kentuckykernel
Monday, November 26, 2018 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971 www.kykernel.com @kykernel @kentuckykernel
LOOKING FOR TAILGATE CULTURE CHANGE, UK SEEKS MORE FEEDBACK PAGE 2
ATHLETICS MORE THAN A HOBBY FOR UK CHEERLEADER UK STUDENT WORKING ON FINAL BOOK IN HER SCIENCE FICTION TRILOGY
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CURRY STEPPED INTO STAR LIBERO POSITION AFTER DUSEK’S GRADUATION JORDAN PRATHER | STAFF
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Monday, November 26, 2018
kernelnews
Looking for tailgate culture change, UK seeks more feedback By Rick Childress news@kykernel.com
This fall football season has brought UK students and administrators perhaps the most eventful tailgate season in recent memory. With the introduction of an all-student, university-controlled tailgate zone where alcohol is limited, university officials signaled that they were looking to continue to combat a college drinking culture that is pervasive both nationally and locally. At the same time, the wilder side of tailgate culture has bitten back with a car-flipping incident that went viral, a fraternity banned and a UK student arrested after a tragic car accident during an early season home football game that led to a 4-year-old boy’s death. Seven tailgates later, has the university’s experiment gained any ground?
Why have an all student tailgate?
The Gameday Zone, a fenced-in tailgating zone specifically for UK students, was introduced this fall to hep UK try to change student tailgate culture and better enforce its alcohol policy. The university-mandated tailgate is a far cry from The Bowl, UK’s historically wild tailgate zone next to the Blue Courts on Cooper Drive, where there were no tailgates allowed this year. For some students, UK’s switch to the Zone was viewed as a war on fun, but, according to Dean of Students Nick Kehrwald, the university’s switch to the zone is largely predicated on a desire to increase general student wellness by combating a college drinking culture. “For the population that I interact with, the students on this campus, alcohol has and remains the number one issue from a substance use perspective,” Kehrwald told the Kernel in November. He added that excessive alcohol consumption can have a measured effect on many aspects of student life, including physical health, academic performance, friendships, physical violence and sexual violence. “Every dean of students in the country will still tell you it’s the number one substance that we think about. That hasn’t changed, but it’s complicated. There’s not one simple solution to it,” he said. Several media organizations and on-campus student leaders had said they hoped that the shocking death of a 4-year-old boy would hopefully kickstart a campus culture change. The means by which that change might have been measured are unclear, but what is clear is that UK’s Gameday Zone has remained relatively unpopular among some student groups. University officials have reiterated that they are trying to learn as much as possible about the first semester of the tailgate zone and are looking at implementing changes relating to student feedback.
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How has the tailgate gone?
Kehrwald said overall attendance in the space has fluctuated throughout the season. One of the most well-attended games was the homecoming game in October against Vanderbilt, a windy, overcast affair that saw more than 400 students visit the space. Student organization participation has been low, he added. Kehrwald said that getting a wide range of opinions from students who have actually gone to the space has been challenging because “the students who use it are typically going to give positive, affirmative responses, right? Because that’s why they’re showing up.” Allison Olmsted, a post-graduate pharmacy student who was at the Gameday Zone in September, said the tailgate scene she saw outside the Johnson Center was radically different than when she was an undergrad. “We were around when the Bowl was a bigger thing and we were both in sororities in undergrad so we kind of got to see that side of everything. Now that we’re older we were wanting something a little more tame I guess,” Olmstead said with a laugh. Angela Wuerger, a pharmacy student who was at the space with Olmstead, said UK “gave us a place to go as a community.” “I want students to have fun, but I want it to be safe,” Wuerger said. “Clearly nobody wants what happened to happen again. It’s kind of a give and take.” UK has tried to take in feedback from those who don’t go, and has looked at trying to implement some of the changes that they’ve suggested. “Music has been a real critical point,” Kehrwald said. This year the space has primarily featured DJs and for next year, they’re looking at the viability of live music acts. But some other suggestions are an absolute no-go. “Obviously some of the feedback we’ve heard is, ‘Don’t restrict the amount of alcohol,’” Kehrwald said. He said that doing so would violate the university’s policies and suggested that might make it easier for underage and irresponsible drinking to find its way into the space. For the first four tailgates, the university allowed students 21 and older to bring a limited amount of alcohol into the space— each person could bring one six pack of beer or equivalent in wine coolers. But midway through the season the university switched to having beer and cider sold through a third-party vendor for $3.50 per drink. Student-brought alcohol was banned. Kehrwald said the switch from a “Bring your own beer” policy to bringing in a local brewery to serve of-age students was mainly a way for the university to simplify the process and alleviate a logistical headache for UK and the organi-
JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF Feng Zhu and Wuxia Yuan play Giant Jenga at the student tailgate at the Johnson Center Field before the game against Mississippi State on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky.
zations who attend and are trying to ensure that its members are abiding by the rules. “The feedback from students said, ‘Hey, if you have a third-party vendor where you could purchase alcohol it means you still allow alcohol into the space but it just eliminates a whole host of policy and procedures…’” Kehrwald said. “It’s real easy, if you’re 21, you show up, a vendor checks your ID and you don’t have to worry about a whole host of other steps.”
But what about off-campus?
In 2016, UK amended its Student Code of Conduct so that the code was enforceable off-campus. That involved working with city government to ensure that UK can stay on top of violations within city limits. Kehrwald said that the code is enforceable worldwide so long as the university knows about it. “Typically we’re going to get things in the Lexington area and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Kehrwald said. “But you might have students who are studying abroad with educational programs connected to the institution and there is, on occasion, the report from a business or establishment where they say, ‘I think I have a group of UK students on spring break and I want to report this back to the university.’” UK evaluates those reports, decides if it wants to take action then handles and disciplines the students involved in the same way that they might have had the event occurred on campus. In October, the Lexington city council announced at a meeting that the city had requested
ARDEN BARNES I STAFF Students play cornhole at UK’s student tailgate at the Johnson Center field on Nov. 18, 2018.
a report on how UK has been able to enforce the code. Third district city councilman Jake Gibbs told the Kernel at the time that the city government wanted an update on how the enforcement had progressed, combined with an update on the university’s alcohol policies. Kehrwald said he anticipates the report will go before the city council in February, and that UK will be “evaluating primarily the fall,” and comparing this past fall to the fall of 2017 and 2016. “We’ll just see if we have more stuff, less stuff, those kinds of trends, year over year,” Kehrwald said.
Monday, November 26, 2018
TUMBLING THROUGH THE NOISE ATHLETICS MORE THAN A HOBBY FOR UK CHEERLEADER Story by Chris Leach | Photos by Jordan Prather He runs a faster 40-yard dash than Saquon Barkley and has a higher max vertical leap than Donovan Mitchell. He can do 20 reps on a 225-pound bench press while Reid Travis can only do 18 reps on a 185-pound bench press. He is one of the top athletes, if not the top athlete, on Kentucky’s campus, yet you never see him compete for the Wildcats on the court or on the field. Instead, he is the one cheering for the Wildcats on the sidelines. As a cheerleader for the Kentucky cheer team, Josh Marsh has seen a lot of talented athletes perform in a Kentucky blue jersey, but his numbers prove that he’s always one of the top athletes wearing blue on the field or hardwood. “I always try to pride myself on my athletic ability, and actually being able to put numbers to it was surreal,” Josh said. Another way Josh gets to show off his insane athletic ability is during the tumbling acts Josh performs on occasion at Kentucky football and basketball home games. Every major football or basketball game features a performance from Josh, where he flips, twirls and tumbles his way through the endzone of Kroger Field or from one side of the court to the other in Rupp Arena. For Josh, acrobatically tumbling in front of the Kentucky crowds is something he does because he enjoys it. It is a fun and creative way to showcase his athleticism. With the way that fans have responded to it, however, Josh’s tumbling skits have turned into a performance, where he feels pressure to deliver for those watching. “I was just doing it for fun; now I kind of feel like it is my duty to make sure that I’m doing something that’s entertaining the crowd,” Josh said.
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Senior Josh Marsh catches his partner while cheering on the football team for the final time this season at Kroger Field on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018.
fall 2018 | 3
Monday, November 26, 2018 Josh makes his tumbling performances look easy, but just like any athletic talent, it took years of hard work for Josh to perfect his craft. Those years were spent in JAM Athletics, a gym that Josh’s mother owns in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Josh’s hometown right outside of Atlanta. Josh’s mom has owned the gym since April 2000. She opened the gym so parents with busy schedules could leave their children in a place where they could grow academically and athletically. As the son of the gym owner, Josh spent many hours in the facility, which is where he first discovered his athletic capabilities. Josh and his older brother, John Marsh, started doing gymnastics when Josh was in middle school so Josh could establish the fundamental athletic skills needed for any type of sport.
After gymnastics, Josh experimented with all kinds of sports, such as football, basketball, baseball, wrestling and even fencing. “Wasn’t my thing, but it was something that my parents wanted us to get into,” Josh said. In high school, Josh’s athletic ability was displayed on many platforms. He won state titles in cheerleading and swim & dive and qualified for the state championships in two separate events in his first season running track & field. Football was Josh’s favorite sport out of all his choices, where he was a running back and defensive back. Josh had offers to play football in college, but after years of experimenting with other sports, he realized the sport that began everything for him was what he enjoyed the most. “It always came back to cheerleading, my parents owned a cheerleading, gymnastics
“It always came back to cheerleading.” - josh marsh Josh’s first experience with tumbling wasn’t as fluid as the performances in Kroger Field and Rupp Arena, as it took some time for Josh to learn those skills. “One of the things that I kind of like grew up on thinking was ‘crash and burn is the way you learn,’” Josh said. “I’ve definitely had my fair shares of a whole lot of crashing and burning and a whole lot of trial and error.” Despite the many accidents, Josh has never suffered an injury worse than a high ankle sprain. He’s never broken a bone doing gymnastics, which is something to suggest that gymnastics and tumbling is something Josh was made to do. However, gymnastics wasn’t Josh’s sole focus in terms of athletics. His parents wanted him to try as many sports as possible, so he had plenty of options to choose from when it came to what he wanted to do with his future. “Everything started from the gymnastics and from there, it kind of just broadened my athletic ability and everything else that I was going to be doing,” Josh said.
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gym back home, so it was always something that was a part of our family and it was something that I could just have fun with,” Josh said. When Josh would participate in the after-school gymnastics programs at JAM Athletics, he would compete with around 100 kids in the program, but the competitor Josh was always chasing was his brother. Josh learned how to tumble alongside his brother, John, in the family gym for years. The two would constantly push each other to new heights and limits, which led to big improvements for both of the brothers. “He was also the person that would– he would do stuff and I had to challenge myself like ‘There’s no way that I can let him be better than me,’” Josh said. Over time, Josh and John developed into very talented athletes, so much so that they’ve both gotten the opportunity to compete for the nation’s best collegiate cheerleading team at Kentucky. There was a span of time when John and Josh were both on Kentucky’s cheer team at the same time. The two would showcase
Josh Marsh catches his partner during a team practice at the Seaton Center on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018.
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Monday, November 26, 2018
Josh Marsh tumbles through the air to wrap up the cheerleading team’s performance during Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018.
sh Marsh prepares to help lift the Wildcat for celebratory pushups at Kroger Field on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2018.
their athletic skills of tumbling for fans at Kentucky sporting events, skills that they had been practicing and improving on years ahead of time. “Tumbling was like fun for us, so it really wasn’t really like a chore, so we would just do it for hours on end, like almost every single day, just trying to challenge ourselves to do all different types of crazy new skills,” Josh said. Since then, John has graduated from Kentucky, leaving Josh behind to entertain the fans who enjoy watching Josh fly through the air. Fans come up to Josh all the time asking if he’s going to tumble for the crowd that day, or what moves they can expect to see Josh perform. One of the toughest skills Josh has mastered, and one that fans crave to see, is when Josh is at the end of the court or endzone, but he switches direction with a flip, continuing his tumble in the opposite direction. “That’s one of the skills that are pretty difficult, you’re not really going to see a lot
of people doing it,” Josh said. “It’s also a skill that I think the crowd really enjoys. It doesn’t come out all the time because it’s not easy and it doesn’t feel too good on the shins and the achilles.” As much as it may hurt, that move stirs up the crowds, which is the energy he feeds off to tumble the way he does. “I like the crowd participation so if the crowd is going really really wild, I’m more than likely going to be doing something that I probably shouldn’t be doing and trying something even crazier, something higher, something that my coach Jomo (Thompson) would probably tell me not to do beforehand,” Josh said. Josh has such a passion for cheerleading that when his time of being a Kentucky cheerleader is done, he wants to find a way to stay involved in the cheerleading community while helping people, another passion for Josh. That’s another way that Josh’s brother has influenced him in his life, as the two co-own a business called The Cheer Experts. With the business, the brothers travel the country to teach kids of all ages the skills necessary for cheerleading and the fun that comes with it. “He showed me that athletics is really, really big, but it’s also more than athletics and there’s a business side, there’s other stuff that you can achieve,” Josh said. Josh has been a co-owner of The Cheer Experts for four years while John has co-owned the company for six years. The brothers typically do most of their business in the summer, when kids’ and Josh’s school schedule lighten up, but the business has become so popular that once Josh is out of school, it’s possible that teaching kids cheerleading could become a full-time job. “During the summer we were very, very busy; it’s getting to the point to where we’re starting to kind of drift into the school year now because it’s starting to get bigger and bigger,” Josh said. The enjoyable part about running the business is that Josh gets to work alongside his brother, years after the two picked up the hobby of tumbling in their mom’s gym in Georgia. The two went on to cheer for Kentucky, and now that they own a business together, Josh is appreciative of all that his brother has taught him. “If it was not for my brother, I don’t think I would be in the situation I would be in right now,” Josh said. “I’d probably be playing a totally different– participating in something totally different if it wasn’t for him. He was the reason why that I challenged myself years back, challenged myself to be the best I could be, trying not to be complacent with the way that I am.”
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Monday, November 26, 2018
kernellifestyle UK student working on final book in her science fiction trilogy By Emily Baehner lifestyle@kykernel.com
For many college students, a 10-page research paper is a terrifying task. But for 18-year-old UK student Lauren Hudson, that’s a lot less daunting than writing a novel. She would know— she’s written two. The freshman double majoring in neuroscience and biology is currently working on her third novel, part of the trilogy that began with her debut novel “The Ascension” and was followed by “The Deception.” Though the first book in the trilogy was published in 2016, Hudson had been thinking about the story for much longer than that. “I technically wrote the first chapter in sixth grade. I wrote the first chapter and that was it, and then I put it down for three years,” she said. “And picked it back up, read the first chapter and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is horrible’ and completely scrapped it and began writing it more seriously when I was 15.” Though “The Ascension” was Hudson’s first novel written on her own, it wasn’t her first experience with being published. She co-authored the non-fiction book “Our Best Tomorrow: Students Teaching Capitalism to America” with her father Robert Hudson when she was 13. Hudson said she loved writing long before her father brought the project to her and jumped at the opportunity. “He came to me and said, ‘I have a book I’m writing, and I want you to write a fiction section to go along with it.’ And I said, ‘I will write anything you want me to write, as long as it means that I get to write and be published,’” Hudson said. Now, Hudson balances her time between classes and homework and has plans to go to medical school with a focus on surgery or oncology. Yet she still finds ways to integrate a little writing time into her daily schedule, even if it’s just 200 words a day. Hudson said that unlike some writers, she doesn’t methodically plan out everything for her books. She has the beginning and the end, but lets the middle happen as it happens. And like many writers, and college students for that matter, she’s not immune to writer’s block. But it’s her love for her characters that keeps her plugged into the process. “I love to fall in love in with my characters. They’re kind of like my friends. When I was writing the first book in the Ascension series, my editor told me to kill off one of my main characters, and I was like ‘I can’t do
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kernelopinions
Spring cleaning: No more canned cranberry sauce at holiday dinners HANNAH WOOSLEY Asst. Opinions Editor
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LAUREN HUDSON ‘The Deception’ is the second novel in UK student Lauren Hudson’s trilogy.
that, I love them,’” she said. “The Ascension” trilogy is a science fiction series that follows the story of three triplets who are members of Asterians, a guardian angel race. A fan of the “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson” series, it is her own love for this genre that led Hudson to write science fiction novels. “I’ve always loved science fiction fantasy because it takes me to a completely different world,” Hudson said. “It’s made me think that there’s something different than this world, and I love how it just sucks me in and makes me forget where I am for a little bit.” Hudson has been awarded for her work on multiple occasions, receiving a Mom’s Choice Gold Award, E-Lit Silver Award and a Great Southeast Book Festival Award. Her work has also appeared at multiple book festivals, and Hudson holds her own book signings. The success just drives her to keep writing, she said. “I had two signings recently and I had someone come up to me and say, ‘I bought your first book at one of your signings, and now I’m here to buy your second,’ and that’s a really amazing feeling,” she said. She said knowing people are “reading and enjoying” her books is what drives her to continue writing and working on the third novel.
According to the Smithsonian, the cranberry sauce “log” first became available across the nation in 1941. Over five million gallons of this slimy, jelly-like log substance is consumed as a condiment for holiday dinners in the U.S. every year, and it’s time for this to end. Why cover the beautifully seasoned dishes your family slaved over the stove for with this heavy, thick mess of a food? This use of cranberries is not worth the holiday hype it’s given. Beyond the mess of getting cranberry sauce out of the can and the disgusting taste, it’s
also filled with calories. After piling the tons and tons of calories from turkey, stuffing and side dishes, do you really want to add more with dreadful canned cranberry sauce? Not to mention it’s one of the only foods that completely retain its shape when un-canned– and that can’t look appealing to anyone. We all argue over the best ways to eat our foods from time to time, like how to cut our sandwiches (diagonally, of course) or what toppings to put on pizza (always say no to pineapple), but when it comes to canned cranberry sauce there’s only one answer– absolutely not. Instead, choose cranberries in their original form. Native Americans were the first to cultivate cranberries in Ameri-
ca, and they weren’t sold commercially or marketed until the 1700s. Though no one knows exactly what was served on the first Thanksgiving, we can speculate that cranberries were involved in some way– straight off the vine or even baked into a cake, perhaps. Cranberries in this form are not only tastier but are also filled with far fewer calories than the canned option and contain plenty of antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C. So, rather than heading straight to the cans this holiday season, pick up some fresh, natural cranberries to add a splash of fruit to the side of these calorie-packed feasts, and pay a little homage to the wonderful treat Native Americans gave to us so many centuries ago.
Home remedies for the holidays MATT HASTY Columnist
College students get sick regularly, whether it is stress-related or the seasons changing. No busy college student wants to schedule a doctor’s appointment, because going to the doctor costs money if you don’t have insurance. For the college student who doesn’t feel like going to the doctor, I am going to present some home remedies that can cure basic illnesses. Home remedies are a reminiscent way to welcome cold weather and the inevitable sniffles. The first home remedy is to alleviate sore throats, and the fast-approaching winter marks a good time to talk about it. Simply add table salt to warm water and gargle the salt water. Doctors advise that you add one teaspoon of salt
per eight ounces of water. Don’t swallow it— because it’s nasty and bad for you. Just spit it out. The second home remedy is for burns. Apply aloe when you burn yourself, and the pain from the burn should immediately go away. And who doesn’t love a robust little aloe plant in your dorm? The aesthetic and vibe is quite nice. The third home remedy kills two birds with one stone: weight loss and earaches. For weight loss, drink apple cider vinegar to help you lose weight. You can dilute it with water to help it go down better. Alternatively, you can also use apple cider vinegar for earaches. Dip a Q-tip into apple cider vinegar then rub the soaked swab in your ear. If your ear feels like it is burning, it is working. Another way you can do this is to use a syringe and put the apple cider vinegar in your ear, closing it off with a cotton ball.
The fourth home remedy is for getting whiter teeth. Combine water and baking soda into a dish and mix it together until it becomes a paste. Dip your toothpaste into the paste, then brush your teeth with it. My mom personally uses this and her teeth are whiter than mine. My final home remedy is for hiccups. Hold your nose and swallow. This should get rid of your hiccups and can be subtly done in a busy classroom. Another method of alleviating hiccups is to drink some water. These are remedies that may be new to our generation (or maybe we grew up with them), but deserve some attention from us as college students. While they’re certainly good home remedies, never let these substitute a needed trip to your doctor. But meanwhile, enjoy the bad-tasting coziness of self-treating with home remedies.
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Monday, November 26, 2018
kernelsports
Curry stepped into star libero position after Dusek’s graduation By Chase Campbell sports@kykernel.com
Strong libero play has been a staple of UK volleyball for, at the very least, the last four seasons. Ashley Dusek, regarded by many as the greatest libero to wear blue and white, is described by head coach Craig Skinner as one of the smartest volleyball players he’s ever been around, much less coached. Naturally, upon the threetime SEC Libero of the Year’s graduation, concerns surfaced about UK’s floor defense: How effective would they be at stopping outright kills? Could sophomore Gabby Curry take that mantle as the next Dusek? While that’s one of the biggest 5-foot-7 shadows that Curry has had to step out from, she’s rounded into form as the next phase of UK’s defensive machine. Dusek, now a volunteer assistant in her home state with the Texas A&M Aggies, said that Curry has “taken more of a leadership role.” “The libero position for
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have to get their junk and play around them. So, if they block well, I can dig well.” Curry emphasizes the play up front, but her stats are eerily similar to, and in some cases better than, Dusek’s. This season, Curry is averaging 4.41 digs per set. Dusek averaged 4.35 her senior season. Dusek posted a negative hitting percentage her senior year, and Curry is attacking at a 21.4 percent clip. Granted, both were on very limited attacks as defensive players, but Curry is more involved in the offense than ever. Even the two players’ mannerisms line up sometimes. “Before [receiving serves], I’d always wiggle JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF my fingers to tell the server Kentucky sophomore Gabby Curry is greeted by teammates on the bench during the game to come on,” Dusek said. against Mississippi State on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky. “I’ve noticed that she does that now, so that’s pretty Kentucky is huge, obvious- even though she was com- easy,” Curry said. “The more cool to see.” ly, when I was going to libe- ing from as good a year as and more I go on with this The road wasn’t clear ro, it’s big shoes to fill,” she a freshman can have playing season, the block is the one cut for Curry to take over said. under Dusek. that I need to give credit to. Dusek’s spot, however. She Last year, it was really easy committed six errors, three The new star libero, howCurry has stepped into the defensive spotlight for the ever, doesn’t feel like the because Ashley [Dusek] had receiving and three serving, Cats and hasn’t looked back. pressure was on to make most of the court and I just in the team’s second game She’s tripled her assists per things happen like her leg- got the junk… but now, I against USC. That was their feel like the block has most second of three straight lossset from last year and near- endary predecessor. ly doubled her digs per set, “I think it’s been pretty of the court so I honestly just es, and the Cats lost four of
their first seven matches. The last loss, a four-set defeat to Texas, was the last time UK has lost. Plenty of this can be attributed to Curry. She’s committed two or fewer errors in 16 of the last 19 matches for the Cats, all victories. She’s taken the helm of the defense, and the passing of the torch is complete at a school that’s quickly becoming a hot spot for talented liberos. “You see [Curry’s] dig numbers, but her serve receive numbers are as good as any passer that we’ve had in the program,” Skinner said. “She’s playing as well as any libero in the country.” The passing of the torch may be complete, and Dusek holds her permanent spot in UK volleyball history, but the Cats are now an SEC opponent for her. “We only played [UK] once, so I’ve got free reign now to talk to [the UK players] when I can,” Dusek said. “I love them all and I miss them all.” The Cats have felt the absence of one of their best, but excellent young talent has made missing Dusek a little easier.