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INSIDE

discourse

UT discusses DACA

By Bryce Buyakie News Editor

Aman Mojadidi shines a light community / 2 »

Going the Extra Smile

“

sports / 4 »

“They even had to cancel the much anticipated musical in the spring, “Evil Dead: The Musical.” This means that the “24-Hour Plays” is all we have for a while.” evan sennett The 24-Hour Play Festival opinion / 3 »

A forum was hosted by the University of Toledo Sept.

13 to inform students and the community about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival students and the Dream Act. Peter Thomas, director of immigration; Jeff Newton, UT chief of police; Arturo Ortiz, senior paralegal attorney at ABLE Law; and Eugenio Mollo Jr., managing attorney at ABLE Law, led the forum.

“The University of Toledo is 100 percent in support of our DACA students,” Willie McKether, vice president of diversity and inclusion, said.

“Here at UT we recognize

“The University of Toledo is 100 percent in support of our DACA students.”

Willie McKether Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion

that our DACA students are hard achieving students that came to the US as immigrant children and have given to this great nation of ours.”

A tweet from Latino Student Union member Luis Galindo inspired the event and spurred communication between campus organizations and UT administrators, said McKether.

“I think this is important for me because I went to a school that lacked diversity. I was the only person of Latino descent, even though I went to a school with a thousand people or more,” said Galindo, a fourth-year international business and marketing student. “I was underrepresented then and still feel that Latinos are over looked [at UT].”

Many questions looked at how community members can show support for DACA beneficiaries and the Dream Act. The best way to show support for DACA and the Dream Act is to contact Congressional representatives, tweet at Paul Ryan, write letters to the editor

of local newspapers and to attend rallies and events, said Eugenio.

The Dream Act should be the priority because it will provide a permanent solution for immigrant minors and open a way to citizenship, both of which the DACA program lacked, said Eugenio.

Another student asked Newton what would happen if there was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Campus.

“The stance from ICE has been that it will not go onto campuses and it will not enforce the immigration law on campus,” said Newton. “I think they recognize the sensitivity of the issue on campuses.”

However, not everyone shared the same opinion on the matter. A man in the audience said the questions about ICE raids, deportations and hypothetical scenarios were nothing but “fearmongering and hyperbole.”

“Nobody is rounding

See Discourse / 2 »

“

sports / 4 »

“Ending DACA will cause major harm to young people who could possibly be deported...”

editorial Defending DACA opinion / 3 »

Feature

DACA recipients tell their stories

By Bryce Buyakie News Editor

Science

UT receives $2.4 million for biofuel research

By Corey Latimer Associate News Editor

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the University of Toledo $2.4 million for their studies in producing algae biofuel.

“The grant awarded is part of $8.8 million funding the research for alternative methods of fuel production by the U.S. Department of Energy,” said Sridhar Viamajala, a UT associate professor of chemical engineering.

UT is now leading the way toward the future with a quicker and cleaner biofuel that could serve as a replacement to fossil fuels, said Viamajala.

“We are trying to speed up the growth of algae by providing a very high pH

environment that allows algae to take up carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere more efficiently and prevent unwanted contamination,” Viamajala said. “Since it grows in water, algae doesn’t have as much carbon dioxide available. We are trying to improve the cleaner fuel potential.”

This study is a continuation of his work at other colleges around the United States, including Montana State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Arizona State University.

“These types of programs can lead to breakthroughs that will create American jobs and enhance our energy security,

which is why I remain committed to renewable energy and advanced research from my role overseeing Department of Energy funding on the Appropriations Committee,” Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur said in a UT press release.

“We are trying to speed up the growth of algae by providing a very high pH environment...”

Sridhar Viamajala UT Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

partnership

Former Rocket excels in NFL

Rachel Nearhoof / IC

Latino Student Union members Julia Hernadez (left) and Luis Galindo (right) speak at the DACA forum Sept. 13.

Website launched for community engagement

By Olivia Rodriguez Staff Reporter

The University of Toledo is launching a new community engagement website with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Carnegie’s definition of community engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

“We interviewed our external stakeholders and ask[ed] them what are we doing well, what could we improve on,” said Director of Strategic Initiatives Margie Traband.

“They asked to be communicated more. They asked for different procedures to access information at the institution.”

Per UT’s community engagement website, Toledo received the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement

of Teaching classification in 2015 and the American Public Land Grant Universities’ Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation in 2013.

“This recognition will last for 10 years, and then the University of Toledo will have to reapply. Both are peer reviewed by other public universities,” Traband said.

The APLU website listed three categories that universities needed to do well in to receive this designation: talent, innovation and place.

Talent is how well the university is preparing people for the economy. Innovation is what the university is doing to build knowledge for others to benefit society. Place is how the university is making the region a better place to live.

Per UT’s community engagement website, UT qualified for these honors with CampMed, an on-campus program that does water

testing, and the academic affiliation with ProMedica.

“We’re basing how [Carnegie] defines community engagement. I think that’s one of the things that [is] going to be an interesting process for the institution, is truly getting our arms around what community engagement is because a lot of people have different definitions of it,” Traband said.

Students have done their part to help receive these recognitions with RockeTHON and The BIG Event, alongside many other opportunities to volunteer. The data is collected from the Office of Student Affairs, said Traband.

“UT’s faculty, staff and students make impactful contributions to our community every day. I am excited about this initiative, to highlight these contributions and recognize the good work that makes UT such a vital community partner,” UT President Sharon Gaber said.

United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals will stop accepting new and renewal applications, leaving nearly 800,000 beneficiaries open to deportation.

Two DACA recipients at the University of Toledo told their stories on the condition of anonymity for safety concerns.

They will be referred to as “A” and “N.” A came to the US from Mexico when he was three on a visitor’s visa. He grew up in Toledo and graduated high school before the DACA program was initiated in 2012.

“I’m from the border states in Mexico. There are no opportunities and it is very run by drug cartels. It’s not a safe state,” said A. “DACA students don’t come from first-world countries.

They come from very poor and dangerous countries.”

DACA was a taste of what being American was like, but it always was temporary protection from deportation, said A. “Without DACA, you would be completely undocumented,” said N. “At the end of high school, you knew it was almost over for you. Without DACA, we can’t drive and you can’t go to school. We have so much freedom depended on this program.”

DACA not only provided the opportunity to work and

to gain an education, but it granted ID cards to applicants, allowing them to drive, open a bank account and live “normal” lives, said A. “All my friends had summer jobs, and I wasn’t able to do that. Going anywhere that required an ID was impossible without a ride. It was embarrassing to explain that and make excuses,” said A. N, whose family came to America after a three-month journey from Colombia, says she doesn’t know her relatives who stayed behind and has no memories of Colombia.

“My parents always say how jealous they are with me because they don’t have a license,” said N. “You never realize the troubles of paying bills, not having your own bank accounts. My parents have spent more than half their time in America; they have learned the second language and adapted to the culture. They refer to themselves as Americans, then as Colombians.”

There doesn’t need to be a path to citizenship, but some legal securities similar to DACA for parents, said N. “If you’re undocumented, so are your parents and family members,” said A. The parents came here for a better life for their kids, for us. You can’t blame people for wanting a better life.”

Unlike the DACA program, the Dream Act will provide a See Journey / 2 »

More online

Period Toledo documents unveiled

By Benjamin Morse Staff Reporter

Toledoans have rediscovered items of historical significance. Community member, Julie Gibbons, former Toledo Police officer, Phil Carroll, and Director of the University of Toledo’s Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections, Barbara Floyd, came across early City of Toledo documents in a safe that was tucked in the attack of Toledo’s Safety Building downtown.

The Canaday Center showcased the historic

point in Toledo’s history through the public unveiling of the documents dating back to 1836.

“By placing the documents in the Canaday Center, the city can help to ensure their permanent preservation, as well as make them more accessible to the people who might want to conduct research in them,” said Floyd.

According to a press release about the event, the new records found earlier this year in the Safety Building were added to existing local historical

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| The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, September 20, 2017

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ART

Aman Mojadidi shines a light on immigrant stories

By Areeba Shah Community Editor

More than 40 million people living in the U.S. today are immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. If current demographic trends continue, future immigrants and their descendants are projected to make up 88 percent of the U.S population by 2065.

While the topic of migration has been at the forefront of every academic, social and political discussion, Afghan-American artist Aman Mojadidi has taken a unique, artistic approach.

Mojadidi held a coffee talk Sept. 15 in Carlson Library to discuss his latest art piece.

Using his interactive public art piece, Once Upon a Place, Mojadidi is bringing attention to immigrant voices in the United States. Visitors are invited to enter a telephone booth, pick up the receiver and listen to one of 70 stories shared by immigrants living in New York.

While most stories shared are in English, people will also

hear stories in Spanish, French, Tibetan and Ga. “I intentionally didn’t want to translate these stories and left them as they are in their original version, because how do you translate the emotion in a person’s voice?” Mojadidi said.

“You can translate the words, but you can never translate the feeling in the person’s voice.”

While collecting these stories Mojadidi said he encountered suspicion, due to widespread xenophobia. Of the 200 people he approached, only 70 opened up to him.

Mojadidi also incorporated phonebooks into his project. The white pages display percentages of the immigrant population in New York and graphs showing which parts of the world the immigrants came from, while the yellow pages include information about the 27 countries that participants are from.

“My artworks have always had this social component,” Mojadidi said. “I go out and

engage with people and the artworks would be developed, even conceptualized, through conversation with people.”

This project was first communicated as an idea via email in 2014. Mojadid spent much time looking for funding to do research on neighborhoods that included a high percentage of immigrants. It wasn’t until fall of 2016 that Mojadidi started collecting information himself.

At the coffee talk, he shared that he stopped making art for some time. It wasn’t until he moved to Kabul, Afghanistan, that he felt the need to start creating again.

“I started realizing how I could use my ethnographic knowledge and methodology that I learned in ethnography and anthropology,” Mojadidi said.

During his time in Kabul, Mojadidi mentioned how taxi drivers shared stories about corruption, specifically the tea money they had to give police-

CAMPUS DIGEST: The Independent Collegian Staff Visit us at Carlson Library, Suite 1057 Write to us at 2801 W. Bancroft St., Mail Stop 530 Toledo, OH 43606 EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Emily Schnipke Managing Editor Emily Jackson News Bryce Buyakie, editor Corey Latimer, assoc. editor Sports Sam Williams, editor Jackson Rogers, assoc. editor Community Areeba Shah, editor

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Aman Mojadidi chats with UT students about his art piece at Carlson Library Sept. 15 during the coffee talk.

men at checkpoints. He used this idea to curate a work where he set up fake checkpoints with men wearing police uniforms, stopping cars and instead of asking for money, they gave money back to taxi drivers with an apology.

Mojadidi has also done projects in other parts of the world, including U.K., U.A.E,. India, Germany, Denmark and Bangladesh. His work is exhibited internationally and he was selected as a TED Global Fellow in 2012.

Now exhibiting his work in the Toledo Museum of Art, Mojadidi’s approach to involve activism and political aspects in art perfectly fits with the mission of the Toledo Contemporary Art, said Brian Carpenter, an art lecturer at UT. “For me, as a curator and artist, I come from this view that art is a tool just like a hammer or screwdriver. And it’s something that, I think, if done in the right way, can start changing or reorganizing how you sort of view things or how people view things,” Carpenter said.

Through his artwork, Mojadidi said he tries to provide a different approach for people to understand a topic and see different perspectives. He hopes

that whatever the attitude or perspective of the listener is, at a minimum, the work helps create a dialogue.

“As an artist, I don’t think it’s my responsibility, or that I would even be able to, provide answers to all of these problems.

But, what I can do is throw a hornet’s nest into these questions, maybe,” Mojadidi said.

Growing up in conservative north Florida with racism and xenophobia being fairly prevalent, migration and cultural integration has always interested him, Mojadidi shared.

“We were raised very Afghan within the house, but lived very American outside,” Mojadidi said.

He didn’t visit Afghanistan until he was 19 years old, which was when he realized that he wasn’t like everyone else living in Afghanistan. This realization interested him in the multicultural movement in the U.S .and the way people are defining themselves as Asian-American or Afghan-American.

“Ultimately, through this experience, I realized that it’s not about trying to live on the two sides of that hyphen but to live on it and it’s the only way to kind of come to peace with your identity,” Mojadidi said.

“Living within cultures is to accept that you live within — that you’re neither here nor there.”

Mojadidi shared that biculturalism has been a large part of his identity. Now, being married to a French Cambodian woman, for him, migration really is the new norm.

“I think ultimately, these old ideas of nation states, these old ideas of closed borders are going to have to change,” Mojadidi said.

He added the borders won’t disappear, but there’s going to have to be a different system of movement, a freedom of movement across them.

In his discussion, he shared he doesn’t feel 100 percent comfortable in America as an American or in Afghanistan as an Afghan.

However, that is okay with him since his identity isn’t tied to the passport he owns.

“In how the world functions, we have these national identities that allow us to move around and to cross these borders,” Mojadidi said. “In my mind, my identity of who I am as an individual is not tied to that. It’s not tied to being an American as a national identity, even if that’s where I grew up and it’s not tied to being Afghan, even if that’s where I lived for years, where my family and heritage is from.”

You’re in the middle, you’re in that line. You’re everywhere and you’re nowhere, Mojadidi said.

MORE ONLINE

Horses help humanity

By Areeba Shah Community Editor

With recent tragedies striking Texas and Florida, cities are left with food shortages and destroyed houses. However, communities have grown stronger than ever providing help.

The University of Toledo Equestrian Team held a fundraiser for individuals affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma on Sept.

15 outside Field House.

While the organization initially planned to hold

a fundraiser for a cause later in the year, their plans quickly changed once Hurricane Harvey hit Houston.

“We were initially planning it for ourselves,” said third-year pharmacy major Nicole Archer.

“When the hurricane started coming, we were like, ‘Why wait to do the fundraiser for those in need, later in the season, when the need is now?’”

After receiving positive feedback from UT stu-

dents for bringing horses on campus last year, vice president of the Equestrian Team, Jami Melich, came up with the idea of holding a similar event this year.

Melich said it took the group two weeks to plan the event and get it set up.

However, their work paid off as they were successful in raising a total of $402.

“One hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated to Red Cross,” Melich said.

At the same time, the

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Journey from page 1

permanent solution for immigrants who arrived as children, said A. “I want to pursue even higher degrees. DACA was a blessing, but I want it to be permanent, and I want to stay here to give back to my community. I don’t want to go back home. It’s not even home,” said A.

Forum

from page 1

people up. Nobody is deporting anyone. It’s not going to happen,” the man said. “President Trump doesn’t dislike anyone from any other country. He isn’t picking people out because they are Mexican. He wants Congress to make a permanent solution.”

This isn’t the first time the threat of deportation was a reality for Latinos in the United States, said Eugenio.

“I am reminded of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s where Latinos were rounded in the southwest corner of the country, including U.S. citizens, and were

“DACA was a blessing, but I want it to be permanent, and I want to stay here to give back to my community. I don’t want to go back home. It’s not even home.”

A UT DACA student

removed from the United States. I hope that doesn’t happen again,” said Eugenio.

Mexico is not prepared to take back the nearly 800,000 DACA recipients, let alone the 11 million illegal immigrants, said Ortiz.

If the program ends, it will cause DACA recipients to be pushed into the shadows and make them more vulnerable, said Eugenio.

For Galindo, the turnout to the forum was better than he thought it would be, but he said people now need to act.

“People need to vote. I think we need to also call people out, especially our politicians. We need to educate people as well because not everyone knows everything,” said Galindo.

The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, September 20, 2017 | 3

OPINION Send letters to the editor to Editor@independentcollegian.com

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Bryce Buyakie Emily Schnipke

Jessica Harker Areeba Shah

Emily Jackson Sam Williams

Editorials appearing on this page represent the consensus view of the editorial staff. Columns and letters to the editor reflect the opinions of their authors, not those of The Independent Collegian.

EDITORIAL

Defending DACA

On Tuesday, Sept. 5, President Donald Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, which protected those who immigrated to the United States at a young age.

Trump declared that DACA didn’t work and that the clock was ticking on Congress to replace DACA, as part of a larger immigration reform over the next six months.

Since the announcement of DACA being scheduled to end, there has been widespread panic about the fate of young immigrants, also known as Dreamers, some of whom have only ever known the U.S. as their home.

In response to this act by Trump, university president Sharon Gaber released two statements, on Sept. 5 and 6, in support of Dreamers and especially those enrolled at UT. “We need Congress to help protect our students. The planned termination of the program would disrupt the lives and education of UT students who are important contributors to our region, campus and community,” Gaber said.

Not only do we agree with Gaber’s affirmation that these students matter to UT, we believe that if DACA is ended with no other act in place, the consequences will be exponential.

Ending DACA will cause major harm to young people who could possibly be deported, and it will also cause major societal harm.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 124,166 people received DACA benefits in 2016, with 11,226 rejected and 118,389 applications still pending. That’s a total of 253,781 people affected

by DACA in 2016 alone.

That’s a lot of people, all of whom now face deportation.

This leaves a large hole in our workforce, in higher education and all over the country. This is something we simply don’t have the manpower to fill.

Rumors surrounding DACA, what it means and who can apply for it, circled rapidly after the announcement on Sept. 5.

According to an article by the Washington Post, there are five main myths about DACA in the political sphere today that can be proven incorrect.

1. “DACA incentivized an increase in illegal immigration.” False. DACA can only be applied for if you came to the country before you were 16 and have lived here since at least June 15, 2007. No one entering currently can apply.

2. “DACA has taken jobs from Americans.” False. According to the article, from 1970 to 2017, the U.S. labor force doubled. But rather than ending up with a high unemployment rate, U.S. employment also doubled. Apparently, having more workers and consumers is better for a capitalist society. Go figure.

3. “Repealing DACA would benefit taxpayers.” False. DACA applicants are not eligible for government programs such as welfare, food stamps and Medicaid. In fact, according to the National Academy of Sciences, immigrants who enter the United States as children pay more on average in taxes over their lifetimes than they receive in benefits.

4. “DACA repeal protects communities from criminals.”

False. DACA recipients have to pass a background check and benefits can even be revoked for simply getting arrested, without conviction.

5. “DACA repeal is just about politics.” False. While it is in the political sphere, this issue goes far beyond politics. It’s about the lives and futures of these immigrants.

DACA recipients are not criminals. They did not choose to come here illegally, and they were promised protection when applying for these benefits. Now we are punishing them by giving them a six-month period of the unknown before they may get deported.

This is not right. But what can any of us do about it?

According to the American Immigration Council, there is one possible revision of the DREAM act that entered Congress in July, which allows a three-step program for citizenship for these immigrants.

If someone immigrated to the U.S. before the age of 18, entered four years prior to enactment and has been here since, has not been convicted of a crime with more than one year incarceration, or convicted of three or more offenses for which the sentence was 90 days or more, as well as having been admitted to an institution of higher education, graduated high school or obtained a GED, or is currently enrolled in secondary school or a program assisting students to obtain a diploma or GED, then they can receive these benefits.

But this isn’t even law yet and the clock is ticking.

To support this act, or any act that helps protect these young immigrants, it is extremely important to get involved.

Call your congressmen.

If you’re from Toledo, that is Senior Senator Sherrod Brown and Junior Senator Rob Portman, as well as Representative Marcy Kaptur.

Also, be sure to write to newspapers about why DACA replacement is important and continue to get the word out.

Last, but not least, be sure to show up to rallies and events to show support. The more bodies that are there, the louder the voice.

Don’t be a bystander; do what you can to make a difference and fight this issue. Remember that even if you think this is wrong, doing nothing is a vote against reform.

The 24-Hour Play Festival Each year, the UT Department of Theatre and Film programs a spot for Alpha Psi Omega’s annual “24-Hour Plays.”

Students of all majors gather together to write, direct, rehearse and perform a short play at the Center for Performing Arts under the brief restriction of 24 hours.

The result is a challenging activity, grounded more in teamwork than pride in the result.

It is a welcome addition to a semester usually occupied by two larger productions. I think of it as a bonus round of theater — an opportunity to admire the talent of creative students.

This year is slightly different, however.

Due to budget cuts, UT only has one larger production planned for this semester, “Arcadia.”

They even had to cancel the much anticipated musical in the spring, “Evil Dead: The Musical.” This means that the “24-Hour Plays” is all we have for a while.

No one is to blame for this. University budgets fluctuate and departments sometimes have to kill their darling productions in order to keep afloat.

When I saw that the annual “24-Hour Plays” were effectively replacing a spot in the normal production schedule, I figured all creative efforts would move towards Alpha Psi Omega’s festival. It would become the priority and perhaps perform better than ever before.

Yet, when I walked into the theater, I was greeted by a half-painted stage floor and Top 40 radio. Not exactly a sign of tremendous professionalism at an open house.

The program consisted of five short skits created by teams of five students. Each team selected a random genre, prop and set of lines

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from a hat. The rest was up to them.

I must admit, stitching together a “musical comedy” involving a pink telephone and a string of curse words, within the confines of 24 hours, is no easy task.

I was immensely impressed by the students’ ability to not only memorize long stretches of dialogue (and sometimes even a song or two), but to have the gusto to perform their sketches in front of a crowd in perfect confidence.

I never once suspected embarrassment or hesitation from a single actor on stage. I applaud their bravery.

The primary issue with this year’s “24Hour Plays” had nothing to do with the confident effort put into the final performance. The issue is within the rules of the festival itself.

There are other festivals like this one, such as the “48-Hour Film Festival.”

I myself have participated in this exhausting activity (I passed out and woke up drooling on my laptop, editing a scene at 4 a.m.).

When I saw that the annual “24-Hour Plays” were effectively replacing a spot in the normal production schedule, I figured all creative efforts would move towards Alpha Psi Omega’s festival.

Please note: I’m not against “cursing,” but it can be an easy out, especially to young writers. So why should a festival like this one require a roadblock to true narrative problem-solving?

These festivals exist to create, inspire and challenge teamwork. They remind creative people that anything of quality requires tremendous labor and an earnest process.

Evan Sennett is a fourth-year double majoring in film and English literature.

OPINION

Let’s wake up and do better in Toledo Recently, I took advantage of a volunteer opportunity to get involved politically here in Toledo. I have never been one to share my political views publicly, and I am not even from this city, but I decided to take the position as a volunteer.

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When the mind is slap-happy, it becomes painfully easy to rely on the crutches of expletives for easy comedy.

This might seem funny to the mind of an exhausted writer, but the next day, soberminded audiences see only gratuity.

I want to see a work that respects its audience, where easy crutches like frequent cursing are against the goals of the festival.

If a genre reads “horror,” I want to see something thematically scary, not another attempt at comedy. This can be hard to do when the required line assigned to the “horror” team involves quirky, Tarantinoesque obscenity.

I have lived in Toledo for the better part of four years and have been exposed to many good people while here. Through this time, I have developed a sense of what this city has to offer, as well as the challenges Toledo faces.

It was the challenges that made me want to get involved, and I decided to support a candidate whose vision for the city aligned similarly with my own.

I spent time after work and class driving to the campaign headquarters to make phone calls and distribute literature. During this time, I met volunteers who were ready to see the city turn the corner with new leadership in office.

Volunteers were diverse; some had lived in Toledo for a few decades, and others were lifelong residents. Many of those volunteers had worked much longer on the campaign than I have, but we all shared the goal of getting our candidate elected into office.

Last Tuesday was primary Election Day. The top two candidates would go on to the general election in November. It was an

MARK MOSS IC COLUMNIST

exciting day.

I left work that day at 5 p.m., eager to vote. After I cast my ballot, I hopped back in my car and headed straight to the campaign office to make phone calls, urging people to get out and vote before the polls closed at 7:30 p.m.

After the polls closed, it was time to reflect on the hard work we had all put in and wait for the results to come. Our candidate, whom we had all campaigned

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hard for, was there to thank us for our efforts and wait for the results to come in as well.

We began the night optimistic, but things took a turn south when the number rolling in on the TV screen showed we were down and unlikely to win with the remaining votes.

It was disappointing; I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Questions flooded my head wondering how we lost.

Then it became clear when our candidate stated that there was a lower-than-expected turnout at the polls: 13 percent of registered voters, according to the board of elections.

After the results came in, myself and a fellow volunteer headed out to a bar for a drink while we watched the Cleveland Indians win on TV. At the bar, we discussed what went wrong, but we both knew it was the fact that not enough citizens showed up at the polls to vote.

Thirteen percent is not even close to the majority. I understand that this was not the primary election, but no matter who you hope to see represent your city, the primary election is equally as important.

We need to remember that, as citizens, it is our civic duty and right to vote. A ballot not cast is a silent citizen.

The silent citizens must speak out with their vote before they wake up one morning in a city they do not recognize anymore.

It is time for everyone to get informed and get involved so that we can all do better in Toledo.

Mark Moss is a fourth-year professional sales major with minors in English and business law.

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| The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, September 20, 2017

SPORTS

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To football fans around the Glass City, Kareem Hunt was already a household name; with his recent performance in the National Football League, everyone is talking about Hunt.

His journey is a modest one.

He began on the practice squad for Toledo before the staff realized that this was not the place for a guy with his. Then, Hunt took over as the starting running back in only his second season on campus.

What followed were three seasons of 1,650 yards, 999 yards and 1,512 yards. Hunt was an absolute superstar for the Rockets, finishing second in school history in rushing yards behind Toledo legend Chester Taylor.

Toledo never won less than eight games in Hunt’s four seasons, and they made it to a bowl game each year. He had some incredible teammates, including Storm Norton, Trent Voss and Logan Woodside, but there was no question he was the leader.

He has a chance to be better than them all to succeed in the NFL. He was drafted in the third round by the Kansas City Chiefs to be mainly a backup running back.

An injury to the starter in the preseason saw Hunt take

over, and he never looked back.

In his first two NFL games, he totaled 355 total yards and five touchdowns. He helped his Chiefs defeat the Patriots in an impressive fashion, then defeat

“With his recent performance in the National Football League, everyone is talking about Hunt.”

the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20, a game in which Hunt scored two touchdowns. Against the defending champion Patriots, Hunt caught a 70-yard touchdown pass to announce his presence in the NFL. The league has not seen a rookie running back put up those type of numbers since Marshall Faulk, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Like Faulk, Hunt can catch the ball out of the backfield as well as run in between the tackles, which means he can play on all three downs.

The team he was drafted to is important. His head coach, Andy

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Former Rocket excels in NFL Staff Reporter

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FEATURE

By Justice Sunderland

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Reid, an offensive-minded coach, is known for having a great running game. Reid has coached running backs like Brian Westbrook, Lesean McCoy and Jamaal Charles.

These are all guys who have had massive success under Reid and Hunt appears to be the next in line. All of these guys have the ability to run and catch the ball, which is what Reid is looking for.

He has found a guy who rarely has to come off of the field because of his versatility. The Chiefs have looked like the best team in football early on. Hunt adds an explosive option out of the backfield to go with playmakers Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill on the outside.

We all knew the Chiefs were good, but when they embarrassed the Patriots on their home field to open the season, it appeared to be something different this year. Then on Sunday, they beat an Eagles team who many people picked to go to the playoffs this year.

The biggest difference seems to be Hunt coming out of the backfield. He will continue get the ball and looks to be squarely in the hunt for the Rookie of the Year. No pun intended. The Chiefs have playmakers and a very good defense, so they will be a playoff team and have a real chance to make it to the Super Bowl.

It will be a heavy load on his shoulders, but I think his time in Toledo has

RACHEL NEARHOOF / IC

Second-year wide receiver Danzel McKinley-Lewis jumps on second-year tight end Jordan Fisher as the duo celebrates with second-year wide receiver Diontae Johnson.

Toledo tames Tulsa

By Jackson Rogers Associate Sports Editor

The University of Toledo Football team defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes in a 54-51 shoot out on Saturday, Sept. 16. This win bumps the Rocket record to 3-0.

“You have to believe man,” said head coach Jason Candle. “You have to fight back when things get hard, and things got really hard on our football team tonight in a couple tough situations. We didn’t play at our best, and we weren’t as crisp and clean as we wanted to be. Our team showed a lot of fight and resolve to come through.”

The win also culminated Toledo’s celebration of 100 years of Rocket Football, as past UT greats were honored at halftime.

Offense was on full display in the contest, as both teams combined for 105 points and 1,227 yards. Toledo completed its third largest comeback in school history, coming back from being down 28-7 in the second quarter.

Third-year kicker Jameson Vest was the hero of the night, as he kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to seal the deal for the Rockets at 54-51.

“I just embraced it and told myself that we are going to win this game,” Vest said. “I just knew I was going to get these points for the win.

It means a lot, because it means that the guys have a lot of trust in me Finish reading this piece online at www.IndependentCollegian.com

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20TH ANNUAL BANNED BOOKS VIGIL September 28 9am to 5pm 9am 9:30am 10am

Carlson Library 3rd Floor WORDS HAVE

POWER READ A

!

BANNED BOOK

Speakers, light refreshments, door prizes and book giveaways!

Welcome: Read On!

Dean of UT Libraries Beau Case and David Tucker, Communication

The Future isn’t what it used to be

David Tucker, Communication

Banned: Native American Spirituality

Barbara Alice Mann, Jesup Scott Honors College

10:30am Girl’s Night Out with Pandora, Lillith and Eve Warren Woodberry, local author and mentor

11am

A Historical Overview of Book Banning from Plato to the Present

Arjun Sabharwal, UT Libraries

11:30am All That (and) Jazz: Censorship of Transgender Representation in Children’s Books Sharon Barnes, Women’s and Gender Studies

Noon

Suppressing “Truths” in the Age of Fake News

Dr. Linda Smith Lecture: Dean of Jesup Scott Honors College, Heidi M. Appel

12:30pm Remarks and Observations UT Provost Andrew Hsu

1pm 1:30pm 2pm 2:30pm 3pm 3:30pm 4pm 4:30pm

Just what is Fake News?

Lou Hebert, Toledo broadcaster and historian

Book Burning Videos: Indiana Jones, Eyewitnesses and Ray Bradbury Plato’s “Cave” in the Age of Post-Truth

Glenn Sheldon, Jesup Scott Honors College

“Forbidden” Jeopardy! with IC Student Editors Covering Campus News Transparently in the Selfie Age of Public Image

Emily Schnipke, Editor-in-Chief, Independent Collegian

You Read WHAT to Your Daughter?! And Other Stupid Questions…

Josie Schreiber, Founder of ToledoLove Mobile Children’s Library

Hear No Evil! See No Evil! Speak No Evil! Teach No Evil!

Cindy Ramirez, Bedford High School Teacher

Hard Hitting Songs for Hard-Hit People

Risa Cohen, West Side Montessori

Sponsored by the UT Libraries, Department of Communication and Jesup Scott Honors College

Going the Extra Smile

By Emily Jackson Managing Editor

Each year, about 5,000 babies are born with a cleft lip or palate. Without surgery, nine in 10 children with a cleft condition are at risk of dying, but many parents cannot afford surgery.

This past weekend, people from the Toledo community raced to raise money and give these children a reason to smile.

Going the Extra Smile 5K began at 10 a.m. Sept.

17 at the University of Toledo’s Recreation Center and included free break-

fast, snacks and water.

The event was hosted by the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, a UT organization.

Lauren DeBelly, a fourth-year speechlanguage pathology major and event coordinator for NSSLHA, said $660 was raised during the event.

“By having this opportunity to plan an event that will change the lives of so many children across the world, I feel honored to be a part of it,” DeBelly said.

All proceeds go directly to Operation Smile, De-

Belly said, a philanthropy that NSSLHA has supported for years.

Operation Smile, a non-profit organization, has been providing cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgeries for 35 years to children in third-world countries.

“This organization is important to us and our professional world because having a cleft lip and/or palate is, first and foremost, detrimental to the child’s feeding abilities with a secondary effect being on their articulation, a large part of what SLPs

Finish reading this piece online at www.IndependentCollegian.com