The Signpost, March 19, 2021

Brooklynn Kilgore | The Signpost

Friday | March 19, 2021 | Volume 94 | Issue 44

>>PAGE 8

SPORTS » PAGE 10

NEWS » PAGE 6

RANKING SIX DAMIAN LILLARD MOMENTS

PODCASTING WITH THE PODCATS MCT

JAZMYNE OLSON| The Signpost

2 | MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021

By MARISA NELSON Section Editor

Evading the law An officer was dispatched to the 7-11 on Harrison Blvd. on March 15. The employee told the officer that a man had taken a pack of cigarettes without paying for them. When the officer made contact with the individual who had stolen the cigarettes, he fled from the officer, and the officer detained him. The individual then requested medical attention, and when being checked out by the responding ambulance, he attempted to run once again. The man has been booked into Weber County Jail.

Weber State Police received a call on March 13 from the downtown bookstore

from employees who were concerned about a reoccurring thief. The individual had left just prior to the officers arrival, and the employees said that they did not think anything had been stolen when the individual was reported on this instance.

Over the fence Two individuals were seen jumping the fence to get into Stewart Stadium on March 14. An officer was sent to check on the trespassers, and when he arrived, both said that they were members of the WSU track team.

They responded that they had in fact jumped the fence but were just waiting for COVID testing. No further action was taken.

High as a kite Officers responded to a medical assist and public intoxication on March 12 on Edvalson

St. and Dixon Parkway. The male was very intoxicated according to the officer. The officer ensured he would make it to a safe place and took no further action.

A suspicious person was reported on March 14 at the same address. An officer made contact with a male individual who was agitated and under the influence of drugs. The individual would not respond to the officers commands and was resisting. When the officer tried to detain him, he also resisted. He was eventually booked into Weber County Jail on charges of outstanding warrants.ge.

Nothing to see here During spring break, a parking attendant called WSU police and said that two individuals in a vehicle in the W4 lot appeared to be doing “more” than making out. All the

attendant could see was that the female was on top of the male. When the officer arrived, he made contact with the two fully-clothed individuals and advised them to seek a more private setting. Both provided valid ID and no further action was taken.

False alarm The WSU Fire Marshall responded to an alarm in the receiving warehouse. The construction crew was doing work on the roof.

The Fire Marshall check the detector and panel and saw that the duct detectors were set off. There was no sign of fire or smoke so the alarm was cleared.

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‘CRUSHING THE CURVE: A NEW WORLD’ SHOWCASES CAMARADERIE AMONGST PERFORMERS

By ALLY NELSON Senior Reporter

Gracefully sitting underneath a lone bulb of light, Abigail Philpott performed “First You Dream” from the musical Steel Pier. She sang about “remarkable times” of dreaming and flying through the night sky.

By the end of her number, she was enveloped in the stars and reminded the audience that they are never truly alone.

On March 4, the virtual musical production ‘Crushing the Curve: A New World’ united performers and audience members by exploring the way that people feel trapped by the ongoing pandemic.

“The looking back could end it all,” Philpott sang. “Off we go to the sky. Straight ahead. You and I. Together now. Together now.”

‘A New World’ was a compilation of musical theatre songs. There was an overarching sense of camaraderie in most of the musical numbers, which were chosen by Director Andrew Barratt Lewis.

Designed to showcase the talents of the performers, the show was created so audiences can understand and appreciate the

different ways in which musical theatre stories can be told.

“You Love Who You Love” from Bonnie & Clyde the musical, performed by Franki Ferreira and Marie Howell, broke up the classic Broadway showtune sound with ballad-inspired vocals and audio.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, “Big Spender” from Sweet Charity was a strong female-led performance by Philpott, Ferriera, Howell, Anna Carr, McKenna Tedrick, Morgan Hekking and Sarah Michelle Jensen.

The “Big Spender” performers dazzled audiences with glitz from the ‘60s as they danced in their sparkly dresses and matching masks.

The number was inspired by a group of jaded ladies who pretend to be interested in men at a bar as the women used the single horizontal steel bar as a dancing prop to lure them in. It’s all for show, and illustrates a closeness between the women.

Some performances were not filmed on a stage. For example, “She Loves Me” from the musical She Loves Me, performed by Christian Clarke, was filmed in the snowy weather of Ogden Park.

The camaraderie continues between performers Tedrick and Jensen, as they sing “What You Don’t Know about Women” from the musical City of Angels.

In the musical, there is an interaction between reality and fiction because of the similarities between two women whose men will not listen to them. To split the difference between reality and fiction, Lewis chose to show one of the characters in color and the other in black and white.

The lyrics went, “You think if you can sound sincere then we’ll come running to you. Throw in some truth for atmosphere, but we can see right through you. And every hollow compliment and phrase defines and underlines what you don’t know about women.”

No matter the time period, women can relate to each other because of a man’s impact. According to the song, women are smarter than they have been led to believe.

They aren’t gullible enough to always believe a man’s words.

Along with the importance of visual elements, Lewis brainstormed the transitions in between songs to cater to the main audience.

”This musical is of greater interest to college students because it leans on current technology and trends that they may be more familiar with, but ultimately the musical is for all ages,” Lewis said.

Lewis said, despite the absence of audiences to watch a show, a positive lesson to come out of the pandemic for performers is learning to shoot and capture video for future projects.

“I hope that our performers have learned the valuable skill of filming their own material,” Lewis said. “Due to the pandemic, the students had to do a great deal of work on this project remotely and on their own.”

The teamwork it took to work on the digital theatre experiment of ‘Crushing the Curve: A New World ‘is something that students and staff members are still trying to navigate. The togetherness shown throughout the musical numbers reflected the students who performed as those characters.

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Abdulrahman Almohammadi | The Signpost

Abigail Philpott performs “First You Dream” at the Weber State University musical production ‘Crushing the Curve: Behind the Curtain’ while wearing a mask due to COVID-19 safety restrictions.

6 | MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021

Marisa Nelson | The Signpost

Weber offers an Honors 4890 podcast course taught by Andrea Baltazar, that is currently being held online over zoom.

By MARISA NELSON Section Editor

By MACKENZIE DESSIN Reporter

Podcasts have become increasingly popular among many and are a growing way to get information out to the public.

The Weber Podcats, made up of members of the Honors 4920 podcast class, have been working to produce their second season, which will include topics related to connection.

The season will air on March 26, and will have topics on mental health, race and other topics of connection that coincide with the Center for Community and Engaged Learning’s (CCEL) engaged learning series.

Andrea Baltazar and Melina Alexander co-

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teach the class while combining their skills to help the students succeed in producing, editing, writing and interviewing. Baltazar said that they give the students a “crash course” in all the mechanics of production and then let the students lead on how to interview as well as which topics are featured on the podcast.

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rate. Having to conduct many interviews over Zoom leads to many scheduling and communication conflicts. Many students, such as Samantha Plum, a senior at Weber State University, have found the class to be difficult under such conditions.

There are 14 students currently in the class who all work on the podcast and split the load.

Samantha Plum said that she personally prefers to work on script writing or proofreading,

MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021 | 7

but her and the other students swap roles depending on what episode they’re working on.

“It sounded like an interesting experience.

It’s a little more challenging. Too many rules,” Plum said.

The class’s goal is to reach the community and give a voice to underrepresented groups.

Each episode focuses on different topic that has the overlying theme of connection.

Jazmyne Olson, another student in the

class, said that she often learned something new from each interviewee and got advice that she had never thought of before.

“I think that even if you know a lot about something. There could be another episode that surprises you,” Olson said.

She said that there will always be something to learn and that getting someone else’s perspective through these podcasts is something that she enjoyed seeing.

Baltazar strives to make the class challenging, hoping it will push the students and even the listeners out of their comfort zone.

The class is for juniors and seniors, as it’s a 4000-level course. However, it’s available for all majors. Getting majors from all over the campus allows for unique and different approaches to each episode. It helps “create discipline subjects,” Baltazar said.

Olson added that she is looking forward to listening to the episodes that her classmates have worked on and learn more from their guests. There are six episodes this season. The podcast airs on Spotify and Apple podcasts as well as Soundcloud and can be found under the name Weber Podcats.

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JAZMYNE OLSON | The Signpost

A screenshot from the Weber Podcats website showing their Wildcat logo and their name.

Congrats!

1 2 0 2 f o s s a l C Since 2016, WSU graduating students have contributed more than $32,000 to create

Cat2Cat

scholarships for fellow WSU students.

CONTINUE THE TRADITION Make a donation in the amount of your grad year, such as $20.21, and help a fellow Wildcat!

With your donation, you will receive a green philanthropy cord to show your status as an official donor of WSU!

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This QR code can be scanned to find episodes of the podcast on all platforms.

Donate Today WEBER.EDU/CAT2CAT

8 | MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021

THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE

By BROOKLYNN KILGORE Photographer

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Mellory Barnes raises a sign reading “feminist as fuck,” Mar. 14, in Ogden, Utah.

Brooklynn Kilgore | The Signpost

Do you identify as a feminist? Do you identify as LGBTQ+? Are you an ally of the LGBTQ+ community? What is feminism to you? How do you advocate for the issues you support? What change do you hope to see in the future? These are all questions I asked of the individuals pictured here. Consider them for yourself; how would you answer these questions?

Feminism is traditionally broken up into four different waves. We are currently living in the fourth wave. The first wave, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, was focused on women gaining the right to vote and fighting to be viewed as equal to men.

Then in the 1960s came the second wave of feminism. This wave focused on anti-discrimination in jobs, education and property rights.

It highlighted domestic violence, conditions of women’s shelters and marital rape. It tackled other general legal inequalities and was essential to where we are now. This is the era of Roe v.

Wade and Griswold v. Connecticut.

The third wave of feminism, beginning in the early ‘90s, focused on individuality and diversity. This is the era of “riot grrrl,” which was an underground feminist punk movement. It quickly spread well beyond its musical roots to create vibrant “‘zine” and internet-based movement, complete with local meetings and grassroots organizing to end ageism, homophobia, weightism, racism, sexism and especially physical and emotional violence against women and girls.

Often, feminism is mistaken for what it is not. Feminism is not misandry. Feminism is not destroying men; it’s not about making men less than women. Unfortunately, there’s a pop culture movement that says “men are trash,” but that is not feminism. If you support gender equality, you are a feminist.

This project was very empowering for myself and my models. I am grateful to showcase such beautiful people in this way. We are the fourth wave of feminism. We want to empower women.

We are here to fight for greater representation and liberation. We are the #MeToo movement.

We are here to provide greater opportunities for our sisters. I hope you now consider yourself a feminist (if you didn’t already). Go take a look in the mirror — this is what a feminist looks like!

Mak holds a sign reading “gender roles < sushi rolls” on March 14, in Ogden, Utah.

Azzam holds a sign reading, “If you believe in gender equality, then you are a feminist!” on March 14 in Ogden, Utah.

Brooklynn Kilgore | The Signpost

Brooklynn Kilgore | The Signpost

Braeden Budge holds up a poster that reads “BOYS heart BOYS (AND GIRLS),” March 14, in Logan, Utah.

Brooklynn Kilgore | The Signpost

Brooklynn Kilgore | The Signpost

Tricia Jones wears a “girl power” shirt on March 14, in Logan, Utah.

10 | MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021

WILDCAT LEGEND’S SIX MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Oregon Live

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard takes a shot.

MILES SHAW Columnist

TYLER HASLAM Columnist

Damian Lillard is the most accomplished athlete to ever put on a purple and white uniform in Ogden. He’s one of three Wildcat basketball players whose jerseys are retired. He made the most 3-pointers in Wildcat basketball history, is a two-time Big Sky Conference MVP, is a Big Sky Conference Hall of Famer and is a six-time NBA All-Star who’s one of the most electrifying players dribbling and shooting a basketball in the NBA today.

In honor of Dame’s sixth All-Star game appearance — in which he slammed down alley-oops and swished 3-pointers from behind the half-court line — we’ve created a list of our six most memorable moments from our favorite Weber State Wildcat.

So get ready — it’s Dame time.

6. Lighting up the 2021 All-Star Game after being snubbed a spot in the starting lineup Tyler: The first moment on the list happened just a couple weekends ago when Lillard took to the court for Team LeBron in the 2021 All-Star game. Many pundits and followers of the NBA, including myself, were shocked when they learned that Luka Doncic, not Lillard, would be a starting guard in the All-Star game. While Doncic is a great player in his own right, Lillard’s resume this season was indisputably much more refined.

Lillard responded by scorching the nets for team LeBron and playing a huge role in Team LeBron’s dominating, 20-point victory over Team Durant. Lillard shot over 50% from the field and 50% from three — many of which came from 30 feet or more.

The crown jewel of all of Lillard’s unreal shots came on the final play of the game, when he pulled up from just beyond halfcourt and nailed the 3-pointer that gave Team LeBron the necessary points to end the game.

The shot was a brilliant snapshot summary of Lillard’s amazing basketball career. Drilling

a game-winning shot from ridiculous range in a game that features the best basketball players in the world is just something that Lillard would do. If not for Giannis’ historic 16-for-16 shooting night, it likely would’ve been Dame who was crowned the All-Star game MVP. I’m not sure if being snubbed from the starting lineup gave Dame a chip on his shoulder, but he played like he had something to prove.

But then again, doesn’t he always play like he has something to prove?

5. Winning the 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year Miles: While some college basketball players leave college and develop into stars over time, Lillard hit the hardwood running, shooting and dribbling all over his professional opposition in a similar fashion that he did from 2009-12 at the Dee Events Center.

While averaging 19 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists while playing 38 minutes per game, he buried his opposition with barrages of threes and torched his opponents on the way to the rim and the Rookie of the Year Trophy.

What sticks out to me about his first season with the Trail Blazers are the specific games where his shooting arm became a flamethrower. He played the Warriors in front of his hometown of Oakland and dropped a 37-point game with 7 threes. Dame always plays inspired basketball, but this game in front of his hometown was just different.

But maybe the most special game of his rookie season was against the L.A. Lakers in Portland, when he went toe-to-toe and shotfor-shot with Kobe Bryant. I remember watching this game, thinking, “This is one of the greatest basketball games ever.”

One play in this game might be my favorite Lillard play ever. He steals a Dwight Howard cross-court pass and tips it ahead to himself, and with the ball at the 3-point line, he rises up to shoot the triple, even though two of his teammates are running down for a 3-on-1.

With zero hesitation, he buried the three. Lillard ended up with 38 points, his rookie season-high.

Even though Portland lost, Lillard took the respect of Kobe, who said after the game, “That boy’s serious. He’s serious, and he’s not afraid of anything. He has the whole package.”

Now, after nearly a decade of Dame in the NBA, we know he was just getting warmed up, and that Kobe might’ve given the perfect description of his style of play.

4. Dropping his then career-high, 59 points, on the Utah Jazz in 2017 Tyler: For Jazz fans like myself, this one is definitely going to be one that is very memorable. Lillard has been a Jazz-killer for most of his career. He seems to go off nearly every time he plays Utah. Maybe it’s because there’s a piece of nearly every Jazz fan that cheers him on because he came out of Weber State.

But this was the best game he’s ever played

MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021| 11

Oregon Live

Portland Trail Blazers unsuccessfully guard Damian Lillard as he goes for a basket with 0.4 seconds on the clock.

against the Jazz, and, at that time, it was arguably the best game of his career.

From the opening tip, it became apparent that Lillard was going to have a crazy game when he scored 26 points in the opening quarter alone. He also finished the game having made nine 3-pointers. The 59-point game helped the Trail Blazers beat the Jazz and go a game and a half ahead of Denver for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

There were unconfirmed rumors that when Lillard was coming into the NBA draft from Weber, Portland was willing to trade the pick where they eventually selected Lillard to the Jazz for a package centered around Paul Millsap. The Jazz supposedly rejected this offer, since Paul Millsap appeared to be a rising star at the time. True or not, I’m reminded of what could’ve been every time he plays against the Jazz. But during this game, I found myself thinking about that could-be scenario even more so than usual.

3. Scoring his career-high, 61 points, in the 2020 NBA Bubble to move Portland into the eighth seed and a playoff berth Miles: The NBA Bubble brought out another level of play in pro basketball, and Dame went off like nobody else in Orlando. The basketball world seemed shocked that Lillard went off with games of 45, 51 and 61, but for Wildcat fans and anyone else who’s followed Dame’s career closely, it wasn’t the least bit surprising.

After five months of no basketball, Dame was scorching hot and put the Trail Blazers on his back with a playoff berth on his mind. The Dallas Mavericks were the unfortunate team to be on the other end. Usually, if a team puts

up 131 points, it’s safe to say they have a good shot at winning the game, but Lillard’s career high, 61, led Portland to 134 points and the win.

This game should’ve been looked at as an example by the NBA for who to select in the 2021 All-Star game, since Lillard completely outplayed Luka Doncic, who was selected above him, but that unfortunately wasn’t the case.

The best part of this game was seeing the Mavericks try everything to stop Logo Lillard and they couldn’t. From drives to the basket to the logo at center court, he was flat-out unguardable, and the only way to describe his play in the bubble was wild, just wild.

2. Winning the first playoff series for the Portland Trail Blazers in 14 years with a buzzer beater vs. Houston in 2014 Tyler: If the hand-wave buzzer-beater wasn’t so iconic (sorry, spoiler alert), this shot would easily be number one on the list. This shot certainly has more historical implications than the hand-wave shot did. While both buzzer-beaters were series-clinching shots, this shot secured the Trail Blazers’ first playoff series victory in 14 years.

One can also make the argument that this shot is even more difficult than the shot over Paul George. The hand-wave shot was definitely from a farther distance, but Lillard had to catch, turn and then shoot this shot on the run with only nine-tenths of a second remaining on the clock. In typical Lillard fashion, he made it look easy, but this shot is about as difficult as a shot can get in basketball.

Many thought that Houston would win this series fairly easily, so Lillard sinking that shot

to knock the Rockets out of the playoffs made it that much sweeter. I remember watching this shot live while I was in high school.

I got goosebumps watching it then, and I still get goosebumps when I watch it now. At the time of this shot, Lillard already had a lot of respect amongst those in the league, but I believe that hitting this shot was the moment Lillard entered superstar status in the NBA. It was a hard decision to make this shot number two, but we thought that the hand-wave celebration was just too iconic and cold blooded to not be number one.

1. Waving Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder goodbye in the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs Miles: Has a basketball ever been shot better then Dame’s game-winning 3-pointer he buried over Paul George from a few steps over halfcourt? I don’t think so. This shot had me leaping off the couch and looking at my TV screen in awe.

It’s one of the best shots in NBA history, and it resides on the same shelf in NBA lore as Jordan’s Championship-winning hold-thepose shot over the Jazz, Kobe’s jersey pull after hitting the game-winner over Phoenix and Kyrie Irving’s NBA Finals Game 7 three to give Cleveland its first championship win ever.

Also, the aftermath of this shot is just as ridiculous as the shot itself. It sparked numerous memes of Lillard’s teammates celebrating and mobbing him while he’s just looking at the camera with an expression that says “You haven’t seen anything yet.” The shot sparked up a rivalry between Lillard and fellow All-Star Paul George, so much so that in the 2020 Orlando Bubble, Paul George and teammates

got into a twitter feud with the Wildcat, which ended in a 51-point performance for Dame in his following game against the Philadelphia 76ers. If other players haven’t figured it out yet, it’s best not to set Lillard off, because he’s capable of doing anything on a basketball court — anywhere and anytime.

This shot epitomizes who Lilllard is as a player — someone who will end opposing teams’ seasons and prove he belongs even if he gets snubbed a spot in the starting lineup at the All-Star game or of MVP votes at the end of the regular season.

He’ll just keep leading his team like he did on March 16, when he carried Portland back from a 14-point halftime deficit against the New Orleans Pelicans and drained the game-winning free throws to finish with 50 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds.

At this point, what can’t he do to win a game for Portland?

In a survey in December 2020 of all 30 NBA General Managers, one question was asked: Who would you want to take the last shot for your team? It wasn’t surprising that the player with the most votes was Damian Lillard.

But the great thing about basketball is that at the end of the day, it’s a simple game, and you don’t have to be a GM or coach to see the obvious, which is that Big Game Dame’s been the most clutch player in the NBA for a while now, and it’s not even close.

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Randy L. Rasmussen | The Oregonian

Kobe Bryant faces Damian Lillard in his final game against the Blazers. The Portland Trail Blazers played the Los Angeles Lakers at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Jan. 23, 2016.

Sean Meagher | The Oregonian

Damian Lillard knocks down the game-winning 3-pointer to lift the Portland Trail Blazers past the Oklahoma City Thunder, 118–115, in game five of their first-round playoff series on April 23, 2019, at Moda Center. The Blazers won the series 4–1.

MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021 | 13

14 | MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021

Dining For

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March 15-21, 2021

virtual

Wildcat Chat College life can be stressful and sometimes you need someone who understands these stressors to chat with or even just vent to. Your fellow Wildcats are here and ready to listen!

Learn more and see the complete schedule at: weber.edu/CounselingCenter/wildcat-chat.html

virtual

Anxiety Toolbox Group Most of us have some level of anxiety, but we still have to know how to manage it and keep living life. Anxiety Toolbox is a virtual group where you can learn about anxiety. It is not a counseling or therapy group, it is an educational group.

Learn more about the group at: weber.edu/CounselingCenter/virtual-anxiety-toolbox.html

WSU Athletics

MyWeberMedia.com| March 19, 2021 | 15

Weber State’s senior linebacker Conner Mortensen and junior safety Desmond Williams tackle UC Davis running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. to stop the play, making UC Davis try again for a first down.

By TYLER HASLAM Reporter

In the Wildcats’ game against University of California Davis on March 13, it was the defense, led by senior linebacker Conner Mortensen, that dominated and played a significant role in the No. 2-ranked Wildcats’ 18–13 win over the Aggies.

After the win and huge defensive blowout, the Big Sky Conference named Mortensen the

Defensive Player of the Week.

Mortensen finished with a team-high of 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Nine of Mortensen’s 11 tackles were solo, and his tackles resulted in a loss of 12 yards.

Mortensen, who started his career with a walk-on tryout, led the team with 104 tackles in the 2019 season and is on track to lead the team once again this season after recording a team-high of 18 total tackles through the first two games.

“I can’t say enough about that kid,” Head Coach Jay Hill said. “He’s 100% representative of what this program is all about. If you come in here and you bust your butt, do things right, get good grades, then great things can happen to you, and he’s just proof of that.”

Trailing by 10 points at halftime, Mortensen and the rest of the defensive unit locked down the UC Davis offensive attack — holding it to just a lone field goal in the second half — which paved the way for the Wildcats’ offense

to score 15 unanswered points and take a lead that would not be surrendered.

The win over UC Davis improved Weber State’s record to 2–0 on the season. Mortensen and the rest of the football team will take the field next on March 27 against Northern Arizona.

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