The Miami Hurricane: Sept. 29, 2021

Vol. 99, Issue 2 | September 29, 2021 - October 6, 2021

Surfside tragedy: three months later NEWS // Page 1

A day in the life of a UM theater Student A&E // Page 9

Is Manny Diaz on the hot seat?

SPORTS // Page 13

VICTORY ON FAMILY WEEKEND:

Canes’ big win distracts from ongoing struggles SPORTS // Page 8 Freshman quarterback Jake Garcia runs the ball down the field in Miami’s win 69-0 win over Central Connecticut State University at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 25, 2021.

Josh Halper // Photo Editor

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NEWS

LOCAL NEWS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct 6, 2021

News

Three months later in Surfside: Some mourning, some moving on

Liam McNeer // Contributing photographer

A family huddles close at the Surfside Tennis Center on Saturday, June 26, two days after the building collapsed.

BY EMMALYSE BROWNSTEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER COMMUNITYWIRE.MIAMI

Dog walkers talking on their cellphones. Families toting large coolers toward the beach. Shirtless runners jogging down the sidewalk. And traffic inching along — several weeks since a sudden tower collapse transformed an oceanside paradise into purgatory.

Collins Avenue is filled with all the sights you might expect to see on a sunny weekend in a residential area of northern Miami Beach. But each time a new line of cars comes to a red light on 88th Street, there is a tangible pause. The heads inside turn East, almost collectively. They look at the fenced-off, gaping hole in the ground for a moment, then gaze straight ahead. The light turns green, and the cars keep moving.

That intersection is directly in front of what used to be Champlain Towers South. Twelve stories of oceanview condos is now a haunting plot of exposed rebar and crumbled concrete.

Three months after the building collapse that killed 98 people and captured the world’s attention, the people of Surfside are trying to move on.

It’s not easy.

“Even though I didn’t lose anyone close, to pass by the building every day takes a toll,” said Pablo De Castro, who bikes past the collapse site to and from work at 7-Six, a vacation supply store on Collins Avenue and 71st Street.

The morning of the June 24 collapse, De Castro, 22, rode his bike past the half-gone condominium.

“I think what was most chilling was when I saw the open apartment, layer after layer,” De Castro said. “People’s whole lives just laying out. A bed that had three of its footings on the floor and then the other one on the edge about to fall off. People’s linens battering in the wind.”

De Castro, a Surfside resident for 12 years, said the collapse “was all we ever talked about” for the two or three weeks after it happened. But the rush

of attention from media and emergency personnel has died down.

“You know, I think it goes as most things in this country do, where we kind of really feel it for a few days, but then we move on to the next tragedy,” De Castro said. “Now that there’s not that much happening at the site and we don’t see those vehicles passing by all the time, it’s kind of faded to, maybe, the back of our memories.”

Except, De Castro said, when he passes by the collapse site.

For Abe Sreter and other business owners in Surfside, the collapse exacerbated the effects of COVID-19.

Sreter, 72, said foot traffic at his restaurant has decreased since the collapse. But it was slow before that, too.

“It has settled down. The streets are open, hotels are open. But it has affected business overall,” said Sreter, owner of The Carrot on Harding Avenue. “All the sudden, after we’re starting to actually get it together, the collapse. And now, the new variant. So overall, it’s very simple to say: 2020 and 2021 have been a challenge.

Almost everyone has been affected.

There’s no way to escape.”

Sreter has several connections to the collapse. He said his mother had formerly lived in Champlain Towers South and his mother-in-law in Champlain Towers North. Sreter’s lawyer (and a former Surfside vice mayor) Barry Cohen, was rescued from his condo by firefighters. A fellow member of his synagogue, Brad Cohen, died in the collapse.

“My life personally has not changed. But there’s been...it’s very hard to express,” Sreter said.

Next door at The Rolling Pin Bakery, employee Betsaida Algaba, 30, said Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur usually draw in more customers to the kosher and pareve bakery.

“When the streets were closed, it was very, very empty,” she said. “And usually at this time there are more or-

ders for the holidays than we have today.”

Algaba said when she and other employees at the bakery heard about the collapse, they recognized regular customers - a mother and daughter - in the victim photos on the news.

Marsha Graham, a hairdresser at Lahh Hair Salon on Harding Avenue, said that for a week or so after the collapse, her chairs were virtually empty. Business has picked up since, but now there’s one less customer on her appointment books. That client, Mercedes Urgelles, often came in for a haircut, coloring and blowdry at the salon.

“There’s been a heavy shift in morale in the community because it’s so tight-knit,” Graham, 42, said. “Since it happened, people feel closer to each other.”

Nicolas Giordano, 38, is an eighthgrade algebra teacher at Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center, which draws about 40% of its students from Surfside.

On the first day back to school — about one month after the collapse — Giordano said the school held a moment of silence for the collapse victims. And later that week, “sort of a pep rally.” Some players from the Miami Heat came with giveaways for the students. Giordano said it wasn’t explicitly about the collapse, “but everybody kind of knew.”

But after that, Giordano said, he hasn’t heard students talking about the tragedy in the hallways or at lunchtime. And in his math class, the topic doesn’t get brought up during lectures.

Giordano said he thinks that’s for the best.

“Once you start school, you kind of want to get into the mind frame of normalizing the day-to-day routine,’ he said. “And it kind of throws things off if we’re still going back to that.”

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept 29, 2021- Oct 6, 2021

NEWS

3

COMMUNITY

‘Pancakes, a duffel bag and a dream’: Tulane student business stops at UM on Hurricane Ida relief tour

Jonah Bornstein // Contributing Photographer

Leiman and Bornstein in SexyCakes attire in January 2020. The Tulane students spent the last few weeks on a relief tour.

BY ISABELLA CASCIO ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF

Pancakes, a duffel bag and a dream — that is all Tulane University juniors Alex Leiman and Jonah Bornstein had with them when they were abruptly evacuated from their campus in August in advance of Hurricane Ida. A month later, the pair has visited universities across the east coast, selling pancakes at schools like the University of Miami to raise money for Hurricane Ida impact relief with their small business, SexyCakes.

Sporting black t-shirts proudly displaying a tall stack of pancakes and a list of relief tour locations, the partners typically set up at fraternity or sorority events with a tent and a griddle.

They are operating out of just one duffel bag as they make their way up and down the coast.

Until Hurricane Ida hit, SexyCakes was confined to Tulane, where it operates as a student-run food delivery service for late night snacks and meals.

It was started in 2019 by Leiman and Bornstein after they met at freshman orientation.

“Alex was like, ‘yo, want to sell some pancakes?,’” Bornstein said. “And I was like, ‘sure.’”

Operating out of their dorm’s kitchen, the company began selling and delivering exclusively breakfast food. Since then, SexyCakes has evolved to include more options, including burgers, chicken nuggets and household items.

At the start of the fall 2021 semester, SexyCakes was running smoothly and set up for a successful third year of operations, when, on opening night, Hurricane Ida hit.

Leman, Bornstein and all Tulane students were evacuated the next morning. They were allowed only two bags of personal belongings each.

“When we originally left school, we thought it was just for a weekend, so we only packed for a weekend, only mentally prepared for a weekend,” Bornstein said. “And now, it’s been a month.”

Unwilling to leave their business behind for so long, Leiman and Bornstein decided to do their best to take it with them. They knew the business

would have to evolve, but the partners were determined to use the time off from school to make an impact on the community.

“We had to ask ourselves: What can we do in this time?” Leiman said.

“And we said okay, let’s do pop up shops at different colleges. Let’s go on tour.”

It was a whirlwind turnaround for SexyCakes as they scrambled to make shirts and get organized after evacuating. Just five days later, the pair were selling pancakes at a UM fraternity event.

After UM, they went north to Emory University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland, among others. In just three weeks, they have raised over $1,000 in relief funds. But even before the hurricane, SexyCakes was no stranger to charity.

“One of the core goals of the company is to support the community at Tulane,” Leiman said. “The charity stuff has always been a really big deal.”

In New Orleans, the business has weekly events where they donate 15% of

their profits to local charities and fundraisers. The tour is just an extension of the work they were already doing — and they have big plans for how to use the money when they return home.

“We’re not necessarily trying to donate it all to a fundraiser,” Bornstein said. “We want to do some sort of food related, boots on the ground thing with our staff at school.”

They also plan to make a video detailing where all the money will go once they are back at school.

Although the tour was originally planned to run through the beginning of October, it is being cut short as Tulane reopens to students tomorrow, Sept. 24, much earlier than initially expected. The University of Massachusetts was planned as the final destination before the SexyCakes duo packs up their duffel bag to head home at last.

“The upside is we get to go back, and the reason we’re going back is because New Orleans is doing better,” Leiman said.

Jonah Bornstein // Contributing Photographer

Leiman and Bornstein set up shop selling panckaes at a UM Beta Theta Pi gameday event on Sept. 4, 2021.

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NEWS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept 29, 2021- Oct 6, 2021

CAMPUS LIFE

The Rathskeller now serving alcohol for the first time during the pandemic

Jared Lennon // Senior Staff photographer

Students relax in gliders on the Rathskeller patio on Sept. 24, 2021, two days after the Rat restarted selling alcohol.

BY ALEX TERR STAFF WRITER

A little bit of rain could not stop the herds of students and faculty from flocking to the Rathskeller for pitchers of beer last Wednesday, Sept. 22, the first time alcohol has been served since March 2020.

“I’m so excited that it’s back,” senior Andrew Athanas said. “I think campus is coming back to normal.”

The Northbridge, Massachusetts finance major returned back to The Rat for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Before today, the Rat was only open for food with both indoor and outdoor dining.

“This is the most crowded I have seen the Rat since I started working here this year,” said Guilia Rath, a first year master’s student focusing on trumpet performance, who was keeping a

check on the number of people out on the patio. “It’s definitely very different.”

There was much confusion about when the Rat would serve alcohol this year, with many 21+ students constantly asking administrators and student leaders when it would be back. It was not until today that it was revealed to students.

“They did not tell me until today that they were serving alcohol until I walked into work today,” said Rath, who is from Vienna, Austria. “I have been out of work for a little bit but was still surprised.”

The immediate decision to serve alcohol led to many issues, including congested areas and lines being closed due to the crowds.

“I had to move into three different lines inside and outside and still have had to wait for 25 minutes,” said Austin Soares, a senior aerospace engineering major from Hampton, NJ. “They should have been more prepared for a day like today.”

The next day the Rat stopped selling alcohol around 5 p.m. after students were seen handing non-ID’d students alcohol over the fence that contains the outdoor seating section. A group of students were also seen racing around Lake Osceola.

A statement provided by UM Communications on behalf of the Rathskel-

ler said: “The Rathskeller began selling beer and wine during normal operating hours on the outdoor patio on Wednesday. We are always carefully monitoring alcohol consumption and the related behavior of our customers. For safety reasons, we will and do stop the sale of alcohol. While we do not anticipate ending alcohol sales at this time, Rathskeller management has the right to refuse or discontinue alcohol service at any time.”

Even with the lack of preparation, the Rat still provided a sense of normalcy for those who came this afternoon.

Those in attendance were happy to be back.

“Coming to the Rat is essential as a senior, I definitely will be coming back multiple times this semester,” Athanas said.

Senior Nursing major Edelind Peguero and junior exercise physiology and sports medicine major Yael Sadle showed excitement about the Rat selling alcohol.

Peguero yelled “As they should!” when she heard the news. “After reopening to one hundred percent capacity they should be selling alcohol,” she said.

Rachelle Barrett contributed to the reporting of this story.

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept 29, 2021- Oct 6, 2021

NEWS

5

CAMPUS LIFE

UM welcomes families to campus for Family Weekend, first since start of COVID-19

UM students and family members throw up the U during Miami’s game versus Central Connecticut State at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 25, 2021.

Jared Lennon // Senior Staff photographer

BY PARKER GIMBEL & RAHUL KUMAR EDITORIAL STAFF

The University of Miami welcomed parents, siblings and more to campus from Sept. 23-26 for this year’s Family Weekend, the first since the start of COVID-19. For many freshmen and sophomores, the reunion served as the first opportunity to share their college experiences with the people they love most.

“Especially after a pandemic, events like these really mean a lot to students and their families who don’t get to experience campus all that much,” said David Fernandez, a freshmen at UM majoring in finance.

“What’s better than having barbecue, tailgating and listening to great music on a friday night?”

Students like Fernandez joined their families at activities ranging from the Thursday vendor fair on campus to the Saturday football game against Central Connecticut University, where excited students and parents watched the team put its recent struggles behind it in a 69-0 blowout.

“I’m glad we won the game so it wasn’t embarrassing for my parents to be there,” said Samantha Fagan, a senior majoring in anthropology and political science.

While the four-day festivities officially began Thursday, families kicked off the party at the Foote Green on Friday with a pep rally and barbecue attended by speakers including President Julio Frenk, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Whitely and longtime UM basketball head coach Jim Larrañaga, among others. Speakers boasted of the university’s low COVID-19 infection rates and assured parents that there is little risk for in-class transmission.

“I am proud to report we had zero members of our team getting tested positive for [COVID-19]. Yes, you can clap for that,” Larrañaga said to loud applause from the crowd of visiting families. Attendees were required to wear masks unless seated at a table and eating or drinking.

“The reason for that is President Frenk and his people — his administration — set up the policies and put them in place to protect our student athletes and to protect our students throughout the year so we can have another great academic year, so you can give him a lot of credit,” Larrañaga said.

Many students and families spent the rest of their evenings exploring campus and catching up, with the campus bustling well into the night.

Students from across the world embraced the weekend as a celebration of the accomplishments made possible by their families support, with many parents taking multiple-hour flights, some of which were the first since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s one thing to call him up and ask him how he’s doing from my house,” said Allan Bergfeld, the father of Nate Bergfeld, sophomore health science major in acapella group who performed at the Friday night UM

Hillel Sukkot Shabbat Dinner following the campus pep rally. “It’s another to spend a weekend with him with family, friends, food and music and to watch him perform at Hillel.”

Allan Bergfeld said he appreciated Family Weekend as an opportunity for his son to forget about class — if only for a weekend — and enjoy being with the people he loves.

“I think things like Family Weekend are important so we can see how things are going while taking a weekend off to relax before he goes back to the books,” Allan Bergfeld said.

Nate Bergfeld, however, said his father is the person more deserving of some time to unwind.

“Hillel not only allowed us to showcase our music, but we got the chance to give parents a relaxing evening and wind down amid all the tests and stress from school and their work life,” Nate Bergfeld said.

Friday’s barbecue and Shabbat dinners led into Saturdays all-day festivities, which started with morning fitness center classes before a pregame event leading into UM’s matchup with Central Connecticut, where families were invited to participate in giveaways and activities like cornhole.

“Small things like these are why I chose the U. It’s a great place and the university shows you they care about you,” said Natalia Martinez, a freshman business analytics major from Panama. “They go the extra mile and that means a lot.”

The weekend concluded with Sunday’s women’s soccer game against Pittsburgh and a beach cleanup hosted by UM Student Government’s Environment and Conservation Organization at Crandon Park. In the end, students like freshman accounting major David Rubin celebrated a successful weekend with their families after nearly two years of learning, and loving, from a distance.

“Amid all the work and stress of freshman year, especially after a pandemic, it was nice to wind down and relax and see my family in person again,” Rubin said.

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OPINION

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

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EDITORIAL

Sept 29, 2021- Oct 6, 2021

Opinion

The U.S. should welcome displaced Haitians insead of attacking them The horrors that 14,000 Haitians are facing in Del Rio, Texas are not new phenomenons. Photos of Texas rangers on horseback using their reins to whip wet, Haitian men, women and children as they traverse the Rio Grande clutching the little food they have are gut-wrenching but familiar, reminiscent of the countless paintings, newspaper graphics, postcards and photos recounted and collected throughout the history of a country defined by slavery and civil rights abuses.

Images of Texas border agents surrounding Black immigrants seem fit for Civil War reenactments of the racial abuse and violence suffered by people searching for freedom. One Mexican border ranger was seen kicking a Haitian man surrounded by armed officers.

Videos showing Haitians fleeing from border agents on horseback, berating them and screaming obscenities, have gone viral for the cruelty of the officer’s tactics. And all of this is happening, yet again, in our own backyard.

One officer was recorded shouting toward refugees, “Let’s go! Get out now; back to Mexico,” with another officer yelling at a Haitian man, “This is why your country’s shit, because you use your women for this,” while staring down from horseback. This is the cruelty that happens to the people that look to the U.S. for safety after fleeing a country where they have been denied the resources needed to survive.

As refugees, the thousands of Haitians in Del Rio, Texas are entitled to certain protections under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. When Haiti was granted an 18-month extension of protective asylum in the U.S. on May 22, Haitians who had been present in the U.S. since Aug. 3 and had resided in the U.S. since July 29 were given the chance to escape deportation

government officials to bar entry for those that they feel do not meet the very specific criteria for asylum. Despite the recent assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in July, rampant gang violence and continual kidnappings in their home country, Haitian claims of political or social persecution have been met with forced removal.

More than 40 of the almost 1,500 Haitians deported on Sep. 22 were

“The battery, sexual violence and human rights abuses that not only Haitian, but Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern refugees, among others, suffer in search of safety will never be justified.” to a country in turmoil. Those who did not meet the criteria, however, have suffered innumerable abuses just for being two months too late.

Refuges who seek asylum as non-TPS holders must prove that they have been persecuted for their race, religion, political opinion or membership of a certain social group.

However, Haitians claiming they are eligible for refugee status have been dismissed as economic refugees and are therefore less deserving of asylum according to U.S. law. This technicality enabled

chldren without Haitian passports. Children born during their parents’ search for asylum in countries such as Brazil, Chile and Venezuela are being forcibly exiled to a country in turmoil — a country that they are not familiar with and may be unable to leave until they have earned citizenship years in the future.

When comparing the Haitian repatriation effort to the U.S. treatment of the more than 23,000 Afghan refugees granted entry as “at risk” refugees in 2021, the classification of political

asylum vs. economic asylum is blurred. Rather than determining whether immigrants are in danger or if asylum may be the difference between life and death for those seeking temporary protection from the U.S., government officials instead use rigid classifications to determine who can live or die.

But Haitians facing poverty, homelessness and violence are judged differently than migrants claiming political persecution, despite the fact that Haitians have been politically, economically and socially persecuted for over a decade.

The battery, sexual violence and human rights abuses that not only Haitian, but Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern refugees, among others, suffer in search of safety will never be justified. This country abuses minorities for sport and apologizes for it later.

The act of deporting and physically abusing refugees is, if not unlawful, inhumane, regardless of the nature of their persecution. Pending investigations and paid leave will never solve America’s problem with racism.

On the contrary, the abuse of Haitian refugees serves as more proof that the country does not wish to change.

Haitians are expendable in the eyes of those that could save them and their suffering does not fit the criteria for those who deserve protection.

Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board,

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

OPINION

7

OP-ED

Op-ed: There is no planet B, unless ‘B’ stands for billionaire

BY PARI WALTER STAFF COLUMNIST

If we begin to perpetuate the idea that our planet is disposable, people will treat it as such. Billions of dollars have been poured into the space exploration economy recently, as many of the world’s most wealthy begin to stake their claim on this relatively new market. This made headlines around the world in the past few weeks as the first ever flight of exclusively amateur

astronauts to enter earth’s orbit was completed aboard a SpaceX aircraft.

SpaceX is an aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk, an American centibillionaire and Chief Executive Officer of Tesla, Inc. According to SpaceX, their mission is to make humanity “multiplanetary,” aiming to bring people to Mars and other planets that they may be able to colonize.

But, this is more of an excuse to make humanity transplanetary and a test of modern technology than a true humanitarian movement. Instead of using the available resources to save our own planet, companies like SpaceX are treating planets as though they can be replaced with another once they are no longer of use.

While the 2008 Disney film WallE may seem like a purely fictional children’s story, it serves as a cautionary tale, warning us of the exact path we are headed down. Earth is deteriorating and whether people can agree on why or how or when, we have the resources, the technology and the minds to stave off its destruction. Instead, the people with such resources focus

on distracting people with the idea of getting off of the planet because it sells better.

SpaceX’s launch of the amateurled Crew Dragon capsule of four was estimated by Time Magazine to cost around $200 million. The common man is not getting off of the planet before they feel the effects of climate change. If anything, the top 1%, likely those contributing most to fossil fuel burning and therefore to climate change, will be the sole beneficiaries.

While companies like SpaceX advertise space tourism and commercial flights to sound as easy as booking a flight on United, their market is not the general public.

The commercial opening of space is planned to continue with “The Challenge,” a Russian movie set to be shot in space and with a Discovery Channel reality TV show in the works titled “Who Wants to Be an Astronaut?”

People keep pushing for further and further progress, but how can we expand when our home is dying? We have enough to fix without venturing off of the planet.

The United Nations reports that nearly 690 million people today live with food insecurity. Recent research projects that Earth could cross the global warming threshold as soon as 2027 — and what then? The wealthiest people on Earth escape, leaving the rest to deal with the aftermath? The socioeconomic divide would reach a new level — a transplanetary level. Leaving this planet is a luxury that most of us will likely never have, so we must protect what we can while we can.

We have formed a narcissistic view of what the planet’s purpose is.

Earth was not made for humans. Humans were made to be a singular species in a complex system. Even if space travel becomes sophisticated enough to make humanity “multiplanetary,’’— what then? The human race hops from planet to planet, leaving a trail of ruin?

What gives us the right to treat planets as if they are ours for the taking?

SpaceX says that space travel is “about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past.” I have to wonder if this quote applies to Earth and all of the species on it or just to humans. We are not

8

SPORTS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

FOOTBALL

From decade of dominance to unranked: Why is UM

BY ISABELLA DIDIO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On second-and-goal 11 minutes into the first half, University of Miami quarterback Malik Rosier lofted it up to the back right corner of the end zone, where wide receiver Braxton Barrios hauled it in for the first touchdown of the game.

The packed crowd at Hard Rock Stadium erupted with deafening power.

Less than a minute later, Jaquan Johnson caught a tipped pass for UM’s first interception of the night.

What was supposed to be a top 10 showdown of the 2017 season between No. 7 Miami and No. 3 Notre Dame ended up a 41-8 thrashing by the Hurricanes.

“That stadium, Hard Rock, was almost as loud as the Orange Bowl, and it was really close to as loud as the 1989 national championship game,” said Susana Alvarez, a senior lecturer in the Miami Herbert Business

School. “It was crazy. The energy was there and of course that’s going to power up our players. They are unstoppable if you have a full stadium, right?”

For many Canes football fans, the blowout win was the last time they witnessed a sold out crowd at Hard Rock Stadium.

Since the 2017 season, when UM finished with a 10-3 record and went on to lose to Clemson 38-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, Miami has gone 7-6 in 2018, 6-7 in 2019 and 8-3 in 2020.

The Canes’ best record under Manny Diaz was 2019’s 8-3 season, which some fans considered a strong performance. But longtime Miami fans have reached the top of the mountain. They know what that rare air feels like. And they won’t be satisfied with anything less.

1983 to 1993 was UM’s “decade of dominance,” said Harry Rothwell, owner of allCanes, a University of Miami fan shop lo-

cated on Ponce de Leon next to the Coral Gables campus. In those years, Miami won four national championships, lost two and were in the mix for two others.

“Not even Alabama today can say they are that good,” Rothwell said.

Miami won its fifth national championship in 2001 under head coach Larry Coker.

“I’ve witnessed all the national championships from ‘83 on, and I tell people all the time, I’ve seen the best of the best and if I never saw them win again, I couldn’t hold it against them, because there’s not many programs that have won a national title, not to mention five,” Rothwell said.

But Miami’s years of football dominance are now a thing of the past, and fans have responded to the program’s failures with nothing short of animosity.

“What other fans hire an airplane to circle around the stadium saying fire the coach?” said Susan Mullane, a professor in the School of Education in the department

of exercise and sport s at UM since the 1970s.

The problem with Hurricanes were for a that anything short o tional title now feels li But things have ch days.

For starters, Hard cry from the Orange B stadium of the Miami H Little Havana.

“That was our stad stadium, we lost the s out to football games, came a chore to go all Gardens.”

For UM students gratification, and livin where entertainment traveling 45 minutes t a guarantee Miami w chore.

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

SPORTS

9

M football incapable of recreating previous success?

sciences. who has been s. h being as good as the as long as they were is of competing for a naike a failure. hanged since the glory

d Rock Stadium is a far Bowl, the former home Hurricanes, located in

dium and in losing that students wanting to go ,” Alvarez said. “It bel the way up to Miami

s looking for instant ng in a city like Miami options are endless, to Hard Rock without will win has become a

Problems with recruiting have accelerated Miami’s fall, with universities now recognizing the immense wealth of high school football talent in South Florida. When Howard Schellenberger came to UM as head coach in 1979, he upped the program’s recruiting efforts in South Florida by declaring Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm-Beach counties the “State of Miami.” Jimmy Johnson, head coach from 1984-1988, made a point to continue what Schellenberger started.

But competition has stiffened, as every Division I program now recruits players from South Florida.

“If you are a guy coming from Palmetto, South Dade, Northwestern or Central and Nick Saban flies a helicopter to your field and asks you to play football for him, I mean that’s pretty impressive,” Rothwell said.

The fact is that many other college football programs have become more attractive to potential recruits, with better fan bases,

better facilities and more money to work with, not to mention recent success.

“I laugh when people say President Shalala didn’t care about football,” Rothwell said. “They do care about it, but they also care about their business school, their medical school, and the law school. All of them have budgets and expectations.”

As a private school with 11,000 undergraduate students, Miami’s financial situation is different from most of the larger, public institutions that are consistently at the top of the college football rankings.

“I think if we could let loose the purse strings and everybody could do what they want, we probably could be back there,” Mullane said. “But we’re trying to look at Alabama, do you know anything about Alabama’s academic reputation, that people don’t go there for that.”

Analysts have said that problems with the program’s fan base, facilities and financial situation stem from a disconnect be-

Julia Sanbe// Design Editor

tween administration, the athletic department and the coaches and players.

“You have an athletic department that clearly is not really showing that this is something that they are willing to try to make changes,” said ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit on College GameDay Saturday morning.

“You look at the powerhouse programs, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State — president, AD, head coach — same vision. They are aligned in their vision for what needs to happen. recruiting, budget staff, that’s what it takes.

Miami doesn’t have that.”

Since 2006, Miami has averaged a 7-5 record and has had five different head coaches, with the constant turnover contributing to a decade of mediocrity.

“It has to be a perfect picture,” Alvarez said. “All those things have to fall into place and full commitment from the fans, from the players, from the coaching staff, from the administration. And then it clicks. And then it just becomes a machine.”

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A&E

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept 29, 2021- Oct 6, 2021

Arts & Entertainment CAMPUS LIFE

Busy and misunderstood: A day in the life of theater students seem unorthodox to students in other majors.

“Starting as freshman, we have music theory, then voice and speech learning about different accents and dialects, movement classes, lectures about the anatomy of vocal cords, acting, singing for the stage and dancing,” Ragolia said. “As seniors, we have classes about auditioning in the real world, branding ourselves, marketing and how to film ourselves to send out to professionals and put together a showcase.”

UM’s musical theater professors bring talent to the classroom, Ragolia said, as many have backgrounds in Broadway productions and years of performing experience.

“Our professors are theater people, which is a very specific brand of human,” Hochkammer said. “I’ve had some of my professors every semester since I was a freshman, so you establish close, professional relationships that you don’t get in other departments.”

Having the same classmates and Contributed photos professors for four years provides a sense of community for BFA students, Ragolia said.

Luciana Ragolia, left, and Jenna Hochkammer, right, are senior musical theater majors at the University of Miami.

“It’s a high-school feel, because it’s not as young age, winning major performance many people,” Ragolia said. “We’ve known

BY JARROD HOUSEKNECHT competitions. each other since before we got here, but A&E EDITOR “I won a competition in high school called having an immediate family is one of the Few college majors are more misunderstood than musical theater students. ‘Access Broadway,’” Hochkammer said. “I was reasons why I’m still at this school. I know More than just acting, the University of Miss Access Broadway. That was my moment if I was stranded on the side of the road that Miami (UM) Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) where I thought, wow, I could do this.” at least one person, if not all twenty of them, Both stressed how different their college would save me.” musical theater program captures a high level of student talent, one that many students admissions processes were compared to Hochkammer echoed Ragolia’s thoughts. in other sections of the university may not typical students.

“We’re all so supportive,” Hochkammer “It takes extra steps of showing them said. “It’s not easy to stand in front of your understand.

Luciana Ragolia and Jenna Hochkammer, our talent,” Ragolia said. “I got into [UM], classmates, performing a piece on an eating senior BFA students from Setauket, New York but then I had to wait to see if I got into the disorder, bearing your soul. People discount and Birmingham, Michigan, discussed the program itself.” that all the time. Think about how much Hochkammer provided an alternative anxiety public speaking gives other people. high-energy task of being a musical theater backstory, explaining she did not originally That’s my everyday life.” major with The Miami Hurricane.

Ragolia, a self-proclaimed “In the plan to apply here.

A common misconception that both “I did not apply here until after I students stressed is the difficulty of balancing Heights” fanatic, developed her love for auditioned,” Hochkammer said. “I did a walk- their work and personal lives with their theater early on.

“In sixth grade, I was a gymnast but in audition, where you don’t schedule ahead majors. broke my ankle, so I auditioned for the school of time. Miami happened to be hosting one “During rehearsals, I don’t really have musical ‘Cinderella’ and got the lead,” Ragolia with a bunch of other schools where students much of a personal life,” Hochkammer said. walk in over the course of days, so I went.” said. “It just stuck with me from there.”

“We typically have class everyday from about Ragolia discussed the types of classes the 9 [a.m.] to 5 [p.m.] or even 6 [p.m.], at night, Hochkammer, a fan of Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, found success at a major covers in-depth, some of which may but at 7 [p.m.] you’re expected at rehearsal.

Rehearsals go until 11 [p.m.]. It’s just crazy busy and hectic, because the same professors teaching classes go and spend all night with you at rehearsals.”

Ragolia said that majoring in musical theater is not for the weak of heart, given the hectic schedule.

“This major is something you should only go into if you are super passionate,” Ragolia said. “If it’s not running through your veins, you won’t be able to keep up.”

Ragolia went on to address the stigma of being a theater student and how students outside the program may view them.

“They think we’re weird,” Ragolia said.

“They think we sit in circles and yell at each other, following by singing and dancing, but we have work to do. We still have to get a grade in every class, so on top of the performance aspect, I have to write essays to fulfill that.”

Hockhammer emphasized how difficult theater studies is compared to its perception.

“People think we do nothing, which is crazy,” Hockhammer said. “I’m still expected to write a thesis paper and do coursework for other academic classes outside the major.

We do the bulk of our work in class, but that means I can’t zone out. I have to be actively participating.”

Both young actresses made it clear performing is not the only career path for theater students.

“Teaching is probably the biggest path, but there’s many different jobs,” Ragolia said.

“There’s producing, writing, casting. Most of my classmates want to do more than just performing.”

“I’m currently working at GablesStage, a theater in Miami at the Biltmore [Hotel],’’ Hockhammer said. “I’m learning about arts administration, what it takes to run a theater, cast and produce shows. It’s an outdated idea that you can only be an actor. During the pandemic, I applied to modeling gigs, film and TV, things I never thought I’d do.”

Both actresses can be seen onstage in performances later this semester as Ragolia triumphantly returns as Sonia in “Godspell,” and Hockhammer tackles the role of The Baker’s Wife in “Into the Woods.”

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

A&E

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

11

ENTERTAINMENT

UM hosts Latin Billboard Awards, students brave rainy weather for a glimpse of celebrities

BY RACHELL SOLER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Flocks of University of Miami students hurried to the Watsco Center hoping to catch a glimpse of the largest names in Latin music, full of excitement and anticipation despite continuous surges of strong winds and heavy rain.

The long-awaited Billboard Latin Music Awards were hosted at UM’s Watsco Center on Thursday, Sept. 23, with dazzling appearances from musicians including Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez.

The annual event recognizing the best artists in Latin music was televised and streamed live by Telemundo. Artists including Karol G and Camila Cabello were spotted emerging from limousines

CAMPUS LIFE

and SUVs, as the crowd of students cheered and snapped photos.

The award’s one-year limit for eligible work was expanded to 18 months after the cancellation of its 2020 edition during the pandemic, while the Tour of the Year Award was excluded entirely.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, tickets were limited and sold out quicker than expected, giving students no choice but to stand under the rain to see their favorite stars.

Kiara Gaviria, a freshman accounting major, was among the many students camping out in front of the Watsco Center after a frenzied hour of searching around the building for the perfect view of the red carpet entrance. She explained how her excitement to see someone as popular as Bad Bunny was motivation enough to

stick it out through the gloomy weather.

“It was definitely worth the hour of walking to find the right spot to lookout,” Gaviria said.

Inside the Watsco Center, viewers enjoyed a night of surprises and heart-felt tributes. Cabello opened the show with a high-energy performance of her latest single “Don’t Go Yet,” while Cortez closed out the show with an impressive rendition of his song “En Mi Cuarto.”

The late Dominican musician Johnny Ventura was recognized for his legacy in Merengue music while the work of the late Mexican star Juan Gabriel was celebrated through a tribute of his hits.

This year, Puerto Rican-native singer and rapper Daddy Yankee was honored with Billboard’s Hall of Fame Award, marking an important night for

Reggaeton music.

The night’s most anticipated category, Artist of the Year, was awarded to Latin trap and hip-hop musician Bad Bunny, known for hits including “Yo Perreo Sola,” “Yonaguni” and “I Like It,” featuring Cardi B and J Balvin. Bad Bunny also received the award for Best Latin Album for his project titled “YHLQMDLG.” Other popular artists who returned home winners of the night’s coveted awards include Karol G, The Black Eyed Peas, Prince Royce and Maluma.

Although the excitement and laughter surrounding the Watsco Center’s gates signaled that standing in the rain was worth it, students can hope that next year they will be able to access seats inside if UM decides to serve as host again.

Cinematic Arts Commission shows free films on campus every week

BY LAYOMI ADEOJO

ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR The Cinematic Arts Commission (CAC), one of Hurricane Production’s seven committees, hosts weekly movies every Wednesday and Saturday at the Lakeside Village Auditorium.

As an organization, CAC strives to provide UM students with the highest level of motion picture entertainment and the best on-campus movie theatre experience possible. Beyond movie premieres, CAC also gives its members the chance to learn about movie programming, promotion, and presentation.

In addition to exclusive giveaways and guaranteed seats at each movie screening, committee members also get to select which movies

are shown each semester, a combination of eleven films recently screened in theaters and two throwback films.

According to Diego Ortega Wall, a senior majoring in Business Technology & Motion Pictures and the chair of CAC, students interested in joining can learn more by adding the organization on Engage, attending their weekly 8 p.m. meeting on the third floor of Shalala, or coming to one of the movie screenings.

“We want to encourage all students who love movies to feel welcome in our organization and at our screenings,” Wall said.

Check out the full list of movies showing this semester here:

Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine New York State/American Program

The Sackler School of Medicine-New York State/ American Program offers an outstanding four year medical school curriculum, taught in English, leading to the M.D. degree. The Program is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and is accredited by the State of Israel.

Students do their clerkships and electives in the hospitals in Israel, the U.S. and Canada. One of these hospitals, Sheba Medical Center, was selected by Newsweek magazine as one of the top 10 hospitals around the world.

Graduates participate in the National Resident Matching Program and return to the United States for their residency training. Since its commencement in 1976, over 2,000 alumni have completed their residency training at the most distinguished hospitals in the United States and Canada. www.sacklerschool.org provides extensive information about Sackler SOM. For further information, e-mail sacklermed@sacklermed.org

Applications for the Class of 2026 are available on our website

12

SPORTS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

DIVING

Springing globally: Gullstrand returns to UM following lifelong Olympic dream

Josh Halper // Photo Editor

Freshman Emma Gullstrand prepares for a dive during practice on Monday, Sept. 13 at the University Center pool.

BY CAL FRIEDMAN & WYATT KOPELMAN

EDITORIAL STAFF Springing off the diving boards at the University of Miami is something many dream of yet so few can achieve.

Coming to Coral Gables from Sweden was the best choice she made in her diving career, but she didn’t have much time to settle in to her new life in South Florida.

Instead, freshman Emma Gullstrand packed up for two journeys of a lifetime.

“She basically got here and within a couple of days, we had to go dive in a meet just so she could qualify to go to the qualifying meet for the NCAA Championships,” Miami head diving coach Randy Ableman said. “It was just this huge whirlwind of her coming from another country and being thrown into the situation.”

A trip to the NCAA Championships for a freshman diver is plenty memorable in any year. And yet Gullstrand was primed for more success upon realizing there was more to come in a year like 2021.

Following years of training in the

3-meter springboard with her national team in Sweden and competing in European Diving Championships, the accumulated experience and hard work paid off. Gullstrand’s journey to the Olympic stage in Tokyo that same summer became official.

“I was there for the Olympic qualification a month before, so I knew the pool and it felt kind of like home,” Gullstrand said about arriving in Tokyo.

“We didn’t have so many spectators because of COVID, which was kind of okay because we don’t have many spectators anyway in diving.”

The legendary experience of competing in the same world-class aquatic facility as the world’s marquee diving talent was alone enough to cherish.

“I tried to not have any expectations, which is hard,” Gullstrand said. “It was a great experience to just be around all these amazing athletes, not just the Swedish ones, but from all around the world. It was

really cool to walk outside the village and say, ‘Okay, this is just amazing.’”

The cross-globe adventure wasn’t guaranteed, however. Similar to qualifying for the collegiate level’s grandest stage in the NCAA Championships, Gullstrand was again forced to prove herself, earning her way onto the Swedish national team while the waiting part of the process lingered.

“It was kind of a rough month there with just practicing, but then when I got the news, I said, I’m going to go, and I’m going to do my best and try to not have too many expectations, because it’s the first time and it’s just going to be fun,” Gullstrand said.

Gullstrand said Sweden’s national coach, Ulrika Knape, called her on a Monday morning to tell her she would be going to Tokyo.

“I couldn’t tell anyone at all,” Gullstrand said. “It was very funny because every time I got some kind of news, every morning practice I had after that, Randy’s asking me, ‘Did you get any news?”

From making a splash in the European Championships to the Olympic Games, Gullstrand leaped a learning curve of preparing for competition against the nation’s best talent. But the growing reality of Gullstrand’s success didn’t always appear visible.

Her freshman year at UM started in remote fashion from Jönköping, a seaside town in southern Sweden, due to ongoing pandemic travel restrictions, which prevented travel to the United States. And when Gullstrand finally touched down in Miami in January, a particular change was apparent: a new coach.

“The guys kind of took me on and they supported me through this whole thing, this month with no news if I knew I was going to go or not. It was kind of rough, but they’ve been here and they were supporting me, and it’s been amazing and I’m so grateful that I actually got here,” Gullstrand said.

Ableman, who watched Miami’s diving program load up with Olympians in over 30 years, knew there wasn’t a better

relationship to expand upon.

“She’s had one coach in her whole career and he was a great diver here in the U.S. and someone that I looked up to,” Ableman said.

Even though Gullstrand hailed from another corner of the Atlantic Ocean, the coaching staff and her teammates at UM quickly made her accustomed to the character and uniqueness of the Hurricane family.

“She’s got a good mix of being a very hard worker, always early to practice,” Ableman said. “One of the first kids there and the last to leave. She takes things very seriously but at the same time, she’s extremely funny and easy to talk to and be around. We spend so much time together.

We had just had a very short amount of time on the athletics calendar to start working together. She’s like the hardest working athlete I’ve ever had,” Ableman said. “It was just so cool how she dealt with the adversity of the whole situation in leaving her country.”

When added to hard work, plowing through adversity tends not to go unnoticed, especially when her family is fascinated to see each step from multiple time zones away.

“My grandpa’s absolutely my biggest fan, so my grandma calls me every time I compete or every time I go somewhere on FaceTime, and I show them around a little bit,” Gullstrand said. “They’re just so happy that I got here.”

Upon her return to UM, the bar has already been raised for Gullstrand’s prowess to lift Ableman — the multi-time ACC Diving Coach of the Year — and one of the nation’s most premier programs, towards recaptured national success.

“This will be her first full season and our season’s so long. We started basically training on the first day of school and we don’t have our championships until the middle of March,” Ableman said. “So, we’re really going to work on the little things down the road that will hopefully pay off for her.”

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

SPORTS

13

FOOTBALL

Column: After Miami’s early struggles, should Manny Diaz be on the hot seat?

Jared Lennon // Senior Staff

Head coach Manny Diaz during the singing of the alma matter after Miami’s loss to Michigan State at Hard Rock on Sept. 18, 2021.

BY LUKE CHANEY

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Dating back to last season’s 62-26 blowout loss to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, the Hurricanes have lost four of their last six games. High standards and unfulfilled expectations from Miami fans and former players have directed external pressure towards head coach Manny Diaz during the team’s recent struggles.

Dating back to last season’s 62-26 blowout loss to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, the Hurricanes have lost four of their last six games. Head coach Manny Diaz is now feeling the pressure from Miami fans and former players as a result of the team’s recent struggles.

“This is not fair to the championship history that was built in the early 80’s and the championship prideful standard UM fans,” former Miami cornerback Phillip Buchanon said on Twitter. “I feel y’all pain.”

Amid the criticism, some fans hope that Diaz, now in his third season at the helm of

Miami football, is sitting squarely in the hot seat.

Three seasons ago, public opinion of Diaz was almost-exclusively positive. As the University of Miami’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2016 to 2018, Diaz was praised locally and nationally for his well-coached defense, and in 2018, Diaz was considered to be the lone bright spot in what was an otherwise disappointing 7-6 season.

At the end of the 2018 season, former UM head coach Mark Richt announced his retirement, vacating the job and setting the Hurricanes on a new trajectory.

The vacancy lasted less than a day. UM officials conducted no interviews, no analysis and committed no time to considering other candidates. Instead, Diaz was named the 25th head coach of the Hurricanes mere hours after Richt’s retirement.

Some fans were dismayed by the unusually short amount of time it took for Miami Athletic Director Blake James and the board of trustees to make a decision on who

would be the next head coach.

Perhaps James and his team wanted there to be in-house continuity from the Richtera to the Diaz-era in order to transition smoothly after Richt’s abrupt retirement.

The decision-making team may have also felt comfortable taking on Diaz’s relatively cheap buyout price from Temple. The four-milliondollar buyout was much lower than that of another popular candidate, Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal, which was projected at around ten million dollars.

The hire was also criticized for Diaz’s lack of experience, as he had never had a head coaching job prior to his hiring at UM. It is not uncommon for college coaches to get their first head coaching job at a Power Five school, but such hirings have a varied success rate.

The last time Miami hired first-year head coach was in 2007, when UM promoted Randy Shannon from defensive coordinator.

The Hurricanes opted for an in-house promotion, deciding that Shannon’s lack of experience as a head coach would not be an issue.

Shannon was fired four seasons later after a disappointing 28-22 record as head coach.

A more successful promotion from assistant to first-time head coach changed the trajectory of one of Miami’s biggest rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson.

In fact, since former wide-receivers coach Dabo Swinney was promoted to head coach in 2008, Clemson has won two national championships.

Despite some initial criticism after the Diaz hire, there was a sense of optimism surrounding the program. Diaz created “touchdown rings” before his first season, which were to be worn by players immediately after scoring a touchdown. This announcement was met with great approval, as the now-infamous “turnover chain” was then at peak popularity.

Diaz popularized the similarly-infamous “The New Miami” (TNM) slogan in the offseason leading up to his first season as head coach, hoping that his team would revolutionize the landscape of college football, just as they did in decades prior.

The first season of Diaz’s head coaching tenure was uninspiring, as TNM finished with a disappointing 6-7 record, including embarrassing losses to Florida International

University and Louisiana Tech University.

FIU and LTU’s victorious head coaches made less than a quarter of Diaz’s annual salary.

While the Diaz-led Hurricanes have assembled a more respectable 10-5 total record since that first season, worrying trends have persisted throughout Diaz’s 27-game run as head coach. The margin of defeat in Miami’s five most recent losses, dating back to Clemson in 2020, is 22.4 points per game.

The wide margin of loss suggests a lack of preparation against highly-regarded opponents, both within the Atlantic Coast Conference and beyond. A team as talented as Miami should not be getting blown out against teams with similar levels of talent and equal expectations.

The Diaz-led Hurricanes proved to be undisciplined on both sides of the ball through the first three games of the 2021 season, as Miami has 66 missed tackles and committed seven turnovers.

With only one Associated Press Top 25 win and an uninspiring 15-12 record, Diaz’s on-the-field résumé thus far has been discouraging.

In contrast, Diaz has shined as a recruiter through his first three seasons as head coach.

The 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes were unanimously regarded as top 25 classes by mainstream recruiting databases, including 247sports, where they ranked 11 ahead of the 2021 season. In 2021, the Hurricanes signed two 5-star recruits for the first time since 2012.

While Diaz has had success recruiting high-potential talent to join the Hurricanes as head coach, the on-field production has not met expectations, and if Miami continues to disappoint on Saturdays, the Hurricanes could be looking for their 26th coach sooner rather than later.

After last week’s loss to the Michigan State Spartans, Diaz asserted that Miami’s early growing pains will not continue.

“There are things that we have to get corrected, as coaches, that we can take accountability for. We still have the ACC to play for and we have the Coastal to play for, so we have to take a look at our personnel,” Diaz said. “This coaching staff will get that corrected and we have guys in that locker room that want to stay together and be a family and fight hard for each other and fight our way out of this.”

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SPORTS

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

VOLLEYBALL

Savannach Vach: Heart of offense, spirit of Canes’ volleyball

BY HAYDEN JACOBS STAFF WRITER

Junior volleyball setter Savannah Vach is no stranger to accolades.

Before bringing her talents to Coral Gables, the highly-recruited Vach was a decorated player in high school, collecting countless pieces of hardware, including being named the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018, the PrepVolleyball.com National High School Player of the Year and the Oviedo High School Most Valuable Player for three consecutive seasons.

Vach saw continued success soon after stepping on the Knight Sports Complex’s hardwood floor in 2019.

She was given a Freshman of the Week award and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team at the season’s end.

In 2020, Vach was named to the AllACC Second Team and to the Preseason All-ACC team prior to this season. Despite having only played two full seasons with the Hurricanes, Miami’s superstar setter is already matching and breaking program records, and with every passing game, she grows closer to setting a new one. At the start of this season, she ranked sixth all-time in Miami history with 1,406 career assists.

For Vach, volleyball is a generational part of her bloodline. Her mother, Kimberly, played volleyball for the Stetson University Hatters and her older sister Sydney played a season at Harvard University. At the age of four, Savannah followed in her mother’s footsteps and began her journey with the sport she loves, fostering the competitive spirit she exhibits for the Hurricanes today.

“At that age it’s kind of like, you’re just there having fun with all of your friends,” Vach said. “But I probably started getting serious about volleyball around when I was eight years old.”

While the 5-foot-10 Winter Springs, Florida native has been at the heart of Miami’s offense at the setter position, Vach has played the outside and opposite hitter positions in her career. However, she stuck with setting for the central role she gets to play on the offense.

“Being able to be a part of every play is probably my favorite part,” Vach said.

“I’m in control. I get to run the offense the way I want to run it and execute our game plans the way I think we should.”

Now, Miami is off to a scorching start to its season, posting a 10-2 record through the first 12 matches and sweeping 10 of its match wins. During that span, Vach has been the focal point of Miami’s offensive attack with 337 assists at an average of 10.21 assists per set. Despite her individual efforts, Vach attributes much of the team’s success to the strong chemistry they have on the court.

“I think being on a team of girls who are all super passionate about volleyball and want to get better every single day, we always come into the gym playing hard,” Vach said. “We’re all there to get better and it’s been paying off a lot this year so far.”

For Vach and defensive specialist Priscilla Hernandez, that chemistry extends beyond the boundaries of the hardwood and into Dunkin’ Donuts.

Before every game, Vach and Hernandez bond over medium iced coffees with three creams, three sugars and three pumps of caramel. Then, the two share Monster energy drinks with the team.

Over the past two seasons, it appears that team bonding has translated into success on the court. In the 20192020 season, the Hurricanes posted a 10-16 overall record, going 6-12 versus ACC opponents. During the split 2020-2021 season, Miami’s overall and conference records were dramatically improved from the season prior; UM finished the year with an 11-7 record going 9-7 versus conference rivals.

With Vach commanding the offensive attack on the floor, Miami has tallied 81 more kills than its opponents and Vach has recorded nearly as many assists by herself as all of Miami’s opponents put together, which combine for 363 as of Friday night’s loss versus Louisville.

“I’m a bit of a broken record here, but Savannah is as good of a player as there is in the country,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said after Miami’s loss to UCF on Sept. 16. “Whatever credit she gets from us or from the outside, she deserves it and more. Any team with Savannah on it has a chance to win, so I’m very grateful that she’s a ‘Cane.”

Although getting recognized for her consistent, productive play has become routine, Vach sends the praise to her teammates.

“It’s weird because you get these awards for stuff that you’re used to doing in practice every day. It’s not like you are doing something different all of a sudden, you’re just getting noticed for it,” Vach said. “It feels really good to be noticed and get the recognition for all the hard work, but it’s really more of my team putting in the work. I’m just setting them the balls, they have to go and kill it.”

For Vach and the rest of the team, a good start — even a great start — is not enough. The team fell just short of qualifying for the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament last year

with the field reduced from 64 to 48 teams due to COVID-19 and they were unable to secure a spot and snap a short drought dating back to 2018, when the Canes made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Despite a competitive schedule of ACC rivals on slate for the rest of the season, Vach and her teammates like their chances of making it far in 2021.

“I think if we continue to play how we’re playing, we have a really good shot. I think it’s a realistic goal for us and I’m super excited about it,” Vach said. “The goal is always to make the NCAA tournament.”

Jared Lennon // Staff photographer

THE MIAMI HURRICANE

V’S TAKE

Sept. 29, 2021- Oct. 6, 2021

15

Semester of Celibacy V’s Take is The Hurricane’s most controversial and longest-running column. It is a satirical work published weekly by students and for students.

Using our generation’s “colorful” language to address all things sex, love and gossip on campus, V is not for the politically correct or easily offended.

Dear Reader,

Dear V, This semester is kicking my ass. I work as hard as I can for the same results, mediocre grades and no idea of what I actually want to do when I graduate. I thought my junior year would be the best yet, but now I’m so busy that I haven’t had sex in six months. What can I do to set my stress aside and finally get laid?

Have a question for V? Email dearv@themiamihurricane.com.

I hear you, and not just in the way your friends hear your complaints about how busy you are. Believe it or not, I too have been feeling the stress and missing my sex, and outside of nightly self-guided tours of my own genitalia, it’s been a semester of celibacy for your friend V. But before you resign yourself to a life of isolation, try to put everything in perspective. Leave the guilt and anxiety that involuntary, or maybe better to call it accidental, celibacy can cause behind. At the end of the day,

not everybody can ride every other person they meet at a bar like a bucking bronco without exchanging so much as a first name. Everyone is different, and the only way to really figure out what you need to do to get laid is to ask yourself what you want.

If you just want to remind yourself what a naked body looks like, or feels like, for that matter, then I’d refer you to local institutions like BT’s or LaBare, depending on your venereal preference.

Or maybe you could spend your Friday night in Wynwood instead of your bed — the millionaires at

SpaceX don’t have to be the only amateurs to go to Space this year. Or just watch some porn — I don’t think I have to be much more specific than that, although I’ll say the rise of step-sibling erotica is somewhat disturbing and might be a dealbreaker for any promiscuous Catholics looking to give the dark side a try.

But if none of this sounds like the answer for you, don’t despair, just give it time.

Put yourself out there, talk to people, find new hobbies and make some friends. You might not get laid during your first intramural tennis

“The Sixties” Course Is Back Next Spring!

practice, but you need a partner to have sex, and what starts as an afternoon of sweat and balls might have a similar ending a few weeks down the road.

Living in the age of insecurity, social media and crippling anxiety, all you can really do is think hard about what you want, put yourself out there and remember that these things take time, and you have plenty of it.

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US PROFESSORS MARVIN DAWKINS (SOCIOLOGY), PATRICKMCCARTHY (ENGLISH) & DONALD SPIVEY (HISTORY) AND MORE FROM THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY FOR THIS ACADEMIC HAPPENING! When and Where: Tuesdays, 6:00-8:55 p.m. in TBA You May Register for “The Sixties” as a Course in English, History, or Sociology ENG 389 / HIS 372 / SOC 391 This course presents the culture and history of the 1960s in the United States through writings, film, music, and the experiences of faculty members who participated in important events during this era of major conflict and change. We are less concerned with the time frame than with the atmosphere associated with the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the Antiwar Movement, widespread college campus activism, urban unrest, counterculture, and the Women’s Movement. This also was a period of nuclear war anxiety, the Space Race, and widespread concerns about ecology became. We also will offer some discussion of international events during the period. In addition to examining primary documents, fiction, film, and the music of the 1960s, students can listen to the personal accounts of U.M. faculty and staff who witnessed dramatic episodes that occurred during this time of war, tumultuous political, gender, and racial upheaval, and momentous changes in the academy. We also will endeavor to make connections between the ideas and events of the 1960s and more recent developments both inside and outside the academy. As part of our effort to make connections between the ideas and events of the 1960s and contemporary life outside the academy, we will offer students the option to fulfill part of the course requirements through service-learning work in various settings away from the U.M. campus. We will not exclude anyone of any political persuasion either past or present. Opposing points of view are encouraged. We think that something as complex and multifaceted as “The Sixties” requires a range of personal perspectives and interpretations, for even today the era of “The Sixties” provokes passionate responses from those who were there and those who were not.

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