FEATURES Promoting breast cancer awareness | PAGE 6 CAMPUS LIFE Etown Sewing Studio business profile | PAGE 8
The Etownian
www.etownian.com
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Vol. 114. Issue 06
5th Annual Blue Jay 5k race notices decline in participation by David Smith Staff Writer
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c t. 22 marke d t he 5t h Annu a l Elizabethtown Blue Jay 5k Run, hosted by the Elizabethtown College track and field team. A signature event of the Homecoming weekend on campus, the 5k attracts runners from the local area as well as alumni in order to support the track and field team’s expenses for the upcoming year. “We’re always looking for more people to participate,” head track and field coach Joel Hoffsmith stated. According to race organizers, participation has been trending downward, which has caused significant issues for the team when it comes time to create a budget and plan yearly events. Compared to the all-time high of approximately 70 runners participating, it was estimated that only 25 participated in this year’s event. This year’s course featured a two-lap tour of the perimeter of the campus. Beginning at Brinser Field, the runners were sent in a loop around the field and then down Cedar Street. The run then took them around the perimeter of the College and around Lake Placida, followed by an uphill sprint near the soccer fields to complete the first lap. The second lap followed a similar path, except instead of circling around the lake, the contestants were directed to run a lap around the College’s regulation track, located behind the Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, before returning to the start/finish line. Hoffsmith used a bike to inspect the track and make final arrangements before the race actually began, and he was present for the entire event. Situated around the track were groups of students who had the job of directing contest ants around t he cours e and providing aid if necessary. More students were located at the start/ finish line to collect tracking chips used to determine the distance and course each runner had travelled, and others were also on hand to assist with race registrations and the distribution of snacks and water
Photo: Michael Wong|Staff Photographer
The 5th Annual Blue Jay 5k race, an event to help financially support the College’s track and field team, was held Sunday, Oct.22 at 2 p.m. starting on Brinser Field.This year’s track included a two-lap tour around the Campus and down Cedar Street.
after the race. Race organizer Chuck Wells operated the timing device and starting siren for the event. Overall, Hoffsmith estimates that over three months of advertising and preparation goes into planning for the marathon every year. The race began promptly at 2 p.m. when the starting siren sounded after a brief reminder about the rules of the race.
Homecoming 2017 attracts former Blue Jays back home
With an official time of 18 minutes and 25 seconds, 20-year-old Deedee Shea was the first person to cross the line and finish the event. Following less than a minute after and effectively tying were Etown track and field alumnus Michael Twist, ‘17, and Sam Brooke, separated by three onethousandths of a second and with a time of 19 minutes and 17 seconds. The unofficial third place runner was Trevor Slade.
High Library lecture analyzes American music and World War I by Jamie Verrekia Staff Writer
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Photo: Megan White|Photography Editor
Homecoming 2017 featured the Homecoming Parade at 11 a.m., followed by the Homecoming fair from 12 to 4 p.m. on the grounds between the Academic buildings.
SEE HOMECOMING PAGE 2
Medals, t-shirts and gift cards were presented to age group winners and various other participants at the end of the event, accompanied by the congratulations of a large number of spectators who attended the event to support those participating in the race. For information about the Annual Blue Jay 5k or more about annual Homecoming activities, please visit www.etown.edu/ homecoming.
lizabethtown College held a lecture on music during World War I Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. The event took place at the High Library. The speaker was professor of musicology Dr. Douglas Bomberger. He teaches music history courses at the College and has published four books. His lecture focused on music from 1917. He used a PowerPoint presentation with images and music recordings to support his lecture. Bomberger began by explaining how popular music can often come out of wartime. “War inspires songwriters,” Bomberger said. For example, the song “Yankee Doodle” came out of the Revolutionary War. He went on to reference the song “Over There,” which was one of the most popular songs to come out of World War I. It was written by George Cohan and popularized by the singer Nora Bayes. The song’s catchy tune helped increase its popularity. After he gave background on the song, he played a portion of it for the audience. His next topic focused on the new genre of music that came around 1917. This new genre was called jazz. Jazz first got its name around 1915, but hit New York City around 1917. The Dixieland jazz band helped
popularize this type of music. Their music was recorded in February 1917, just a few months before the U.S. entered into the war. “Now jazz music is linked to the war,” Bomberger said. He then played a recording of the band, so the audience could hear the classic jazz sound. “I found it fascinating how cohesive jazz music can sound when compared to more complex classical works,” sophomore Lauren Shakes commented. After the recording ended, Bomberger explained how jazz music continued to spread in popularity. To emphasize this, he showed comments that newspapers had written about the new genre. The reporters characterized jazz as being “noisy, chaotic, fast, and having rhythmic precision.” Bomberger concluded his presentation by talking about specific musicians and events of the time. He mentioned Karl Muk, who conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra played many concerts and even recorded some of their music. Since they were a larger band, it was hard to record their sound. They used giant cones to help focus the music. “Given the technology of the times, it was a technological advancement to record the symphony,” Bomberger said. SEE WORLD WAR MUSIC PAGE 5