kentuckykernel
Thursday, September 9, 2021 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971
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The many perspectives of 9/11 See page 6 for one veteran’s story
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
Humans of UK:
kentuckykernel
Dr. Erika Engstrom makes her presence known
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Rayleigh Deaton
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By Gillian Stawiszynski opinions@kykernel.com
This is Humans of UK, inspired by the Humans of New York Instagram series by photographer and author Brandon Stanton. This series dives into the individuals of UK as well as their stories, strifes and passions. Professor Erika Engstrom’s office is coming together. Engstrom, the UK School of Journalism and Media director, has recently made the new space her own. Books line her shelves, along with a few plants, including plenty of golden pothos to decorate the space. This academic year is Engstrom’s second at UK. Due to COVID-19 moving most instruction online during the past year, this is her first year officially off of Zoom and the first in her own UK office. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Engstrom has also lived in several parts of the United States, primarily to follow her love for learning. At 19, she received her bachelor’s degree in radio television at the University of Central Florida, followed by her master’s in communication soon after. She then went to the University of Florida for her doctorate in mass communication. Students who have taken a class from Engstrom know that the Gators are not something to mess around about, and they should only mention Tim Tebow if they also admire his dignifying reign of the UF football team. Engstrom was in the radio industry for three years after UCF, during her time at UF and in Las Vegas. She was a reporter, anchor, producer, DJ and a radio station manager. “Radio teaches you how to speak and keep going,” she said, adding that it’s an important starting point for anyone
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Gillian Stawiszynski opinions@kykernel.com
Asst. Opinions editor: Photo editor: Art Director: Designers: MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Director of the School of Journalism and Media, Dr. Erika Engstrom, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, at Blazer Dining in Lexington, Kentucky.
sell them online or whatever.” Although Engstrom might not think she has hobbies or a prodigious baking career, her interests are diverse. She is a radio DJ, pianist, lover of sushi, media scholar, “Supernatural” fan, reporter, producer, camera operator, “Jeopardy” runner-up, learner, feminist for all and human. Engstrom does, however, have an interest in educating students and readers on human rights. “If you’re writing anything about what I am, it’s working towards a more egalitarian world where we can go to work and do a good job without being hassled,” she said. Engstrom’s book, “Feminism, Gender, and Politics in NBC’s sitcom Parks and Recreation,” exemplifies this goal. “It’s about feminism. It’s about fear.
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looking to work in television. She originally wanted to become a news consultant, putting the years of experience she had to good use. Although Engstrom stayed in media, it took a slightly different turn – she went back to the classroom. After receiving her doctorate, she taught at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, beginning in 1991. She taught courses similar to those she teaches at UK, classes about the intersection of gender roles and media. She stayed in Nevada until she got a job offer from UK a year ago. Engstrom said her life has centered around academics. “Do people have hobbies like mountain climbing, or saving the whales, or saving pandas? I guess the only thing I’ve ever done is go to school. School, school, school,” Engstrom said. “I don’t have anything interesting. I don’t bake cupcakes or
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On the cover:
MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF Naval First Class Petty Officer and UK senior business management major, Daniel Lane, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, at Erickson Hall in Lexington, Kentucky.
See HUMANS on page 5
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
opinions
How the memory of the 9/11 tragedy lives on
By Editorial Board opinions@kykernel.com
It is the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. For many Americans, this means the 20-year anniversary of losing a loved one. Some grieve despite not having lost anyone, due to the strife that this day caused. The immediate repercussions of 9/11 — the 2,996 lives lost during the actual falling of the twin towers — is only a fraction of the damage done by the event itself and our nation’s reaction to this event. The Patriot Act, the TSA and the glorification of 9/11 through films are a few indignations caused by the attacks. Unfortunately, there are other repercussions that have only added to the pain and suffering. The alarming increase in Islamophobia-related hate crimes
Data collected by the FBI found that in 2000, there were 28 hate crimes against Muslims. In the previous years, this number wavered slightly, but it never surpassed 35 per year starting in 1996. In 2001, there were 481 hate crimes against Muslims. These numbers have since dropped, but have never returned to what they were before 9/11. The purveyors of these actions must think that these hate crimes have possibly been to prevent terrorism, in some strange form of vigilante justice. The generalization of Muslims has only led to more terrorism and
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MICHAEL CLUBB | STAFF A man remembers the fallen victims of 9/11. UK Army and Air Force ROTC placed nearly 3,000 flags in front of the administration building and had speakers read out the names of fallen victims of the terrorism attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky.
mass death. This sharp increase is due to the deadly generalization of Muslim people as terrorists or inherently violent people. While this is obviously not true, the nationalism some Americans hold fuels the hatred toward people that have nothing to do with acts
of terrorism or religious extremism. Unfortunately, mosques are a huge target for this racist sentiment. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, there have been 11 or more anti-mosque attacks since 2005 in Florida, Washington, Texas, California
and Virginia. Forty-four states have had at least one, and there are even more outside of the U.S. The longest war in American history
The U.S. government quickly responded to the terrorist attacks
on 9/11 when former President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution on Sept. 18, 2001, authorizing the use of force in Afghanistan against the parties responsible for the attacks. The war and occupation did not stop in Afghanistan. Bush See MEMORY on page 5
Thursday, September 9, 2021
opinions HUMANS
MEMORY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
and his administration claimed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and sent troops there to find them in 2002. U.S. troops, having never found any weapons of mass destruction, finally left Iraq from this mission in 2011, though they returned to help the Iraqi government combat the Islamic State group. Although Osama bin Laden, the architect of the 9/11 attacks, was found and killed in 2011, the war was far from over. The reason given for the occupation of Afghanistan is counterterrorism. This evolved into a war against the Taliban to resist their growing power in the Middle East. It wasn’t until Aug. 31, 2021, that the final U.S. troops departed from Afghanistan. After all this time, the Taliban still claimed this land as their own as soon as the U.S. evacuated. The war, not including the massive airlift by Biden to evacuate American soldiers and citizens, has cost $2.3 trillion in borrowed money and 47,245 Afghan civilian lives lost, according to the Associated Press. Though we should never forget the tragedy of 9/11 and all that’s come since, there have been no significant foreign attacks since. Our nation is more than able to conduct counterterrorism on our own soil. “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acqui-
It’s about expanding the notion of masculinity. It’s about commentary on the status of gender in the United States. It’s about the status of women, politicians and the world of politics, and how it’s mainly men,” Engstrom said about her book. “And we need more women, because women’s issues are human issues. And the more women we get in power, to make decisions, we can change things for the better.” Her television taste falls in line with her studies. “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Pose” and “Godless” are some of her favorite TV shows. Engstrom says this is where she gets most of her ideas for her writing. For example, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian depiction of a former United States, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, focuses heavily on gender themes. Engstrom is not only a professor, she is an advocate. She has goals for her time here at UK and as a director, she intends to succeed in them. “I would like to make the School of Journalism and Media the best place to work, teach and learn in the United States, how about that?” Engstrom said.
JACK WEAVER | STAFF UK ROTC cadets fold the American flag after it is lowered at the memorial for the 19th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, outside of the Main Building in Lexington, Kentucky.
sition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist,” said former President Dwight Eisenhower about the military industrial complex. Occupation of the Middle East and the strengthening of the military industrial complex have only allowed our government to ignore dire circumstances here at home. Institutionalized racism, prison reform, healthcare and extreme poverty are just some of the neglected issues. There is so much work to be done here at home.
“ The purveyors of these actions
must think that these hate crimes have possibly been to prevent terrorism, in some strange form of vigilante justice. The generalization of Muslims has only led to more terrorism and mass death.” - Editorial Board
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
features
‘At the tip of the spear’:
One veteran’s experience with the aftermath of 9/11 By Sarah Michels news@kykernel.com
The aircraft is perched on the edge of the ship, secured in the catapult shuttle, a short runway track ahead of it. Daniel Lane’s aviation mechanic team walks around the aircraft, double checking for leaks, popped open panels, locked wings and anything else that could possibly go wrong. There is no room for error. A normal aircraft, on shore, requires several thousand feet of runway just to get airborne. The naval aircraft has 300 feet until there’s nothing but ocean below. The pilot revs the engines to full power, taking the control stick to all four corners to make sure everything is moving properly. Lane and his team perform a final check. Right now, the 40,000-pound aircraft is sitting dead, inactive. But in just under 2.5 seconds, it will have shot off the front of the ship, reaching a supersonic speed of 140 knots, 161 miles per hour. It’s a feat of physics that seems miraculous, too good to be true. On a naval aircraft ship, though, it happens on a daily basis. And that’s the easy part. Landing is harder, because pilots must aim to place their aircraft’s tailhook in a three-foot square box, flying over 170 miles per hour. As the catapult does its job, the aircraft races past Lane at near-full speed, 60 feet away at most. It’s straight out of a young Lane’s dream. Heck, it’s a dream for fullgrown Lane too. When he heard that America had been attacked the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, a half-asleep Lane thought that was a dream, too. He came to his senses just in time to watch the second tower fall on the USS Enterprise’s TV, alongside members of his Navy squadron. His ship was the first Navy aircraft to respond to the attack, launching the first strikes of the war on terror. From March 1998 to April 2018, Lane served in the Navy as an aviation mainte-
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MICHAEL CLUBB I STAFF Naval First Class Petty Officer and UK senior business management major, Daniel Lane, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, at Erickson Hall in Lexington, Kentucky.
nance officer. He enlisted right out of high school, leaving for boot camp two days after turning 19. His maternal grandfather and uncle had been in the military, and his
dad served as a Naval flight officer. He was around Naval Air stations a lot as he grew up, which instilled in him a love for aviation and aircraft.
As an aviation machinist’s mate, Lane was part of a team of jet engine mechanics that ensured that the Navy’s aircraft were functioning at the high levels necessary to successfully train, complete missions and provide combat air cover for the boots on the ground. After basic training, Lane lived in Sicily for two years, in the shadow of active volcano Mount Etna. He then worked on aircraft in Jacksonville, Florida; Brunswick, Maine; and Norfolk, Virginia. He then transitioned to F/A-18 aircraft from 2007 to 2015, with a stint as a naval instructor teaching new recruits in between. From January to November 2001, he was deployed on the USS Enterprise. But as the ship sailed away from the Persian Gulf toward Cape Town, South Africa, its original mission complete, the events of 9/11 stopped it dead in its tracks. As the only aircraft carrier near the Middle East at the time, 100 miles north of the equator, Lane and his team quickly turned around. It was war, and everyone knew it. Training ramped up, the ship prepared munitions and officers awaited the call to launch the first air strikes of the fight. When the call came one October night, about two weeks after the attack, Lane’s S-3 aircraft was one of the first to launch off the ship, its job to support the strike package against Al-Qaeda. Lane said he feels a sense of pride about being “at the tip of the spear,” fighting on the frontlines of the war on terror until the USS Enterprise returned to U.S. soil in November 2001. Now, Lane attends school alongside younger students who don’t remember 9/11 or who weren’t even born yet. Just like in the Navy, with the rare diversity of his career, Lane is once again an anomaly. Lane is a senior business management major at UK, and he’s often the oldest person in the classroom — professor included. Sometimes, he doesn’t get the lingo his See LANE on page 7
Thursday, September 9, 2021
features
LANE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
peers and instructors are using. Despite being able to get along with anyone, there’s an obvious disconnect between him and the other students. The first day of a new semester, Lane knows he is the elephant in every classroom. He doesn’t mind the questions, though. He always informs the class of his military background, and said he’s never been met with anything but respect and a bit of curiosity. “Obviously I’m at a different point in life than most of my college classmates, and so with that I kind of try, I just keep myself a little reserved and a little pulled back, simply understanding and appreciating the difference of where we’re at,” Lane said. “I also fully understand that the average person that I’m sitting in class beside, I am not going to hang out with on Friday nights.” His inability to fully connect with his younger classmates doesn’t bother Lane much. He’s been able to cultivate his own social circle through the Veterans Resource Center (VRC), ever since a VRC member gave him a campus tour before his first year at UK even began. The VRC, located in the basement of Erikson Hall, is a place where UK’s military veterans can hang out, study and feel comfortable around people with similar life experiences. While it’s been mostly empty during COVID times, Lane said that before, it was always busy. “We’re not necessarily as tight as a lot of traditional students because we have lives and families outside of here, but it definitely developed that kind of network
and friendships and everything that is getting me through,” Lane said. Family was the reason Lane retired from the Navy right after the required 20 years of service. As Lane’s children grew older, leaving for each six-to-nine-month deployment got more and more difficult. He knew he was missing out on key moments of development. While he was on base, Lane’s only communication with his wife and kids was through email; phone calls were expensive, sometimes up to a dollar per minute. He wasn’t entirely alone, though, what with his almost proxy family on the base. Each squadron had about 200 to 250 people whom Lane said became his extended family of sorts on a ship carrying over 4,000 people, plus a job specialty group of about 18 fellow Navy officers with whom he spent most of his days. “My wife could say, ‘Hey this is broken at the house,’ and you kind of want to be there to help out with it, but at the same time you’re on a ship halfway across the world,” Lane said. “We have the squadron, but there’s support groups through the squadron for the spouses and the families and everything back home.” The trust cultivated among Lane’s squadron members through months and years of travelling, training, eating and sleeping together in the surprisingly cramped living quarters would prove vital to the success of missions. Aircraft carriers may be massive, but most of the space is taken up by the aircraft. The friendships also made exploring the various port stop locales much more enjoyable. While many hours were spent several hundred feet below sea level in a submarine, Lane got to spend time in Ath-
“ So you grow up in America, and I mean, America
is great, I’m never going to say anything less, but it opens your eyes to seeing the other cultures and just kind of understanding different people, different cultures. I guess it increases the empathy you can have for others and for their situations.
- Daniel Lane
”
“ Obviously I’m at a different point in life than most of my college classmates, and so with that I kind of try, I just keep myself a little reserved and a little pulled back, simply understanding and appreciating the difference of where we’re at. I also fully understand that the average person that I’m sitting in class beside, I am not going to hang out with on Friday nights.
”
- Daniel Lane ens, Portugal and Portsmouth, England of Europe and Dubai, UAE and Bahrain of the Middle East, among others. Lane said world travel introduced him to many valuable microcosms of community and culture. “So you grow up in America, and I mean, America is great, I’m never going to say anything less, but it opens your eyes to seeing the other cultures and just kind of understanding different people, different cultures,” Lane said. “I guess it increases the empathy you can have for others and for their situations.” In 2015, while still fully active duty, Lane began his transition out of the military. He became a Naval recruiter for three years to “demilitarize” himself, he said. But with one career behind him, Lane wasn’t at all sure what he wanted the rest of his life to look like. With the guidance of his division officer, he decided to pursue an engineering degree at UK — it seemed compatible with his aviation interests and as a Cincinnatian just across the Kentucky border, he’d always bled blue. He later switched to a business management major — engineering didn’t turn out to be the right fit. Lane said his experiences at VRC, including a stint in the lead work study position, have made his college experience worthwhile. However, he said he would
like to see the university create a space in the student center where there is access to the amenities offered in the VRC, especially with the overwhelming majority of veteran students living off campus. While he knows and accepts that UK’s primary marketing and branding focus is toward traditional students, Lane said that adult students often get lost in the shuffle. “While I’m definitely a veteran, I can kind of connect to here [VRC] and build the network here. I’ve been in classes with other adult students that are not necessarily related to the military,” Lane said. “I can see where they don’t necessarily have a veteran center.” He said he hopes that the VRC is able to expand to capture more of the adult student population in the future. Lane graduates in May 2022, once again poised to enter the “real world,” this time of business management. He said he hopes his path includes an element of aviation or aircraft, which are still his passions. “I feel I’m on a path now to where I can leverage everything — all the skills I’ve built through the Navy and coming from junior enlisted and moving up the ranks and kind of taking on more leadership and responsibilities, to now try and do a lateral move as much as possible into the business world and kind of keep that progression going,” Lane said.
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
remembering 9/11
Lewis Honors College instructor, Kim Stoltzfus, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, at the Lewis Honors College in Lexington, Kentucky.
WHERE WERE YOU? Story by News Staff | Photos by Michael Clubb and Jack Weaver
While most undergraduate students weren’t alive or don’t remember Sept. 11, 2001, the events of that day have indisputably changed the trajectory of our daily lives. The Kernel asked several UK faculty members where they were when they heard about the collapse of the World Trade Center and how life has changed since. Here are their responses, edited for length and clarity.
Kim Stoltzfus
I was 28 years old. I remember it distinctly. I got up and I turned on the TV that day, and it was one of the most ridiculous topics, like how to wear pantyhose correctly or something like that—and this was a serious new station. I sort of laughed to myself even walking to the DuPont Circle metro station, and then I was underground. And everything was fine. I was getting in the elevator to my office and people were talking about a plane that hit a building. Then, as we were going up slowly in this elevator, someone said,
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“I heard a second plane also hit a building.” I was just shaking my head in kind of disbelief, and I got out of the elevator and as I walked out to my floor, I just sensed this heaviness. I was shaking. We had no information. I don’t even know where the information came from, to be honest, because no one could connect online. But we thought it was the end of the world, like we thought it was the apocalypse. Washington D.C. turned into a third-world country. There were tanks that were rolling through the city, there were people, men with rifles and guns on the streets and spotlights everywhere, jet planes flying over us for weeks
and weeks and weeks. So you can imagine that when your life is changed so dramatically, a lot of people have this all-of-a-sudden desire to do something about it. Like I can’t just stand on the sidelines, I want to be part of protecting our nation, I want to do something. After September 11, it was an amazing time in our country’s history, even though it was undergirded by extraordinary pain and tragedy. So, sometimes, I think we should remember it a little bit more, you know, recall what happened that day, recall the sacrifices that were made and forget politics for a moment, I think, in what’s the best interest of this nation.
Thursday, September 9, 2021
remembering 9/11
Assistant professor of history, Eladio Bobadilla, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, at the Patterson Office Tower in Lexington, Kentucky.
Justin Wedeking, a political science professor, poses for a photo on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.
Professor of history, Karen Petrone, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, at the Patterson Office Tower in Lexington, Kentucky.
Eladio Bobadilla
Justin Wedeking
Karen Petrone
On September 11, 2001, I was a freshman in high school, and I woke up that day thinking it would be like any other. I would always turn on the TV and leave it on in the background as I got ready for school. That’s what I did that morning, only instead of the usual slate of early-morning cartoons and giddy morning shows, every channel was showing the chaotic scenes coming out of New York City (and Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania). It was obvious that something was wrong. A plane crashed into a massive office tower. Then another. I’d never heard of the World Trade Center or the Twin Towers. It was all so strange, so dizzying. I went to school, but every class period was just all of us watching the news, trying to make sense of what had happened, wondering what had happened and why. There was nothing but eerie silence and mute grief hanging over all of us, even though we were across the country. It was a surreal day, unlike any I’d ever experienced before or have experienced since. Pretty quickly, I knew the world in which I lived was forever changed. Nothing would ever be the same again.
I was in Oxford, Mississippi, just starting the second year of my master’s degree at the University of Mississippi. I had just finished showering when I heard the news about the first Tower getting hit. At that time there was very little news about what was going on, and so I proceeded to go to campus. By the time I got to the political science department’s computer lab the second tower had been hit. I then sat there listening to coverage of the events on the radio with a few others when we heard the broadcaster describe one of the towers collapse. At that point, I immediately went back to my apartment to watch news coverage for the next few days. It has touched just about every aspect of our lives. Aside from the obvious war, perhaps the most significant impact has been on American foreign policy that has also led to many new domestic policies revolving around security. Perhaps the most tangible aspect to me that I’m reminded of is airport security. I still remember when we could walk directly to the terminal gate without needing a ticket to get through security. Now, going through security reminds me of that day.
On that sunny September morning 20 years ago, I was working at home, and when I heard the news about a plane crash at the World Trade Center on the radio, I turned on the TV in time to witness the second plane crashing into the second tower. My husband and I couldn’t turn our eyes away from the TV all day—until it was time to pick up our daughter at Kindergarten. My husband and I are both New Yorkers and we took the attack very personally. The World Trade Center was an icon of my childhood—I watched as it was built and was very proud at the time that it was the tallest building in the world. My motherin-law lived only a few miles away from the WTC site, and it felt that day like the whole city was under attack. I did not know any of the victims myself, but some of them were friends of friends. The impact has been profound—we have been at war for the last twenty years and government surveillance has become stronger at the expense of civil liberties. The threat of terror created an atmosphere of hyper-patriotism that silenced dissenters and of Islamophobia that stereotyped Muslim Americans. 9/11 has certainly contributed to the political polarization that we see today.
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
opinions
Blinded by the media:
How the new generation is desensitized to tragic events By Brooklyn Kelley opinions@kykernel.com
Our hearts have been tainted. Our vision has been altered. Our minds have been polluted. We don’t think like people once did, but it isn’t entirely our fault. This began long before we could make conscious choices to shield ourselves from the unspeakable. It happened through video games we played without understanding their implications, movies that were too graphic for children and footage of terrorist attacks being played in elementary school. The September 11 attacks played in our minds through the repeating coverage each year, though we were too young to have our own memories of that day. We all saw them — videos of bodies falling hundreds of feet to their death. We heard the heart-wrenching last phone calls of those on the planes to their loved ones. We felt the discomfort when we first encountered the preserved memories of the day our country changed forever. It’s a heavy burden to carry. Most of us were babies or not even born when it happened. However, the trauma that came with the falling of the twin towers was transferred to us through the generations of people who witnessed it themselves. The shock of this day was made prevalent in our lives from an age at which we were too young to understand the complexity of the issue and the brokenness that spread across our country. Let’s face it, children and
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young adults today feel and empathize significantly less than children in generations before. That’s because they have been trained to do so, and a large part of that comes from elementary school where they were shown gory videos and photos from Sept. 11, 2001. Some websites geared toward kids, like BrainPOP, have attempted to depict the event in a child-friendly way by replacing actual footage with animations. Regardless, children are being exposed to one of the greatest tragedies in American history at an age where they are still using crayons on a regular basis. This may coincide with the way they see the world around them. UK freshman Jordan Sewall said that her first experience being shown 9/11 videos was in fourth or fifth grade. “Many just didn’t take it seriously, would laugh it off and make jokes,” Sewall said about others in her classes. Sewall was not the only student to witness this type of response to the unsettling videos shown in class. Junior Joseph Palmer said he was in fourth grade when he was taught about 9/11 in the classroom. He said that the material he was exposed to was graphic for the age group. “No sugar-coating, everything was pretty upfront,” Palmer said. “But as a fourth grader, I wasn’t able to put myself in that predicament. I was like, ‘Okay, let’s get this over.’” The more that children are shown 9/11 videos and become numbed, like in Sewall and
Palmer’s accounts, the less likely they are to be sensitive to this particular event and other violent events. Repeatedly showing these graphic videos to youth can breed indifference. Now, 20 years after the attack on the World Trade Center, we are facing some horrendous events. School shootings have been on the rise, COVID-19 hit and has taken the lives of thousands and protests have broken out and violence surrounds them. Yet these types of things don’t seem to phase us as much as the previous generation. Following a decade-long study, in 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health released a report saying that violent media intake can lead to violent behaviors, increased fear, acceptance of stereotypes and decreased empathy. Later, Victor Cline published a study with the University of Utah’s Department of Psychology in 1972 on the desensitization of children through violent television programs. In the publication of this study, “The Desensitization of Children to Television Violence,” Cline found that children who had more exposure to depictions of violence in media prior to the study were less autonomically aroused than those who had less prior exposure. These are only a couple examples of studies on the desensitization of youth through different forms of media. Now that there is more access to technology, these studies have only increased. Media has become more graphic, and children are having
JACK WEAVER | STAFF Flags form the outline “9/11” on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, outside of the Main Building in Lexington, Kentucky.
even more screen time than ever. This leads to significant cognitive implications. After seeing footage of the twin towers and the Pentagon under attack, learning about the lives lost that day and subconsciously attributing that to Middle Eastern individuals, children have learned to become indifferent about tragedy and changed to become more aggressive toward others. While it is important that September 11 is kept fresh in the minds of Americans in order to remind us of the lives lost and the way our country bonded following the attacks, it is equally as essential that we exercise caution when doing this. Rather than reliving this day through the recordings of the screams of those lying on the streets in pain or through vid-
eos of people hitting the ground from stories up, we should think about the unity that came from it, reflect on the lives that were lost with fond memories and celebrate those who responded to the scene. Instead of tainting children’s minds with graphic media coverage of events like this, perhaps it would be better to focus on the care expressed by Americans after something catastrophic.
Kids need an opportunity to live a childhood that is not jaded by violent games, graphic films and scarring footage of people dying in an event that happened long before they can remember. If we begin to contemplate and change what children are taking in, it is possible to return to a generation that radiates love and empathy for one another.
Thursday, September 9, 2021
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
sports
‘A rowdy, exciting time.’
Hockey returns to Lexington following pandemic, fire By Hunter Shelton sports@kykernel.com
A fan-favorite Kentucky club sport makes its return this weekend. Kentucky hockey will welcome Tennessee to the Lexington Ice Center on Friday for the first of two games to kick off the 2021-2022 campaign. Returning with the Wildcats is “Midnight Mayhem,” a tradition that began in the 1980’s, where the puck doesn’t touch the ice until the clock strikes 12. “It’s an event, it’s Midnight Mayhem. It is one of the top 10 things to do if you are a UK student,” UK hockey coach Tim Pergram said. Ironically, playing club hockey at midnight in Kentucky is going to be the most normal thing about this season for Pergram and his players. On July 19, dozens of firefighters responded to a large fire at the Lexington Ice Center that destroyed part of the building — including one of the two rinks. The main building of the center was untouched. With only one rink available and skating season rapidly approaching, the Wildcats would now have to share usage of the main rink with the public, as well as the youth and adult hockey leagues in Lexington. Kentucky did not play hockey last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had their 2021-2022 season flash before their eyes, wondering if they would be able to maneuver around the sparse availability of their home ice. “We were already looking at, would we have to bus to another rink? Would we have to practice only one day a week in Louisville or Cincinnati? There were going to be a lot of calls,” Pergram said. Pergram and the ice center found a way
12 | kentucky kernel
STAFF FILE PHOTO Kentucky and EKU hockey players chase after the puck during the game against EKU on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, at the Lexington Ice Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
to accommodate the Cats, although calling for some changes to the practice schedule. A bright and early call time of 5:45 a.m. sets the scene for the team’s practices on Mondays and Wednesdays. While inconvenient, the players understand that they must make the best out of a bad situation. “Everyone recognizes we don’t really have an option. It’s kind of sink or swim,”
senior winger Gary Eastlack said. “We can either get up and work together to make each other better, or we can be pouty about it. We all know everyone is tired, we try to get our legs loose as quick as we can and get better every morning.” An early morning is just the start of a long day for these student athletes. After practice ends around 7:15 a.m., the players
head back to campus for class, followed by strength and conditioning in the early evening, leaving little to no free time for anything besides studying or getting some sleep. “There is a lot going on in Lexington, you have to worry about the youth programs and other people and now with one See HOCKEY on page 15
Thursday, September 9, 2021
sports
Across the (By)Line: Missouri Tigers By Barkley Truax sports@kykernel.com
Stats:
The “Across the (By) Line” series will give Kentucky football fans an indepth look at their opponent for this week — from the mind of the opposing school’s sports editor. This week: The Maneater, Missouri, Kyle Pinnell.
Kentucky
•O ffense — 564 total yards, 355 yards on
Should Kentucky fans expect another 400yard passing game for the second week in a row?
Kyle: It just depends. I think that Missouri was really good last week when it came to the pass rush — they had nine sacks last week. I didn’t feel like Missouri was that dominant on the defensive end and their run defense wasn’t great, and they got burned a few times through the air. What Missouri is probably going to try and do, especially under Steve Wilks, is bring pressure against [Will] Levis. They’re just going to hope that they can get to him before he releases the ball. I don’t know what the state of Kentucky’s offensive line is this year, but if they’re not as solid as they consistently are, they’re going to have their hands full as far as the pass rush goes. It depends on how much the Kentucky offensive line allows Missouri to get to Levis. If he has all day to sit in the pocket and throw the ball, I think
AP PHOTO/MICHAEL CLUBB Kentucky quarterback Will Levis (7) throws the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Louisiana-Monroe in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021.
he can have a pretty decent afternoon. How is quarterback Connor Bazelak expected to fair in his second season under center?
Kyle: Connor Bazelak is continuing to prove why he’s the starting quarterback for Missouri. He was really, really solid once again against Central Michigan. Bazelak won’t put up the most flashing numbers in the world, but he knows how to read the game. I think that’s something Kentucky should be watching for. Who has the bigger game — Tyler Badie or Chris Rodriguez Jr.?
Kyle: What Tyler Badie
has going for him is that he’s so accustomed to receiving the ball out of the backfield. That was always a strength, especially as the number two running back before he was getting 25 carries per game, which really should be more in the 18 to 20 range. Especially against the Kentucky defense, he could cause some issues in the flats. I think Badie could have another good game and if he’s able to run even half as well as he did against Central Michigan, that’ll be dangerous. I’m also concerned about Rodriguez as well, from a Missouri perspective. Who’s one or more Missouri defenders that Kentucky fans should keep an eye on?
Kyle: The number one player on defense would be Blaze Alldredge. He had an absolutely incredible game against Central Michigan. He had three and a half sacks and around eight total tackles. He was just phenomenal. I think he’s definitely pretty aggressive. He fits well into the scheme that Steve Wilks wants to run with this Missouri defense. Akayleb Evans, who transferred from Tulsa, is someone to look for as well. He had an interception in his first game with the Tigers and a solid overall game where each time he was thrown at, he didn’t really allow too many big gains. He made a few big plays and was pretty solid. You didn’t have to worry about him, which is exactly what you want out of your cornerback.
first down, three turnovers •W ill Levis — 18-26, 367 yards, 4 TD’s, 1 INT • Josh Ali — 5 rec, 136 yards, 1 TD •W an’Dale Robinson — 5 rec, 125 yards, 2 TD •C hris Rodriguez Jr. — 19 rush, 125 yards (6.6 per carry), 1 TD •D efense — Weaver, 2 sacks; Paschal, 7 tackle (6 solo), 1 sack, 2 TFL; Square 6 tackle (4 solo), 3.5 TFL, 1 sack •D efense (2) — Gave up 87 yards (ranked No. 1 in the country)
Missouri
• Offense — 468 total yards
• Connor Bazelak — 21-32, 257, 2 TD’s •T yler Badie — 25 rush, 203 yards (69 long), 1 TD — 3 rec, 40 yards (30 long), 1 TD • D’Ionte Smith — 2 rec, 69 yards (63 long) •D efense — Gave up 301 yards passing, 174 yards rushing, 13 TFL A lot of Kentucky fans see the game against Missouri as the most important of the season — do Missouri fans feel the same?
Kyle: This is a game that’s going to be very important. This is one of those games that if you win, you can win eight or nine games this season. The goal is to compete in the SEC East for both of
these teams, so I think they have pretty similar definitions for success for their seasons. I think anything over .500 will be exciting and we’ll see how tempered that mood gets after this Kentucky game. Who knows? But I think there are a lot of expectations and fans that are still anxious to see what Missouri can do against actual SEC competition.
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Thursday, September 9, 2021
news
More people than ever are applying to the College of Medicine. Students and faculty have ideas about why By Emily Girard news@kykernel.com
UK’s College of Medicine saw a dramatic increase in applications in 2020. In the past year, the number of applicants has increased from 2,777 to 3,792 — one of the highest recorded applicant numbers the college has ever seen. Dr. Wendy Jackson has been the College of Medicine’s associate dean of admissions for four years. She said this 37 percent increase is much higher than the 18 percent average increase that medical schools across the country have seen. Jackson also said UK has pipeline programs in place for high school students who are on pre-med tracks. “[We’re] hopefully helping support those who are traveling along that pipeline and getting them nice and polished when it’s time to apply for medical school,” Jackson said. This increase comes in spite of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the application process. Though applicants usually meet other students and faculty through in-person interviews and receptions from August to February, the pandemic forced these events to become virtual. Jackson said these virtual interviews became the standard for all medical schools in the country. “We needed to have an alternative plan, so that decision was made by the beginning of summer that we were going to switch to virtual interviewing,” Jackson said. Despite these challenges, Jackson said the College of Medicine prioritized maintaining equity for all its applicants. “We wanted to make sure that all of our applicants that maybe didn’t have access to good connectivity could have that access,” Jackson said. “At our regional campuses,
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JACK WEAVER | STAFF The Albert B. Chandler Hospital on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.
we have the luxury of being able to say if we have an applicant that’s, say, in western Kentucky and didn’t have access to good internet, they could come to our Bowling Green campus, and we would then create a space for them to be able to have good connectivity.” Dr. Robin Cooper, a professor in UK’s biology department, said that society has pushed people to pursue medical school
while stigmatizing other careers. “A lot of it goes with parental pushing [and] societal pushing,” Cooper said. “That’s why you go to college, to get a better job, and then you apply to go to the next profession to get a better job and better pay, so I think it’s just accentuated in going into the medical field.” The COVID-19 pandemic has given many people a similar firsthand experience
with medicine, leading many to cite it as a possible cause of the increase in medical school applications. “You probably have people who have been affected by COVID and who have seen their family members go through it, and they weren’t able to help,” said Rachel Boice, a senior biology major on the premed track. “Nobody really knew what to See HOSPITAL on page 15
Thursday, September 9, 2021
news
HOSPITAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14
do, so that’s probably why they were motivated to come in to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.” Cole Dowdy is a UK graduate entering his second year of medical school at the University of Louisville. Though Dowdy does not want to study infectious diseases, he still found the pandemic “extra motivating,” realizing the important duties of medical professionals. “I don’t know if COVID really had that big of an impact [on applications],” he said. “You’d probably have to wait four
HOCKEY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
rink, it was a little nerve racking as to how seriously we were going to be able to take this season,” junior defenseman Tim Burke said. Fortunately, the team didn’t have to worry about any scheduling conflicts when planning games in Lexington this season. The midnight puck drop is an experience like no other, and although the team is not funded and promoted by the university, Big Blue Nation still shows out in bulk. “It’s an unreal atmosphere. Everyone is loud, everyone is excited,” Eastlack said. “Other teams think they look forward to coming in and playing us because of the big crowd, and about five minutes in, I don’t think they’re enjoying it as much as they thought.” The Lexington Ice Center, also known as the Barn, can sell up to 500 tickets on a game night. The rink and the stands leave little space, making sold-out games a compact, ear-splitting experience that the players love. “It’s intense, teams hate to play here and we love our fans. We’ll do anything for them and we want to win every night for them,” senior defenseman Zack Bartuce said. While the fans come to support the team whether they are filling the net with goals or not, the Wildcats are ready to put their best product on the ice. Coach Pergram, who is entering his
years to see that. If there was a huge bump in applications, maybe you can point the finger to COVID.” Others said the alterations to the application process brought on by the pandemic made it easier for students to apply and be accepted. The MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) was modified in 2020, with fewer questions and more dates and times available to take the test. “People had more time to study, and they prepped for MCATS really well and got good scores,” Kikani said. “The MCAT last year being modified a little bit and having the format changed … it’s helped some people.”
fifth season as head coach, is prepared for what could be his “best team in five years.” “We have a great freshman class that has come in for this year and a sophomore class that hasn’t played a game yet. We have a lot of talent,” Pergram said. “There’s some very talented players out there this year. Then we’ve got some upperclassmen that have been in the program for a couple of years. It’s going to be thrilling.” Kentucky competes in the Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League, which is a part of the southeast region of the second division of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The league consists of 10 teams, including UK rivals Indiana and Louisville. The end of the season will see eight of the 10 teams advance to a league tournament, with the winner of the tournament earning an automatic bid to the ACHA Division II Southeast Regional tournament held in late February. Four teams from the regional tournament will qualify for the ACHA Division II National Tournament for a chance at a national championship. For Kentucky, this season comes with high expectations. “Nationals are the goal this year,” sophomore center Brett Quinn said. “With the team that we have, I think it’s a very realistic goal and I can’t wait to see what we can do.” The Wildcats have reached the regional stage in years past but will look to take the next step this season behind coach Per-
Another reason behind the increase in medical school applications may be due to more people going to college and entering pre-med programs. “We are really bringing more and more people into the program to begin with who are really pre-med minded,” Kikani said. “A lot of pre-med minded people are coming into here thinking [it’s] the best of paths to earning a good living and fulfilling individual desires.” Dowdy also mentioned the increased prominence of UK HealthCare that the pandemic has brought. “[UK HealthCare] is a very big part of the UK campus … so I think people are
naturally drawn to it, and they’re pumping money into it,” he said. “STEM fields in general are getting a lot of attention and a lot of money.” Although Jackson said she cannot predict future application trends, she said the college continues to see “very strong candidates.” “I think the most difficult thing is that there is something to love about each of them, and so it’s hard to decide when you are restricted to 201 seats …That’s why we have an admissions committee,” Jackson said. “The curriculum at UKCOM is spectacular, and I hope to see some of the same numbers coming through this cycle.”
STAFF FILE PHOTO A Kentucky hockey player brings the puck up the rink during the game against EKU on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, at the Lexington Ice Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
gram’s fast-paced offense. “We’re going to be a very fast team, we pressure the puck and play high tempo, we are a very offensive team,” Pergram said. UK will have a chance to show off their firepower on Friday against the Volunteers, a team they beat 15-0 the last time they squared off. While the team is looking forward to
playing their first game since the 20192020 season, they want nothing more than to be able to put on a show in front of BBN once again. “There’s nothing like having hundreds of people packed in here at midnight. Being the best hockey team in Kentucky, we love drawing the attention,” Burke said. “It’s a rowdy, exciting time.”
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