight into the door and lights illuminating every corner of the building.

Inside, the server led my friend and I to an open table in the back, where I quickly became enamored with the

open sushi bar, the wooden décor, and the strings of cranes and paper lanterns that flew across the ceiling.

They reminded me of my late grandma and idealistic dreams of following the Japanese proverb, “If you fold 1000

Sophia Ling/Opinion Editor

Nakato’s savory and silky age dashi tofu. cranes, one of your wishes will come true,” and saving the people I love.

Even if the restaurant owner did not know about my personal attachment with the cranes, I instantly felt more connected to the ambiance and meal soon coming to my table.

Despite dining at their peak hours on a Friday night, our server came

Solo and strong, Xavier Bell dances the house down

By Nico Mestre Contributing Writer Xavier Bell (22C), a dance and neuroscience and behavioral biology major, took to the stage at the HoCo Fest talent show on Oct. 25 with a loud beat in his chest.

A safety pin cinched in the waist of his grayish blue tunic. A pair of white socks met between his feet and the ground. Bell was the sole commander of the stage.

Bell’s dance piece chronicled occasions where others, and Bell himself, doubted his passions. Bell used the performance as an opportunity to display his self-determination as it was one of the first times he’s ever danced alone.

While Bell didn’t place in the top three, his armor of confidence during the performance shimmered under the bright orange lights. In reality, though, the nerves were there for Bell.

“I was so tuned out,” Bell said. “I remember thinking afterwards that I did so terribly. Hearing people tell me it was beautiful was powerful.”

As one of the judges of the show pointed out, Bell has many performances yet to come. The piece resonated with many, including a New York University alum composer and several audience members. “[Bell’s performance] was different from all of the other acts,” Eliza Jones (25C) said. “I could tell that he was putting a lot of thought into each movement.”

The dance was improvised from the song “Mirror” by Hippie Sabotage. Bell heard the song playing in the dance studio one day and knew it was ripe with room for emotional resonance.

Bell’s choreography channeled the obstacles and challenges he has faced in his life.

“I wrote down key points in my life,” Bell said. “During one section, I wanted to just drag my leg across the floor, having it be powerful and sustained.”

In Bell’s hometown of Pass Christian, Mississippi, he remembers a time when he was doubted for one of his passions – when his advanced English teacher invalidated his love of writing.

“I would always use big words,” Bell said. “Once my teacher asked me, ‘Do you know what these words mean?’ I felt abysmal.”

As a child, the language generating part of Bell’s brain was damaged after sustaining head trauma from a baseball bat, which caused Bell to develop a stutter. Growing up, he was teased for his stutter and felt voiceless.

Bell started dancing his freshman year to fulfill Emory’s Physical Education requirement. His professor saw him dancing in class and encouraged him to major in dance.

Although many of Bell’s peers in his department started dancing once they could walk, Bell has shown he is improving at monumental rates thanks to the support of his community.

“Coming [to Emory] and finding dance where I didn’t have to say or write anything – I’m glad I found that,” Bell said.

The performance was an opportunity to display the full range of challenges Bell has confronted and overcome. He shows how far his voice reaches with every movement.

“I did fall, I did fail and I did fly,” Bell said. “I dance to get some of the things I have trouble saying off my chest.”

— Contact Nico Mestre at nico.mestre@emory.edu

Courtesy of Student Programming Council

Xavier Bell (22C) performing his solo dance on the talent show stage.

almost immediately, asking us if we wanted anything to drink and gently setting down the menus. She explained that all their fish are flown whole from Japan, giving customers the most authentic and fresh experience while being halfway across the world. The menu didn’t look expansive, but a closer look made me realize how intricately organized it was, with chef recommendations, sushi and sashimi, and Hibachi and hot pot items. Needless to say, I wanted to order a bite of everything.

We were offered hot towels to wash our hands, a tradition known as oshibori that is a staple of Japanese hospitality culture. A calming, relaxing night was set, and the chaos of school, homework and the billions of deadlines coming up seemed out of sight.

Just like back home, the moment we step into Sushi Bar, we would forget everything we had to do and focus on the meal in front of us. In fact, I spent so much time there that all the staff knew me and would ask about my day.

After much self deliberation, I ordered the lobster roll and super

crunch roll. The lobster roll had lobster tempura, shiso, and Japanese mint aioli. On the outside, there was spicy snow crab and masago caviar. On the inside of the super crunch roll, there was shrimp, smoked salmon, avocado and crabstick, mixed with Japanese aioli and tempura flakes. On the outside, there was a slice of smoked salm-

Sophia Ling/Opinion Editor

The crunchy lobster and wellbalanced super crunch rolls. on and a thin piece of a lemon. Though the portions were not incredibly big, we felt stuffed in the end. Everything was a perfect balance between sweet and salty and crunchy and smooth. I usually do not enjoy lemons or very

sour foods, but the acidity cut through the fattiness of the salmon and added a layer of flavor that rounded out each bite. It reminded me of the first time I ate the birthday roll at Sushi Bar on my birthday — everything about it was perfect.

As we ate, our waitress stopped by on multiple occasions to ask if we needed anything else and if the food was to our satisfaction. To end a tasteful night, we shared a silky cheesecake with vanilla ice cream. Cheesecake is my friend’s favorite dessert and a birthday tradition, so being able to share that, despite not being either of our birthdays, made the meal far more memorable as well.

Although slightly pricier and further away from Emory than other Japanese restaurants like Wagaya, Nakato is worth it. There is no justification needed to enjoy a plate of fresh sushi, even if it may be more of a trip to get there. And I can say with certainty that I will be going back very soon.

— Contact Sophia Ling at sophia.ling@emory.edu

Friday night improv: new Rathskellar cast members interact with lively crowd

By Oli Turner Contributing Writer As campus began to stir with Halloween festivities on Oct. 29, many students found themselves packed into White Hall 111. Audience members spilled onto the stairs in the aisles, some wearing Halloween costumes.

Students had gathered to watch a comedy improv show by their peers.

Rathskellar Improv, Emory’s only improv comedy troupe, took the stage for the first time since adding four new cast members: Ashani Sharma (23C), Jared Block (24C), Alex Banul (24C) and Talia Mesnik (25C).

The night began with an opening game called “Tinder,” led by the troupe’s president Brooke Daly (22C), in which cast members took turns playing characters related to words suggested by the audience.

Daly said the troupe kicks off each show with these kinds of openers, which are designed to warm up the crowd. “Tinder” served as an effective way to enliven the high-spirited audience, who had no shortage of Halloween-themed word suggestions for the first game.

The cast took the stage following word suggestions from the audience like, “Cowboy! Pumpkin! Fruits! Baked goods! Teletubbies! Cats! Romantic!” with Treasurer Ruth Korder (23C) playing the role of the distressed Tinder user “swiping” through each cast member’s portrayal of a Tinder profile.

Daly said she noticed increased audience participation during this performance compared to past shows, including a recent show in September, which she attributed to the upcoming holiday: Halloween-themed suggestions flowed freely.

As for the cast itself, Daly said the troupe had “good energy” on stage, and despite some nerves, excitement won over.

“It’s our first show, and everyone was excited,” Daly said.

Through the duration of the show, the more experienced cast members — Daly, Korder, High Priestess Haley Ornstein (22B) and Social Chair Noah Gentry (23B) — demonstrated talent and leadership within the troupe.

However, some of the newer members admitted to feeling some nerves leading up to the show.

“I was getting more and more ner-

Oli Turner/Contributing Writer

Ashani Sharma (23C), a recent transfer student, is an animated addition to Rathskellar Improv. vous the weeks coming up because we started realizing a lot more of the skills and things you need to watch out for in an improv scene,” Banul said. “But then when we did the full run through ... I felt really natural.”

Banul played the host in the troupe’s next game, “Party Quirks,” with the rest of the new cast members. The audience supplied the type of party and gave each “guest” a quirk. Quirks were kept secret from Banul, who would attempt to guess each trait later in the game.

The scene unfolded on stage, to the amusement of the audience: a chaotic pasta party in which Block could speak only in alliterations, Sharma did frequent pushups mid-sentence and Mesnik channeled the persona of John Cena.

Banul appealed to the sensibilities of a college audience with a quip about studying abroad in Italy. Sharma maintained high energy and comedic vocal inflection while doing pushups.

Block’s alliteration and Mesnik’s witty one-liners garnered hearty laughter from the audience.

Even within the group of new cast members, the troupe’s chemistry was natural, and an entertaining banter was established in each game. Daly said the troupe looks for chemistry in the audition process because exchanges between cast members are impor-

tant for improv.

“When we’re playing games with people, we really interact with each other really well, and then outside of scenes, too,” Daly said. “I think the group dynamic is just really perfect.”

Sharma, a recent transfer student, said she decided to audition for Rathskellar on a whim because she had never done improv before.

“The group has been so welcoming, and it’s been an experience of learning and growing for everyone there,” Sharma said.

The remaining short-form games, “News Caster,” “Superheroes” and “It Takes a Village,” demonstrated an ease, creativity and spontaneous wit that could only come from practice, dedication and passion.

Through Rathskellar’s skillful production, a usually-dull lecture hall was brought to life. Emory students got to experience the gift of laughter, comedy and lightness after a prolonged midterm exam period. Needless to say, it was an uplifting display of school spirit.

“There’s a really great, alive crowd, and that makes doing the improv that much more fun,” Banul said.

The troupe’s next show will take place on Nov. 17 in White Hall 111.

— Contact Oli Turner at oli.turner@emory.edu

SPORTS

The Emory Wheel UAA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Schwarz earns UAA Athlete of the Week

By Xavier Stevens Staff Writer

The Emory men’s golf team sat on a comfortable eight-stroke lead going into the final round at the Tartan Invitational on Oct. 12. Senior Max Schwarz was leading the tournament and the entire team posted great scores the previous day.

Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) hosted the tournament at the Laurel Valley Golf Club, a beautiful but long course in Western Pennsylvania. On the final day, the course felt a little less beautiful and a lot longer. The wind picked up, blowing strong.

The Eagles’ eight-stroke lead quickly turned into a two-stroke lead. The team needed strong play on the last nine holes into the wind to hold on to a narrowing lead.

After a double bogey to start his round, Schwarz played like he had a chip on his shoulder. His bogeyfree final nine holes maintained the two-stroke lead, and the Eagles held on to win the team championship with a three-round total of 905 (299-297-309).

“That course set up very well for me because I can lean on my mental toughness,” Schwarz said. “I’m going to hit some bad shots. I’m going to hit some good shots. I just need to stay patient with it and understand that everyone else is having the same troubles as me out there.”

Schwarz’s patient performance earned him the honor of UAA Athlete of the Week on Oct. 18, as he once again delivered for the Eagles.

Schwarz’s work-hard mentality started when his golf stopped. In his freshman and sophomore years of high school in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Schwarz was cut from his school golf team.

After two years of hard practice, though, Schwarz secured his spot on

the team his junior year. He continued improving and played well enough to consider college golf. Schwarz began his own recruitment by sending an email to the Emory men’s golf head coach John Sjoberg, where he introduced himself and expressed interest.

Sjoberg did not respond.

So Schwarz sent another email. He mentioned that he would be attending the Ivy Golf Institute, a camp for college prospects to strut their stuff.

This time, Sjoberg responded and told Schwarz that he was excited to see him play.

Sjoberg saw Schwarz play only two holes at the Ivy Golf Institute. Schwarz landed the ball on the green of the first hole, but he putted four times to record a triple bogey.

On the second hole, Schwarz bounced back for a well-earned par, but when he walked to his next hole, Sjoberg had moved on to watch another set of golfers play. In his head, Schwarz crossed Emory off the list.

“Now that I’m a little more mature, I recognize that when college coaches come watch you play, they know your scores and what you’re capable of on the scorecard,” Schwarz said. “They’re really just looking at how you respond to adversity.”

Sjoberg welcomed Schwarz onto the team in 2018, but as a freshman, Schwarz needed time to adjust from seeing cacti line the fairways to trees.

He still played fairly well his freshman year and averaged 75.4 strokes per round.

Schwarz entered his sophomore year confident for the D-III National Championship Preview in fall 2019.

But as he practiced the course, the same problems returned – Schwarz rushed his swing and couldn’t hit the ball straight.

“I was too quick with my hands, my body couldn’t catch up,” Schwarz said.

“So I just started thinking before every

single shot ‘good tempo, good tempo.’”

During the tournament, he slowed down and found the “good tempo” he was looking for. Schwarz finished fifth out of 120 competitors at one of the best tournaments in the country for D-III golf. In his sophomore year, he shaved off almost four strokes with an average of 71.85 strokes per round of golf.

As his career at Emory has continued, Schwarz has passed on his magic to his teammates.

When sophomore Logan Lowery joined the Emory golf team in 2020, he looked to Schwarz as a role model.

But instead of tips on technique, he received a lesson in patience. After a bad shot, Lowery tended to walk very fast ahead of everyone else in the group.

“Max did a great job of helping me check myself and slow it down,” Lowery said. “His advice transitions to every single part of playing golf. Do everything deliberately, and you will get to the top.”

Schwarz and the entire team have maintained a competitive mindset in practice that has translated into results. They continued their winning ways from the Tartan Invitational and dominated at the Golfweek Invitational in Sandestin, Florida, for a second consecutive tournament win. The ultimate goal is the NCAA Division III National Championship in May, but they face a long spring season ahead.

Schwarz wants to put his head down and continue improving as an individual and a team to reach that goal.

“I would sacrifice every other award possible to get one national championship as a team,” Schwarz said. “And we’re building as a team to get there.”

— Contact Xavier Stevens at xavier.stevens@emory.edu

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

10

Miller saves five shots in tie at NYU

Continued from Back Page

The Eagles had four shots on goal out of five attempts in the first half but failed to find their way past the tight NYU defense anchored by sophomore goalkeeper Riley Felsher. The Violets were similarly unable to find their rhythm on offense, totaling just three shots and none on goal.

However, the Violets flipped the switch and matched the aggression in the second half in what looked like a reversal of the first 45 minutes. Head coach Sue Patberg was unfazed.

“Sometimes that’s just how soccer is,” Patberg said. “One half can be one way, and the next half could be a little bit different. But I think we just had a harder time finding the ball and finding rhythm. NYU is a pretty physical team, and I think they just did a really good job of taking away the center of the field, which is a lot of our strength.”

NYU penetrated through the Emory defense repeatedly and took six shots, five of which were on goal.

All were stopped by junior goalkeeper Emma Miller, who took over in net in the second half. Miller praised the Eagles’ teamwork against the persistent opposing offense.

“It’s always a team effort,” Miller said. “I had a really good defensive line in front of me, as well as the midfield in front of them and the forwards in front of them. We worked really well together, the communication was there. I think that we just really need to find the back of the net in our next conference game.”

The Eagles had only one shot on goal in the half, which was unsuccessful, leading to an overtime battle for

the women’s team as well.

Neither side was able to pull ahead during both overtime periods.

Combining for five shots, the Violets and Eagles continued their back-andforth contest in the midfield. NYU had the only shot on goal post-regulation during the second overtime period.

The game ended with a scoreless draw, giving the Eagles their first tie in the UAA this season and bringing their conference record to 2-3-1.

Despite the unwanted result, Patberg is proud of how the team fought through adversity.

“We had a lot of players that were injured, …had to play out of position [and] played far more minutes than they’ve had to in previous games,” Patberg said. “I was proud that with all the travel and with the injuries and going into overtime, that we didn’t concede a goal, because that would have really been detrimental to our season right now.”

Regardless of the results, looking toward the NCAA tournament is still the goal, Miller said.

“Who you have beat in the past, who they have beat in the past, wins or losses, before your game against that opponent that day, [records] all go out the window,” Miller said. “Two games on the road are not easy, but I think under the circumstances we are pulling along and hoping to get a win this coming weekend to hopefully make the tournament.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams play their season finale at Rochester, New York, next weekend on Nov. 6.

— Contact Kevin Kim at kevin.kim3@emory.edu

Crossword Scan for answers!

By Aidan Vick

Across

Down

1. Provider-client commitments 5. Kid lit elephant 10. Author Morrison 14. State between Indiana and Kansas, alphabetically 15. Common bacteria in contaminated food 16. Once ___ a time 17. Hawaiian festival 18. Week acronym 19. A galatian or briton 20. Greek counterpart of Ulysses 22. Financial, budgetary 24. Tyler Durden product 25. Tuscan river 26. Season for sweater weather 29. Inert, motionless 33. Hunting trap 34. Drives, putts, chips 35. ___ tai cocktail 36. Fish, medieval weapon 37. Iranian rice dish 38. Drachma, crown, franc 39. Summer in French 40. Former Prime Minister of Japan’s family 41. Lament a death 42. Community companion 44. Movie funnyman Bill 45. Vocal cadence 46. Conceited 47. Late-May early-June Zodiac sign 50. Rushing streams 54. Anti-satellite weapon 55. Purple winter flowers 57. Ill-gotten gains 58. Federal drug officer 59. “Death of a Salesman” protagonist 60. Small amount, Greek letter 61. Effusively talk 62. “___ dabba doo!”

63. Unidentified, abbr.

1. Grain tower 2. Description of sound or color 3. Home team’s opponent 4. Structural linguistic philosopher 5. Childhood scold: “Don’t ___ ___” 6. Grassroots AIDS group 7. Present toppers 8. Non-primary social media account 9. Rabble, the lowest of the low 10. Arizona city 11. Fossil fuel organization 12. Louisiana city abbr.

13. Global abbr.

21. A few 23. Gerund suffixes 25. Book of maps 26. Colorado ski town 27. Bring together 28. Star Trek actor George 29. Lorde’s “___ Power” 30. Illicit love affair 31. Nigerian currency 32. Having a metallic sound or taste 34. 1962 Gene Kelly comedy 37. In the open 38. Wife of Julius Caesar 40. Commonly injured by runners 41. Emory Point’s The General ___ 43. Video game bug 44. Private boat dock 46. Words learned in school 47. Punk band ___ of Four 48. Biblical brother of Jacob 49. Planetary candy company 50. Group burial place 51. Counterpart of midnight 52. Sang “love isn’t always on time” 53. Obsessive superfan 56. Net income over total assets

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

The Emory Wheel

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Volleyball celebrates seniors SWOOP’S VOLLEYBALL

SCOOP

By Sofia Himmel Associate Editor Over the weekend of Oct. 29, Emory University volleyball faced off against Hendrix College (Ark.), BirminghamSouthern College (Ala.) and Berry College (Ga.) in the Emory National Invite at the Woodruff Physical Education Center. The team finished the weekend 2-1 and improved to 21-4 overall.

The Eagles’ senior day fell on Oct. 29, when they played Hendrix and Birmingham-Southern. Following the celebration, the Eagles battled Berry on Oct. 30 to cap off the tournament.

The Eagles dropped the first set to Hendrix but were able to bounce back and win the final three sets 25-16, 25-13, 25-22.

The Eagles attacked at a .276 percentage with senior outside hitter Tara Martin, freshman middle hitter Madison Cail and freshman right side Alana Dawson setting the pace for the team with double-digit kills each.

Junior setter Cassie Srb contributed 45 assists, which is three more than the entire Hendrix team.

Following the match, the Eagles recognized six seniors on senior night — Tara Martin, libero Lauren Bandera, middle hitter Charlese Blair, right side Ashley Brennan, middle hitter Roisin O’Dowd and setter Claire Yohann. The six players were honored with an oncourt ceremony celebrating their hard work and dedication to the team.

After only spending one season with the senior players, Dawson could not be more proud of her teammates and friends as she celebrates their accomplishments on senior night.

“It’s going to be so hard to see them go,” Dawson said. “We’ve become so close in such a short amount of time.

All six of them are such great mentors and great people. While we are super sad they are not going to be with us next year, we are so excited to see where this next chapter in their life takes them.”

Head coach Jenny McDowell became the seventh coach ever in Division III volleyball to reach 800 career wins. McDowell was ecstatic to join her six seniors on the court to celebrate all of their accomplishments

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Seniors on the volleyball team were honored prior to their Emory National Invite match on Oct. 29. as volleyball players, as well as Emory students.

“This weekend was an amazing opportunity to celebrate our six seniors,” McDowell said. “This group has led us through an unprecedented time with COVID. Their commitment, dedication and perseverance is the foundation by which our team is 21-4 and ranked No. 1 in the south region.”

Following the celebration the Eagles faced and never relinquished a lead to Birmingham-Southern. Taking just over an hour, the Eagles finished the game 25-12, 25-16, 25-15. Martin led with 10 terminations, and the Eagles attacked at a .344 clip en route to their eight consecutive win.

Unfortunately the win streak snapped on Oct. 30 when the Eagles competed against the Berry College Vikings. The Vikings defeated the Eagles in straight sets 25-13, 25-17, 25-19, bolstering the Vikings record to 22-2, while the Eagles ended their regular season at 21-4.

Falling to the Vikings was not taken lightly by the Eagles. The Eagles understand that the Vikings are an extremely well conditioned team, but are not backing down from the challenge of learning from this loss.

“This game was definitely a wake up call for us,” Dawson said. “After that match, we are going to come back and learn from it. We will start upwards on a new path in the post season.”

Berry hit over .455 in all three sets, and ended the match with a .456 attack percentage while the Eagles ended with a .109 percentage.

Much of this can be attributed to Emory’s 20 attack errors. The Vikings were also extremely dominant at the net with 10 total blocks to the Eagles’ one.

Tara Martin, freshman Lily Martin and Dawson combined for 22 of the Eagles’ 30 terminations. Bandera contributed a team high of 11 digs while Srb dished out 20 assists.

Heading into their next competition, McDowell is optimistic about her team’s resolve.

“Although we didn’t come away with a third win on Saturday, it is a great opportunity to refocus and get back in the gym and get better,” McDowell said. “We have a very committed team and I know they will be ready for the UAA Championship and NCAA Tournament.”

The Eagles will now head to Cleveland next weekend to defend their University Athletic Association (UAA) title at the UAA Championships.

The No. 2 seeded Eagles will face off against the No. 7 seeded Brandeis University Judges (Mass.) on Nov. 5 at noon at Case Western Reserve University (Ohio).

— Contact Sofia Himmel at sjhimme@emory.edu

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*Home Games in Bold

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Don’t run like The Freeze.

Courtesy Of Wikimedia Commons/Thomson200

Stay and write for sports.

Contact mmariam@emory.edu for more information.

Fencers look to create Georgia’s first NCAA team

Continued from Back Page

selves as a really strong presence in the Atlanta fencing community among the other college clubs,” Schipper said.

“I am often receiving messages from teams like Clemson University (S.C.), Georgia Tech and [the University of Georgia] asking us to come participate in their events.”

An elite coach, mounting interest and promising success: all the pieces are in place for Emory to create an NCAA fencing team, a proposal which Lasker and Schipper plan on taking

Courtesy Of Emory Fencing

to Director of Athletics Keiko Price, who arrived at Emory last November.

Although Lasker has spoken with the previous administration about creating an official fencing team, the idea has never gotten off the ground. Far from being discouraged, Lasker continues to pursue the opportunity for Emory to make history by fielding the first NCAA fencing team in Georgia.

“One of my reasons for being involved is that I would love to have a program [at Emory],” Lasker said.

“Every year, we see a number of athletes ... that probably would like to stay in Georgia, but there’s no NCAA program for them to go to. If they’re a stronger fencer, there’s not really an opportunity for them to stay and compete on the national collegiate level.”

Lasker said Emory can capitalize on its unique combination of geography and academic rigor during the recruitment process. About a third of the schools that have NCAA fencing teams are considered highly selective, with the vast majority being in the northeast region. “[Fencing] is a sport that has a really, really strong presence among students that often go to private schools and are able to take private lessons and are very strong academically,” Schipper said. “[Emory becomes] a

little bit more attractive to that kind of group of students that have done very well in school and are able to pick up fencing.”

As Schipper — who played varsity softball at Columbia University (N.Y.) — pointed out, some athletes are outstanding scholars but shy away from the Division I Ivy League experience.

On the other hand, during his time as an assistant coach at Ohio State University, Lasker watched recruits turn down his program in favor of a school with more reputable academics. A market for a school like Emory exists, and Lasker is confident Emory could build a team that contends for national titles, especially by recruiting in the south. “[Emory would] be recruiting against Harvard, Yale, a lot of the top institutions, and I think that’s where Emory wants to be,” Lasker said. “I think this kind of program is really up [Emory’s] alley, and they’ve the local talent to get a program started from a pretty good position.”

Based on his previous dialogues with the athletic administration, Lasker cited finances as the biggest obstacle to creating a varsity fencing team at Emory. Between reserving facilities, hiring coaches and purchasing equipment, the costs quickly add

up. If the fencing team was competing at a national level, Lasker also thinks it has the potential to compete in Division I or II, which could bring scholarship funds into the picture as well. Despite the financial commitment, other peer institutions, such as Denison University (Ohio) and Delaware Valley University (Penn.), have fielded fencing teams in recent years.

Although naming the head coach is ultimately the athletic department’s decision, Schipper advocated for Lasker, saying that the club fencing team would wholeheartedly support his hiring.

“Some [teams], when they hear that we work with Terrence, are absolutely terrified of us,” Schipper said. “The other clubs and experienced coaches in the region are willing to work with us now that we have Terrence. They take us a little more seriously.”

For Lasker and Schipper, the timing is perfect. Coming off of a Tokyo Olympics from which the United States emerged with two fencing medals, the sport is gaining momentum at Emory. Lasker’s experience puts Emory in a position not only to win matches, but to become a dominant and leading force in NCAA fencing. In the meantime, high-achieving student

Courtesy Of Emory Fencing

athletes are slowly slipping away, lining the trophy cases of Emory’s peer institutions.

“We are losing really, really strong athletes that not only go on to do well in the country, but do very well on the world level,” Lasker said. “Just over a decade ago, we had athletes in Georgia that were winning Olympic medals in fencing ... Those pictures should be on Emory’s wall instead of Yale’s, instead of Columbia’s.”

— Contact Claire Fenton at claire.fenton@emory.edu

The Emory Wheel

Sports

Wednesday, November 3, 2021 | Sports Editor: Michael Mariam (mmariam@emory.edu)

BRAVES WIN FIRST WORLD SERIES IN 26 YEARS

By Jenna Daly Contributing Writer With the late Hank Aaron casting a comforting eye on the team, the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday clinched their second World Series in the city.

It’s Atlanta’s first title since 1995, when Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” topped the Billboard 100 charts and third baseman Austin Riley was still two years away from blessing the 404 with his birth.

The Braves clinched the title in a dominant showing over the Astros in game 6, holding the high-powered Houston offense to a shutout.

Outfielder Jorge Soler put Atlanta on the board with a threerun blast in the third inning, followed by a home run from shortstop Dansby Swanson and an RBI from first baseman Freddie Freeman that put the Braves up six through five innings. Freeman then added one more run off a solo home run to extend the lead to seven.

After the disappointment of dropping game 5 and the chance to be crowned champions on their home field, the Braves ended a 26-year title drought for the franchise, which moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1966.

After blowing a 3-1 lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2020 National League Championship Series, the Braves ensured they did not repeat their collapse from last October.

For Brian Snitker, the win is his first championship in his over fourdecade association with the franchise, both as a player and a coach.

A deep postseason stay and a World Series win wasn’t a guarantee for the Braves, who were 88-73 entering the postseason. Atlanta had the weakest record among all playoff teams and knocked of the 95-win Brewers and 106-win Dodgers en route to the Fall Classic.

How the Braves got here Away games can be challenging for teams who have to face jeering crowds and unfamiliar ballparks, but the Braves have performed well on the road. The Braves held a 46-35 record on the road during the 2021 season, with an impressive 13-game road-winning streak.

The Braves opened the World Series with a 6-2 win over the Astros on the road, setting the tone for the next four games. Considered the underdogs of the entire series, the Braves changed the narrative in the first game. The Braves immediately put pressure on Astros pitcher Framber Valdez and scored five runs in the first three innings. Game one had two notable moments for the Braves — Soler’s first plate appearance home run and pitcher Charlie Morton breaking his leg on a pitch that came right back to him, forcing him to be out for the remainder of the series.

Soler’s home run began the Braves’ strong showing in game one.

Morton pitched into the third inning, but had to leave the field with a fractured fibula after being hit by a ball in the previous inning. His absence for the rest of the series created a void that the Braves have to fill. Fortunately, the Astros failed to capitalize on this unexpected turn of events, only scoring two runs after Morton left the mound.

The Astros’ bats came alive in game two to secure a 7-2 win and bring the series to a tie at 1-1. The second inning determined the game as the Astros brought outfielder Kyle Tucker, first baseman Yuli Gurriel, outfielder Jose Siri and catcher Martin Maldonado home. Their seven runs were rounded out by second baseman Jose Altuve’s solo home run in the seventh inning.

Undeterred by game two, the Braves returned to Atlanta ready to win game three in front of their fans. The Braves secured a 2-1 series lead after a slow 2-0 game. Riley hit an RBI dou-

SOCCER

Sampson’s OT free kick spooks NYU

By Kevin Kim Contributing Writer

Emory University’s men’s and women’s soccer teams took a trip northeast this past weekend and faced New York University (NYU) at Gaelic Park in Riverdale, New York on Oct. 31.

Men’s soccer narrowly avoids Halloween scare The men’s team played their second consecutive overtime game after losing 1-0 to Brandeis University (Mass.) two days earlier. Although the first half was scoreless, it was not without action. NYU’s offense came out the gates attacking and pressuring the Emory defense, attempting eight shots to Emory’s three. Senior goalkeeper Jack Hudson had several spectacular saves that kept the Eagles in the game.

The start of the second half saw the Eagles break the stalemate, with senior forward Nate Sampson scoring the first goal of the game at the 58 minute mark off an assist from senior midfielder Max Mehlman. Sampson credits the halftime adjustments for the team’s offensive energy in the second half. “[NYU] was playing with a very high defensive line, so we attempted

to get in behind a lot more and made a few personnel changes,” Sampson said. “I think going into the second half, seeing how they came out in the first and being able to … exploit the weaknesses in the second half was beneficial for us.”

The Violets attempted to respond in kind. NYU junior forward Talal Said had an opportunity to tie the game 16 minutes later on an empty Emory net but was denied by an extraordinary sliding save from senior defender Josh Berman. However, NYU did not miss their next chance. Sophomore midfielder Daniel Comas-Sanchez came through in the clutch to tie the game at 1-1 with about four minutes left in regulation. The goal ultimately sent the game into overtime.

Sampson was prepared for the extra play time after the team’s disappointing overtime loss to Brandeis two days prior.

“I think the biggest thing was just learning from our mistakes on Friday,” Sampson said. “As a team, we’ve had a lot of success this season. And I think having that adversity Friday should help us in the long run.”

The loss helped in the short run, too. With the score still sitting at 1-1 and 42 seconds left in the first overtime period, Sampson sealed the game

for Emory with a free kick that saw the ball hit the goalkeeper’s hand and the post before falling into the net.

The bounce back victory over the No. 1 team in the University Athletic Association (UAA) gives the men’s team a much needed morale boost, but also a sobering lesson on their chances to clinch the UAA title. The Eagles not only need to win their next match against the University of Rochester (N.Y.), but need a tie between the top two schools Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) and the University of Chicago (Ill.) and for NYU to lose against Brandeis, and that’s without accounting for the goal differential tiebreaker.

Women’s soccer comes up just short of victory The women’s team came into Sunday’s match against NYU also looking to bounce back from a tough loss on Oct. 29 against Brandeis.

Friday’s match saw two of the Eagles’ three total shots on goal come in the final eight minutes of regulation. Like the men, the women’s team looked to improve on their mistakes and set the tone from the kickoff.

See MILLER, Page 10

A lly Hom/Photo Editor

ble in the third inning, but the score remained 1-0 until the eighth inning when catcher Travis d’Arnaud hit a home run to bring the score to its final 2-0, and pitcher Will Smith ended the game with only one hit surrendered in the top of the ninth inning.

The Braves squeezed by the Astros once again in game four to widen the series gap to 3-1. The Astros maintained a 2-0 lead going into the sixth inning, but the Braves started to rally after outfielder Eddie Rosario scored on Riley’s single. In the seventh inning, the Braves took the lead with back-to-back home runs by Swanson and Soler. The game ended at 3-2, bringing the Braves within reach of the Commissioner’s Trophy and a World Series title.

Game five elicited nervous and excited energy throughout Truist Park with the Braves up 3-1 in the series and the opportunity to bring the title home for the first time since 1995. The

Braves started out strong with outfielder Adam Duvall’s grand slam in the first inning to give them a 4-0 lead.

The Astros offense returned the runs, tying the game 4-4 in the third inning.

First baseman Freddie Freeman hit a home run to bring in one run for the Braves, but it was not enough to combat Maldonado and outfielder Marwin Gonzalez’s five RBIs throughout the rest of the night. The final score 9-5 sends the Astros and the Braves back to Houston, where the Braves still have two opportunities to win the World Series.

Many Emory students hopped on the Braves bandwagon once their teams were eliminated from the postseason and the thought of an Atlanta championship inched closer to a reality. Emory student and avid sports fan Ellie Long (25C) watched the series and was amazed by the intensity of the games.

Long draws from history as she supports the Braves in opposition to the Astros. After the Astros were caught cheating in the 2017 World Series, Long found no reason to support them this time around.

“I do not support cheaters,” Long said. “The Astros 2017 World Series title should have been vacated and it was not. Thus, they do not deserve another one as they were not truly held accountable for violating the integrity of the game.”

Long added jokingly, “That, and I want to go to a parade.”

Long and other Emory students will now have the opportunity to welcome the Braves back to Atlanta following their World Series victory during a parade that will likely happen in the next few days.

Ryan Callahan and Ninad Kulkarni contributed reporting.

— Contact Jenna Daly at jenna.daly@emory.edu

CLUB SPORTS

Club fencing eyes NCAA team

By Claire fenton Associate Editor

It’s not often that Emory University student-athletes have the opportunity to learn from a coach with five national championships, four U.S. national team appearances and one stint as an Olympic alternate under his belt.

Terrence Lasker, who was hired by the University in fall 2021, has all that and more to offer to Emory Athletics. The only problem? Emory does not have an NCAA-sanctioned team in Lasker’s area of expertise: fencing.

Emory is not unique in this sense, as only 46 colleges have a varsitylevel fencing team. Only 16 of them compete at the Division III level, and just two of those schools – Brandeis University (Mass.) and New York University – are a part of the United Athletic Association (UAA) conference. Although 106 colleges, including Emory, have club fencing teams, very few have coaches who can rival Lasker.

Lasker began working with Emory’s club fencing team in spring 2021 when the club President Bonnie Schipper

(22B, 22L) reached out to him in search of practice facilities and highlevel mentorship.

“As a student-led club sport, we have never had a coach,” Schipper said.

“In thinking about wanting the club to become a little more structured and more serious at Emory, and also for our students to get more quality instruction and be competitive, we decided to pursue coaching from Terrence.”

Lasker, who was crowned the 2017 Developmental Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, arrives at a time when club fencing at Emory is more popular than ever. The club boasts about a hundred members, a number which Schipper said represents a three times increase in both roster size and consistent participation. The increased involvement has also spawned greater success, as some beginner fencers have won medals in their first competitions.

“We now have established our-

See FENCERS, Page 11