Wednesday, March, 15, 2017
98th year • Issue 25
MAC Champions SPORTS / 6 »
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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919 RELIGION
“Women in Politics”
UT students celebrate Islamic culture By Maryam Jawaid Staff Reporter
Islam Awareness Week comes at a time when the topic of Islam has become a staple of the major news outlets. Despite being constantly bombarded with stories focusing on Muslims, many of us remain unable to answer even the most basic questions about the world’s second-largest religion. UT itself has a sizable Muslim population longing to spread awareness of their faith and eliminate misconceptions. “Islam Awareness Week is a tradition followed by all universities across North America where we as the Muslim Student Association educate people about Islam and our cultural values,” said Alyan Ahmed Memon, co-president of the Muslim Student Association. The MSA organized an event for each day of the week. On Monday, March 13, the program kicked off with “Try on a Hijab Day” at a Student Union table. This event allowed non-Muslims to don the emblematic headscarf and to ask MSA representatives about their faith. “Women can still feel beautiful while wearing a hijab, and I got to experience that firsthand,” said second-year social work
major Kenya James. “It’s very important to acknowledge Islam and make people aware of it because there are a lot of false stereotypes of Muslims and Islam.” Tuesday’s event featured Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The speaker addressed Black Lives Matter and the travel ban. Memon said that MSA wanted to the base the week’s events on real-world problems. An open mic night of the Muslim Writers Collective will be held on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Brady Innovation Center. Participants will share their poems and stories regarding the subject of “failure.” “It’s a topic that everyone can relate to,” said Rana Elhag, MSA secretary. “You can do a million different spins on it.” Memon stressed that Muslims stand up for various problems in the world, not just issues that affect their community alone. To demonstrate this notion, a workshop on mental illness will be held Thursday by Ali Altimimy in Student Union 2592. “Islam is worried about your whole being; not just your heart and spirituality, but the
SAVANNAH JOSLIN / IC
Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson speaks about her experience in law school and other political arenas Tuesday during the Diversity and Inclusion event entitled “Women in Politics” in Libbey Hall.
See Islam / 4 »
BUSINESS
CONSTRUCTION
COBI adds two new minors for fall semester Students react to 10-year master plan By Emily Lorton Staff Reporter
The College of Business and Innovation is offering two new minors that will give students real-life, hands-on
experiences that business employers look for. The minors will be in enterprise resource planning and business information security and are effective im-
RACHEL NEARHOOF / IC
The College of Business and Innovation is partially located in Stranahan Hall.
mediately. “Recently, industry needs for ERP-related positions are increasing and one of the primary purposes of the minor is to make students more knowledgeable and marketable with real business functions and transactions,” said Euisung Jung, one of the instructors for the ERP minor and current UT associate professor. Jung said ERP systems are used by many area employers and most Fortune 500 companies. “ERP is one of the fastgrowing, enterprise-wide business information systems, and the three courses in ERP minor will help students understand business processes,” Jung said. Jung said the material aims
to help students understand the concepts of ERP and advance analytics. P.S. Sundararaghavan, professor for the ERP minor, said that this minor is for students who want to get familiar with how large- and medium-sized organizations are run with the help of ERP software. Sundararaghavan said some qualities to succeed in this minor would be interest in computers, running computer packages and following instructions to see why something is wrong and try to fix it. “It improves the employment prospects, since many firms use such software and would like people who already have some knowledge,
See Programs / 4 »
ASTRONOMY
UT undergraduate student discovers companion star to Beta Canis Minoris By Benjamin Morse Staff Reporter
Equipped with only the experience of an undergraduate, third-year physics major Nick Dulaney discovered an unknown astronomical body. Dulaney analyzed 15 years of archive data collected at UT’s Ritter Observatory, which led him to make his discovery. According to a news release, UT postdoctoral research associate Noel Richardson assisted Dulaney in finding that a highly studied star, featuring a disk around its equator, is actually a binary star, or a double star. “In my research, I was studying a larger star called beta CMi (Beta Minoris), which is about 3.5 times the size of our sun and much hotter. This has a gaseous disk around its equator,” Dulaney said. Professor of physics and astronomy
and Director of the Ritter Observatory Jon Bjorkman provides fieldwork opportunities for undergraduate students like Dulaney on campus. “Publishing the results of research projects like this brings recognition of our program, and in particular how we involve undergraduates in our research,” said Bjorkman. Richardson credits Dulaney’s utilization of the program and tools available to his recent finding. “This project exemplifies how our onemeter telescope on campus is so useful,” said Richardson. “Nick learned how to operate the telescope, analyze the data and discuss the findings with others during his time here. So many universities do not have such resources, and this highlights the strengths of our program.” Adding to his recent success in the
“
field, Dulaney was the lead author, alongside 14 others in the published research paper regarding the discovery in “The Astrophysical Journal.” As stated on its website, “The Astrophysical Journal” is the foremost research journal in the world devoted to recent developments, discoveries and theories in astronomy and astrophysics. “It will be very helpful to say that I am first author on a published paper,” Dulaney said. Dulaney recognizes the weight of his discovery and the effect it may have on his future career. “This is a big deal for me,” Dulaney said. “I got to learn a lot of great skills for the field of astronomy through this. This will be an asset for me, whether it be for graduate school or a job.”
INSIDE
“The truth is that sometimes I feel safer on I-75 with all those semi-trailers and box trucks competing over the highway with me than I feel on Secor.”
Holocaust survivor shares his story of bravery COMMUNITY / 5 »
PHILEMON ABAYATEYE “Secor — for the greater good” OPINION / 3 »
Men lose in MAC semifinal SPORTS / 6 »
By Jessica Harker and Emily Schnipke Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor
In February, the University of Toledo’s board of trustees approved a master plan that will put into place a series of major campus renovations over the next decade. This plan comes after many strategic planning sessions and suggestions from the community, experts in education and construction and UT students. But do UT students really understand what the master plan is and what is entails? “I think there is a lot of students who don’t even realize a lot of it was done,” said Cameron Forsythe, UT Student Government vice president. “We haven’t seen an immense outpouring of feedback about it, at least what I’ve experienced personally.” Forsythe, as a representative of SG, was involved in representing the students in the creation of the master plan. He said that many of the students he has talked to are “intrigued and happy about it.” “In specific, there’s a few things I’ve actually gotten quite a few comments on,” Forsythe said. “The first would be the bridge over Douglas, the pedestrian bridge. I know that there are several people who are excited to see that happen. It’s an effort that’s been ongoing for a number of years now and to finally see the university actually implementing it, they are very encouraged by that.” Another portion of the master plan calls for a new building to be built on the UT’s Engineering Campus. The building, which will replace Palmer Hall, will be the new hub of research at the University of Toledo. Forsythe said that the new building will increase the collaboration of student research. “The way I understand it to be, is there will be premade laboratories that aren’t major-specific because right now, within the basement of Palmer Hall, we have engineering-specific labs,” Forsythe said. “In Bowman-Oddy, we have other specific labs for other majors. The intent of this new building is to take all of those labs and put them into one place where they will be able to share resources. They’ll be able to share ideas on how to move forward and things of that nature.” According to Forsythe, Palmer Hall was not originally built for classroom use, as it was previously owned by a private company. He said that Palmer has not been maintained enough to reach the standards of top-level classrooms. See Reaction / 4 »
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“A hospital fantasy is when you daydream about being taken so ill that you end up in the hospital and are physically incapable of fulfilling your obligations.” JESSICA HARKER
“Dealing with my hospital fantasies”
OPINION / 3 »
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| The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, March 15, 2017
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March 16 7:00-9:00pm – Vicki Obee, Jane Atwood and Benjamin DeVorss, Bittersweet Farms, “Neurodiversity and Community Synergies: The Efficacy of Bittersweet Farms and Preserving a Spectrum of Choices for Adults with Autism” CL 5th Floor March 16
5:00-9:00pm, Carlson Library Concourse – Bittersweet Fundraiser
March 22 12:00-1:00pm - Linell Weinberg, MSW, Autism Society of Northwest Ohio, Kristy Rothe, JD, ProMedica Toledo Children’s Hospital, and Jane Atwood, Parent Advocate, Bittersweet Farms, “Creating a Compassionate Community: A Dialogue for Autism” CL-1005 March 30 11am-12:00pm – Enjie Hall, MRC, PC, UT Disability Services and Jim Ferris, Ph.D., UT Disability Studies Program, “Autism, Culture, and Higher Education” CL-1005 April 6 3:30-5:00pm – Melanie Yergeau, Ph.D., University of Michigan and Elizabeth Grace, Ph.D., National Louis University in Chicago, “Autistic People Speak Back: A Conversation with Professors Ibby Grace and Melanie Yergeau” CL-1005
The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, March 15, 2017 | 3
OPINION Send letters to the editor to Editor@independentcollegian.com
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Jessica Harker Emily Schnipke
Morgan Kovacs Sam Williams
Philemon Abayateye Emily Jackson
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.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Unreported sexual assault is still sexual assault
Per national statistics, one out of 10 women will be sexually assaulted at some point in her lifetime. Some studies even suggest that the number is as small as one in four women on college campuses. The University of Toledo has approximately 7,000 undergraduate female students, so this means that 1,750 will likely be victims of assault. The average student will attend school for four years, or 48 months. 1,750 divided by 48 gives us the number of 36.46. This suggests nearly one or more rapes or sexual assaults takes place every day on the University of Toledo’s campus. How can the numbers be so different? The following are four narratives from young women at the University of Toledo who, for different reasons, did not report their assaults. The names in these narratives have been changed to protect those who were involved.
This suggests nearly one or more rapes or sexual assaults takes place every day on the University of Toledo’s campus. Paige was 19 in the spring of 2013 when she was raped in a stairwell of Memorial Field House on campus. Her attacker was her classmate, whom she would spent time with in the building before class. He told Paige they were going down a stairwell to sit outside. This is when her attack happened. “I felt powerless; I told him no. He physically silenced me,” Paige said. Paige sought out help from the counseling center. A counselor told her that, if she reported, Paige would need to drop the class. She felt embarrassed and as if no one would believe her if she reported because her attacker was so well-liked and gave tours to incoming freshmen.
“I felt powerless; I told him no. He physically silenced me,” Paige said. Gillian was a freshman in fall of 2013, and her first assault happened the first week of classes by somebody she did not know. Gillian reported this assault to the UTPD, and she said they treated her like a criminal. She was placed in the back of a police car and questioned for hours without bathroom or water breaks. Gillian says she has a learning disability which makes it difficult to write and was given no help when filing a written report. After moving to a new dorm, she was raped in October of 2013 by the young man she was dating at the time. Her reasoning for not reporting this rape was due to her previous treatment by the on-campus police. “I knew I couldn’t put my-
self through that again, even though what he had done was wrong,” Gillian said. Her assailant was a well-liked member of his fraternity and has since graduated. Zoe was hanging out with a male friend in his oncampus fraternity house in spring 2015 when she was raped. She said that they were fooling around and he had his pants off, but she was still clothed. “Without warning and without asking, he flipped me on my back, pulled my pants down and began having sex with me. I never consented,” Zoe said. Afterward, as he left the room and reunited with his friends, he told Zoe to leave so he could go drink with his fraternity brothers. It was not until a few days later that she realized she had been raped. He held her down and she had not consented. She did not report because she was afraid she would be told she shouldn’t have been alone with him if she had not planned to have sex. In November of 2016, Imogene was walking alone to her boyfriend’s off-campus house after her sorority’s chapter meeting for a movie night with him and a few mutual friends. The most direct route to her boyfriend’s house meant walking through an alley between Bowman-Oddy and the west parking garage. Imogene said she caught the glimpse of a man out of the corner of her eye, but she did not pay attention to him. Suddenly, he was very close to her. She was then pushed against the building and assaulted.
It was not until a few days later that she realized she had been raped. “I was so scared I couldn’t even move, and I felt like I just let it happen. The faster he did it, the faster it would be over I thought,” Imogene said. Imogene did not report because she didn’t know her assailant and said she would most likely be unable to pick him out of a lineup. She said she feared being asked intrusive questions, or, worse, be accused of lying or told she deserved it because she was wearing a nice dress. Imogene said she disclosed this to a close friend, who reported her assault without Imogene’s consent. The following weeks, Imogene says she was contacted by the Title IX office, which led her to email the Title IX office saying she did not want to be contacted by them any longer. After this, Title IX told her they could still investigate even without her complying. Her consent had not been taken into consideration even after surviving her assault. These stories are only a small example of what takes place on the University of Toledo’s campus — just think what happens on a larger scale. Sexual assault is a real problem, one that often goes unseen. Just because it is not being reported does not mean that it is not happening. Sincerely, four women and gender studies students.
OPINION
Secor — for the greater good Self-interest and selfpreservation: These are important motivations of individual action. We can all claim to care more about others than ourselves in every situation, which could probably be true — sometimes. But the truth is that commitment to impeccable altruism tends to fade away when we realize that our right to self-preservation is challenged. I think this is what explains the contentions around the proposed expansions to the section of Secor Road between Bancroft and Central. It’s not that people feel the expansion isn’t needed; it’s more about whether they’re willing to make the necessary sacrifices in order for it to happen. No matter its form, the proposed expansion would require residents to forfeit aspects of the lifestyles they’re used to. It may mean leaving the neighborhood altogether or losing the benefits of a luxurious Ottawa Hills school district education for their kids or, yet, the worst: losing good chunks of their yards. The question that we must all answer, however, is whether these sacrifices are necessary — of course, for the greater good? We should ask ourselves if it’s right for us to expect these people — most of whom have lived in their homes for decades — to just give up this right. And would they be greedy in choosing to double down and stay put, especially in a society that prides itself in guaranteeing protections for private rights and properties? Frankly, I’m in a dilemma about these issues, and I hope you are too because these don’t lend themselves to a simple “yes” or “no” answer. I do think that individuals have the right to seek per-
PHILEMON ABAYATEYE OPINION EDITOR
sonal preservation. Yet, in severe situations such as this I believe that the collective good should take precedence. Let me put this situation into perspective. That stretch of road has two lanes in both directions with each measuring nine feet wide. It’s a very narrow stretch, one which had 199 crashes between 2013 and 2015 alone. It’s probably fair to call it one of the most terrifying roads in Toledo, regardless of whether you’re an experienced driver or just a novice.
But the truth is that commitment to impeccable altruism tends to fade away when we realize that our right to selfpreservation is challenged. The City of Toledo and Village of Ottawa Hills presented residents with four proposals to consider. The first two would widen the existing lanes, add a left-turn lane and a median as well as two roundabouts at both the Bancroft and Kenwood intersections. The only difference between these is
the additional walkways on either side included in only the first proposal. City officials and engineers would prefer one of these choices, but the residents criticize the negative impacts they come with. Particularly, they pointed to both potential personal losses and revenue losses to the Ottawa Hills school district. Instead, they would rather have two broader lanes with a turn lane at the middle or, rather, leave the road as it is presently. What is not in dispute is that motorists know something needs done about the situation. But, clearly, that’ll not happen if we continue to count on these residents to know and do what is right by society. It helps the democratic process that the authorities are trying to explain all the benefits of expansion and get them to support it, but if all of what they see are the personal losses, it’d be hard to get this support. It’s in these types of situations that established authorities become important. Both the city and the village have legitimate power to get these residents to do what they must do. The federal government does this well when it invokes the “eminent domain” clause. This clause allows the government or its agency to take private property for public use after providing some compensation. Local authorities have their own ways around this issue too. That leaves us with the other question about whether expanding this road is an urgent public need. Each person’s response, I’d imagine, depends on where he or she stands on the issue — especially whether he’ll or she’ll be directly affected by the construction. Yet whatever our motivations are for answering
the question, I hope that we’ll all agree to do right by the public. I understand that it is hard for a person to give up a place that he or she has become emotionally attached to, but is that emotional attachment worth the possible loss of human lives?
What is not in dispute is that motorists know something needs done about the situation. The truth is that sometimes I feel safer on I-75 with all those semi-trailers and box trucks competing over the highway with me than I feel on Secor. And the fact that I feel that way, and I have reason to think others share this feeling, should matter to the people entrusted with making the difficult but necessary policy choices for this city. It should also matter to Secor’s residents that the majority of their fellow city residents feel this bad about something they’re so unwilling to let go. Of course, these people are entitled to staying put and enjoying the sanctity of their properties, but so are the majority of us who care about our safety on Secor. So back to the question of whether it is right for the majority of us to expect the residents to make these sacrifices: I say yes. Yes, not because I care less about their right to self-preservation, but because in this case, I feel the greater good justifies that request. Philemon Abayateye is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography and Planning and the IC’s Opinion Editor.
OPINION
Dealing with my hospital fantasies My second year at UT, I had a schedule that would have made even the busiest of people cringe a little. I worked 40 hours a week on third shift for Oasis, attended college full time and wrote for the Independent Collegian on top of trying to maintain an unstable relationship. I felt like I was drowning. One day, I found myself in a 7:30 a.m. class with Dr. Abdel Halim, barely hanging on. The class was interesting, but I was dragging and could barely even get myself there, even in my sweatpants with my thermos full of coffee. That day in class she played a Ted Talk video of a woman who explained something that she called a “hospital fantasy.” A hospital fantasy is when you daydream about being taken so ill that you end up in the hospital and are physically incapable of fulfilling your obligations. Apparently, it is a pretty common daydream among women. To some people, this may sound silly or even crazy, but for me it was all too real. I
JESSICA HARKER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
would often think about being in a car wreck, falling down the stairs or catching something and that illness would land me somewhere my responsibilities could not follow. I was suffocating, and I didn’t know how to stop.
I felt like I was drowning. Unfortunately, this realization did not fix the problem, but, as it turned out, the end of the semester did. Once college and the newspaper stopped requiring my
constant attention, my world came to a grinding halt. Who was I if I wasn’t constantly working? What purpose did I fulfill? My anxiety started to become worse and worse until I started applying for internships. I ended up with two new jobs and, at first, even that didn’t feel like enough. It didn’t take long, though, for me to be overworked again and fall all the way back to square one. It was a vicious cycle, one a lot of college students find themselves stuck in time and time again. But what can you do? How can we stop it? For me, it came in small steps. In being honest with myself and forcing myself to take the time to do the things I enjoyed, instead of just fulfilling my obligations, I found that I was climbing my way out of the dark place I was in. At first it was hard, but the more I did it and the more I talked about how I was feeling, the better my life was becoming. Now, over a year later, I’m doing better. I’m free from my toxic relationship, I do yoga,
I spend time reading books I enjoy and playing with my cats. I’m still insanely busy, but I’ve found ways to incorporate self-care into my everyday life. I’m not suggesting that meditation and a go-getter attitude are going to magically fix your anxiety, depression and other problems. I still take medicine for my anxiety. It’s the entire package that has finally gotten me to a place where I can say that I’m okay. So take the time to take care of yourself, on whatever level you need it. New hobbies, friendships or even taking the time to chill: Find out what works for you. The cycle doesn’t have to keep spinning. But only you can be the one to stop it. Jessica Harker is a thirdyear communication student and the IC’s Editor-in-Chief..
I would often think about being in a car wreck, falling down the stairs...
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| The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, March 15, 2017 CRIME
Sexual assault allegation against student
The Toledo Police Department and the University of Toledo’s Title IX office is investigating an alleged sexual assault in which a UT student-athlete reportedly assaulted another UT student. The alleged assault happened at an off-campus apartment on March 4. TPD received the report nine days
Programs from page 1
cutting down their training time,” Sundararaghavan said. “Other students, such as computer science, information technology, may be interested in it to widen their skills.” The business information security minor brings the students’ attention to the issues and concerns of security such as hacking, said Anand S. Kunnathur, professor for the business information security minor. “They need to understand how to manage the security of the information resource, which
after the alleged incident and is working with UT in the investigation. President Sharon Gaber reassured the UT community in a press release that student safety is of the utmost importance. “We take this very seriously,” Gaber said. “As we have stated before, sexual assault is never
is quite often the lifeblood of business,” Kunnathur said. “The business information security minor offers them this opportunity to get this exposure.” COBI is the first to implement a program such as this, Kunnathur added. According to Sundararaghavan, this minor is targeted at students majoring in information systems, accounting and finance. He said an interest in computers, networking and data analysis would help students succeed in this minor. “It improves the employment prospects, since many firms seek in their candidates knowl-
acceptable, and the safety of our students is my No. 1 priority.” According to the press release, UT has suspended the student-athlete from sports activities pending the results of the IX investigations and promises to discipline anyone who violated the law or student code of conduct.
edge of information security,” Sundararaghavan said. “Other students such as computer science, information technology, may be interested in it to widen their skills.” He said if the minors become very popular, the department would need to add one additional faculty member in the long run. If this happens, the new faculty member would be hired in the fall of 2018. Sundararaghavan said that some of the classes that make up the minors are offered as electives; however, this is the first attempt to bring them together in a minor.
$344 $399
Islam
from page 1
mind, body, soul. Everything,” said Fatma Ismail, a fourth-year religious studies major and former MSA president. Islam Awareness Week
Reaction from page 1
Many students seem excited about the prospect of Palmer Hall’s demolition, Forsythe said. “Pretty much the response I’ve gotten from every engineering major I’ve spoken to about it, or really anyone who has a class in Palmer Hall, is that they’re excited to see that building gone,” Forsythe said. “Everyone was hoping something would be done.” The master plan also lays out the plan for a new green space between the classroom buildings on the engineering campus, where tables and other seating will be provided for people’s enjoyment. “I look forward to it,” Forsythe said. “Any time we can add green space on campus without negatively impacting parking, campus operations and other aspects of the student life, I’m generally in favor of. Any way we can promote an outdoor space for student use is beneficial.” Changes that are beneficial to students are the whole idea behind the master plan. The plan calls for the reorganization and consolidation of colleges and majors that are spread out across campus. For example, the department of communication has ties to three different buildings on campus: the Lance Thompson Student Union, Sullivan Hall and Rocket Hall. “I think the overall consolidation of things, especially for the majors that are currently spread out across the entire campus, will be beneficial,” Forsythe said. “When you’re having a 10-minute gap and both those classes are at Field House, that’s not an issue. But if you have a 10-minute gap and one of your classes ends at Rocket Hall and one starts at HH 10 minutes later,
will be capped off with a public Friday prayer at 1:30 p.m., led by Adam Smidi, in Student Union 2582. Elhag emphasized the importance of MSA designating a week to reach out to the student body. She said that it enables them to clarify the issues that arise regard-
ing their community. “We are living in a time where a lot of the discussion around Islam is negative, so I hope this results in a greater sense of unity among UT students of all faiths and backgrounds,” said Elhag, a third-year pharmacy major.
that’s when you struggle to get there.” Another huge change to campus will be the demolition of Carter Hall and the construction of new baseball and softball fields in its place. Zach Harig, a third-year communication student, says the move from Scott Park will help to centralize the athletic programs. “Our college baseball and softball programs really haven’t gotten the support that they have deserved and worked for the past decade,” Harig said. “A lot people don’t want to drive even two or three miles off of campus. Now that they are on campus, students and fans will have easier access to it.” Harig said that the old venue at Scott Park, including
Harig. “I think this will make it a lot easier for the programs to sell themselves, so to speak. During recruiting visits, you don’t need to bring players to Scott Park and show them a deteriorating venue. Instead, you’re led on campus, right near academics, right next to the Glass Bowl.” Although the master plan addresses many important issues on campus, one that is always on the forefront of students’ minds is missing from the plan: parking. “As for parking concerns, in Student Government, it’s definitely something that we’re not going to be quiet about,” Forsythe said. “Parking is one, if not the largest, comment we get from students. And we’re going to continue to treat it that way.” Forsythe said the board continued to point out that, even though parking at the northern end of campus is continuously packed, “There is always parking at Rocket Hall.” Forsythe said that Student Government fought this claim continuously. “Their notion was that all the problems can be solved by simply parking elsewhere, and that we didn’t have a parking issue on campus,” Forsythe said. “We recognize it to some extent that yes, we do need to walk, but at the same time there were some proposals that they were actually looking into and took the parking, in our opinion, and made it worse.” One proposal thought of was taking Lot 10 and moving it farther away from the Centennial Mall. The idea was to turn the area into another green space, just like they did with the mall decades ago. “But that’s one of the things we fought them against and we were fortunate that they heard us and they didn’t implement that change,” Forsythe said.
“Parking is one, if not the largest, comment we get from students.” CAMERON FORSYTHE Student Government Vice President
the stands and the fields themselves, is in a state of disrepair. The new fields will be a major upgrade. According to Harig, compared to other MAC schools, Scott Park is not nearly as nice. “A couple of players I talked to from Northern Illinois said ours was by far the worst stadium that they’ve ever played in,” Harig said. “The new ones are going to be a lot nicer and getting a lot more people on Main Campus is going to be a win-win for everyone involved in the programs and the university.” The new location and nice venue will help to recruit new players to UT, according to
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FEATURE
Holocaust survivor shares his story of bravery By Areeba Shah
Associate Community Editor
For 10-year old Irving Roth, life took a completely different turn when a sign reading “Jews and dogs are forbidden to enter the park” was placed in his homeland of Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1939. Born in Kosice, Czechoslovakia on Sept. 2, 1929 and having lived in Europe through 1945, Roth’s entire childhood was spent in the Holocaust. Director of the Holocaust Resource Center at the Temple Judea of Manhasset and Adjunct Professor at the University of Maine, Roth shared his story over Skype with community members and University of Toledo students March 1 in Rocket Hall. He took the audience on a journey to provide them with insight on Europe in the 1920-30s. Roth said the world was a rather peaceful place. Czechoslovakia was a democratic country and his city of 7,000 people included Jews, Catholics, Protestants and members of the Russian Orthodox Church all together in harmony. At six years old, Roth began attending an integrated public school with kids from different backgrounds and religious beliefs. During this time, he befriended a Russian Orthodox girl and became very fond of her. Roth said that he had a comfortable childhood as part of an upper middleclass family. However, trouble was beginning to emerge in the world. In April 1933, Germany started to boycott Jewish enterprises. The ideology was to defeat Jews both economically and in the arts in order for Germany to prosper. “The elimination of Jews from society was an essential aspect of Nazis,” Roth said. Germany quickly started a propa-
ganda program. In 1935, Nuremberg laws were passed that prohibited German Jews from having Reich citizenship and forbade them from marrying people of German or related blood. At the same time, Jewish students in Germany were thrown out of school, Jewish professors were fired and the elimination of Jews from society was in full swing. Roth said that, at six years old, he wasn’t even aware of what was happening. By 1939, the German army marched into Czechoslovakia and dismembered the country. They split it into what is modern day Czech Republic and Slovakia, which essentialized the ideas of Germany. Roth, now living in brand-new Slovakia, found a country in which Jews were no longer allowed to play together with others in parks or go
“One day I was going home with the girl I liked, and as I was carrying her books and talking about getting together to do homework, she said that she could no longer be friends with me,” Roth said. “Her father told her not to be friends with a Jew or else ‘[she] might get called something really nasty, like a Jew-lover.’” In September 1940, his principal stopped Jews from entering. Jews could also no longer own their own businesses. Roth’s father, Joseph, asked one of his Christian friends, Albert, to put the business under his own name. As a token of appreciation, Joseph offered Albert $1,000 per month. Within months of taking over the business, Albert returned and asked for half of the profits. A few months later, he came back and took all of Joseph’s profits.
HIMANSH BHATANGAR / IC
A group of community members and students listen to Irving Roth as he Skypes in to talk about his life during the holocaust.
to the beaches. They were prohibited from going out at night and were forced to wear a yellow star. As things began to change slowly, 10-year-old Roth started to learn about the prejudice, the hatred, anti-Semitism and persecution that confronted Jews.
“In just a matter of time, my father’s good friend was transformed, and that’s really what the Holocaust was about, transformation of society,” Roth said. By summer 1942, six death camps were operating. “We knew something was happen-
ing because, in the summer of 1942, on Friday night, 1,800 Jews were marched into a synagogue that could only hold up to 500 people,” he said. “There were no bathrooms or air conditioning, and guards were standing outside to make sure no one escaped.” After being stuck for almost two days, the Jews were later marched into the railway station, shoved into cabin carts and resettled. In the coming months, Roth’s grandfather and grandmother were both arrested. “We knew people were being arrested, put into trains and were gone,” Roth said. “We managed to get them out by paying someone off.” To avoid being arrested, Roth and his family escaped to Hungary, where he lived with his brother, grandparents and other relatives while his parents moved to Budapest to find jobs. In the spring of 1944, the Hungarian Nazis and the German government sent Jews to concentration camps in cattle cars. Ninety percent of them died on the journey. Roth was one of the 437,000 Jews taken from their homes. Riding on a train crowded with 100 people, no windows, no place to sit and no bathroom for three days and three nights, 14-year-old Roth said he had no idea what was going to happen. Once they arrived in Auschwitz, everyone was divided into two lines. Roth stood on the left with his older brother Andre, while his grandparents and aunt’s family stood on the right. The Jews standing on the right were led into a group shower. They were gassed to death and later incinerated in the crematoria. He added that, out of the 4,000 Jews that arrived, only 300 people made it out of the camp alive. Roth said that he and his brother were taken to Auschwitz, where their
clothing was exchanged for striped jackets and pants. He was tattooed with a number and assigned to drain swamps and plow the fields. “I was a kid who grew up in the city and knew nothing about farming,” he said. In a matter of days, his brother was taken away, never to come back. Roth was put onto a train and moved to a new camp called Buchenwald with gas chambers. Roth said he was always hungry and only had a piece of bread for dinner every night. Weighing only 75 pounds, Roth knew he would surely die if another death march took place. Finally, on April 11, the U.S. Army entered Buchenwald and rescued the remaining Jews. Roth was liberated from Nazi captivity and oppression. “There wasn’t a single person in the German Army uniform. People no longer wanted to kill me! There were 300 of us, and all the soldiers wanted to feed us. The doctors came to examine us and see how our health was,” Roth said. Roth reunited with his parents in his home village. While Roth fought for survival in the concentration camps, his father wound up in a coma in a hospital where all the doctors told his mother that he would die. A Christian Adventist night nurse took care of Joseph and hid both of his parents in her onebedroom apartment. “So my parents were safe because someone was willing to help,” Roth said. Roth said that the most important lesson he learned from the Holocaust was that one needs to evaluate every action groups, individuals and countries take. The Holocaust did not happen all at once; it was a stepby-step process.
CAREERS
UT helps students pave their way to success By Anna Glore Staff Reporter
Biology is more than just knowing mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Biology can lead to jobs in higher education, such as microbiologist, nature conservation officer, pharmacologist or even a research scientist. University of Toledo students who wish to pursue a career in biology were invited to attend a night dedicated to the field.
“Everyone needs to know what options they have with their degree...” AMANDA SEABOLT-MARTIN UT Academic Adviser
The Biology Career Exploration Night was held in UT’s Bowman-Oddy Laboratories March 14 from 6-9 p.m. and gave students the opportunity to talk to professionals in their field of interest. Amanda Seabolt-Martin, the academic adviser
of the organizations in charge of planning the event, said that several different speakers came to the event to introduce themselves and speak about their education and career. “This event is an introduction to a variety of careers possible with a degree in biology,” SeaboltMartin said. “We have several speakers from a variety of areas: medicine, chiropractic, bioinformatics, medical laboratory science, careers in the zoo, research, education, lab tech, MD and Ph.D.” Seabolt-Martin also said that students were able break off into smaller groups and talk to presenters about any questions or comments that they may have. As an academic adviser for the department of biological studies, as well as an adviser for Biology Undergraduate Studies and Tri-Beta Biological Honor Society, Seabolt-Martin said that it is important for biology students attend the event. “Students need to know what they can do with their degrees, so I am working hard to expose them to a variety of options and career tracks through empowering my student groups to do events like this,” she said.
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Christian Backer, treasurer of Biology Undergraduate Studies, said that the event is very helpful, even to those who don’t know exactly what they want to do with their futures. “This event means a lot to me because even though my major is biology, I am still not sure of what I want to do with my career, so it will be especially helpful to hear from different professionals in the field of biology to see what options I have,” Backer said. Backer also said that this is the first year this event has been held and the first year that BUGS has been active on UT’s campus. “The main purpose of this event is to show that there are lots of different career opportunities in the biology field,” Backer said. Seabolt-Martin said that all students, not just those studying biology, could benefit from the event. “People should attend to learn about a variety of careers in science and in the greater Toledo area,” she said. “All of these presenters are from the Toledo community. Students from a variety of educational programs would benefit to learn about the careers and how they can get involved in a new field they maybe have not thought about before.” She also said it is the department’s job to help expose students to as many possibilities as it
RACHEL NEARHOOF / IC
Sally Harmych speaks about how she got into a career in biology at the Biology Career Exploration Night.
can, especially since biology doesn’t always offer a clear career path in the working world. “I call it ‘high impact,’ as nothing like this has been done before, and it is just very important for students to know what career options they have,” Seabolt-Martin said. “Everyone needs to know what options they have with their degree; it gives them purpose to keep on through the tough courses.”
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| The Independent Collegian | Wednesday, March 15, 2017
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MAC CHAMPIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By Sam Williams Sports Editor
The University of Toledo women’s basketball team took Cleveland by storm over the weekend. As the No. 6 seed, the women defeated No. 4 seed Northern Illinois University in an unexpected Mid-American Conference women’s basketball championship game. This is the Rockets’ first MAC title since 2001. Both teams headed into the matchup with a great deal of momentum after upsetting higher-seeded teams in previous matchups, but Toledo was the team to come out on top and win 82-71. The Rockets were led by a double-double from second-year guard Mikaela Boyd, who recorded 27 points and 14 rebounds in the Rocket victory. Weak shooting from the threepoint arc in the first half held both teams back, with UT shooting just 2-10 and Northern Illinois only making two of its 14 attempts. Toledo dominated the Huskies inside the key for the first half, with the Rockets scoring 18 points in the paint while Northern Illinois only had eight. Big back-to-back threes late in the second quarter sent the teams into halftime with the game tied. The first half ended with the teams tied up at 30 points each. Boyd and second-year guard Olivia Cunningham paced the Rockets in the first half with eight points each. On the other side of the court, first-year Northern Illinois guard Janae Poisson led the Huskies with nine points. The second half started rough for the Rockets with the Huskies gaining a quick five-point lead and third-year guard Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott recording her fourth foul only 4:44 into the second half, sending her to the bench. Trouble with fouls continued for Rockets, with three players having at least three fouls before the end of the third quarter. These issues led to NIU scoring an extra seven points off foul shots in the third quarter alone, but a scrappy Rocket team kept the difference in score to only one point. The fourth quarter saw both teams giving their all for a chance at the MAC championship title, and they traded scores back and forth quickly. The foul issues that plagued the Rockets in the third quarter quickly transferred to the Huskies in the fourth, with the Rockets making nine of 12 free throws in the fourth. The fourth quarter continued to be huge for UT, as the Rockets scored 15 points in five minutes. The Huskies could only record five. The Rocket offense remained hot, with the team extending its lead to 12 points late in the fourth on the back of a huge quarter for Boyd, who had 15 points in the fourth quarter alone.
A dagger three by Poisson led to a Huskie timeout as they looked for solutions to the late game lead, but Toledo’s late-game momentum could not be stopped. As the game reached the 1:30 mark, the Huskies began to force the Rockets to the foul line in an attempt to save the game, but UT’s stellar free throw shooting kept the lead heavily in the Rockets’ favor. UT secured the game with an impressive final quarter, shooting nine of 12 from the field and 16 of 19 from the free throw line in the fourth. The Huskies were unable to formulate any resemblance of a late-game comeback, and the Rockets took home the victory, along with the MAC title, with a final score of 82-71. This victory gives the Rockets a guaranteed spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament, and the team awaits the announcement of who its opponent will be in the first round.
As the excitement from the University of Toledo’s first women’s basketball MAC title since 2001 dwindles down, the Rockets begin to look forward to the NCAA tournament. This will be the women Rockets’ eighth appearance in the NCAA tournament, with an overall record of 3-7 in the competition. UT will head to Corvallis, Oregon this Saturday to take on the Creighton University Blue Jays in the first round of the tournament. These two opponents have not faced off against each other this season but have
had one common opponent throughout this season: Dayton. When Creighton took on Dayton, the team won by a score of 56-53 on the road, and when Toledo took on the Flyers, the Rockets also won, by a score of 76-72. The Blue Jays are a part of the Big East conference, going 23-7 (16-2) on the season. The Blue Jays were selected for the tournament as an at-large bid after losing to Big East champions Marquette in their conference tournament. Despite this loss in the tournament, the Blue Jays finished their regular season tied for first in the Big East with the No. 21-ranked DePaul Blue Demons. Although the two teams have not played each other this season, their records make it look to be a good matchup, one that could
swing either way. The Blue Jays are led by second-year forward Audrey Faber, who is averaging 13.2 points per game. Faber earned an All-BIG EAST first team R AC selection, while Marissa H EL N Janning, fourth-year EA R guard for the Blue H O O F Jays, is averag/I C ing 11.5 points per game and
Men lose in MAC semifinal
Sports Editor
Women head to Oregon Sports Editor
MEN’S BASKETBALL
By Sam Williams
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By Sam WIlliams
PHOTOS BY RACHEL NEARHOOF
Top: Mikaela Boyd, second-year guard, reacts to being named the MAC Tournament MVP. Lower left: The team holds up the MAC Championship Trophy after winning in the final game against NIU. Lower right: Janice Monakana, fourth-year forward, shoots the ball during the first half of the game.
earned an All-BIG EAST second team selection. Shutting down these two players will be key for the Rockets, so a strong defense will be necessary if the Rockets want to advance. On the other side of the court, Toledo is in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, and the team is looking to keep that streak alive. Second-year guard Mikaela Boyd has been on a roll since the start of the MAC tournament, where she was named MVP of the tournament after the Rockets’ win over Northern Illinois in the finals. Boyd will also be heading into this first-round matchup coming off of an incredible performance in the MAC final, where she recorded 27 points and 14 rebounds. Another weapon for the Rockets will be first-year guard Mariella Santucci, who has found her footing again after a rough regular season due to a foot injury. Santucci joined Boyd on the All-Tourney team after averaging 13.8 points in the MAC tournament. This tournament draw was also good for the Rockets for other reasons. This draw lands them in a different region than the 32-0 University of Connecticut Huskies and outside of the Lexington bracket of death. The Rockets will face off against the Blue Jays after the conclusion of the Oregon State vs. Long Beach State game on ESPN2 at 7:30.
The University of Toledo men’s basketball team headed into the Mid-American tournament looking to redeem some regular season mistakes and send their senior class out with a memorable ending. The Rockets were able to fend off the Bowling Green Falcons in the first round by a score of 77-62, but then fell to the Ohio Bobcats in the semifinals by a score of 67-66. The first matchup of the tournament was against Bowling Green State University, a team that UT had split wins with in two regular season matchups. When the Rockets saw BGSU in the regular season, they had a Rocket victory at home, 8573, but their second meet-up in BG led to a 104-100 Falcon victory in double-overtime. The team’s first tournament game was held in its home of Savage Arena, much to the benefit of the Rockets. The Rockets were led by fourth-year guard Jonathan Williams with 18 points in the game, followed closely by redshirt first-year center Luke Knapke and second-year guard Jaelan Sanford, both recording 12 points. The Rockets started off with an early 14-8 lead due to seven points from Knapke and a big threepointer from fourth-year guard Jordan Lauf heading into the first media timeout. Bowling Green managed to claw back from the deficit, and the two teams headed into halftime with the Rockets leading 32-28. Jordan Lauf and the Rockets opened up their second half lead early due to a corner three from Lauf, making the
score 40-30 with 18:18 remaining in the half. The Rockets held onto their lead, outscoring BGSU 43-34 in the second half to take the victory and head on to the semifinals. “I thought it was a really good win for us; first half I thought we played really hard and did some good things defensively,” said Toledo basketball head coach Tod Kowalczyk in a post-game conference. RACHEL NEARHOOF / IC Fresh off their Fourth-year guard Jonathan win, the Rockets Williams dribbles the ball down headed to Clevethe court during the first round of land to face off the MAC Championship. against the Ohio University Bobcats layup cut the lead to 50-47 in the MAC tournament with just 9:46 left. semifinals. The game progressed back Despite an eight-point lead and forth for the next nine at halftime, the Rockets fell to minutes, until second-year the Bobcats 67-66 . Williams forward Nate Navigato nailed led Toledo again this game, a huge three to tie the score putting up 18 points for the 64-64 with 48 seconds left. Rockets. Trailing behind him In the following posseswas Lauf, who recorded 12 sion, Williams snagged a points in the Toledo loss. great steal and transition Toledo came out strong in layup to give Toledo a 66-64 the first half, connecting on lead. The Bobcats answered 52 percent of shots (13-ofwhen Kaminski hit a massive 25) and six of 11 from three, three to give Ohio the lead while holding the Bobcats to and knock the Rockets out of only 36.4 percent shooting the tournament. (12-of-33). Their shooting “We battled back; we cerpercentages gave Toledo a tainly had chances to win the strong 37-29 lead heading game. I don’t regret one bit into halftime. not calling timeout,” KowThe second half spelled alczyk said in a post-game a different story, as the interview Bobcats came roaring out Looking forward, the of the half to score the first Rockets will take on George 12 points and take a 41-37 Washington University in lead with 16:14 left. After the first round of the College some back-and-forth scorBasketball Invitational at 7 ing from both teams, a Lauf p.m. on March 15.