The Collegian – Nov. 13, 2020

Shooting stars

Mystery in stone

Got dirt?

SPORTS

COMMUNITY

PERSPECTIVES

An inside look into basketball’s return

The

@Collegian_GCC @gcc.collegian The Collegian: The GCC Newspaper Friday, November 13, 2020

Student stumbles upon graves

Toughen your immune system naturally

Collegian The Award-Winning Grove City College Student Newspaper

Vol. 106, No. 10

On the road again

Many students decide to leave campus early Gabrielle Capaldo Staff Writer

As the second wave of COVID-19 hits Grove City’s campus, the college gave students the option to leave for home early, and many students are choosing to go .

According to Vice President of Student Life and Learning Larry Hardesty, no more students have traveled home due to quarantine now than compared to any other time in the semester. However, the difference this time is that those who have traveled home are not coming back.

Sophomore Zach Allen was placed into quarantine on Oct. 31 after his friend tested positive for COVID-19. Allen is from Roswell, New Mexico, and decided that stay-

ing in a hotel for two weeks while only three weeks of the semester remained was not worth it.

“It’s a 24-hour car ride home, and I just didn’t want to make that journey back to school for only a few days,” he said.

On the other hand, Allen’s friends, Katherine and Michaela Kolker, who are also in quarantine in Roswell, New Mexico, decided they will be returning to campus.

According to Katherine, the only reason she quarantined at home was because her parents asked her to.

“It’s my senior year and I want to spend as much time on campus as I can,” Katherine said, explaining that she ON THE ROAD 3

College okays partial exodus Anna DiStefano Managing Editor

With an increase of COVID-19 cases on campus and the impending Thanksgiving Break, President Paul J. McNulty ’80 announced in an email Monday that students may choose to depart early and finish the semester online.

McNulty emphasized students’ health and the holiday transition in his communication.

“I urge you to confer with your family and settle on the wisest transition plan to return home healthy for the holiday. You may depart campus at any point between now and the 24th and switch to online classes,” McNulty wrote.

According to the CO-

VID-19 Positive Test Dashboard on my.gcc, 47 students tested positive for the virus between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11, bringing the total positive case count for the semester to 90. The rise in cases also means a rise in the number of students in isolation and quarantine.

At this time, any new quarantine periods would extend past the Nov. 24 closure for break. Given this timeline, McNulty’s email noted that “avoiding the need to travel during quarantine is another reason for seriously considering an earlier departure from campus.”

Senior Emily Kuhn thought it was wise of the college to give students a choice in how they finish their semester.

“I am glad that the school allows the students to leave

WES KINNEY

A student packs his things as he prepares to leave for the semester early due to a rise in COVID-19. or stay based on their own campus. Because we are Sophomore Johnny Vancomfort levels. While it is a nearing Thanksgiving break, derhoff, an RA in the Colohard decision, I am grateful I do not want to risk becom- nial Hall apartments, is staythat it is a decision given to ing exposed and having my ing on campus to assist his me instead of made for me.” quarantine period overlap residents through the move Kuhn ultimately decided to with when I have planned on out process. finish her semester at home. being with my family,” Kuhn EXODUS 11 “I have decided to leave said.

Designing a new major

An autumn perspective

Ashley Ostrowski Copy Editor

View the winners of the Capture the Grove fall photo contest in our Photospread.

BENJAMIN CRAIG

With so many changes happening this year, Professor Nate Mucha ’08 and other design professors are thrilled to inform students that a new major may be coming to Grove City College for the coming 2021-22 academic year, Design and Innovation.

While the major is a new addition, design classes have been offered at Grove City since 2012. Mucha was the first professor to teach design at the college.

“At the time, there was growing interest in the field from both students and fac-

ulty, and I had recently completed my Master of Fine Arts in design. I was asked to come develop a class, Intro to Visual Communication Design,” Mucha said.

Since the initial course began, design has grown to become a 21-credit minor that includes Art, Design and Communication Arts courses. The proposal for a design major will allow interested students to delve further into the study of design and learn skills applicable to the professional world.

Other institutions offer design minors, but Grove City’s design major contains DESIGN 11

Editorial

Page 2

The award-winning Grove City College student newspaper, Nov. 13, 2020

From the Tower

A case to stay

As the second Great Grove City Exodus is upon us, many students are making decisions on whether they should stay or go.

The editorial staff (or those of us who are left) would like to make the case for why students should consider staying and sticking it out until the end.

Get your money’s worth In all practicality, we, the staff, remind you that everyone paid for 14 weeks of room and board. To leave early would mean two weeks of paid-for Bon Appetit, showers, toilet flushes, TLC printer money and glorious nights in rooms with no window screens.

Leaving now means paying for the amenities without the benefits.

Get your head in the game We think everyone would agree that it’s hard to work at home. The aroma of home cooking and the sound of family can throw anyone off, and now is not the time to lose your edge. To get ahead of the regularly scheduled week of online learning, many professors have made end-of-term papers and projects of next week.

If you’re moving into your peak crunch time, now may not be the time to travel home. Use the library while you can. The stacks social distanced before it was cool.

It’s a long way home With all these impending assignments you don’t have time to drive a long distance or try to catch a flight. Hunker down, do your work and save that road trip for later. Music is a lot better when you can dance to it instead of drive.

Campus is still lovely Infected or not, campus still glows beautifully with season’s change. As the last of the leaves fall, campus is a sight to behold while sitting in a hammock or lounging on the quad. The unseasonably warm weather is another bonus as you can pull your shorts out in November!

Get your last hard copy of The Collegian This is our last print issue of the semester. You can’t hold it in your hands unless you’re on campus. And we don’t have a website yet, so have fun zooming in on the PDF.

Parking Leave if you want, but those of us who stay will have easy access to all the prime parking spaces. Hello front row of Siberia!

No reason to go? That’s your reason to stay If you can’t think of anything better to do, stay on campus. If you stay, then the college can’t call this semester a failure. Even if there’s only one of you left, they still technically have succeeded in making it to Thanksgiving without forcing out of class and dorm.

Collegian Staff Editor-in-Chief Paige Fay

Copy Chief Britney Lukasiewicz

Managing Editor Anna DiStefano

Business Manager Kathryn Miller

Section Editors News David Zimmermann

Copy Editors Jessica Hardman Ashley Ostrowski Claire Josey Lauren Ness Kylie Jasper Joanna Thorpe Elizabeth Schinkel

Community Fiona Lacey Perspectives Clark Mummau

Photo Chief Wes Kinney

Staff Writers Scott Amon Noel Elvin Connor Schlosser Gabrielle Capaldo Jules Wooldridge

Design Chief Caleb West

Staff Adviser Nick Hildebrand

Sports Emily Rupczewski

The Collegian is the student newspaper of Grove City College, located in Grove City, Pa. Opinions appearing on these pages, unless expressly stated otherwise, represent the views of individual writers. They are not the collective views of The Collegian, its staff or Grove City College.

Green Eyeshade Award the

This week’s Green Eyeshade Award goes to staff writer Gabrielle Capaldo for her journalistic talent, persistent investigation and consistent excellence this semester.

The Green Eyeshade Award honors student contributors that demonstrate consistency and excellence in their work.

TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION

No longer kids

After college and into adulthood Wes Kinney Photo Chief

College, the place you go when you do not know what else to do; the place you go to “find yourself,” to get a degree and be successful. The place you go to become an adult.

Students often attend college with some expectation of making new friends, joining a Greek group, finding a passion and other aspirations. They want to get that piece of paper saying you are ready for the world and all it has to offer.

Until recently, the notion of escaping adulthood by attending college never entered my mind. But isn’t it true?

Isn’t college postponing life’s worries and bills and a place to live?

College, I’ve learned, is not just about finding a passion, making friends and getting a degree. College is frustrating, especially when it comes to senior year when you wonder, “Was I held back from my life?” Senior year is when you realize that the Grove City bubble is thicker than you think.

I realized this town and this college attracts the broken people most of all. People looking for a way out, for a healthy group of friends that will care and support them in life. New bonds form and the brokenness seems

a little less grey, even in the cold of winter.

Grove City is the place I found the best friends I could have ever asked for – people that want to understand you, to minimize their brokenness and help to apply the super glue to the places you missed in the mirror.

It’s the place where I figured out even as a senior you are still seen as a kid in the college’s eyes. The rules are clear: do not drink on campus and don’t do drugs (and this year it’s “don’t bring COVID-19 back to campus”).

Of course, these are good standards to follow, but what happens when you enter a world filled with drugs, sin, sex, murder and violence?

How do you take a stand when you did not have to in college because of its ideological security?

We cannot just hide away from the people that came into this college with all those worldly troubles. Yet, we see on the news what other colleges must deal with an “infection of sin.” Students are seen protesting the world’s problems at other colleges and universities around the nation. Around this campus there are no “stand-ins,” no protest. I think students on this campus look at the world and see how they sow division and come to Grove as sheep because that is easier than having to deal with conflicting perspectives.

Both choices have their validity. Some people do not

This week in Collegian history

War and pledge November 15, 1920 “College Students Celebrate Armistice Day” This past Wednesday, America recognized Veteran’s Day — a day set aside to recognize those who served in World War II, which mobilized the greatest number of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in our nation’s history. However, before 1945, this day was known as Armistice Day, and it recognized the end of World War I and the men who had served in that conflict.

Our own Grove City sent many men to fight in that war. The college’s recognition of the day included a morning service with special speakers, as well as a reading of the names of all those Grovers who had lost their lives. There was also a celebration of the end of the war, including a dinner and a dance.

November 18, 1960 “Brave Pledges”

Capaldo

fit in on this campus. Some people find a home somewhere else. Remember, these “other” students at state colleges and other even smaller universities than us are getting the same paper you are getting when you graduate.

That means that even the people who did all those drugs, got drunk every night and partied like there was no Monday after the weekend, have the same piece of paper as you do. The only difference is the stamp in the top corner saying, “GROVE CITY COLLEGE.” Nobody knows how you lived your college years but God himself. This means that you will be working alongside these people with different worldviews. No matter where you go, these people will see YOU, not your college years.

They are not like your friends here on campus, and they should not be feared because of that. They will be your biggest test of love and endurance that you will face in the coming years. So, it doesn’t matter what you expected when you came into college.

The greatest question I ask myself is how I can love somebody outside of this college just like my friends loved me – by doing it like Jesus did.

Wes served as The Collegian’s Photo Chief from 2018-2020. His vibrant personality and excellent contributions will be missed.

“For all you die-hard actives who swear that your Hell Week was harder than any other year’s, we have the story of two lowly pledges of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Brown University, Rhode Island.”

Many a strange and arduous task has been asked of those pledging Greek groups since Phi Beta Kappa, the first fraternity in America, was founded in 1776. Sixty years ago, Brown U freshmen Gil Messing and Bob Brown were tasked by their pledge masters with travelling the 700 miles to Grove City College in order to contact one Pattie Keiper, a friend of one of their actives, and then return with proof of the visit. To make matters worse, this task was given to them very late on a Thursday night, and they were to return with their proof by Monday morning.

The boys did make it, hitchhiking the 19hour trek (with four hours spent in a police office for doing so on the turnpike), and found the girl for whom they had been sent.

Of Grove City College they had only nice things to say, that they were “pleased with the friendliness of the students,” especially the KAPs and the Betas, who each allowed the two to stay on their halls for a night. The Collegian also reports that Brown’s Kappa Sigma boys extend an invitation to any boys that Grove’s fraternities saw fit to send their way.

Jules Wooldridge

Staff Writer

News The Collegian,

Nov. 13, 2020

Page 3

Anderson publishes study

Alums rank Professor makes waves in research in CPA exam Jacob Green

Contributing Writer

Dr. Erik Anderson, professor of mechanical engineering at Grove City College, is the co-author of a blue whale research study that has been published by outlets, such as The New York Times and Smithsonian Institution, in recent months.

The study has drawn engineers, biologists, computational experts and marine mammal specialists from all over the world to aid in ground-breaking work that could save the lives of endangered whales.

“Whales are being killed right and left from ship strikes,” Anderson said. “If we can keep track of where the whales are with tags, we can warn passing ships of areas where there are lots of whales present.”

Currently, scientists stick tags with four small, clear suction cups to the whales.

Anderson explained the process: “The researchers go out into the Zodiac, chase the whales, jam a tag on the end of a long pole, slap it on the back of a whale and hope it holds.”

However, there is constant drag on the tags, and Anderson noted that the tags frequently pop off after only 48 hours – hardly enough time to gather meaningful data for scientists. Implanted tags are an alternative, but they create problems of their own by providing avenues for infection in the broken skin of the whale.

“When you’ve got a population of less than 1,000 or-

Collegian Staff

STANFORD UNIVERSITY & CASCADIA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE

Known as suckerfish, remoras also attach themselves to sharks, marlin, turtles and dolphins. ganisms left, you can’t afford to lose a single one,” said Anderson. “So, the goal of this study is to find ways to make less invasive tags more efficient at staying on the whale.”

Anderson is using his extensive knowledge of fluid movement and hydrodynamics to model how remoras attach to whales. Remoras are fish that hitchhike on the bodies of whales using a specialized suction device on their heads to hold constant positions.

“Remoras seem good at finding places on whales where they can stick without expending much energy,” Anderson said. “If we can find those places on the whale where there is the least amount of water drag, we can determine where our tags are less likely to fall off.”

Anderson is not alone on his mission to save the whales. His work is a collaboration with intellectuals like Dr. Brooke Flammang and Dr. Simone Marras from the New Jersey Technological Institute, both of whom help with the understanding of the physiology and computations necessary to model the flow of water around a whale.

Grove City students have also played key roles in Anderson’s research. Recent alumni Spencer Garborg ’16 and Ellen Zerbe ’17 both worked with Anderson and published their findings in prestigious journals like PLOS One and the IEEE Sensors Journal as undergraduates.

“I really give credit for my work to our students who have been able to make this possible,” said Anderson.

“And without GCC’s support through the Swezey and the Jewell, Moore and MacKenzie funds, none of this could have happened.”

Anderson hopes that the college will continue to fund research that he knows will profit both the students and the school. “This research is not just some fun little project we are working on,” he explained. “Our students are going on to Princeton and securing faculty positions at places like the Naval Academy through work like this.”

Anderson is happy about the implications of his whale study.

“I have always wanted my work to have some sort of common good, public good, earthly good aspect to it, and I believe that we have done this through our research.”

Grove City College accounting alumni ranked third in the state for medium-sized schools for their performance on the 2019 CPA exam, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

The annual NASBA report shows graduates of the college’s Department of Accounting and Finance posting scores and maintaining pass rates that outpace the national averages.

First-time alumni test takers posted a pass rate of 66.7 percent, nearly ten points higher than the national average.

Graduates’ average score of 75.6 beats the national average by several points.

Alumni pass rates and scores resulted in the College being ranked 18th among all Pennsylvania colleges and universities, NASBA reported.

“Students at Grove City College take great pride in their work, rising to the challenge and working hard at their studies,” said department chair and associate professor of accounting Nicole Stone.

“Our program prepares them well for all parts of the CPA exam. Students are able to take that foundation and apply their extensive accounting and business knowledge to achieve great success on the exam and in their future career.”

Budgeting for the future Karsten Lagerquist Contributing Writer

Once we hit college, we begin to feel like we are halfway to living on our own in the adult world. We have even more responsibility, and there are more choices we can make with our resources – especially our financial ones. It is important that we create good spending habits for ourselves during college so that when we have a full income at our disposal in a couple of years, we know what we are doing.

It is easy to trick yourself into thinking that you do not need a budget while in college. After all, you do not have a large income, if any income at all, and you do not really have very much mon-

ON THE ROAD continued from 1

will be returning for the last week of classes.

Some students have expressed concern that those in quarantine are being forced to go home.

According to Hardesty, students have never been forced to return home. “Students have always had the option to stay on campus or return home,” he said.

“Many happen to opt for the latter option.”

Senior Reilly Diggins,

ey to spend even if you wanted to. These factors, though, make budgeting even more important because maximizing your limited funds is key.

Budgeting is all about giving your dollars a purpose and a home and providing guidelines for your own spending habits so that you can make the most of what you do have. All a budget does is force us to be reasonable whenever the urge to splurge hits.

The first step in creating a budget is to determine your monthly limit. Estimating how much you might earn throughout the calendar year and then dividing that by twelve could give you a good starting amount to work from. An alternative is to decide an amount that you

think is reasonable but not oppressive to limit yourself to in college. Depending on your situation, that could be $25 or $50 per month. Regardless of what you choose, the key is to stay within your total income or eat minimally into your savings. Spending more than you have is never a good move in the long-term.

Once you decide on how much you must allocate, you should decide on what categories of things you anticipate spending your money. Tithe, food, gas, gifts, miscellaneous, investing and saving are all good categories to use. Each category then gets a certain number of dollars each month with the total equaling the cash you have available. These

amounts do not need to be set in stone. If you always wish you had two dollars to spend on a bag of gummies at the end of the month but rarely need to fill up the gas tank at school, maybe some of your gas money should move to food for the time being.

Keep in mind as well that not all the funds in each category will be used up every month. Your family might not have any birthdays in November. Those funds, though, could help supplement your Christmas gift funds for December. Having balances roll over to the next month can allow yourself to maintain good spending patterns and save up for larger purchases over time.

Creating your own budget

however, felt she had no other option. “I went home because I didn’t want to spend two weeks in a hotel room by myself for mental health reasons,” she said.

Since her home is in Pittsburgh, she will be taking the journey back to campus for the last week of school as well.

Not everyone is choosing to go home. Junior Addison Bennett was placed into quarantine on Nov. 7 after a member of the men’s lacrosse team tested positive.

As the rest of the team travelled home, Bennett and one

of his friends decided to stay at the Holiday Inn. “I decided to stay in town,” he said, “because I bought tickets to an Eagles vs.

Browns game and want to see that, assuming I won’t test positive.”

All these early departures make students wonder what may occur with moving out procedures over Christmas break.

According to Director of Residence Life Jonathan DiBenedetto, moving out over Christmas break will proceed as normal. “If anyone moves out early, just

check in with your RA as you usually would and take everything with you that you’ll need,” he said.

Getting so close to the end of the semester just to go home has been disappointing for several students.

Allen stated, “I’m definitely disappointed, but I’m grateful I got to spend as much time as I did on campus this semester.”

Diggins also said, “I’m very frustrated about the situation, but I’m glad I can at least come back.”

According to Resident Director Tori Wright, the col-

brings ultimate flexibility to your own changing needs.

Creating a budget is easier than it might seem on the surface. The challenging part is keeping yourself accountable to it. The reality is that the only way to create this discipline is to practice it and enlist friends to support you along the way. There are also plenty of apps, such as Dave Ramsey’s Every Dollar App, that can help you format things properly. You might have to miss out on a fun outing occasionally, but the rewards of learning to stay on a budget will allow you to make far more memories for years to come. lege staff has been working tirelessly to keep students on campus.

“We are not shutting down the school and sending everyone home,” she said as McNulty’s email had indicated. “Please know that you are not alone in expectations being different, and it’s OK to acknowledge that we as a campus have been walking in a difficult season. You are loved and we are in your corner.”

Community The Collegian, Nov. 13, 2020

Page 4

Anyone glad to go?

Students reflect on leaving campus weeks early Scott Amon Staff Writer

Some students are excited about it, while others are horrified, but like it or not Thanksgiving Break begins in twelve days.

As students know by now, the arrival of Thanksgiving signals the end of in-person classes and the return to online classes. Students from different backgrounds have differing perspectives on this return.

Sophomore Jaclyn Nichols is from Grove City and commutes to the college. Nichols is less worried about transitioning over to online classes because her surroundings will not change much.

“As a commuter student, there will not be much of a difference in my environment, but I will still miss my friends and professors,” Nichols said.

Junior Paige Wilson, from Butler PA, echoed Nichols’s sentiment about missing out on the social side of college, “I would have to say missing out on the whole social aspect of college such as studying with friends and attending events has to be the main drawback [of online classes].”

Without dining halls, the academic buildings, the people or the professors, college quickly becomes a series of one class after another.

But some students are faced with greater challenges this Thanksgiving Break.

Barnabas Chen is from Guangzhou (Canton City), China, and for him, returning home is more difficult

WES KINNEY

Students wait outside the PLC Wednesday for rides home. For many, Thanksgiving break starts early as some students transition online. than tossing some luggage into a car. Instead, he will be remaining in the U.S for now.

“It will be difficult for me to return to China only for Christmas break,” Chen said.

“Housing will be the biggest challenge since I won’t be going home.”

But going home for Chen has its downsides.

“On the other hand, if I do go home then doing classes online will be a disaster due to time difference,” said Chen.

Canton City is a full 13 hours ahead of the East Coast, so while students at GCC are waking up and eating breakfast, the people in

Canton City are getting ready for bed, making online classes a large difficulty for Chen.

For many other students, returning to online classes may not be difficult.

Current sophomores, juniors and seniors will remember what it was like to take classes at the college through Microsoft TEAMS. Nichols remembered that studying was more difficult, due to restricted resources, “it was harder because I did not have the same access to the library. Also, it was harder to study in groups,” she said.

Wilson said that since she was cyber schooled for much

of high school career, she was already familiar with navigating the technology.

“I was a cyber school student in high school, it was all very familiar to me and felt natural,” she said.

Wilson also addressed a problem that many students faced: poor internet connection: “My internet cut out frequently, which was the main negative other than not being able to see friends.”

One aspect of online classes that causes some students to cheer and others to shudder is online finals.

Nichols is excited to have “another crack at open-book finals.” But many, like Chen,

worry professors will make the finals more difficult to keep students honest. “Finals might be harder because professors will try to provide materials that students can’t cheat on,” said Chen.

He adds that it is easier for him to study in an academic environment, “School would be the best environment for me to study in [for finals].”

Wilson enjoyed having her finals online. “Last semester I had some open book finals and some closed book, but they were all easier than I expected.”

Wilson was able to spend more time with her family as a result.

Student discovers grave concern Matt Lamberson Contributing Writer

Grove City College, at nearly 150 years old, is no stranger to odd rumors and bizarre stories from its past; now, I have come into a strange story of my own, and hope to add a new footnote to that history.

This odd sight sits at the far end of campus, in the woods behind the rugby field’s equipment shed. It consists of a pile of stones and debris of many shapes and sizes.

What makes this pile so unusual is not its location, but the fact that it includes 12 large granite gravestones.

Each headstone has a similar inscription; an image of three linked rings, a name, an age, a lodge name and number and the letters I.O.O.F. This bizarre, and somewhat spooky, arrangement begs many questions.

Why are these headstones here? How did they get to where they are now? When were they removed from their rightful graves? Who put so much effort into relocating these headstones?

Unfortunately, the answer to all these questions is, “I don’t know,” but I have been able to learn a little bit so far.

First and foremost is who these stones originally belonged to. The combination of the three linked chain, the lodge name and number and the “I.O.O.F.” are a dead

giveaway of who commissioned the headstones. These symbols represent the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a philanthropic organization from the 1800s that exists to this day, although in a more limited capacity.

The stated purpose of the group is to, “Visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan,” which would explain their interest in maintaining a cemetery. For many years there was a lodge in Grove City, and the large brick building next to Grace Methodist Church still bears the three-link chain on its façade.

The modern Orchard Manor facility was once known as the Wayside Inn, a home for aging members of the Oddfellows. Ever since the Inn’s inception in the early 1900s, the Oddfellows have maintained a cemetery out back, only a few hundred feet from where the headstones now lie.

This seems to explain where the gravestones originated, but upon visiting the cemetery, there is not a single stone like those found next to the rugby field. Every grave next to the rugby field is a short granite trapezoid, weighing upwards of 200 lbs., but every grave in the cemetery is a small brass plaque fastened into the ground. Many of these small plaques are hidden due to

MATT LAMBERSON

Gravestones behind the rugby field spur speculation and mystery surrounding their origin. overgrowth, so it is difficult to see if the names on any of these graves match those next to the rugby field.

The best possible source of information would be to go and look at the Orchard Manor history room, which is mentioned on their website, but the current pandemic renders this impossible.

This means that any further information on this creepy cairn can only be obtained

from speculation.

Judging by the close proximity of the headstones and the other debris, it seems likely that it was all cleared from the same area at the same time, meaning the headstones could have been discarded a long time ago and only moved into their current position when the college converted the field for sports use. This makes much more sense than drag-

ging these stones, which are quite heavy, from the original cemetery to their final resting place.

If they were originally discarded into a meadow or field next to the cemetery, somewhere around the western edge of the current rugby field, they could have been bulldozed along with the other debris into their present location. This may have happened around 50-60 years ago when the Wayside Inn ceased operation as a farm, but there is no way to tell why the stones were removed from the cemetery in the first place.

As far as who the stones belong to, it is safe to say that the names are those of Oddfellows and their family members or local people who couldn’t afford cemetery plots. Unfortunately, there is no way to be certain without seeing some sort of official record. Anything I could say after these few assumptions would be totally baseless, and although I personally prefer the truth to fiction, don’t let my research bog down your imagination.

I encourage every reader to fill in the numerous blanks with their own details. Feel free to take your friends out to the edge of the field on a moonless night and do your best to tell them a story that will keep them awake for weeks to come.

The Collegian, Nov. 13, 2020

Page 5

COVID-19 hits Grove Manor Fiona Lacey

Community Editor The past two months hit Grove Manor Nursing Home residents hard, with 76 cases and 10 deaths related to COVID-19 as of Sept. 23.

“It’s been a really hard time,” Jeff Black, Chief Business Officer of Manor Grove, said regarding the status of the residents of Manor Grove Nursing Home. “Devastating.”

According to Black, the months leading up to September were smooth, with little to no cases and smooth operations. “We did everything right. It makes you feel helpless.”

But tragedy struck when in mid-September, COVID-19 cases amongst the residents skyrocketed, with 13 of these cases, related to the virus or not, resulting in death.

This number makes up exactly half of the total COVID deaths in Mercer county.

The number of deaths, though reported to be COVID- related, may not in fact be the result of contracting the virus, Black said. “There were some folks who were not doing well to begin with.”

Either way, Black and Grove Manor staff are saddened at the results. “We went above and beyond in precautions,” Black said.

“Even more than the CDC suggests.”

In the event of a staff member’s testing positive for coronavirus, the individual

was to quarantine for the entire two-week period, even if his/her symptoms subsided.

“That’s the most frustrating and discouraging thing,” Black said. Without the knowledge of how it happened, he said, Black and his team at Grove Manor are left in the dark regarding how to do better in the future.

This recent tragedy brought a large amount of support to the gates of Grove Manor, in the form of cards, videos and anonymous donations of food and supplies.

“The day it was released that we had deaths, crackers, water bottles and supplies showed up at the door,” Black said. “The community has been very supportive.”

Black noted his staff has been extra careful to remember the spiritual needs of the residents, employing their full-time Chaplin when needed.

“We still do our daily devotions and prayers. We think it’s really important for them,” Black said.

After the outbreak, CDC guidelines required Grove Manor’s return to the ‘Red Zone’ with heavy restriction on most everything. “We’re now in phase two,” Black said.

Residents are able to have outdoor and window visits, along with more group activities than were allowed previously.

“And they get to see each other now,” Black said.

Dr. Kristen B. Waha Assistant Professor of English What do you listen to on your ride home?

GROVE MANOR

Grove Manor residents remain resilient after being hit with multiple COVID-19 cases in September.

When forced back into phase one, residents were required to eat in their rooms, leaving their rooms only on necessary occasion.

Black and his staff look forward to indoor visitation in the lobby and similar lifted restrictions once they reach phase three. “We’re hoping

to get there next week,” Black said. Black noted their work wouldn’t be possible without the strong attitudes of their own residents.

“We’re very fortunate that we’re dealing with the Greatest Generation,” Black said.

“They understand sacrifice.

They are troopers.”

MAP in memorium

Laura Hamilton

Mostly just whatever song is on the radio—my commute is only about 5 minutes, since I live in town.

What are you currently reading?

In between reading for my classes, I have been reading “Black Count,” a biography on the father of French author Alexandre Dumas (whose books I love). It is a really fascinating history of the complex and shifting attitudes towards race during the time of the French Revolution.

What’s something you’ve been pondering lately?

Contributing Writer

From the well-loved cafeteria to the beautiful, timeworn lobby, the quad of women’s dorms known as MAP North, South and West are a cornerstone feature of the campus.

The first building, now called South, was dedicated in 1937 in honor of Mary Anderson Pew, wife of Joseph Newton Pew, a key figure in the college’s early years. The subsequent building names followed suit until the MAP quad was formed.

Pew was born on August 4, 1850 in East Waterford, Pennsylvania.

“A family with deep roots in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, [the Andersons] moved to Titusville for more opportunities,” college archivist Hilary Walczak said.

It was in Titusville that she met her future husband, Joseph Newton Pew, a young entrepreneur in the oil and gas industry. Walczak said they married in 1874 and had five children: Arthur, John Howard, Joseph Newton, Jr., Mary Ethel, and Mabel.

Pew was a passionate advocate for women’s rights and education. A hard worker, who helped her mother at home, she used education and social causes to work for all her children’s education opportunities.

Despite social restrictions in her time, she hoped for equality between men and women in all areas of life.

The college archives collection describes how Pew “… and her husband also imparted their Christian ideals and beliefs in honorable work to their children.”

“After her death in 1935, her four surviving children founded the Pew Charitable Trust in honor of their parents, continuing her social philanthropy,” Walczak said.

7 questions with…

How can we better understand each other in this country, especially at a time we seem so divided? Also, how can I help my extroverted threeyear-old stay connected with family and friends during a pandemic?

Favorite restaurant right now?

Mary Anderson Pew hall, built in 1937, remains a prominent landmark on the college’s campus.

Pew’s values of hard work, integrity, equality and Christian faith are evident in the college’s values today. “’Mid the Pines” includes J. Howard Pew’s speech at the dedication of Mary Anderson Pew dormitory in 1937, honoring his mother: “‘Few people know how much her influence and support helped in rearing here the structure of character and quality of which we are all so proud…this memorial would be most appropriate and gratifying to Mother as one that attested to her affection for education and her life-long interest in expanding the educational opportunity and cultural privileges of young women.’”

The original Mary Anderson Pew dormitory became South as the building grew.

The dorm “added to the Olmstead Plan facing the quad,” Walczak said, sitting opposite Ketler men’s dormitory to frame the lawn.

The South Rec lounge became a favorite after it was added, and it was renovated in 2005. The renovation was funded by Trustee William Mehaffey ’64 to celebrate his

GCC

Around here, I’d have to say Tamarind, which is an Indian restaurant in Cranberry. I love that they have both South and Northern Indian dishes.

Name the one movie that makes you tear up.

Any of the three “Lord of the Rings” films.

What are you looking forward to today?

I look forward to going for a walk and enjoying the fall weather we are having this week.

Favorite Class you’re teaching right now.

GCC

Students socialize in MAP’s signature South Hall sitting room. The dorm was built by Mary Pew’s children in her honor. and his wife’s 40th wedding anniversary.

A fun fact about MAP: a time capsule was placed in the cornerstone. “It has a Bi-

ble, pictures of Mrs. Pew, her obituary, a college catalog, alumni lists and copies of the President and Treasurer reports,” Walczak said.

It’s hard to pick a favorite, since I generally try to teach texts I already love in some way, and each class of students brings sometime different to the table. My Asian literature class is reading Arundhati Roy’s “God of Small Things” right now, which is a tragic and beautiful book, and I am excited to see what students think of Roy’s poetic language.

Through the lens,

Nov. 13, 2020

Page 6

First Place

Grace David ’24

Second Place Stephanie Bonifield ’21 “Flowers”

Third Place Karastin Henley ’15 Machine shop and laboratory support engineer

“An engineer’s view of fall”

Through the lens,

Nov. 13, 2020

Page 7

The winners (and some favorites) from the campus’s fall photo contest

Honorable Mention Trace Peace ’24 “Cuties”

Luke Greenway ’22 “Fall is in focus”

Grant Baughman ’24

Katherine Gish ’22

The Collegian,

Nov. 13, 2020

Page 8

Kengor calls out Pennsylvania Fiona Lacey

Community Editor

David Zimmermann News Editor

REALTOR.COM

Lights are a traditional way to signal the upcoming winter season, but when should you put them up?

When to Christmas Shelbi Henkle

Contributing Writer “October shalt thou not count, neither count thou November, excepting that thou then proceed to December. January is right out.

Once December, being December reached, then thou lobbest thou thy Holiday and Christmas cheer towards thy Scrooge, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.”

For those who caught the reference: good job. But this is essentially a question of when Christmas celebrations should begin. Yes, every single Walmart, Target and craft store has Christmas décor arriving in early October, thinly veiled by Halloween decorations. But when should one begin listening to Christmas music on the radio, decorating the house or pulling out the outdoor lights? These critical questions must be answered.

In order to apply the prop-

er Christmas methodology, one must grasp that Christmas must not begin until all major holidays are completed in order. Therefore, Halloween comes first and then THANKSGIVING. One cannot forget Thanksgiving! The great American food holiday!

And you know, family gatherings are okay too if you focus on the football game over the politics. One must keep in mind that all Christmas festivities are to be on hold until after Thanksgiving dinner.

Once that event transpires one is allowed to partake in listening to Christmas music and even put up the tree if one desires. Now for the entire duration of December, Christmas related activities are permitted and encouraged.

Once Christmas day has come and gone one can keep up the decorations until the New Year. This period of time can be controversial

Plato paves literary path Ben Phelps

Contributing Writer Dr. Ryan West of the philosophy department said that many of Plato’s dialogues follow a structure that can be compared to the ascent and descent of a climbing expedition. Approaching Plato can sometimes feel as daunting as climbing a mountain.

At a place like Grove City College where almost everyone loves the classics, throwing students headfirst into primary sources can make some feel abandoned at the trailhead. This is a trail guide for those interested in summiting the mountain of Plato.

West outlined the climbing expedition of Plato. First, you travel to base camp. In the dialogues, this is often Plato setting the scene. It sounds the themes of the dialogue. Base camp itself is when the question of the dialogue is asked.

For example, in “Euthyphro,” the question is “What is piety?” The ascent of the dialogue takes place in a question and answer format.

Usually, around three or so definitions of the concept will be given, each getting closer to a good definition.

Near the top of the mountain, Socrates’ partners will admit they do not understand. They don’t want to continue. At this point, Socrates will help out his partner and offer some of his own definitions.

In most cases, Socrates isn’t satisfied. He will offer to continue the conversation or say that they should continue the conversation later. This is an invitation for the reader to continue the dialogue after closing the book.

John Mark Reynolds, the author of “When Athens Met

Jerusalem,” suggested reading the dialogues in community. To Reynolds, you should read a dialogue for the first time in one sitting, then to reread it a few days later. Then the reader should spend time in communal discussion with others who have read the dialogue.

A classroom setting is a good place for this, although something like a book club with friends can also work.

Plato did not write textbooks, but literature was his medium to write philosophy.

This does not mean that he should not be read carefully.

Dr. Michael Coulter, chair of the political science department, said that “dialogue has both argument and action.” With action, Coulter said, one should take into account where the dialogue’s setting is and who the characters are. These places and people themselves have meaning; there is a reason Plato placed them into the specific dialogue.

According to Reynolds, Plato was perhaps the first thinker to encase his beliefs in a good or even beautiful story.

But this does make him hard to reduce to a set of ideas.

“The point of the dialogue is not to find out what Plato thinks,” West said. “The point of the dialogue is to go on a journey with Plato into thinking about something that is very important and to come to realize things about yourself along the way.”

This knowledge about yourself, West continued, often consists in realizing that you don’t know a subject as well as you thought.

“To leave a Platonic dialogue with continuing puzzles can spell success,” West said.

since there is such a thing as keeping Christmas going for too long. Outdoor décor shall be taken down post New Year’s Day, with two or three days of leniency allotted.

Christmas is a joyous time and brings a great deal of happiness to people especially during the very uncertain time of COVID-19, but it must stay within its designated season. Things limited to the Christmas season include Christmas music, festive decor such as trees, tinsel, ornaments, season appropriate baking and various other activities such as caroling.

Christmas in July is a great cardinal sin (gasp). The crucial distinction between the major holidays in the last quarter of the year must be kept in mind.

To prevent the upset of holiday madness one must always remember that each holiday has its place and should be celebrated accordingly.

Interviewed by The Epoch Times last week, Political Science Professor Dr. Paul Kengor shared his thoughts regarding the role that Pennsylvania played in the 2020 election and how the state’s voting results did not line up with his predictions.

Analyzing polling and voter registration data before Election Night, Kengor called the election for President Donald Trump and was surprised to see that Joe Biden managed to pull ahead in the state. Late Tuesday night of last week, Kengor said Trump was ahead of Biden by 600,000 to 700,000 votes.

For Biden to win Pennsylvania, Kengor said that the Democratic candidate would have needed to gain 80 percent or more of the remaining absentee ballots. Looking at the voting numbers in certain counties, Kengor did not think this was possible.

“Trump’s legal team is really right to be suspicious of this. I’m frankly amazed by it,” he said.

In a special report he wrote for The American Spectator on Election Day, Kengor noted that the only way for Trump to lose the state was voter fraud in Philadelphia.

The article was titled “Why Donald Trump Will Win Pennsylvania.”

172 students participated in this year’s Elevator Pitch Competition.

“If it is indeed fraud, I want to be careful. I don’t know that for sure. But to lose a vote margin of 58 to 41 percent with 1.5 million mail-in ballots, again Biden would have needed over 80 percent,” Kengor said in the interview. “I just don’t see how this would have been statistically possible. I find this very dubious and very questionable.”

In the article, he also wrote that he was shocked to see so many Trump signs across the state when traveling recently — which was why he was confident in his prediction.

“These signs reflect something very significant: an obvious enthusiasm gap for the two candidates,” Kengor wrote. “There are a lot of Trump supporters who adore the guy, would set themselves on fire for the man.

The passion for Joe Biden is not there.”

When Biden declared victory in Pennsylvania on Election Night, Kengor was appalled that certain media outlets chose to criticize Trump’s declaration for victory over Biden’s.

He said, “How dare you guys, Biden did the same thing! You can just see the double standard and the dripping, oozing media bias.

It’s so bad.”

Kengor closed the interview by commenting that “Pennsylvania cannot be declared by Fox News, CNN or MSNBC. It has to be declared by the state.”

GCC

Entrepreneurs go online David Zimmermann News Editor

As the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation’s (E+I) annual Elevator Pitch Competition went virtual this year, 21 students competed in the final round last Friday for the chance to win cash prizes.

For only two minutes, students had one chance to film their pitch which would then be viewed by a panel of alumni judges.

“The students adapted incredibly well to the new format. I was beyond impressed with the way that they were able to adjust their communication style for the medium,” Yvonne English ’97, executive director of the Center for E+I, said.

Freshman entrepreneurship major Mark Wilhelm took first place in the Commercial Enterprise category for “New Sight,” a discreet safety system for the visually impaired. Wilhelm also won second place in the Social Enterprise category for his nonprofit mobile art station idea called “Journey Art.” “I wasn’t even expecting either idea to make it to finals at all, let alone win anything,” he said. “My friends had to let me know I won anything as I wasn’t watch-

ing the results.”

The other winners in the Commercial Enterprise category included freshman entrepreneurship major Shelton Brower in second place, senior management and marketing major Erica Kolson in third, senior accounting and finance major Adam Densmore in fourth and sophomore accounting and finance major Judy Anne Spira in fifth.

Densmore, who won for his online public speaking training service “PresPros,” said he was glad to compete virtually as it gave him the ability to adapt his pitch to an online audience.

Spira said that presenting her pitch online was easier than in-person. “The virtual experience was more comfortable to me because I could film without others watching.”

Also receiving the Fan Favorite Award, Spira’s idea was “Sani-T Box,” a secure device that holds your personal items while in a public bathroom stall. The box contains a UV light sanitation system that cleans your belongings and beeps if you forget an item in it.

She said, “I have always loved watching Shark Tank, but I never imagined coming up with and pitching a prod-

uct myself that has never been seen before.”

The two other Social Enterprise winners, besides Wilhelm, also included sophomore entrepreneurship major Olivia Whiteman placing in first and freshman psychology and social work major Grace Anne Shaw in third.

Whiteman said that giving her pitch virtually was “more challenging” due to the lack of a live audience.

“In-person, you have a chance to correct yourself if you stumble or forget part of your pitch because it’s more conversational,” she said.

“Having the pitches pre-recorded, I feel like it’s harder to make that correction to get yourself back on track to finish the pitch within two minutes.”

Whiteman was inspired to pitch a dog accessory company that upcycled military uniforms while providing work for veterans. The result was “G.I. Fido.”

“Besides being extremely excited, I am so very honored and humbled that the judges chose my idea from among so many wonderful ideas,” she said. “I’m so thankful for the many opportunities that the Center for E+I has given me to learn and grow here at GCC.”

Perspectives The Collegian,

Page 9

Nov. 13, 2020

Post-election truths Isaac Willour

Contributing Writer This election has taken forever. Legitimately forever. As in, ‘Internet Explorer Managed to Load My Website’ type of forever.

But while we’re all stuck watching it, there are three truths that should be considered while we wait for this conveyer belt of an electoral process.

First, you should seriously consider the amount of political news you take in. The toxicity of the news cycle has been discussed many times; in a polarized partisan environment every news outlet

and source has potential to damage one’s mental health.

This is a moment in which the number of political conversations we’re having has blown up tenfold; everyone is desperate for a piece of the partisan pie. Just like civic duty, you also have the duty to ensure your own mental stability, and if the flow of news in your feed is sabotaging that, maybe it’s time to cut down.

Secondly, many of the things we’re seeing in this election are perfectly normal. People have been trying to steal elections for as long as there have been elections to steal.

Political parties, clearly, have trouble accepting election results. It’s easy, espe-

cially as young adults, to feel as if the cultural events we’re living through are completely unprecedented and we’ll never see the end of this terrifying new world into which we’re running at breakneck speed.

It’s okay. We’re going to live. We’ve lived through this type of thing before. But the only way we can live well through this type of thing is if we acknowledge the third truth.

Thirdly, we have to decide for ourselves what we’re going to have faith in. It’s not our foundational institutions.

Regardless of political or social inclinations, we’ve lost faith in the news media.

We’ve lost our faith in the

world to work together towards common goals. We’ve lost faith in our elected officials to act in their proper capacity. We’ve lost faith in our local communities to unite around anything of meaning.

We’re currently losing faith in our electoral process.

All of these institutions have had a large part of their meaning ripped away from them in the past several years and it’s a terrifying sight to behold. If we didn’t have belief in anything outside this earth, we’d all be well and truly screwed. Yet we do.

In a few short weeks, we’ll be celebrating Advent. For many of us, this holiday will look different because of the tumult we’re seeing in our world. I don’t understand

why all of this has happened to us. I don’t understand why political unrest and global pandemics endanger us.

But then I also don’t understand why the Creator of the universe would wrap his divinity in our disgusting humanity and descend to our level to give us a second chance at screwing up the perfect world he made.

Amidst all the political unrest and social chaos, he offered something far greater.

You can take his option. You can leave the chaos of society in its proper place, understand that you’ll make it through, and allow your mind to be filled by the true meaning and purpose he offers. I’ll take that option over election fever any day.

correlation in 106 countries between COVID-19 mortality and “demography, improved hygiene and higher incidence of autoimmune disorders.”

This seems counter-intuitive, but it actually supports the “hygiene hypothesis,” the idea that “allergic diseases were prevented by infection in early childhood, transmitted by unhygienic contact with older siblings, or acquired prenatally,” which David Strachan proposed in 1989.

While the hypothesis is not

proven, and other scientists have sought to suggest alternative theories such as the coevolution of human societies and diseases, many studies do show that “developed countries have experienced a steady increase in atopic disease and disorders of immune dysregulation since the 1980s,” as a 2015 study

by Leah T. Stiemsma, Lisa A. Reynolds, Stuart E. Turvey and B. Brett Finlay summarized.

With allergies, autoimmune disorders and asthma on the rise in the West, what should we do? Is it just a part of urbanizing that we have to learn to deal with?

The answer depends. For us college students, the vast majority of that window is past. Stiemsma et al. say that there are many “commensal and symbiotic intestinal microbes, which are profoundly involved in human immune development, and parasitic helminths, which are also strong therapeutic candidates to protect against immune dysregulation,” and much of this is influenced by childhood, report.

As someone who knows nothing about the medical field, I would recommend you to not be afraid of the outdoors or your floor. In the United States, and many de-

veloped countries, we seem to have an aversion to most impurities that people in developing countries, and our ancestors, simply live with.

We live in a world where antibiotics are prescribed for enough ailments and diseases to build resistance to them and where we fear flies landing on our food or children playing in mud.

Now, I live on a farm, so I’ve walked through my share of manure (only on rare occasion barefoot), and I’ve breathed in all manner of plant dust. I have no intention of being a farmer, but I think that being regularly exposed to plants and animals as a child has made my immune system more resilient.

Nature is not a panacea, and we should use the medical technology God has blessed us with like vaccines.

There is a difference between not washing your hands after going to the bathroom and eating a grape off the floor of a football stadium concession stand, and we should make sure that we are being exposed to the right nature. However, we should all take more care to expose ourselves to God’s creation so that we can fight against the natural pathogens that are the result of our rebellion against God.

Get a little dirt in your diet

Clark Mummau Perspectives Editor

Even though India has a sixth of the global population and a sixth of the global COVID-19 cases, it has only 10 percent of the global deaths due to the coronavirus. The nation’s case fatality ratio is under two percent, one of the lowest in the world.

How is this possible? Does India have access to some technology that the United States, which has had

about twice the amount of deaths as India to the virus, doesn’t have?

According to an October study by Bithika Chatterjee, Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar and Shekhar C. Mande, India doesn’t have the medical holy grail. Rather, its poorer sanitization, which leads to better “immune training,” is to thank for its low death rate.

The study found a positive

CNBC

The Collegian,

Nov 13, 2020

Page 10

Not Does Jesus disagree? all big news Ransom Coffeen

Ben Phelps

Contributing Writer You should stop reading this article. Why? Because reading the news is bad for you.

This article is not saying that investigative journalism is somehow wrong.

The problem comes from every story being a “big” story. Not every story is Watergate, but papers and news networks profit from treating the headline for the day as the next Watergate.

How often were you told this past election cycle (or most others) that this is the most important election of your lifetime?

What is big news? Getting a proper definition that fully encompasses this concept is not within the scope of this little opinion piece. In the meantime, it will suffice to say that the news that matters is news that others in your life will tell you about.

This could mean it is a local issue that has direct impact on you, or it could be a story with national or international consequences, such as alleged voter fraud or President Donald Trump not conceding this past election.

C. John Sommerville in “How the News is Making us Dumb” makes the claim that the news is a product, and the point of the news is profit. If the point of the news were something else, such as enlightenment, Sommerville argues, then there would be days when the paper would have to be much larger and days when there would be no paper at all.

Strikingly, Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard included journalists in what he called, “all the forces of the moment,” in his book, “Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits.”

In context, Kierkegaard is saying that these forces declared that Jesus’ death on the cross was a moment in which all was lost. Of course, in eternity, it is a moment where everything is won.

While this is an extreme example, this lack of proper perspective is emblematic of our instant news world.

If you put down the paper and look away from your social media feed, you may just have the proper critical distance when a truly important event happens to act in the right way. Otherwise, according to the news, it will just be the twelfth time this month the world has ended, so why bother?

Join our team!

For info about being a Collegian photographer, email gcc.collegian@ gmail.com.

Contributing Writer “We want to reclaim Pornhub. People are entitled to choices,” or so says Thailand activist group Anonymous Party.

Following a government ban on pornography in Thailand, protesters like the Anonymous Party took to the Tweet streets, rallying behind the slogan #SavePornhub. Meanwhile, the Thai government rationalized its ban by claiming pornographic sites caused “improper behavior” in the nation’s youths. Perhaps they should consider blaming their poor parenting, instead of dodging responsibility by demonizing pornography.

Notwithstanding this ridiculous situation, the government ban raises a legitimate question. The Thai government instituted the ban to prevent immoral behavior.

They do not want kids doing bad things, so they passed a law to prevent what causes

kids to do bad things: pornography. In doing so, the Thai government made a legal claim that pornography is immoral. They legislated morality. So we ask: can a government legislate morality?

Most Christians over the years have answered this question along the following lines, “Well, I wouldn’t want to push my morals on someone who doesn’t agree with me.” Though an understandable sentiment, this statement fails to understand the inherent nature of a law. Law is a legal expression of morality.

All law, from one banning murder to one banning excessive duck hunting, contains in it an implicit statement of right and wrong. An anti-murder law implies that murder is wrong. If it did not, there would be no reason for the law to exist. It would be an arbitrary standard made by some authority who personally thought murder was bad. And no one would have any reason to follow it; after all, if a law does not reflect an objective moral standard,

it is just a suggestion from some annoying government bureaucrat.

Therefore, all law legislates morality. The question becomes not if we should legislate morality, but whose morality we should legislate.

There are two, and only two, answers to this question. Either we legislate Biblical morality, or we do not. There is no middle ground. Because all law legislates morality, either we push our morals on others, or they push their morals on us. Since the Bible is the only objective standard of morality in the universe, only law based on a Biblical moral code can be just.

Everyone agrees with this at least to a degree. Most people believe murder and theft should be illegal. But murder and theft are only wrong from a Biblical perspective. By believing murder and theft should be illegal, we have officially pushed our morals on someone else.

Only legalizing murder and theft avoids this dilemma, which of course leads to someone else pushing their morals on us.

But back to pornography.

The choice to ban or not ban pornography pushes morals on someone. We have to choose: be pushed or be the pusher. What is the right option? Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds….”

Jesus’ command to be the light of the world applies to our laws. We must shine, and one way we shine is through passing laws which agree with Biblical moral standards. Therefore I conclude that we must be the pusher.

The Bible makes sexual sin illegal. Since as Christians we must use Biblical standards for law, I argue that pornography should be illegal. If we don’t push this standard, our enemies will instead push their standard on us.

At the end of the day, someone will be unhappy. I would rather non-Christians be unhappy with a godly law than Christians be unhappy with an evil law. So next time someone tries to “reclaim Pornhub,” let them know Jesus disagrees.

Why metal straws don’t help Meg Leach

Contributing Writer Did you know the average sea turtle will have consumed 50 plastic straws in the first six months of its life? That’s crazy! Insane! A lie!

I just made that ‘fact’ up on the spot. If a celebrity had advertised that ‘fact’ on their Instagram account would you believe it?

Maybe not. What about if your best friend posted that ‘fact’ along with a nice picture of the new metal straws she bought? You might believe it.

There are multiple problems with these ‘save the environment’ trends that are being propelled in popular culture, the main problem being that the trends are too surface level to help.

Adjunct professor of environmental education, Jacqueline McCullough ’10, said, “People often read the headlines but don’t take the time to dive into the context or the information behind the image or the phrase. They become an ‘expert’ without really diving into it in its entirety; for instance, it is so important to ‘use the metal straws’ but people may not really fully understand the reasons why it actually matters, or they simply just jump on board with the bandwagon.”

What causes this social phenomenon?

McCullough answered this saying, “[Social media] often jumps to having people drawing conclusions and having attitudes or thoughts about something, without the context of building awareness and knowledge on the problem or issue itself.”

Metal straws help nothing if you cannot first build knowledge and awareness on the topic before you post the picture on Instagram.

But Instagram is right – our country does have an addiction to plastic straws.

SURLATABLE.COM

Breaking this addiction is vital, and it can begin by purchasing a metal straw. As of Nov. 7, 2020, the first offer for metal straws listed on Amazon was from a company called U-Taste USA. The company’s site looked professional, though it had a few typos. They also said their straws were stainless steel. Why should you not order from them? Because their website did not say where the company was sourced.

The Google search “Where are U-Taste products made?” brought up the company’s profile on Amazon where a long, unpronounceable business name was listed alongside the company’s location in ShenZhen, China.

Why does this matter?

Because it proves how important it is to do research before proclaiming that you are saving the planet. We shouldn’t be pushing surface level social media trends without encouraging others to do research on their own time as well. Once you gain

knowledge, it is easier to understand the importance of purchasing from a company that is not disguising their identity, because this action automatically devalues their products.

As McCullough said, social media thrives on images provoking emotions, and immediate reactions to content.

This process devalues entire social movements because facts and emotions go unchecked. This is why when fact-checking, it is safer to buy from a company that does not mislead you, however good their products might be, than promote another semi-truth.

It is also important to become more aware of why social media is trying to provoke an emotion. Consider the trend “save the turtles.”

Have you ever seen a sea turtle in person? What connects you to them? Interact with nature locally so that you are aware of how plastic affects it beyond what your phone screen tells you.

Social media is shallow because it is easy to put on a mask. Luckily, the world is not in your phone, it’s all around you. Everyone has the opportunity to find what people thought metal straws might be able to help.

I’ll give an example. The bog turtle is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species in Pennsylvania. It is the smallest turtle in North America and looks like a black button with legs. Take some time to research what it needs – it might need help beyond what metal straws can offer.

The environment is more than a trend or a filter.

“A turtle has a 22 percent chance of dying if it ate just one piece of plastic,” said the University of the Sunshine Coast. The National Parks Service says Americans use over 100 million plastic straws every day. Would you believe this fact if Emma Watson posted it? I wish you could, but you should research it first.

The Collegian,

Nov 13, 2020

Page 11

GCC

AP NEWS

Who defines diversity?

Sally Gustafson Contributing Writer

Since Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation on Oct. 26, a still from an MSNBC segment on her has gone viral— a bullet-point list mocking her qualifications to serve on the court.

As a college senior, having my resume circulated, curtailed to fit a broadcast TV slide and mocked sounds quite possibly like the end of the world.

For Barrett, though, it shouldn’t be.

MSNBC portrays Barrett’s status as an atypical candidate as negative, but this assumption rests on elitist and sexist expectations for the Supreme Court—and it counts on your ignorance of the merit of her career choices.

Barrett is the sole justice on the court not to have attended Yale or Harvard, ranked first and third by the US News Ranking.

Instead, she went to Notre Dame Law School, ranked 22nd.

We might, jumping to the conclusion proposed by sources like MSNBC, assume this places her in a lower tier of intelligence than her cojustices.

Barrett attended on a full ride, however, so Notre Dame was likely not the highest-ranked school that accepted her.

As a Catholic and a conservative, she was no doubt drawn to Notre Dame for its faith and (more importantly for the Supreme Court) political diversity.

Law school is an overwhelmingly liberal environment—even the most conservative among them are a mix of liberal and conservative.

Barrett’s decision to attend Notre Dame provided her with a uniquely diverse political starting point, bringing the best of the non-elite to the court.

Her career experience was also called into question, as

VISION

continued from 12 constantly seeking to live lives that are marked by the fruits of the spirit, despite isolation or quarantine.

“Win ___”: Fill in the blank, whatever it is. Quarantine, self-isolation, that test or quiz.

For me, one of the main ways I worked to “win selfiso” was by leaving isolation in as good of shape as when I entered.

I didn’t want to show up to practice out of shape or unprepared. It was a lot of

MSNBC noted that she spent only two years in private practice and taught law for 15 years.

The layman might see this as a lack of experience or a shoddy credential.

But in fact, positions in legal academia are highly competitive.

They also require extensive understanding of the law and rock-solid questioning skills, both crucial to success as a Supreme Court justice.

Let’s assume, though, that Barrett’s resume is objectively less impressive than that of the other justices on the court.

Even so, she has one credential none of them share— she is the first female justice with school-age children to serve on the court.

While this doesn’t qualify her to serve, it also shouldn’t disqualify her.

Let’s assume she chose teaching in South Bend not, as I’ve posited, because academia is an essential and intellectually stimulating legal profession.

Let’s assume, as the Left does, that she did it to avoid 80-hour work weeks at a ritzy New York City law firm and spend time with her family.

Even assuming all this, should we believe this means she’s less qualified?

If we want true diversity in the nation’s highest court, we need to accept the variations in background that come with that.

If we say that mothers should have a chance at nomination, we can’t also condemn them for choices made for the sake of their families.

If we want intellectual diversity, we can’t cut off alumni of law schools below the top three.

If we accept the media’s resounding cry for a government of individuals from varied backgrounds—the same sentiment that took Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from bartending to Congress in 2018—then we sure can’t let them turn around and dupe us with an elitist, sexist assessment of Amy Coney Barrett’s resume. push-ups, sit-ups and calisthenics.

It wasn’t particularly exciting, but it got the job done and put me at a good position to come back to practice and team lifting. So, whether you’re an athlete, a musician or a student taking 18 credit hours- win!

Thinking of your time in isolation, quarantine or adversity-filled time as a competition is a great way to give yourself motivation.

Any big win requires little victories along the way, and if you focus on those, it makes life a lot simpler.

The college saw a spike in COVID-19 cases this week, as 47 positive cases were recorded betwen Nov. 5 and Nov. 11.

EXODUS

meet the required six credits may have the remainder of their fall credits roll over to the spring or may contact Donna Cales to receive credit for viewing up to two livestreamed services from this semester.

Referencing the spring, Opitz wrote that he is “confident that our chapel requirement for the spring will be 8 rather than 16 as it has been this semester.”

Following the chapel news, athletic director Todd Gibson announced that the PLC would close for the semester due to the decrease in available student workers and demanding COVID-19 cleaning protocols. Outdoor spaces, like the track, are still available for student use.

The PLC closure prompted senior Abby Cratsa to return to her home in Murrysville,

“When the PLC closed, I couldn’t work on campus anymore, so I’d rather go home and work then stay here and most likely get put in self-iso again,” Cratsa said. “It doesn’t surprise me that he said we could leave since so many people tested positive last week. I think the school is just hoping that enough people leave that it will limit the amount of people they have to test, put in iso/quarantine.”

“I hope this special family time is still a blessing for you.

That’s why it is so important for you to manage your affairs carefully. Limiting your interactions until you depart is your most effective prevention action,” McNulty said. “Health, home, holiday – let’s work together for a successful conclusion to this memorable semester.”

nies and organizations use design as a strategic tool and way in which to differentiate and build value.”

Graphic design and art are often associated with design, but that is certainly not the only part of it.

“We see design not as just a way to create objects and artifacts that look cool, but as a way to change the world around us and to redeem it,” Mucha explained.

In these courses, Mucha said that “students will study principles and foundations of formal design, methods to conduct design research and how to build empathy with users.

He continued, “They will create brands and interactive experiences and will have opPa.

portunities to leverage their skills in service learning.

Studying Design and Innovation in college is a fantastic option for students seeking to build a broad skill set in a discipline that is hands-on, creative and dynamic.”

“With the minor, our graduates already work as user experience designers, graphic designers, creative directors, interactive designers and more. This degree will empower students to dive even more deeply into this study and will equip them further,” he said.

The proposed major is a B.S. in Design and Innovation. It is 63 credits, and if it is approved, it will be available to students next fall.

The purpose of the Perspectives section is to give a space for student voices.

Here, student writers have the space to critique, question and analyze the world around them.

Perspectives articles represent the views of the individual writer.

They do not represent the views of The Collegian, The Collegian staff or Grove City College.

While pieces in Perspectives are subjective by nature, The Collegian has standards for publication.

Articles submitted for publication are expected to

provide arguments of substance that rely on fact and are void of foundationally emotional and biased arguments.

This is not a space to parrot party lines. Perspectives articles are expected to take original stances, and, where applicable, consider the interaction of faith within their topic.

This is a space where all voices can be heard. It is our goal as The Collegian staff that Perspectives reflect the diversity of thought represented on the college’s campus.

Additionally, The Colle-

gian will not accept a Perspectives article if the topic has not been reported on by the newspaper.

This means that the publication of a submitted or proposed article may be delayed so The Collegian can provide a factual, unbiased context for the paper’s readership.

If you would like to submit an article for publication or want further clarification of The Collegian’s expectations contact Editor-in-Chief Paige Fay, Managing Editor Anna DiStefano, or Perspectives Editor Clark Mummau.

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continued from 1 Like all students, RAs have the option to finish the semester online. Vanderhoff and other RAs remaining on campus will cover their duty shifts, but the indefinite cancellation of open hours has made the workload light.

Don Opitz, dean of the chapel, provided additional chapel-related information in his own email to students on Tuesday.

Effective immediately, chapel and vesper services are suspended for the remainder of the semester. The requirement for the fall semester has been reduced further from eight to six credits, in what Chapel Ministries has dubbed “chapel in the end times.”

Any student who has yet to

DESIGN

continued from 1 a unique set of courses with its innovation element.

“The degree we are proposing centers around the aforementioned core of design classes, but it also integrates marketing, entrepreneurship and communication classes which makes it, in my opinion, a very forward-thinking course of study,” Mucha said.

“Our design curriculum certainly includes traditional aspects of graphic design, but we have tried to be intentional about teaching design and structuring the proposed degree in a way that reflects the current professional environment and how compa-

Perspectives Policy

Letters to the Editor

Sports The Collegian, Nov. 13, 2020

Page 12 National Sports Column

NBA back so soon?

Connor Schlosser Staff Writer

GCC

The mens basketball team celebrates their 2019-2020 PAC Championship win on Feb. 29. The Wolverines defeated Geneva in a close 86-70 victory. The same night, the womens team also became PAC champions with their tight 54-52 win over Washington and Jefferson.

Hoping for hoops Basketball prepares for upcoming season Ayden Gutierrez Staff Writer

Winning a President’s Athletic Conference (PAC) championship is hard enough for one team, let alone two in the same sport. This was the case for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the 2019-2020 season.

With both teams also making an NCAA appearance last season, they will each seek to make a deep post-season run in the upcoming spring.

PAC has postponed all winter sporting events until after Jan. 1, so the basketball programs fall into the same boat as every other sport on campus. Regardless of the postponement, both teams are making the most of the unique opportunity.

“This semester we’re really taking it slow and breaking down everything so that

we can work out the little things,” said Gretchen Elsey, a senior forward. “It’s not really much different than a normal preseason, except that we are conditioning outside of practice time to help with any mask issues.”

With the teams being given an extra two months (at the least) to prepare, it is still easy to lose focus and slack off, especially when coming off the adrenaline of a conference championship and national championship tournament appearance.

However, both of these teams have remained mentally prepared.

“The mindset has been to focus on having fun and being intentional with everything that we do,” said Elsey.

“Whether that be in the weight room, on the court or just in personal relationships, we are really striving to be the best at all we do and

do it with love and joy in our hearts.”

Having a set culture is crucial for any team to gain success. You must eat, sleep and breathe your team’s culture, motto and habits.

For the women’s basketball team, the main focus is grit.

“It all comes down to grit, said Elsey. “We’re not afraid of competition or calling each other out. We actually want that so we can improve daily. We have what it takes to make it there again, the path might just look a little different this year.”

Both squads are looking to bring last year’s NCAA tournament experience and turn it into more wins.

The men’s team lost in the first round, and the women’s team saw a second-round exit. Although these are incredible accomplishments, both teams felt like they

could have achieved more.

“I think last year we were all so focused on taking in the moment that we lost our grit,” said Elsey. “We have to focus on doing the little things right and playing our game. No other team plays the way that we do and that’s what makes us special. So staying true to our culture and trusting that our training has prepared us for these next steps is going to be key in making a run in NCAA’s.”

Be on the lookout for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference’s winter sports schedule to be released in the upcoming weeks.

With no definitive date, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will continue to build towards their respective visions of success before the end of the semester.

When their time arrives, you can bet that the Wolverines will be ready.

er, I got my results: positive.

To be perfectly honest, I laughed. I found it quite ironic that I of all people would get COVID-19. For one, I had seen through the charade of panic since the beginning and even got into a “discussion” with an RA the first night I was here, something my teammates still give me grief about.

On top of that, I was feeling much better than 24 hours prior. I had just assumed it was a 24-hour flu.

So here I was again, isolated. Except this time, it wasn’t self-isolation, it was a quarantine and a positive test which essentially ended numerous friends’ semesters, something I found to be far more frustrating and disappointing than being sick with the glorified cold.

But there’s nothing I could do about it at that point. Indeed, till Nov. 13 I was out for the count. Or was I?

From a worldly perspective, I had every reason to be afraid and depressed. I had just spent fifteen days of seventeen day stretch in October in quarantine, I had finally started to get back to a normal routine, and then the rug was pulled out from under me with “the worst possible news.”

But, by the grace of God, I stopped interpreting life through the lens of nihilism a while ago.

But how do you stay focused on joy and purpose as a Christian when you keep getting thrown back in your room, told to avoid people and not go to class or practice? Well, there are a few lines of thought I want to leave with you, in the hopes that you will embrace the lifestyle and Savior they point to.

Focus on your vision, not your circumstance: For anyone on the football team, this

concept is well known as it is Coach DiDonato’s favorite phrase.

This perspective has kept me optimistic throughout all of my isolation stints and now in the pit of MAP in quarantine. This phrase recalls to me the freeing message of the Scripture: God is sovereign over my life, and therefore also over the vision and the circumstance.

Find a way: We live in a victimhood culture that constantly wants us to pamper ourselves and shuns accountability. It can be easy to say “I’m stuck in my room, might as well get passive, not study, and watch Netflix.”

No! Just because things aren’t “ideal” doesn’t give you the excuse to slack off.

Life isn’t fundamentally ideal. Being a Christian means living life taking full responsibility for our actions and

Vision over your circumstance Gresham Smith Contributing Writer

October was rough: I spent nearly three weeks in selfisolation and capped it off by watching PSU get pummeled

by OSU on Halloween.

I had been hoping November would be smoother.

I could practically taste my Grandma’s sweet potato casserole and hear the sound of the mandatory Thanksgiving NFL triple-header.

When I woke up with a tickle in the back my throat on the first day of November, I just shrugged it off. By Tuesday, I couldn’t pretend anymore that I wasn’t sick.

So while everyone was waiting for the election results, I was getting tested at Zerbe. Forty-eight hours lat-

VISION 11

It seems that just yesterday we watched Lebron and the Lakers win the chip in the Bubble, but now the next NBA season is already set.

Dec. 22 will mark the beginning of the next, shortened NBA season.

The standard 82-game season has been reasonably trimmed to 72 games. With such a quick turnaround back into basketball action, this offseason will be the shortest in MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL history leaving 71 days for all players to recover.

The NBA Players Association agreed to the terms presented by the league.

This will be the most challenging season the NBA has faced. Moving on from the Bubble format in a pandemic environment will not be easy.

Cities, stadiums and ownership are looking to recover the revenue lost to empty venues. Fans want back into stadiums as much as stadiums want fans. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that was greatly missed in the Bubble.

Even a 10-game reduction is a significant financial hit to stadiums with loss of ticket sales and advertising.

It is also ten less games that media and broadcasting can profit off of.

With home stadiums planning to be opened for the upcoming season, players, coaches, medical staff, media, owners, managers and even stadium staff will have countless regulations and rules to now abide by. Policing these COVID-19-proofed policies for stadiums and travel will be a daunting task.

It seems inevitable that coronavirus will hit the league and be a serious impediment to teams’ success.

Players will miss key matchups due to the virus ultimately impacting a team’s success both short and long term.

The virus has hit other leagues, particularly the NFL, sidelining star players from games for a couple of weeks at a time. Luckily for the NFL, each team usually only plays one game a week, but NBA teams will have to likely play about four.

The high level of contact in the NBA does not help either. Baseball is distanced and contact can be minimal.

Basketball is a game of practically constant man-to-man matchups all encapsulated in a indoor arena.

Players will not have received nearly as much rest as they would have in a normal season with practically an entire summer off.

Typical seasons give an entire summer off for players to rest and prepare mentally and physically, but now players will be starting up again with their battery’s half charged.

Last season’s Finals MVP, Lebron James won it all on Oct. 11. He has only 71 days of rest before he is thrown back into the arena in the season opener three days before Christmas.

The NBA is returning sooner than expected and it will surely have its fair share of bumps in the road along the way.