Sex, love and loneliness — Technician 2/08/24

TECHNICIAN FEB R UAR Y 8, 2024

VOL . 104 | N O . 1 9

SEX, LOVE AND

LONELINESS

Contents

2 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

MIRACLES IN MOTION: MOVEMENT WORKSHOP WITH MARQUITA SAMS

IN THIS ISSUE:

THE RADAR

page

tackle the 04 Experts situationship epidemic

Events to keep an eye on for the week of Feb. 8

NEWS page

A straight man’s 07 SATIRE: guide to getting matches

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Thursday, Feb. 8, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 8, 3:30 - 5 p.m.

CARMICHAEL GYM, DANCE STUDIO, 2307

TALLEY STUDENT UNION, PIEDMONT AND MOUNTAINS BALLROOMS

Free Participate in a movement workshop hosted by the LGBTQ Pride Center and the Women’s Center to engage in meditation and dance improvisation and to learn choreography.

Free Join in Lunar New Year Celebrations hosted by the Office of Global Engagement through cultural activities, music and food.

FAT PACK TUESDAY

SWIFTIE CYCLE

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 3 - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 4:15 - 5 p.m.

TALLEY STUDENT UNION, MOUNTAINS BALLROOM

CARMICHAEL GYM, STUDIO 2615

Free Celebrate Mardi Gras with the University Activities Board with live music, food, games and prizes.

Free Participate in a Taylor Swift-themed spin class hosted by the Wellness and Recreation Center, tailored to individual abilities and fitness levels.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK OPINION page

10 What happened to the rom-coms of the ‘90s?

CULTURE page

12 Cheerleading stunt group brings national title back to Raleigh

HALLIE WALKER/TECHNICIAN

The student section holds up copies of the “Daily Tar Hell” edition of Technician during the game against UNCChapel Hill at Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. NC State beat UNC 63-59.

SPORTS

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Technician (USPS 455-050) is the largest student newspaper of NC State University and is published every Thursday throughout the academic year from August through May except during holidays and examination periods.

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News

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

NC General Assembly puts restrictions on pornography consumption

Pierce Bruns Correspondent

North Carolinians are now required to verify their age in order to access pornographic websites because of the The Pornography Age Verification Enforcement Act, also known as the PAVE Act. The bill took effect Jan. 1 after being signed into law

by Gov. Roy Cooper in September 2023.

The PAVE Act was passed in a bipartisan move to discourage underage pornography consumption and has sparked controversy regarding privacy rights and sexual liberty.

Deputy Majority Whip Rep. Jon Hardister was a primary sponsor of the PAVE Act and said the primary goal is to prevent X-rated content consumption by minors.

“We’re in a place where most North Carolinians agree that we don’t want kids on the website,” Hardister said. “The intent was not to shut them down, but to protect kids.”

However, the bill has led to shifts in the consumption of adult entertainment in North Carolina — the most notable being the major X-rated content site Pornhub preventing North Carolinians from accessing its site.

Kami Kosenko, an associate professor of communication with a specialty in sexual communication, said she believes the PAVE Act’s implementation will reduce the sense of understanding of the human body amongst minors and teenagers.

“Now trying to regulate another source of information about sex in the form of porn is just going to leave young people more and more in the dark about their bodies,” Kosenko said.

GRAPHIC BY MATTHEW BURKHART

T’Daigeon Major, a third-year studying history, said he doesn’t believe the law will change much due to the amount of sexual content on the internet.

“I don’t think it’s really going to affect much of anything,” Major said. “There’s pornography on social media, you know?”

Kosenko said where there’s a will, there is a way for people to access adult content.

“I think that young people are probably a lot smarter and more savvy about their internet use than the lawmakers and the people are trying to put these laws into effect,” Kosenko said. “So I think it will have little impact, and I think minors will find what they’re looking for online one way

CRIME ON CAMPUS

or another.”

A major question regarding the bill has been the addition of identification walls to adult entertainment sites and how to ensure adults still have access to them.

Hardister said he sees accounts for adults as the workaround for verifying a user’s age every time he or she accesses a site.

“There could be a way to create a membership in a way that’s free,” Hardister said.

“The bill is not intended to keep adults off.”

Kosenko said the law limits the liberties of adult entertainment consumers with such verification measures more so than it restricts pornographic websites.

“These conglomerates are the ones who

are making a lot of money, and they’re the ones who have to figure out how to implement this law,” Kosenko said. “But I would certainly say the average user of online porn is having their liberties infringed upon by this age verification act.”

Another point of concern has been the protection of people’s personal information as they attempt to access these sites, especially if they have to share it to receive a membership.

However, Hardister said he does not believe privacy is a significant concern.

“You’re always going to have concerns about data collection — they can do that currently,” Hardister said. “That’s why we wrote into the bill that the companies keep that data private.”

Kosenko said this kind of database of personal information would not be immune from abuse and hinders citizens’ abilities to control their information.

“I think there’s the potential for this kind of information to be misused,” Kosenko said. “The notion of other people having some sort of knowledge of what porn you’re consuming is disturbing and certainly a violation of privacy.”

When it comes to addressing these concerns, Hardister added there are other ways North Carolina has considered how to both safeguard user privacy and promote the bill’s goal. He referred to IP addresses, a number that a computer uses to access the internet, as a possible way to circumvent an identification wall.

“They are advocating that you use the IP address to verify the user,” Hardister said.

“We have to have conversations on how to put that into law.”

All incidents in the crime log are according to the University’s daily crime log published online in compliance with the Clery Act.

NC State’s weekly log of major incidents across campus INFORMATION UNIVERSITY

FRAUD

LARCENY

Feb. 2, 2024 at 4:39 p.m.

Western Manor

Feb. 2, 2024 at 10:43 a.m.

Admin Services III

Jan. 31 through Feb. 3, 2024 Various locations

A student is claiming someone misused his Unity ID and emailed his professor a fabricated midterm exam.

Due to this act, the student is facing suspension and eviction from University Housing. University Police will investigate the alleged use of the Unity ID and email.

Two employees of the Facilities Division reported unauthorized purchases on the University’s Verizon account totaling over $74,000. Investigation is pending.

Eleven reports of stolen catalytic converters were filed over a four-day span. Four of the 11 thefts occurred at Baffin Hall.

News 4 TECHNICIAN Experts tackle the situationship epidemic THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

Riya Kannan

Assistant Culture Editor

The word “situationship” has grown increasingly popular in recent years. The term was an Oxford Dictionary’s finalist for “Word of the Year” in 2023 and has been thought to be yet another Generation Z trend. While a situationship itself may be confusing, the meaning behind the term is straightforward.

Oxford defines the word as a “romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established.” The term in popular culture is generally used to refer to a noncommittal and undefined romantic relationship — a “situation.”

Anna Behler, an assistant professor of psychology, said the term encompasses a wide range of relationships but adheres to that undefined quality.

“We’re talking about someone who is more than a friend, but you’re not actually dating them, … but there’s some benefits to them,” Behler said.

Despite this term only becoming prevalent in society in recent years, the kind of relationship it refers to is nothing new. The situationship “epidemic” in society might not be an epidemic at all, but rather a new acknowledgment and acceptance of a longstanding form of romantic relationships.

“I think the situationship has always been around,” Behler said. “I think the term has just evolved over time because back in my day, we just said friends with benefits.”

Sarah Grunder Ruiz, a lecturer in the English department and author, said the situationship has always held a major place in society.

“I think maybe they’re more publicly acceptable now,” Grunder Ruiz said. “…

I think it’s something people have always dealt with. People have always dealt with this idea ‘Okay, what is this relationship?

Are we together? Are we not?’ Because

GRAPHIC BY MARLOWE HENDERSON

what’s a better conflict than that? What’s a better conflict than uncertainty?”

It’s often difficult to pinpoint when trends and concepts, such as situationships, entered the public sphere. Grunder Ruiz said the concept of a situationship may just be thought of as something new because there’s less stigma in society around undefined relationships.

“I think it might just be shifting societal norms, where it’s not as taboo,” Grunder Ruiz said. “No one’s really surprised if

you’re hooking up with someone and you’re in college … because sexual norms are more acceptable now.”

Although situationships are nothing new, that doesn’t make them any easier to navigate. Situationships are seemingly easy to get into, but difficult to get over.

Behler said situationships exist due to unclear commitments and communication, and prioritizing communication and definitions is the key to fixing the issues attached to the complicated relationship dynamic.

“I think that they are presented in such a negative light because people use that term when they’re not sure what else to call the connection they feel towards someone,” Behler said. “But the healthy thing would be if both partners could come to a consensus on what exactly they are.”

Grunder Ruiz said though situationships in media may seem abundant today in shows such as “Euphoria,” it may just be that we are discerning and defining the relationships we see in popular culture more today. It’s not a sign of a shift in relationship dynamics themselves, Grunder Ruiz said, but rather a shift in our society, which is now more accepting of public discussions and portrayals of complex private relationships.

Grunder Ruiz said media, specifically romance novels, can be a good place for people to learn about relationship dynamics, including situationships, and how to work through them. Grunder Ruiz said though every situationship may be different, media portrayals of the relationship type may indicate ways to go about navigating them that minimize their damage and teach lessons.

“I think romance novels kind of get a bad reputation for showing unhealthy relationship dynamics, which in some, they do, of course,” Grunder Ruiz said. “But overall, at least in my experience, a lot of contemporary romance novels help us learn how to have good relationships, because we’re working through those issues on the page and learning about ourselves. … It’s about our desire for connection, and romance novels are all about that and how we all contribute.”

Behler said though every situation is different, making an effort to prioritize healthy communication and setting boundaries can help prevent issues with unclear definitions and intentions that often lead to stressful circumstances in relationships.

NC State gives key updates on Poe Hall testing Emily Vespa

Managing Editor

Administration gave key updates on the progress of environmental testing in Poe Hall and responded to concerns that the University hasn’t prioritized people’s health at the Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday.

The University closed Poe Hall on Nov. 17, after environmental testing detected the presence of chemical contaminants called PCBs, which are linked to cancer. The environmental consulting firm NC State hired to test and assess the building has almost completed its first phase of testing, said Warwick Arden, executive vice chancellor

and provost.

“Phase one essentially is air and surface testing throughout the building with the HVAC system turned off,” Arden said.

“We’re expecting to have those results fairly soon, within the next week or so, and we’ll be reporting out.”

The next phase of testing, Arden said, is air and surface testing with the HVAC system turned on.

“This is not just to get a general overview of any contaminants that may be in the building and the impact of the HVAC system, it’s really to begin to get more specific results with respect to the specific areas in

the building that may be affected,” Arden said. “We’ve got to see if it’s homogenous throughout the building.”

These updates come after a period of silence about the status of environmental testing from the University. It shared its last update Jan. 8.

“I know sometimes when there’s a gap in new information it’s easy to assume that we’re just sitting on things,” Arden said.

“That is not the case.”

Arden said at the Jan. 8 University Council meeting that NC State anticipated receiving Poe Hall updates the following week.

But the University has yet to fulfill Tech-

nician’s public records request for those updates. WRAL reported it filed 10 public records requests on Poe Hall with NC State, and the University has only fulfilled four.

Candy Beal, associate professor emerita in the Teacher Education and Learning Sciences department, said people with health concerns feel ignored, and Herle McGowan, chair of the faculty and teaching professor in the Department of Statistics, said she thinks there’s a sense that the University is focusing more on operational continuity rather than health concerns.

POE HALL continued page 5

News

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Why Generation Z is having less sex

Bastian Hauser Staff Writer

Generation Z is having less sex. Experts at NC State say several social factors, including COVID-19 and societal expectations, might be contributing to decreased sexual activity and relationships within Gen Z. Kami Kosenko, an associate professor of communication, studies and researches sexual communication. She said each generation is reporting less sexual activity, but there can be inaccuracies when trying to measure how much sex people have.

“There is this tendency for penis owners to say that they’ve had more sex than they actually have and for vagina owners to say that they’ve had less sex than they’ve had,” Kosenko said. “The other issue is that we don’t have a universal definition of sex.”

Laura Widman, an associate professor of psychology, researches adolescent sexual decision-making. She said the frequency of sexual activity has gone down over time, with one reason being that younger people are less likely to be in long-term, committed relationships.

“They are less likely to have a steady partner, and having that availability of a steady partner is one thing that increases sexual frequency,” Widman said.

Widman said science has no clear answer as to why young people today are less likely to be in a committed relationship, but she gets the impression from her students that this generation has higher standards and an unwillingness to settle.

Additionally, Widman said there has been a general “delay to launch” for members of Gen Z. “They tend to get their driver’s license later than past generations did and tend to live at home a little bit longer,” Widman said. “This life delay has been happening now for decades.”

Widman said COVID-19 exacerbated this trend.

“It’s hard to go out and meet partners and get jobs and keep moving along with life when you had two years of COVID,” Widman said.

POE HALL

continued from page 4

Arden said the reason the University closed Poe Hall was to be mindful of inhabitants’ health.

“I think we acted very, very quickly, and we’re trying to be very transparent about it,” Arden said. “I do want folks to really understand that the health concerns of our faculty, staff, the students are paramount to this. That’s why we’re trying to pursue this in a very thorough and detailed, methodic way.”

WRAL reported 40 cases of cancer in

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ETHAN RIMOLT

Kosenko said COVID-19 hit during an important developmental period for Gen Z. “Gen Z would have been going through some of their primary developmental stages regarding sexual initiation,” Kosenko said. “The average age of virginity loss is 17, and with COVID hitting during that time, individuals were not able to go through the typical developmental milestones on time.”

Kosenko said the overturning of Roe v. Wade also led to a decrease of sex in all age groups.

“The fear of unplanned pregnancy and not having a choice as to how to deal with that seems to be impacting all age groups in terms of their sexual frequency and interactions,” Kosenko

people who inhabited Poe Hall and that NC State withdrew its request for Health Hazard Evaluation of the building by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety in January. Arden said this report is “sensationalistic and, in many places, simply incorrect.”

“What I can tell you is, we have never refused to cooperate with a federal investigation or federal requirements, and we have never asked for any case to be closed

by NIOSH and anybody else,” Arden said.

“In fact, we’re working closely with the EPA, with NIOSH, with the State Department of Labor.”

said.

Widman said society’s assumptions play a major role when talking about sex and Gen Z. “We have this cultural narrative that college students are having a lot of casual sex,” Widman said. “And I think a lot of students think everybody’s doing that, but that’s not actually true. Some people are doing that.”

Widman said one should be careful when comparing large groups, such as different generations.

“On average, Gen Zers might be having less sex, but that doesn’t tell us very much about any one Gen Z person,” Widman said.

Allison Newhart, vice chancellor and general counsel, said NC State’s work with NIOSH is paused until the University has more environmental testing results.

“The conversations with NIOSH continue to be productive as we need to have them, but right now, they’re taking a backseat to all the hard work we’re doing to understand the building environment,” Newhart said. “And that was at their decision, not at NC State’s.”

Technician was unable to independently confirm whether NC State is cooperating with NIOSH. PCBs were used in building materials and can be found in many buildings built

or renovated between the 1950s and 1970s, according to the EPA. Arden said there are hundreds of buildings on campus built or renovated during the same period as Poe Hall, but there’s not currently a plan to investigate these other buildings for the same contaminants — though that doesn’t rule out the possibility in the future.

“There are no doubt thousands of buildings across the UNC System and across the state built or renovated during that era, and we would be hesitant to launch a full scale investigation of every building without coordinating with the UNC System,” Arden said.

Opinion

6 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

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EDITORIAL: NC State’s public records request system is broken. We demand change.

A

t Technician, we take pride in our journalistic obligation to promote transparency and hold powerful people accountable at NC State, and North Carolina’s public records law, which grants the public a broad right of access to records of public business, plays a pivotal role in our pursuit of truth.

But Technician faces immense delays in receiving records that North Carolina’s public records law says are “the property of the people.” NC State’s public records request system is broken.

Many other state public records laws specify a deadline for agencies to respond to public records requests: in Michigan, the deadline is five business days; in South Carolina, the deadline is 30. North Carolina’s public records law merely requires agencies to provide public records “as promptly as possible.”

This vague language stems from a concern that not all public records requests are created equal; some requests require weeks of searching for responsive documents, while others may take just five minutes. But this ambiguity, while well-intended, can be exploited by agencies to leave the public in the dark for far too long. It can be an obstacle to transparency for all of us — particularly journalists who work to keep the community informed.

NC State often takes months to fulfill public records requests. Technician is still waiting on responsive records for requests submitted in October 2023.

Significant delays in providing public records hinder our capability to report

The unsigned editorial is the opinion of the members of Technician’s editorial board, and is the responsibility of the editors-in-chief. timely news on issues that matter most to our community.

For example, NC State closed Poe Hall on Nov. 17 in response to environmental testing that indicated the presence of chemical contaminants in the building.

It took the University over a month after the closure to release the preliminary test results cited as the reason for the closure to the media.

And it’s not just Technician that encounters these delays. Other local outlets like NC Newsline and WRAL had to fight to see the initial Poe Hall test results released, and it’s thanks to these dogged efforts that the public is more informed about Poe Hall — albeit after weeks of silence.

Recently, it took NC State a whopping 101 business days to respond to a simple records request that asked for a list of public records requests submitted to NC State within a two-and-a-half-month span. The last time we requested a list of twice the size, it took NC State just 25 business days to provide it.

What’s more, the University has boldly issued a new automatic response to each public records request submitted through NextRequest, the portal it uses to manage requests.

“The university makes every effort to provide records as promptly as possible, but is currently managing a large number of complex requests,” the response states. “Please be advised that most re-

cords requests will require three to six months to fulfill.”

At this point, we at Technician could sooner traverse the Oregon Trail or board Noah’s ark and experience a biblical flood than receive public records from NC State. North Carolina courts have said an unreasonable delay in providing public records can be an effective denial. NC State must prioritize fulfilling records requests in a reasonable, timely manner. It’s a matter of public interest.

It’s easy to see why NC State is falling behind on public records requests.

One person, University Records Officer Lynda Mottershead, is responsible for handling all public records requests. It seems the University has received an increased number of records requests in the past five years — in fiscal 2019, the Office of General Counsel reported over 200 records requests, whereas in the most recent fiscal year, it reported over 300 records requests.

As much as we wish NC State could simply hire another records officer to help Mottershead from drowning in records requests, we acknowledge that might not be realistic. The University administration’s budgeted expenses for the current fiscal year leave about $26,000 in revenue left over, which isn’t enough to cover the salary and benefits of a new hire.

There are other ways to alleviate

Mottershead’s workload and make the public records request system at NC State more efficient, though. For one, NC State could follow the lead of other UNC System schools that use the same NextRequest system and make requests visible to the public, not just the requester. This could minimize repeat records requests.

NC State could also make commonly requested records available to the public without a records request. UNCChapel Hill does this with its athletics contracts, including head coaching contracts and agreements with Nike and other partners. NC State could do the same by updating its dedicated Poe Hall information website with new environmental testing reports as it receives them. These records are the property of the people, so why not treat them like it?

In every interaction with Technician’s editorial board, Mottershead has been polite and professional, and we know many factors that make her job challenging are out of her control. But the University administration can do more to mend this broken process.

This month, on Thursday, Feb. 22, we’ll celebrate Student Press Freedom Day, which is a national day created by the Student Press Law Center to celebrate the role of student journalists and advocate for press freedom. In the spirit of student press freedom, we urge NC State to reflect on how considerable delays in fulfilling public records requests impact Technician’s role as a watchdog on campus and the general public’s right to know.

A straight man’s guide to getting matches Skye Crawford and Elizabeth Dull Assistant Opinion Editor, Culture Editor

Editor’s Note: This is a work of satire.

Its content should not be taken seriously or applied literally.

It’s the evening of Feb. 14, and you don’t have a date — a fact that makes your heart a melting pot of disparate emotions: annoyance, complacency, dread and even apathy.

You unlock your phone, and your finger,

with a mind of its own, finds its way to a folder of dating apps. Your messages reveal no new matches.

While this may be a blow to your selfesteem, especially on Valentine’s Day, it’s important to remember that this is an experience many — particularly men — are all too familiar with.

Women have it relatively easy. We pick our most flattering pictures — something with cleavage and enough makeup to hide our insecurities — and wait for the matches to roll in. We don’t need to fill out the bi-

ography section, though if we do it doesn’t really matter what we say; our appearance speaks for itself.

But it’s not so simple for guys — it seems like your profile will never be right. You don’t know what interests you should tag to your profile because most girls don’t like beer, adventure, hiking or sports. Your biography needs to be funny, but you can’t show the full extent of your humor or it might be taken the wrong way. You need a song to represent your personality, but using anything by Kanye West is too controversial.

Quite frankly, it feels like there’s no right way to be a man. This is why we are here to supply you with a man’s guide to dating apps.

Arguably, the most important aspect of a dating profile is what set of photos you use to convey your masculine essence to the women of the apps. We’re here to tell you what imagery tickles our fancy.

MATCH GUIDE continued page 7

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Joe Gow needs to learn the time and place for sex positivity E

mbr a c i n g you r identity as a sexual being is something we should all be more comfortable with. There’s nothing wrong with appreciating sex, sex work Skye Crawford or anything of the like.

However, there’s a time Assistant Opinion Editor and place to do so, and when you’re the chancellor of a university, you are responsible for recognizing when and where this is.

On Pornhub a few months before your intended retirement does not meet either of these criteria.

At just over 60 years old, Joe Gow was planning to step down after serving as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse for 17 years. In the months following this announcement, Gow uploaded a number of adult films with his wife, Carmen Wilson, though they’d been creating them privately for years.

Gow and Wilson never mentioned the university or their association with it in the videos, and he thought using pseudonyms and the privacy features of mature websites would prevent unwanted attention. None-

theless, he was fired by the UW Board of Regents on Dec. 27, 2023.

Gow believes his termination, decided in a closed-door meeting, is a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.

While I do find issue with the fact that Gow wasn’t given the opportunity to plead his case to the Board of Regents, his termination shouldn’t be so shocking — to him or anyone else. The production and distribution of adult content is certainly protected by the First Amendment, but it comes with exceptions.

When you assume the role of a public figure, you also assume its responsibilities. Chancellors are the faces of universities; their character is directly tied to that of the institution for which they work. As such, chancellors must maintain respectable reputations and, unfortunately for Gow, distributing pornography does not do this.

It’s not fair that an institution’s association with pornographic videos can give it a bad reputation, but it’s the reality of the world we live in. It’s a societal norm that, as the chancellor of a university and public figure, you are required to adhere to regardless of its fairness.

Had Gow posted his adult videos with

his wife prior to 2007, the year in which he was hired, the conversation would be different. It’d be unjust for the board to fire Gow for content he produced before he was chancellor.

But this isn’t the case. Gow waited until Oct. 30, 2023 — just a handful of months away from his retirement to a professor position — to upload content under the name “Sexy Happy Couple.”

Respectfully, Dr. Gow, would it have been too painful for you to wait until May 2024?

To upload adult content as a professor does not hold the same weight as it does for a chancellor. Professors aren’t public figures and they don’t represent the university at large, so if Gow had waited to post the content as a professor it might not have been an issue.

I’m not saying that Gow is an immoral person who deserved to be fired, nor am I disputing that his intentions were benevolent.

His decision to host former porn actress Nina Hartley during Free Speech Week in 2018 resulted in backlash, but I think it’s great to promote a sex-positive environment on campus to destigmatize conversations about sex.

MATCH GUIDE

continued from page 6

First and foremost, we are here to debunk the myth that fishing pictures deter matches. You may have heard that girls immediately swipe left when we see a picture of a guy holding a slimy, dead fish by the lip, but that’s a misunderstanding. The issue is that there is usually only one fishing picture.

Showing us that you can catch one fish isn’t impressive. We want to see you holding up a multitude of fish, varying in size, color and species. The greater the variety, the better.

Other pictures should include those of you with other girls, maybe with your mom, so that we know if we have a shot at satisfying your Freudian fantasy. We’re more likely to swipe right if we know we fit your type — it saves us both from wasting our time.

It’s okay to include photos of you and the boys, as we know they are your life’s true loves, but we do ask that you include a high-resolution professional headshot in your dating profile. Having an air of corporatism in your profile will lead us to believe you are some kind of finance bro haven. If you don’t have a headshot yet, consider taking advantage of NC State’s free professional headshot booth in the Career Development Center to boost your dating and LinkedIn profiles simultaneously.

GRAPHIC BY ELLIE BRUNO

Writing a biography is something else you should pay great attention to. Your biography depends on what you’re looking for, be it a hook-up or a long-term partner, but a good rule of thumb is to copy and paste from your LinkedIn profile for a rough outline.

Of course, you should do some editing, but the basic format and information in-

cluded on LinkedIn is a great start. No woman wants to take a man to bed who isn’t aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and no woman wants to be in a relationship with a man who isn’t fluent in corporate speak.

In addition to the LinkedIn biography, women love men who are comfortable expressing their emotions, so including emojis

Additionally, the books he and his wife published under the pseudonym Geri and Jay Hart are progressive in the way they dissect societal understandings of porn.

I support Gow and Wilson’s sex-positive viewpoints, and I appreciate that he used his position as chancellor to promote these viewpoints. Many of us have toxic relationships with sex and sexuality, and it’d be great if Randy Woodson were to promote sex positivity more thoroughly on campus. The condoms NC State freshman got in their welcome packs this year was a great step in this direction.

Still, uploading pornographic films goes too far.

Gow should have known the internet is not a safe space. It was ignorant of him to assume the content wouldn’t be discovered, and it was ignorant of him to pursue a porn career after the reprimanding he faced upon inviting Hartley to speak on his campus.

To me, Gow’s cluelessness is more shocking than the porn. If anything, the board should have cited Gow’s obliviousness for the reason they fired him rather than blaming the videos. That deserves the most attention.

at the end of every sentence in your biography is a great way to show the humorous, unserious side of your personality. We especially love it when men include thumbs up, pleading face and grinning face with big eyes emoji.

For the interests section of your profile, you should tag the interests you’d like your potential hook up partner or girlfriend to have rather than hobbies that are reflective of your persona.

For example, if you want a manic pixie dream girl to believe that your match was meant to be, that it was spoken into existence by the universe so she’ll be more willing to stay with you, consider including astrology as one of your interests. Just make sure that you can mansplain what the sun, moon and rising signs are and how that will impact your future relationship.

Once your profile has reached its full potential, it’s time to talk to your female suitors. Instead of using the typical “What are you up to tonight?” or “Hey” as a first message, leave something that can cut to the chase. Messages such as “You look like a keeper” and “Are you trying to be my wife?” will never make a woman think you are being too forward.

After using our guide and talking points, the women should be rolling through in no time. Remember, boys, you are a big fish in a big pond. Don’t be afraid to take up space in the online dating world.

Opinion

8 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

Jon Stewart returns just in time to save political commentary Last month, “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central surprised the media world by announcing the return of Jon Stewart as guest host and executive producer of the show after Justin an eight-year hiatus. AlWelch Opinion Editor though his homecoming will not magically cure the deep fractures of American media and political commentary, it’s a good place to start.

Political discourse in the United States is at an abhorrent level. Partisan divides continue to stretch further and further, everyone hates one another and the fundamental underlyings of democracy seem to face more tribulations every day.

In no realm are these sentiments better exemplified than in mainstream media.

From whatever side you look at it, news media is no longer about informing or keeping institutions of power in check. It’s about entertainment and reaffirming the viewer’s worldview. The nightly news has become a place for partisan hacks to pander toward particular audiences, stoking flames to get better viewership at the expense of America’s wellbeing.

Ramping up to an already heated and surely consequential election in 2024, the state of news and commentary should have us all terrified for the future.

Perhaps it’s not all gray skies and rainy days ahead.

“The Daily Show” has been a staple of interplaying satire with news reporting for decades. The show reports on the same things you’d see on CNN and Fox but presents them with a standup-esque delivery.

This format provides entertainment, but holds greater value in poking fun at institutions of power and using the comedy as a thought-provoking critique.

Stewart presided over the show and did it flawlessly for years. His brand of comedy was approachable, easy to find the satire in while also being educational. He found a way to effectively express the absurdity of our political systems — and did it on Comedy Central.

The return of Stewart should be especially stirring for college students and young voters. “The Daily Show” has been tailor-made for the youth and vibrance of college students. The casual comedic commentary on the often-dreary and unappealing topics of American politics is intentionally easy to engage with.

The show and Stewart sprung the careers of famous actors and commentators like Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Ed Helms, Hasan Minhaj and John Oliver, all of whom were at one point correspondents on the Daily Show.

For years, Stewart crafted “The Daily Show” to be the antithesis of everything wrong with American media and political discourse. Two decades ago, Stewart made a guest appearance on Tucker Carlson’s CNN show, “Crossfire.” Stewart’s interview — which included him calling the hosts partisan hacks and more inventively vulgar words — ended in Carlson being laughed out of each segment by his own audience.

The show was canceled a few months later after running for 30 years, in part because of Stewart’s evisceration of the program. Long before Carlson became the most influential right-wing media personality on behalf of the Trump Administration, Stewart had him publicly pegged for the hijink journalist mouthpiece that he is.

Flags

Lucy Osborn, Staff Cartoonist A third-year studying art and design

Scan this QR code to read the full article on technicianonline.com

21 Tusk Street

Jordan Ramsey, Staff Cartoonist A third-year studying art and design

Ducks in a Row

Wylie Phu, Staff Cartoonist A third-year studying art and design

TECHNICIAN 9

Culture TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Smut sells: The rise of romance novels

Kelsey Bohn Correspondent

Editor’s Note: This article contains references to sexual violence.

Smut is an increasingly popular term Smut is an increasingly popular term most often used to describe sexual content in young adult and new adult novels. The tag “#smut” has received over 6.2 billion views on TikTok, where avid readers go to discuss and recommend romance novels. This massive interest in romantic literature has pushed discussions about the benefits and drawbacks of smut-heavy content to the forefront of many minds.

Lisa Paciulli, a primatologist and professor for “The Biology of Love and Sex” course at NC State, said their class focuses more on the biological aspects of love, but they and their students often find themselves in a range of discussions, including the vast market for romance novels.

Paciulli said the main incentive for the inclusion of sexual content in any medium comes down to capturing the audience’s attention.

“We are biologically, evolutionarily, primed to notice things related to sex because that is how our genes are passed into the next gene pool,” Paciulli said. “Whether we feel prudish or very open about it, it’s in our DNA that things about sex automatically attract our attention.”

Some argue that sexual content should be limited in novels, especially those marketed toward young adults, because of the lack

COURTESY OF KELSEY BOHN

of representation of consensual, healthy, realistic sexual relationships.

“You’re constantly being exposed to the good aspects of sex but not what we might culturally consider negative aspects such as contracting sexually transmitted diseases, getting pregnant and having sex with someone and never seeing them again,” Paciulli said.

Paciulli also pointed toward a scientific literature review which says the relationship between adolescent sexuality and media use is not purely good or bad.

“If the book’s approach has a lot of com-

munication and actually talks about consent, that could give young readers the idea that consent has to take place first,” Paciulli said.

Romance books that are “sex-positive” intend to emphasize the importance of trust and consent in sexual relationships.

They are distinguished by their attempt to provide a space for realistic conversations about everything, good and bad, that sex encompasses.

Sex-positive literature often excludes themes such as sexual violence, which can either bring criticism for ignoring its ex-

istence or praise for not toeing the line of romanticization.

Luke LeGrand, a rhetoric and communication Ph.D. candidate and instructor of “Writing in Film” at NC State, studies a broad array of concepts and mediums that involve sexual content in his research and often questions content trends in the media.

“It’s an interesting question to ask: ‘Why is some content trending towards violence, and what does that suggest?’” LeGrand said.

SMUT continued page 11

Swiping for love: Dating in the digital age

Riya Kannan

Assistant Culture Editor

In an age where seemingly everything has become electronic, it’s no surprise that dating has found its way into the digital scene. From Tinder and Bumble becoming the norm for 20-somethings looking for love to Instagram DMs replacing traditional meet-cutes, dating apps and other digital forces have found love — and sometimes disaster — for many.

Tommy Jenkins, lecturer in the English department, said the emergence of dating apps was inevitable due to the creation and evolution of social media, particularly since the late ‘90s.

“What’s one of the major developments since the 1990s?” Jenkins said. “Well, obviously, the internet and the rise of social media. Everybody’s on social media now.”

Match.com, the world’s first dating website, was released in 1995. Given the horror stories many seem to have about their dating app experiences, it might seem surprising that the platforms have endured nearly 30 years.

Anna Behler, assistant professor in the

Department of Psychology, said regardless of these seemingly endless stories of negative experiences with dating apps, the platforms are gaining popularity.

“I think they get a bad reputation,” Behler said. “Everybody knows stories, … that you might have to go through a bunch of negative experiences. But actually, there is research showing that most people now are meeting people in some sort of online or app-based setting.”

Behler said along with an increase in the popularity of dating apps, there has been an increase in people finding love through social media apps such as Instagram.

“You could start interacting with them through social media, through DMs,” Behler said. “People may not consider that online dating. They might feel like that’s more of an organic meet up, even though it’s sort of the same thing. You’re meeting them through the use of technology, but it’s not a complete stranger in the way that meeting somebody on a dating app is.”

SWIPING continued page 10

GRAPHIC BY AVERY SZAKACS

Culture 10 TECHNICIAN What happened to the rom-coms of the ‘90s?

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

Riya Kannan

Assistant Culture Editor

Despite over 30 romantic comedies being released last year alone, some consider the genre to be dead, holding modern romance films against the rom-coms of the ‘90s and early 2000s and being disappointed when the same quality isn’t emulated.

Tommy Jenkins, lecturer in the English department, said this longing for a decade of the past isn’t something new but that nostalgia is one of many contributing factors in the renewed love for ‘90s rom-coms.

“In some respects, every generation gets some nostalgia for two generations before them,” Jenkins said. “I think that’s fairly common. In the ‘80s, there was a lot of nostalgia looking back on the ‘60s, which don’t seem so great. But, the movies and music? They were.”

Jenkins said the nostalgia for the ‘90s may be partially attributed to the societal and technological differences between now and then.

“This is a generalization, but [the ‘90s] were a last grasp for Hollywood before streaming came into play,” Jenkins said.

“Once streaming came into play … it’s kind of hard to keep up with all of the content that’s available to us now. In the ‘90s, it was still like, ‘Hey, look at this big romantic comedy.’ … It’s more difficult for movies to do that now unless they really break through.”

Sarah Grunder Ruiz, lecturer in the English department and romance author, said the preservation of long-loved tropes ensures that classic stories of romance and romantic fiction remain somewhat uniform, and the ‘90s did a particularly good job of portraying beloved romance tropes.

“The films of the ‘90s follow the traditional romance tropes you see in the genre,” Grunder Ruiz said. “I think that in general romance, whether it’s a book or a film, that’s all it’s about. There’s a sense of safety in exploring various themes, tropes in those sorts of movies and books, and

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Behler said the difference between using formal dating apps and using traditional social media to find connections is rooted in individual preference.

“It’s going to be up to each individual user,” Behler said. “And I think that might be what makes it feel difficult to connect because you have a bunch of people, many of whom have different motivations.”

Behler recognized there are pros and cons to the digital world — including the world of online dating.

In general, Behler said, people using

GRAPHIC BY RIYA KANNAN

you’re guaranteed a happy ending.”

Jenkins and Grunder Ruiz both pointed to increasing diversity as the biggest change in rom-coms over the last few decades.

“One of the big differences in content, which is a good thing, is that there is more diversity in the people that we’re seeing being romantically involved,” Jenkins said.

“And we didn’t get that as much in the ‘90s.

In the ‘90s, it was more going to be straight white people.”

Jenkins said there were rom-coms featuring diverse characters in the ‘90s, but that they were often marketed to specific and niche audiences rather than the whole moviegoing population.

“I don’t mean to say there weren’t other movies, but one of the things that streaming has done, in some ways, is it’s kind of brought this democracy to content,” Jenkins said. “If we’re going to see … a romantic comedy that’s going to feature minorities, in the ‘90s, it would have been an independent movie. If it’s going to feature African Americans, it’s going to be geared and marketed for African American people. Whereas now, you can see that these films have become very, very popular.”

Jenkins said “Crazy Rich Asians” could be considered an example of a modernday rom-com that features a diverse cast while preserving typical rom-com tropes comparable to those of the ‘90s.

“There’s that very common element of ‘Oh, the family doesn’t approve. His family or her family doesn’t like the other romantic partner,’” Jenkins said. “And there are conflicts about all kinds of things that have been around forever. But, in that particular diverse setting, though, a mainstream audience hasn’t seen that.”

Jenkins said the fact that media mirrors our society can make ‘90s rom-com magic hard to emulate today without actually being in the ‘90s. Despite the preservation of certain tropes, the need to modernize ‘90s rom-coms came from a modernizing society. Since we live in the digital age, it’s impossible to make a film without the incorporation of technology or social media.

“If you are writing a romantic comedy today, you’re going to have to include something with social media because everybody’s on social media now,” Jenkins said.

The magic of the ‘90s rom-coms may have relied on the absence of social media, mak-

ing it difficult for films today to emulate the same tropes to such a strict degree. Jenkins said there were defining characteristics of ‘90s films that can’t realistically be recreated today, such as the classic miscommunication trope seen throughout ‘90s media, including in ever-famed ‘90s sitcoms such as “Frasier.”

“To create these romantic entanglements in the ‘90s, you could do all kinds of things where people miscommunicate because everybody didn’t have a cell phone,” Jenkins said. “Now, it’s like we’re texting each other, we’re gonna know where everybody is and doing all the time.”

Grunder Ruiz and Jenkins said they believe that the long-loved tropes from the ‘90s still exist in rom-coms and romantic fiction today but that they’ve required a kind of modernizing on account of an increasingly modernizing society.

What we miss in the ‘90s rom-coms might not be just the stories themselves, but the preservation of what might seem to be a simpler society that, by design, allowed for more immersive and entertaining stories.

dating apps or looking for romantic connections through traditional social networks are aiming to find some sort of relationship. The differences in motivations of different people on dating apps come from the kinds of relationships they may be looking for and may be what lead to the seemingly endless amounts of dating app disaster stories.

Behler said the differences in intention and unclear motivations perceived through online communication may lead to the frustration and disappointment many people face through dating apps and digital connections.

“You may have some people who are there just for a short-term thing, some people who are looking for a serious commitment,” Behler said. “And if the com-

munication isn’t good from the start, and if those intentions aren’t clear, that can be really frustrating for people.”

Many point to social media as something that has exemplified isolation and loneliness in society. Behler said that in relationships, they can do the same.

“There was research published or a survey a few years ago that said over half of long-term committed couples are frustrated with their partner’s cell phone or technology use,” Behler said. “And so we’re seeing that the loneliness thing is not just something that’s affecting single people.”

Behler recognized that while dating apps, like all other forms of digital social media, can connect people, they also have the potential to exemplify loneliness.

“Dating apps themselves, … when it goes well and when there’s good communication, even if the relationships don’t turn into something, can certainly reduce that feeling of loneliness,” Behler said. “But I do think, just like with an inperson relationship, if things start to sour, that can make you feel isolated.”

Behler said as dating apps gain popularity, companies are becoming more receptive to consumer preferences and adapting to demand, and improved platforms may lead to increased successful connections.

“Over time, I think that dating apps will improve from the user perspective,” Behler said. “Companies want to make sure that they keep in business. So they’re going to want to do things to improve the ways that people connect on them.”

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Technician’s Tiny Love Stories

Technician Editorial Board

We’re surrounded by love, in ways big and small. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, here are Technican’s Tiny Love Stories.

Jameson Wolf, Editor-in-Chief: He brought me cookies after work. We played air guitar at junior prom. He moved away for school. We traded cross-country flights on breaks and long weekends. After four years of “see you in five months,” it’s nice to finally fall asleep each night saying “see you in the morning.”

Ethan Bakogiannis, Editor-in-Chief: It’ll sound silly to someone who doesn’t understand it, but I find love in Technician.

Technician isn’t just the admittedly ugly Witherspoon Student Center, but the people inside. It’s the 3 a.m. print nights where I’m sentenced to “giggle jail.” It’s the effortless recollection of NC State sports memories with my buddy Ben. It’s every time I beg Ellie to get rid of those darn preview lines on InDesign, and it’s every time we get to say, “Let’s go make a paper.”

Technician gave me some of my best friends and fondest memories. It’s also dished out some of the toughest lessons and most difficult moments. But without fail, Technician’s been there for me — especially when other people haven’t been.

Technician drives me up the wall sometimes, but that’s perfectly fine with me. It’s gotten me through way more than I care to admit in a public forum, and I’ll always love it because of that.

Emily Vespa, Managing Editor: Growing up — and now, whenever I visit home — my family makes it a priority to spend time at dinner together in an official capacity. We keep full and accurate family dinner meeting minutes pursuant to NC Gen. Stat. Sec. 143-318.10.

Meetings are promptly called to order daily at 6 p.m. and more often than not are adjourned while we blast music in the kitchen as we clean up. I love to reread our meeting minutes and remember all the “I

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“I would argue that it is tied up in a lot of the patriarchal structures that we have built.”

Infamous romance novels such as “50 Shades of Gray,” “365 Days” and “It Ends With Us” all depict violent, overbearing tendencies from the male partner. As a result, they have been criticized for blurring the lines between consensual relationships and abuse.

“There is this reaction to women’s liberation, women having increased agency and the existence of queer people and trans

Think You Should Leave” references, votes of no confidence, funny stories and whatever my siblings and I bickered about that day.

Katherine Wan, Assistant Video Editor: Love is found in the dog-eared corners, yellowed pages and cracked spines of my favorite books. Signs of use are signs of love, and I love reading.

Elizabeth Dull, Culture Editor: There’s this Beanie Baby my sister bought for me the day I was born, and it reminds me of the loving relationship we’ve had since day one. The plush’s name is Diddley the Dog, but I named him “soft puppy.” His Beanie Baby poem goes a little like this: “Wherever I go anywhere, people always stop and stare.

They’re not trying to be mean … they’ve never seen a dog that’s green!”

Matthew Burkhart, Assistant News Editor: Coming home, often from hours of draining social situations or brutal study sessions, I’m always greeted with my dog’s “roo-roo’s,” supposedly demanding to know where I had been the whole day without her.

She follows me at my side, reminding me of the tricks I taught her as I set my things down, while also dodging her salival attacks when my head comes into her 2-foot-tall range.

Running up to me in the backyard and dropping her most prized possessions — things that barely resemble tennis balls anymore — proves to me the existence of unconditional love. No matter how much I overanalyze myself, I will always be the apple of my scruffy little mutt’s eye.

Justin Welch, Opinion Editor: Lucky B’s.

Ellie Bruno, Design Editor: I’ve been accumulating love for almost three years now, through glances across crowded parties, inside jokes only we understand, strings of emojis next to our contact names, yellowed postcards and dried flowers. I keep it in the pinky promise by my heart, tarnished and worn, staining my chest blue from wear. people,” LeGrand said. “There is an attempt by a patriarchal establishment to objectify through violence what people feel socially entitled to. That’s my theory.”

In the end, Paciulli said, each individual must think critically to distinguish between positive consensual sexual relationships and romanticization of toxicity or abuse.

“If you have critical reading skills, you’re able to draw a line between the parts that are essential for the story and what parts portray real aspects of life that someone may encounter in the future,” Paciulli said. “The idea goes back to always teaching everyone to critically consume their media.”

Cate Humphreys, Assistant Photo Editor: Love is the dancing light shining through the canopy of trees that towered above me as a child in my magical backyard. We called it “The Creek.” The Creek was a place filled with fairies under rocks, creatures tucked in tree hollows and sweet green onions waiting to be pulled out of the wet ground. Love is my dad boosting me up onto his shoulders so I could be “Princess of The Creek.” Love is the awe and wonder of the world around us; the innocence of childhood.

Carter McDermott, Assistant Design Editor: As the hammers strike the strings, the ivories swing. A melody in the key of uncertainty bends to the rhythms of life.

Riya Kannan, Assistant Culture Editor: Love is in the way I’m buying supplies to write physical letters to my best friend. She decided on a whim that she was going to start mailing letters. I’ve now spent a ridiculous amount of money on cards and envelopes, and am actively in pursuit of stamps.

This isn’t necessary by any means — she lives half an hour away, and I text her every day. But she said, “I’m sending you a letter.

Write me back.” So that’s just what I’ll do.

Amelia Russell, Assistant Culture Editor: My partner does the dishes because I hate doing them; takes me home at 3 a.m.; comes to visit me during work just because. After a long time of feeling unlovable at my best, he makes me feel loved even at my worst. I think of going home, and I think of going to him.

Ally Tennant, Assistant News Editor: When asked what love is, my mind goes blank — but I realize it’s all around me. It’s in the cup of coffee I share with my roommate in the morning while we still have sleepy eyes. The walk to class that turns into a sprint because I spent too much time drinking coffee. In the laughs of my friends on a Friday night while we try to latch onto our childhood selves for as long as we can before graduation, and the silence on a still

If you or someone you know is experiencing relationship violence, sexual violence, stalking or any other form of interpersonal violence and are in need of advocacy services, the NC State Women’s Center has trained advocates available to offer crisis intervention, emotional support, resources and referrals. Students can contact the 24/7 Sexual Assault Helpline at 919-5154444 or email ncsuadvocate@ncsu. edu to schedule an appointment with an advocate.

Sunday. It’s in the drive to work where I speed to spend the night writing this newspaper with the people who accept me the most. It’s my friends who are abroad and in different cities that send me silly little texts about their days. It’s my family, who calls me every night to tell me they’re proud of me and that they cooked my favorite meal.

Love is in my life — and even if you think there isn’t, just stop and look around.

Kate Denning, News Editor: When I think of the love in my life, I think of sitting in a kitchen talking about nothing. I think of picking up a friend from the airport. I think of lingering in the doorway because there’s nothing else to say, but no one wants to leave. I think of driving a different route just to be together longer. I think of remembering someone’s favorite fruit and keeping it in your fridge for them. I think of sending Spotify links and funny TikToks and voice memos. I think of a fellow editor making a graphic on a moment’s notice. I think of texts that read “hey are you doing ok lol” because we want to check in on each other, but we’re not entirely sure how to — I think of trying anyway.

Editorial Board: We all find love from Ben McNeely, our editorial advisor. He’s always there to lend an ear or give us advice, and he cares enough about us to give us constructive criticism. He makes us all better journalists, editors and people. Ben, you’re the best!

Scan this QR code to read the full article on technician.com

Advocacy services through the NC State Women’s Center are available for all students inclusive of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

For more information on advocacy services, please visit go.ncsu.edu/supportsurvivors. If you would like to talk to a confidential resource, you can also connect with the NC State Counseling Center at 919-515-2423. You may also visit go.ncsu.edu/safe for additional information on resources and reporting options.

Sports

12 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

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Cheerleading stunt group brings national title back to Raleigh

JEREMY BYRNE/TECHNICIAN

The NC State cheerleaders wave their arms and flags before the game against Marshall University at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. NC State beat Marshall 48-41.

Erin Ferrare

Assistant Sports Editor

From the football field to volleyball courts and beyond, NC State cheerleaders are everywhere throughout the athletic seasons. What many students might not realize is that those cheerleaders are competitors too, and they go up against some of the best teams in collegiate cheer.

From Friday, Jan. 12, to Sunday, Jan. 14, junior Angelina Potynsky, junior Alex Devonmille, senior Cora Mabrey and junior Malea Hurley traveled to Orlando, Florida for the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s College Nationals. With extra practices and hard work, the group won the national title in the partner stunt category.

“We practiced and pretty much prepared on our own alongside the team practices,” Hurley said. “The team practices are a priority, and so deciding that we wanted to compete at UCA meant that we were going to have to put in the extra work.”

This competition is the culmination of everything these athletes have worked toward and allows them to showcase their skills at a national level. Competing as

a stunt group and not as a team, the group represented the Wolfpack on their own and dedicated themselves to their sport outside of their scheduled practices. The reward is the third national title the Pack has won in this UCA event.

“We started stunting together a year ago, and we’ve entered into stunt competitions at summer camps we attend and won those,” Hurley said. “That’s when we decided we wanted to compete at UCA again, which we did the year before and got third. So we kind of just built on what we’ve already been practicing.”

The national-title-winning team wasn’t the only group representing the Wolfpack in the group stunt.

In order to compete in this event, groups must send a video in the fall semester showcasing their talents and wait to be selected. Two more groups from NC State qualified and made the trip down to Orlando to compete, placing third and 10th in the same event — the first time in its 41 years of competition that the Pack has had three top-10 finishes.

When it comes to building the routine, all creative freedom is left to the performers in each group. Different skills show a different level of difficulty to the judges, so getting the right moves in the routine is cru-

cial to scoring high and winning.

“I usually just look at skills from all over the highest level college teams and see what they’re doing,” Potynski said. “I look at winning routines from past years to see the structure and outline of what they use, looking at what’s done to it, transitional elements, dismounts and things like that. We then put all the skills we already know how to do and place them in.”

The group is now looking ahead to April and the NCA and National Dance Alliance competition in Daytona, Florida. Last year, NC State cheerleading won its eighth NCA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship in the small coed cheer division.

“It goes beyond what fans see,” Hurley said. “Our competition season is kind of hidden. Unless you know cheerleading, you don’t understand how difficult the elements are and the whole process of putting together a full routine, especially with 20 people. For it all to come together and execute perfectly within two minutes is extremely difficult.”

The NCA and NDA College Nationals will take place from Wednesday, April 10, to Saturday, April 13, and will be available to watch on Varsity TV.

Sports

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

ALEX MANUEL/TECHNICIAN

Freshman guard Zoe Brooks jumps through the lane during the game against Louisville in Reynolds Coliseum on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Brooks had eight points. The Wolfpack defeated the Cardinals 77-67.

James leads No. 3 women’s basketball to 77-67 win over then-No. 15 Louisville Colby Trotter Sports Editor

No. 3 NC State women’s basketball earned its second consecutive win over a ranked opponent with a 77-67 victory against then-No. 15 Louisville at Reynolds Coliseum. Junior guard Aziaha James scored a game-high 28 points with 16 coming in the first quarter.

The Wolfpack (20-2, 8-2 ACC) and Cardinals (19-4, 8-2 ACC) competed in the 19th annual Play4Kay game, which honors former NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, who battled breast cancer during her time with the Pack. Yow is the winningest coach in Wolfpack women’s basketball history and guided the Pack to its only Final Four in 1998.

Both teams wore pink jerseys and cancer survivors were honored at halftime. Over $500,000 was raised during the game for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

“It means more than just the game today,” said senior guard Madison Hayes. “It’s really important for us, you know, obviously to

win the game, but obviously, you know, talk to them and just let them know that we’re grateful that they’re here and they’re just powerful women. They’re strong women.”

NC State honored its legendary coach by jumping out to a 47-30 halftime lead powered by 20 first-half points from James. The junior guard was hitting shots from everywhere on the floor and was especially lethal from beyond the arc with three 3-pointers by halftime. She started the game driving to the basket and that helped her get better looks from 3-point range.

“James in the first half was really on a roll,” said head coach Wes Moore. “She’s kind of streaky, and first half she was feeling it, getting to the rim and you know, hitting big shots. … I thought she really helped us get out to the lead.”

After both teams scored over 20 points in the first quarter, it looked like it may be a fast-paced offensive game, but the Pack got back to its defensive ways in the second quarter and held Louisville to just eight points in the frame.

While NC State locked down the Car-

dinals defensively, freshman guard Zoe Brooks orchestrated the offense on the other end. Brooks scored a team-high six points in the quarter and dished out two assists.

“She gives us that spark off the bench,” Hayes said. “She’s settling into that role that she’s in now. … She scored a couple of big buckets down the stretch in the first half, which that really helped get us going.”

With a 17-point lead at the half, it seemed like the Wolfpack was set for a comfortable win, but nine turnovers and poor shooting allowed the Cardinals to hang around. Louisville cut the deficit to six multiple times in the fourth quarter. However, James answered back with a clutch bucket of her own two of those times.

James once again put the team on her back in the fourth quarter, scoring or assisting on 10 of the Pack’s 18 points. Her one assist resulted in a Hayes 3-pointer that gave NC State an 11-point lead with under four minutes to go.

While James will get most of the praise for the Wolfpack’s win, Hayes’ performance should also be recognized. The senior guard

recorded a double-double, finishing the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds. It was an emotional night for Hayes, who has personally dealt with the impact of cancer.

“Cancer has touched my life,” Hayes said.

“My mom’s dad passed away from lung cancer before I went to college my freshman year. And then my granny, my dad’s mom, she passed away last summer before I came back for the semester. … I wrote their names on my shoe, just playing for them, and that’s just what they wanted for me.”

NC State continues to prove why it is one of the best teams in the country as it won its fifth game over a ranked opponent this season. The Pack also earned its 20th win of the season, marking its ninth-straight season with 20-plus victories.

Things don’t get any easier for the Wolfpack as it’s set to face its third consecutive top-25 opponent. NC State will stay at Reynolds Coliseum to take on No. 16 Virginia Tech on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m.

Sports

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TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

Huskies, Heels and more await Pack women’s tennis at ITA Championships

Ethan Bakogiannis Editor-in-Chief

After missing the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in 2023, No. 7 NC State women’s tennis punched its ticket to Seattle for the 2024 Championships with its recent win against Clemson.

Composed of the nation’s best teams, the ITA Indoors gives programs a chance to test their mettle against the rest of the most talented competition from across the country before conference play begins. While NC State was knocked out by an underdog Vanderbilt team before it could reach the Championships last year, the Wolfpack has an opportunity to right the ship against ranked teams at this year’s tournament.

However, in order to claim the team’s first ITA title in program history, the red-andwhite will have to make its way through both cross-country competition and familiar foes. The Pack is slated to play the hosting No. 21 Washington Huskies in the first round of the Championships. After a potential win over the Huskies, NC State

has a likely chance of playing none other than No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill in the subsequent round.

With each team toting 6-0 records heading into the event, the Wolfpack and the Huskies are set to go blow-for-blow in the first round of the Championships. However, NC State’s deep singles roster, doubles prowess and ranked match experience should give the Wolfpack the edge against Washington.

NC State currently boasts five ranked singles players, including No. 3 senior Amelia Rajecki, while none of Washington’s players own an ITA singles ranking. Meanwhile, two of the Pack’s three doubles pairs boast rankings, where again, the Huskies have none.

NC State’s recent win over No. 19 Tennessee should also give the Wolfpack an advantage on Friday, Feb. 6. While the Wolfpack has already beaten a ranked team, Tennessee, on the road this season, Washington’s first ranked test is set to come against the Pack.

If NC State is able to down the Huskies,

the road to its first ITA Indoors Championship trophy gets exponentially tougher in the next round. With the top-ranked Tar Heels likely to beat the currently unranked USC Trojans in their first round, all signs are pointing towards another dramatic rendition of one of the most notable rivalries in women’s college tennis — NC State versus UNC. Last season, the rival’s dramatic threematch saga defined the Wolfpack’s season.

Just weeks after getting swept 7-0 in Chapel Hill, the Wolfpack stunned the undefeated No. 1 Tar Heels for its first ACC Championship in program history. But Carolina got the last laugh by defeating NC State in the NCAA Championship final. Now, the two sides are potentially set up for a slugfest in Seattle.

Beating the Huskies is one thing, but overcoming the perennially excellent Tar Heels is an entirely different task. As the best team in college tennis for several years now, Carolina is a formidable threat to the Pack’s chances at an ITA Indoors title.

UNC has ruthlessly dominated the event

in recent memory. The Tar Heels are gunning for their fifth ITA Indoors Championship title in a row and have won the tournament seven times in the past 10 seasons.

To add insult to injury for NC State, the Wolfpack’s most successful year at the ITAs — a 2022 run to the semifinals — was cut short by Carolina itself.

Without players such as Diana Shnaider and Alana Smith, who played critical roles in the Pack’s last win over Carolina, NC State’s freshmen will likely be thrown into the fire during the second round.

However, no matter the opponent, the Wolfpack’s core of seniors will have to step up in order to succeed. Consisting of Rajecki and her fellow seniors Sophie Abrams, Abigail Rencheli and Gina Dittmann, the red-and-white’s veterans will be relied upon to succeed in the ITAs and throughout the rest of the season.

TENNIS continued page 15

COLUMN

It’s time to crown NC State ‘Punter University’ Colby Trotter Sports Editor

When you think about NC State football players who made it to the NFL, legends like quarterback Philip Rivers or Super Bowl champion Russel Wilson probably come to mind. The Wolfpack has supplied a plethora of quarterbacks to the NFL, earning the nickname “Quarterback University” because of the number of former Pack quarterbacks in the pros Recently, NC State hasn’t been producing NFL talents at the quarterback position, but some would argue it has produced NFL players at the most important position as of late.

I think it’s time we crown NC State “Punter University.”

Not only did the Wolfpack have one of the best punters in the ACC last season in redshirt junior Caden Noonkester, but it had two Pack Pros that shined at the position.

NC State is one of two colleges that currently has multiple starting punters in the NFL, the other being Penn State. This might mean there’s a little debate on which col-

lege can crown itself “Punter University,” but there’s no question that the best punter in the NFL used to don the red-and-white.

Let me introduce you to one of the most intimidating figures in the NFL. He strikes fear into his opponents whenever he trots onto the field after his offense fails to get a first down. Special teams coordinators on the opposing sidelines don’t know what to tell their unit because they understand there is nothing they can do when Las Vegas Raiders punter AJ Cole is ready to slaughter a football with elite precision.

Cole earned his second first-team All-Pro nomination in the last three years and was named to the Pro Bowl for the third-straight season. If the Raiders had a better record last season, he would’ve been up for MVP consideration based on the season he had.

The former Wolfpack punter had the best punting performance in NFL history against the New York Giants last season.

Against the Giants, Cole averaged 63.6 yards per punt, setting the NFL record for best gross average in one game. The Raiders won the game, and there’s no doubt that Cole was the best player on the field that day.

Since breaking an NFL record wasn’t enough, Cole decided to unleash an 83-yard bomb in a game against the Minnesota Vikings, breaking the Raiders franchise record for longest punt. This man has an absolute cannon attached to his leg while also being able to place punts with lethal precision.

Every coach fears Cole because when he is in a position to pin an opponent deep in its territory, he delivers nearly every time.

He was top five in punts inside the 20-yard line and had two games where all his punts were inside the 20, including all four against the Green Bay Packers.

Net average is the punting stat most people look at to determine who the best punter is because it calculates touchbacks and return yards, not just how far the punt went. You can probably guess who led in that department — none other than Cole.

He had a net average of 45.1 yards, which also ranks fourth in NFL history for a single season.

Cole’s resume should be enough to convince almost everyone that NC State is a punting factory, but for the few who aren’t convinced, I present to you Chicago Bears

punter Trenton Gill.

While Gill isn’t close to the level of Cole, he just finished his second season, while Cole didn’t have his breakout season until year three.

Gill has been mostly inconsistent since the Bears drafted him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. He ranks near the middle in about every punting stat, but the potential is there for the young punter.

There is no doubt Gill has a rocket of a leg, evidenced by his 76-yard punt against the Arizona Cardinals. What Gill has to improve upon is his ability to punt with accuracy, a skill that Cole has mastered.

The Bears’ punter had eight touchbacks last season and only 18 punts inside the 20-yard line, meaning most of the time he wasn’t putting his opponent in bad field position. But there is plenty of reason for optimism because Gill played his best at the end of the season. In the last three games, he had four punts inside the 20 and had a net average over 45 in two of those contests.

If you didn’t know, now you know: NC State football is “Punter University.”

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TENNIS

continued from page 14

Beyond UNC, NC State is slated to potentially play top teams such as Virginia and Michigan in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, powerhouse squads such as Stanford and Texas await the Wolfpack in a possible title fight.

While raising a trophy at the end of the ITAs would be a major accomplishment for the team and program, the Indoors serve as a stepping stone to the Wolfpack’s ultimate goals — ACC and NCAA Championships.

Even if NC State is eliminated, it is still guaranteed consolation matches against the nation’s top teams.

No matter the outcome, the ITAs will help prepare the Pack for the rest of its rigorous schedule, highlighted by its annual matches against conference titans UNC, Duke and Virginia, and its formidable nonconference competition, which includes Michigan and Oklahoma.

For now, the red-and-white is prepping for its cross-country flight and first-round bout with Washington. First serve against the Huskies is set for 9:30 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 9

HALLIE WALKER/TECHNICIAN

Senior Abigail Rencheli celebrates after scoring a point during the match against Clemson at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024. Both of Rencheli’s matches went unfinished. NC State beat Clemson 4-0.