Building namesakes — Technician 2/22/24

TECHNICIAN F E BRU A RY 22, 2024

VOL . 104 | NO. 21

BUILDING NAMESAKES SEE PAGE 9

Contents

2 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

IN THIS ISSUE: page

05

NCAA implements new NIL regulations, promotes transparency and protections

THE RADAR Events to keep an eye on for the week of Feb. 22

FROM HOUSE TO MAPLEKORE: THE EVOLUTION OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC

WOLFPACK PICTURES SCREENING: TWILIGHT

Thursday, Feb. 22, 3 - 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 22, 6 p.m.

WITHERSPOON STUDENT CENTER, AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER, 356 Free Join Christopher Dunstan, DJ, dancer, researcher and creative, for an interactive presentation on house music.

TASTY TUESDAY: COOKIE EDITION

CLOTHING UPCYCLING WORKSHOP

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2 - 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 6 - 8 p.m.

CARMICHAEL GYM, TEACHING KITCHEN ROOM 1158

NEWS

D.H. HILL JR. LIBRARY, AUDITORIUM Free Watch “Twilight” with The Wolfpack Pictures’ “trash cinema” themed film series and participate in a Q&A session after the screening.

Free Make cookies and practice mindful eating with NC State Dining and Campus Health dietitians.

TALLEY STUDENT UNION, 3285 Free Learn how to upcycle and repair clothes at the Environmental Justice Symposium’s “World of Waste” workshop.

page

for a childhood 04 Requiem passed

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

OPINION page

14

African American Cultural Center spotlights Black healing through book blitz display

CULTURE page

17

COLUMN: Keatts deserves another year

HALLIE WALKER/TECHNICIAN

NC State poses for a photo with the ACC Regular Season Champions trophy after the meet against Clemson in Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. NC State beat Clemson 197.575-196.000 to be crowned ACC Regular Season Champions.

SPORTS Editors-in-Chief Ethan Bakogiannis Jameson Wolf

technician-editor@ncsu.edu

323 Witherspoon Student Center, NCSU Campus Box 7318, Raleigh, NC 27695 Editorial Advertising Fax Online

919-515-5017 919-515-2411 919-515-5133 technicianonline.com

Assistant News Editors Ally Tennant Matthew Burkhart

Opinion Editor Justin Welch

technician-opinion@ncsu.edu

Culture Editor Elizabeth Dull

Assistant Opinion Editor Skye Crawford

Managing Editor/Brand Manager Emily Vespa

technician-features@ncsu.edu

Copy Desk Chief Rachelle Hernandez

Assistant Culture Editors Riya Kannan Amelia Russell

technician-opinion@ncsu.edu

Design Editor Ellie Bruno

technician-sports@ncsu.edu

technician-managingeditor@ncsu.edu

technician-copydesk@ncsu.edu

Assistant Copy Desk Chief Elliot Johnson News Editor Kate Denning

technician-news@ncsu.edu

technician-design@ncsu.edu

Assistant Design Editor Carter McDermott

Focused Editor Koen Rodabaugh Sports Editor Colby Trotter

Assistant Sports Editors Erin Ferrare Noah Teague

Photo Editors Ethan Rimolt Cate Humphreys

technician-photo@ncsu.edu

Video Editor Isaac Hernandez

technician-video@ncsu.edu

Assistant Video Editor Katherine Wan General Manager Garrett Gough media-sales@ncsu.edu

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.

Opinions expressed in the columns, cartoons, photo illustrations and letters that appear on the Technician’s pages are the views of the individual writers and cartoonists. As a public forum for student expression, the students determine the content of the publication without prior review. To receive permission for reproduction, please write the editor. Subscription cost is $100 per year. A single copy is free to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus. Additional copies are $0.25 each. Printed by Triangle Web Printing, Durham, NC, Copyright 2022 by North Carolina State Student Media. All rights reserved.

COVER BY ELLIE BRUNO

News

TECHNICIAN 3 New details emerge about controversial University welcome packets’ short lifespan

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Ally Tennant

Assistant News Editor

As new students moved into their dorms in August, NC State distributed wellness packets that contained several sexual wellness items ranging from condoms and lube to a sexually suggestive game.

NC State recently released 122 pages of documents that reflect how the University decided to pull the packets, over four months after Technician filed a public records request for communications between the stakeholders.

A total of 10,000 packs were delivered to University Housing, the Graduate school and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Shannon DuPree, director of Wellness and Recreation, said this was the fourth consecutive year the University distributed the packets, which, according to emails the University provided in a public records request, were provided at no cost to NC State.

“Before the packs were handed out, I never laid eyes on them,” DuPree said. “So that was something that we were like, ‘Whoa, that was an oversight’ because when people start emailing, we only realize some of the contents of the packets.”

DuPree said the packets were not curated by NC State. NC State received a list of items that may be included in the packet, including dry shampoo, a condom or lotion.

“They’re basically CVS samples that were inside, so everything in the pack is a sample of something that they carry,” DuPree said.

On Friday, Aug. 18, the day the University stopped distributing the packets, DuPree forwarded a parent’s complaint to the CEO of the company who provided the packs to NC State.

“Imagine how uncomfortable that was when my daughter opened it in front of

both parents and her boyfriend,” the parent’s email read in part. “My daughter and [her boyfriend] are both Christian and will be waiting to have sex until after marriage.

Beyond that it came across that NCSU is a party school where sex and drinking is encouraged by leadership.”

In the email, DuPree said she knew condoms would be included, but asked about the other contents, particularly the “sex card.”

A document on the packs shared by Lisa Zapata, senior associate vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, said Wellness and Recreation did not inspect the packs beforehand. One person who emailed University Housing said they weren’t concerned about the content of the packets; they were concerned that the University didn’t inspect the contents ahead of time.

“I don’t have a problem with the packets including condoms,” the email read. “I am concerned that the university response was that you did not know what was in it. What if there were packets of Tylenol but instead it was fentanyl? What if there were disguised flyers of hate speech? Did nobody thoroughly review these packets?”

DuPree said the University’s response was to immediately remove the packets from circulation and release a statement apologizing for the contents.

However, some parents emailed and said they recognized the importance of educating young adults on sexual health.

“For the record, as a parent, I was not offended at all by the Welcome Packets and was thrilled that NCSU would recognize that the students are adults and treat them as such,” another email read.

Although there was controversy surrounding the packets, DuPree said she

CRIME ON CAMPUS NC State’s weekly log of major incidents across campus ASSIST PERSON

SUSPICIOUS PERSON

Feb. 15, 2024, at 11:28 p.m.

Grove Hall

Feb. 13, 2024, at 7:33 p.m.

D.H. Hill Jr. Library

A student reported that an unknown individual had posted a concerning reply to one of her TikTok stories. There is a documented history of the suspect cyberstalking several students.

A cyberstalking report was taken and a Concerning Behavior Report was completed.

University Police responded after a Staff-1 Guard advised a male set off the metal detector while entering. When stopped he advised he had a gun in his backpack and left out the North door. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate.

ETHAN RIMOLT/TECHNICIAN

thinks the sole purpose of the packets should be to promote mental health — not sexual.

“Sexual health is something that’s important,” DuPree said. “But I think if we were going to have a theme for the packs, it would probably be something more selfcare and mental health related because right now that is the priority for our institution.”

DuPree said the University would not continue to provide welcome packs to students in the future.

“I think we will continue to do all the things that we do in terms of programming during Welcome Week,” DuPree said. “I’m trying to get that messaging out to students as much as we can. But no official welcome items … not at the moment.”

More information on Wolfpack Wellness can be found on the website by scanning this QR code:

Emily Vespa contributed to this reporting.

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

TRAFFIC STOP Feb. 15, 2024, at 10:14 p.m.

Western Boulevard and Varsity Drive A student was stopped for operating a motor vehicle with a covered registration plate. During the stop, a strong odor of alcohol was detected coming from the vehicle. The driver and two passengers all admitted to consuming alcohol under the age of 21.

All three students were referred to the office of Student Conduct for underage consumption.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON Feb. 15, 2024, at 11:15 p.m.

111 Lampe Drive A student reported that a male wearing black clothing entered an open window at this location. A non-affiliated individual was located within the building matching the suspect description. He was arrested for breaking and entering a building.

News 4 TECHNICIAN NC State to mentor Clemson for National Science Foundation’s new research program THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

Sarah Hoffer Staff Writer

Clemson University chose NC State to be its mentor for a program recently created by the National Science Foundation called the Accelerating Research Translation, which is made to speed and scale the learning institution’s research beyond its capacity.

NC State was awarded funding as part of the I-Corps program, which is designed to provide entrepreneurial training for researchers who aren’t familiar with the marketplace.

Pradeep Fulay, lead program director for ART in the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships directorate at the NSF, began working on the program two years ago and said the program is aiming for high achievement.

“There is kind of a disconnect there, high research, or low translation,” Fulay said. “We want them to really boost that capacity for translational research, that is the very big picture goal, to create societal impact and leverage the research that has already been funded, … both economic activity that includes entrepreneurship, startups, industry, university interactions and new opportunities for students.”

Eighteen schools were awarded this investment of about $6 million over four years to fuel their research.

Each institution partnered with a mentor for support.

“They have partnered with places like NC State, where that system for translational activities is already robust, is existing,” Fulay said. “It’s kind of a mentoring role that these institutions are going to play. That is kind of the big picture. … ART is really to bring those institutions up in the direction of where some of the top tier institutions are.”

NC State has been ranked as one of the top schools for research, licensing and startup operations and is consistently in the top five for the number of agreements for new technologies and startups. Over 200 startup companies have been launched based off of NC State research in the past ten years.

GRAPHIC BY ALLY TENNANT

Fulay also said mentors help guide newly awarded universities while also setting them up for success.

“The mentor is not going to tell you that you should be my clone; … that’s not the role of the mentor,” Fulay said. “They need to understand what the institution is, what their needs are and use their expertise, use their resources to really guide this institution that they are mentoring to succeed, figure out what will work, what will be the best approach for them in the short term and in the long run.”

The Office of Research Commercialization at NC State protects, markets and helps license these startups so they can decrease the risks of the early stages of the product or service. Amy Parker, the assistant director for research commercialization programs, manages the programs and initiatives that aid the launch of startup companies at the University.

“I think it’s a high-level kind of validation of the great

work that we’ve done, and we’re seen by Clemson, as well as NSF, as a leading research institution, particularly when it comes to commercialization,” Parker said. “This is not an easy thing to do, just based on the number of projects that ultimately are not successful.”

An objective of this mentorship is to aid Clemson in creating a network of tech investors and to teach them about evaluating market opportunities. Parker said the NC State Office of Research Commercialization wants to see the two universities grow the region with infrastructure for research.

“Clemson is kind of where NC State was many years ago,” Parker said. “They’re trying to kind of build out the infrastructure that exists to be able to help researchers transition technology into the marketplace. I think it speaks to other projects within the region, and also on the national level, to recognize the great work that we’re doing.”

Genetics and Genomics Academy offers unique courses to students

Savannah Woodman Staff Writer

Interested in learning about a pet’s DNA? Want to know how genetics plays a role in brewing? Curious how genetically-modified foods affect the world’s food supply? The Genetics and Genomics Academy offers courses on these subjects to undergraduate students, regardless of their course of study.

The academy was created to expand knowledge in genetics and genomics in an accessible way for students. The academy offers a range of courses, several of which are just one credit hour.

Melissa Ramirez, director of GGA undergraduate programs, said one way the academy hoped to increase genetic scholarship was through eliminating prerequisites for the courses, allowing students to take the classes out of general interest without the concern of creating an unmanageable schedule.

“One thing we really want to stress is that our courses don’t have prerequisites,” Ramirez said. “So we are expecting that students have no background except their high school background in genetics.”

GGA 295 (064): My Pet’s DNA allows students to learn more about their pets.

Students swab their pet’s DNA and send the sample to a company that breaks down genetic information for students.

Students then learn more about the technology behind the process and what the results signify.

GGA 295 (062): Biotechnology and Bioengineered Foods investigates bioengineered foods and how they affect community food supply. GGA 295 (065): Taming Selfish DNA discusses the ethics behind gene-drive technology that could be involved in targeting invasive pests.

The program also offers a three-credit course, USDEI 295, on race, genes and society, which fulfills the U.S. Diver-

sity, Equity and Inclusion credit. In fall 2024, the academy will add a course on the genetics behind brewing beer and food products.

Fred Gould, executive director of the academy, said the academy was created to be an interdisciplinary center that could bring the campus together. Ultimately, the academy is centered around the goal of encouraging students to look at the broader impact of genetics in the world and within their own field of study.

“We want students to not just focus on the genetics but focus on understanding them in the context of society,” Ramirez said. “So yes, I want to talk about how

News

TECHNICIAN 5

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

NCAA implements new NIL regulations, promotes transparency and protections Ethan Bakogiannis Editor-in-Chief

The NCAA Division I Council recently passed a set of regulations to promote transparency and protect student athletes when activating their right to profit from their name, image and likeness, or NIL. From athletes making small deals with local restaurants to inking multi-million dollar contracts with international brands like Adidas, NIL has transformed the landscape of college sports since its introduction in July 2021. However, the change from the NCAA’s previous amateurism policy has invited a new set of pitfalls for student athletes to avoid.

In an effort to protect student athletes, the NCAA will provide standardized contract recommendations, data on realistic rates for deals and a registry of credible and verified agents for student athletes as soon as August. These regulations are designed to alleviate problems such as navigating the dealmaking space, finding quality and fair NIL deals, warding off eligibility concerns and weeding out potential bad actors.

Vincent Nicolsen, attorney, sports agent and owner of Raleigh-based sports agency 919 Sports Management, explained the NCAA’s rush to fix these issues faced by student athletes across the country.

“In 2021, a lot of those things kind of just blew past everybody as the process really opened up very quickly,” Nicolsen said.

“And then now, here we are three years later, and I think it’s starting to become clear that those are considerations that are important in figuring out what the landscape looks like.”

While still in the early stages of colle-

giate-level NIL, the NCAA is amending its original rules with updated considerations such as standardized contracts. Nicolsen compared these contracts with current scholarship contracts offered to nearly every student athlete to create a level of fairness and consistency to the process.

“I think standardizing the structure helps create a more fair playing field for every party involved,” Nicolsen said. “And I don’t even necessarily mean standardized as far as what people get paid but standardized as far as what the structure of it looks like.”

After working with local athletes as an independent NIL agent licensed through the North Carolina Secretary of State, Nicolsen said he thinks it’s important for students to have the right kind of advice in their ear. Often, navigating the legal jargon of contracts can be difficult for 18- to 23-year-olds, and Nicolsen said having the experience and knowledge of attorneys and certified public accountants can be vital for

genetic engineering is going to be used to manage the load of our food supply, but what does that mean to be able to feed our community and our world? So we want to make those issues local for students.”

Since the 1950s, NC State has had a strong presence in the field of genetics, which is the study of individual genes and inheritance of traits. Genomics is the study of the entire genome and how different genes interact with each other and the environment.

Gould said companies like 23andMe, which analyze DNA to look at a person’s health and ancestry, are examples of the study of genomics in the world today.

Understanding the implications behind processes in genetics and genomics is important to the academy’s initiative.

The academy also offers a unique, oneyear graduate program called the Genetics and Genomics Scholars. The program

offers 15 fellowships and educates students on how knowledge of genetics and genomics can enhance their own field of work.

The graduate program includes students in several disciplines and Ph.D. programs, ranging from physics to biochemistry. The program offers students a survey course of genetics and genomics and allows them to rotate through research labs over a course of five to six weeks.

“And when they’re finished, then they go out to their own departments where they’re going to get their Ph.D.s, but they know some other students,” Gould said.

“So you may be in physics, but now you know somebody who’s working in plant biology, and ‘Oh, is there some connection here?’ So you can connect your advisor’s labs together, maybe, so it’s been a big exploration and it’s been very successful so far.”

GRAPHIC BY ELLIE BRUNO

young athletes.

“You still should want a professional CPA, attorney, whoever, to read those contracts, to help you understand them so you know what your rights and obligations are for those many things that could happen between freshman year and senior year,” Nicolsen said. “There’s a lot that can change for a player, and if you’ve got a deal that says you’re supposed to do X, Y and Z and then two years later, something happens in your life or something changes from your perspective, you need to know, ‘What are your obligations?’”

Chris Vurnakes, general manager for 1PACK, NC State’s NIL collective, said the organization is already providing student athletes under its umbrella with short, standardized, once-a-month contracts in order to simplify the process.

NIL collectives such as 1PACK represent a group of student athletes at their respective universities based on the public’s demand

for those athletes. Vurnakes said 1PACK is focused on protecting its student athletes while simultaneously treating them as business partners, and currently supports 80 to 90 Wolfpack athletes through fan memberships, donor programs, corporate sponsorships and special fundraising events.

Scan this QR code to view the entire article on technicianonline.com

CONTRIBUTED BY GENETICS AND GENOMICS ACADEMY

The academy welcomes new undergraduate course ideas in the field of genetics and genomics from both students and instructors. To suggest a course idea as a student, email Melissa Ramirez (mvramire@ncsu.edu). For instructors interested in teaching an undergraduate course, fill out this form.

Opinion

6 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

Requiem for a childhood passed A

Koen Rodabaugh Focused Editor

s I reflect on how my life has changed over the last four years, I often get the sense I’m out of my depth. Midweek, I took the time to let my mind wander to wherever it felt like going. The result was not what I expected, but it brought me immense joy, a kind I haven’t felt in

nearly a decade.

This nostalgic trip was the result of my rediscovery of “Teen Beach Movie,” a 2013 Disney film I haven’t thought of since it first came out. I’m not usually the type to reminisce about my past, but taking the time to do so was extremely freeing.

With each scene I was taken to another world — not the one set in the movie but in my past. As comical as it seems to sit in my apartment watching a kid’s movie, it was exactly what I needed. It relieved me temporarily of my modern stressors, the feeling of flux I’ve waded in as I contemplate what my future looks like after I graduate in May. This past year has taxed me mentally, and at times, it progressively feels like nothing is holding me back from the seemingly eternal drag of adulthood responsibilities.

Am I still a kid, or am I an adult? The world seems to treat me like both and neither at the same time, and I don’t even know

what to think.

Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to all I will do in the future, but the double consciousness I feel as a college student is immense, and this semester feels like a reckoning.

This reckoning I struggle with feels like the death of my childhood. It feels like with each passing day, I step further away from the childlike merriment, wonder and emotional freedom I was fortunate enough to experience growing up.

I feel wracked with immeasurable pressures, and I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. I feel so uncertain about who I am, what I am meant to be and what I am expected to be.

I’ve applied for law schools only to be rejected. It hurt me to write my personal statement — which felt like an outpouring of a quintessential part of my identity onto a piece of paper — only to see it rejected by a faceless admissions officer.

I’ve struggled mentally to step into my role as an editor at this paper. Do my ideas hold up to the standard of my peers, my superiors or my readers? Am I a strong enough writer to make a difference, to stand alongside my fellow editors, to justify my role on the editorial board?

I’ve considered countless ideas, most of which will never come to fruition. I constantly hit dead ends investigating subjects.

I mostly get rejected attempting to set up interviews or obtain public records. Is this normal, or am I just a bad journalist?

As strange as it sounds, when I watched “Teen Beach Movie,” all these personal challenges disappeared. I was transported to a time when nothing mattered, when everything was free and simple.

At that moment, I was back at home sitting on my carpet floor staring at my grainy gray tubular TV waiting for the countdown to the “Teen Beach Movie” premiere to strike zero like it was New Year’s Eve. In my mind, I was my 11-year-old self again, watching a simple musical I’d been waiting half the summer to watch.

Every stressor faded away. I didn’t have monumentally depressing topics to study or homework to do. There were no interviews I had to set up. There were no challenges balancing schedules for work, friends, family, clubs or school. I didn’t have any law school essays to write.

All that existed at that moment was myself. Watching one of my favorite movies from childhood released me from the modern world, beyond the firmament of maturity into the bliss of childhood simplicity.

Initially, I was worried about writing about this experience. I didn’t want to be taken as some Disney adult obsessed with nostalgic memories and items. I’m not usually this way. But in that moment, I gave

myself the grace to simply enjoy something I hadn’t even thought about in a decade.

I wanted to share this experience because it helped me realign myself and recenter my identity. As much as this may be a requiem for a childhood passed, it’s also a call to action for myself and others.

That childlike wonder we felt only a decade ago does not have to be separate from our contemporary selves. That feeling of just sitting down and enjoying life as it is right now is still possible.

Every time I get the chance to play poker with my friends, I make it known that I cherish the bond and space we’ve made for each other. Every time I sit down to watch guilty pleasures like ”The Bachelor” or “Love Island” with my girlfriend, I cherish that time spent.

In other words, I reminded myself that I have spaces to escape the world temporarily.

I cherish all the people around me and the grace they give me to be fully myself.

For whoever reads this, give yourself grace. Give your fellow humans grace. Cherish your friends. Take the time out of your life to value your personhood. As difficult as life can be, that childhood freedom is not gone. It’s still inside you and always will be.

Give yourself the opportunity to fall into that simple freedom again.

There’s no right path to earning a degree I

spent my freshman yea r study ing at Loyola University Chicago before taking a gap semester. This spring, I moved to NC State, beginning the semester with hundreds Sophia of other transfers and new Robertson first-year students.

Correspondent According to NC State’s undergraduate admissions website, 20% of the University’s students begin college at another institution. While most students go straight from high school to college, some take time off to work or enter the military. Many students also opt to transfer in the middle of their college career.

Transferring or starting school later in life can be a very isolating experience. To promote the success of these unconventional paths, they must first be normalized. Additionally, universities need to have adequate resources for these students.

Community College Collaboration, which launched in 2018, provides North Carolina students with the opportunity for guaranteed transfer admission into NC State after completing an associate degree at any one of 19 different community colleges. The C3

staff provides continued support to these students from admission until graduation.

During her time in college, Martha Harmening, director of NC State’s C3 program, was a transfer student at NC State. She now has over 25 years of experience working in higher education.

“The challenges that transfer students face are real,” Harmening said.

She added that at a large university like NC State, it can be difficult for individuals to find their niche, and part of the C3 program’s goal is to help students overcome this obstacle.

Members of the C3 team meet with students twice during their first semester at NC State to make sure they are acclimating well, and the organization hosts events throughout the year to help students make connections with faculty and other members of the Pack.

Harmening said there are many aspects of transferring that need to be talked about, from policies around admissions to course registration and general campus involvement.

“I do think it’s important that the University continues to have those conversations and engage faculty so that everyone under-

stands the importance of transfers on this campus,” Harmening said.

C3 students come from many backgrounds, with students ranging from 16-year-olds who graduated high school early to parents in their 50s.

“Our students in terms of their academic journey represent just about every path you could consider,” Harmening said. “It’s a very heterogeneous group of people.”

Jon Westover, associate vice provost and director of admissions, spoke similarly about the range of ways students end up at NC State.

“What we want the broader community to know is that there’s more than one pathway to NC State,” Westover said.

Even students freshly graduated from high school may not begin their college education in a traditional way. NC State’s Spring Connect program allows qualified students who applied for the fall semester but weren’t admitted due to reasons such as a lack of on-campus housing availability to come to NC State in the spring. About 300-350 first-year students began their NC State experience this way this past January.

With connections forming and friend groups being established during the fall

semester, transferring in the spring can particularly be a challenge.

“There’s always a transition from one educational environment to the next,” Westover said.

While orientation and welcome week provide students with an opportunity to get used to a new environment, there’s often a sense of lingering uncertainty for new students. Westover believes being able to find the proper on-campus resources is crucial to combating this.

Transfer Student Services and New Student Programs are starting points, but it’s also important to get immersed in the Wolfpack community, which could involve attending club meetings or sporting events.

NC State has over 800 clubs and organizations, and I’ve found them to be one of the best ways to meet people and become a part of the school’s culture.

I always imagined I’d go to the same university for all four years of my college education, but I’ve come to realize that there’s no harm in having an indirect path to earning my degree. For me, and many others, transferring is an opportunity. It’s a fresh start.

TECHNICIAN 7

Opinion TECHNICIANONLINE.COM

DUELING COLUMNS

Your Stanley Cup isn’t saving the environment

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

lor or style or limited edition version your heart desires. But just buy one. Maybe two.

Not a cabinet full.

There is no justification for owning a collection of Stanley water bottles or for purchasing them for resale values in the hundreds of dollars. There is no reason you should need one cup in every size, style and color. There’s no need for a separate bottle for the house, school, work and the car. You do not need to be spending thousands of dollars to purchase 37 different tumblers to match your clothes.

The overconsumption issue wouldn’t be too much of a problem if not for its environmental impact. “Let people enjoy things” is a mentality I’m fully on board with until it means excusing environmental degradation.

Stanley, considering its “Built for Life” motto and sustainability efforts, is an environmentally friendly brand. However, that claim only holds if the bottles are marketed and sold sustainably, too. Encouraging overconsumption through limited drops and exclusive products is counterproductive and hypocritical.

Sustainability experts and environmentalists alike say that the Stanley might be the next cotton tote bag. Totes were intended to serve as a sustainable replacement for plastic bags, but their popularity led to mass consumption and mass production, destroying their purpose in the first place.

Mass production of anything isn’t sustainable — especially stainless steel.

Stainless steel is better for the environment when compared to plastic only when produced modestly and used frequently.

GRAPHIC BY ELLIE BRUNO

Trying to avoid singleuse plastic water bottles is a good thing. With Americans purchasing 50 billion per year, it isn’t hard to see why reusable Riya stainless steel water bottKannan les are better for the enviAssistant ronment. But when stores Culture Editor are being forced to put up “Limit five per guest” signs to control customer disputes and resales — and you’re still complaining about all the colors and sizes and limited editions you weren’t able to grab on your overconsumption run — I promise that you and your Valentine’s Day themed tumblers aren’t saving any turtles.

The Stanley brand prides itself on being “Built for Life” and for using sustainable practices in production and manufacturing. “The most sustainable products are the kind that never need to be thrown away or replaced,” their website reads. I wonder if they remember that.

Stanley was created in 1913 and was marketed primarily to blue-collar workers and outdoorsmen for over a century. With the CamelBak, S’Well and Hydroflask crazes over the last few decades, though, came an opportunity for Stanley to market their products to an entirely new audience.

Overhauling its old marketing efforts and employing strategic, influencer-based marketing campaigns, Stanley hasn’t just “given in” to consumerist culture and the overconsumption crisis. It’s promoting it.

I have nothing against influencers, to be clear, but influencer culture gives in to every passing fad imaginable, telling trend followers that they need every product under the sun to be happy and accelerating overconsumption. I promise you don’t.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a water bottle that looks cute. Buy whatever water bottle you like best, in whatever co-

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Guys, are we really stereotyping Stanley cups?

Let’s take a walk down memory lane: The year is 2019, the air is crisp and there are no signs of COVID-19 yet — life is good.

VSCO girls have taken over the internet, and Ally one thing that sticks with their sksksksk-identity is Tennant Assistant News the Hydro Flask.

Editor Everyone knows the Hydro Flasks, and in 2019, everyone learned to hate them. Why is that? Because they represented a stereotype.

Back to the reality of 2024, a whopping five years later, and we are doing the same thing. The Stanleys. Everyone knows them, and everyone, once again, hates them. But maybe if you stopped focusing on a water bottle and looked to the real world for a second, you will realize there are bigger issues than a 40-ounce, loud cup.

I can recognize the obsession with, and consequential hatred for, Stanleys. Why do we need 30 of them? Or why do the meanest girls I know own them? But let’s not look at those characteristics, and just focus on the water bottle.

Stanley has been in business for over 100 years, providing drinkware and gear at affordable prices. Until recently, Stanleys were popularly used for hiking due to the durability of the cup.

We can all admit that a Stanley cup is a pretty durable water bottle. In a now-viral TikTok, one woman showed that her Stanley cup was the only thing left standing after her car caught on fire.

Now to address t he ele-

phant in the room: lead. Several people are using the lead in Stanley cups as the number one reason to hate Stanleys. In reality, they are covering up where their true hatred lies — the stereotype.

To put the rumors aside, Stanley released a statement that said it follows industry standards for lead presence in the bottles.

However, Stanley’s spokesperson told TODAY.com, lead exposure from Stanley cups is not a source of risk unless it’s severely damaged.

One thing we can agree on is an issue is the hoarding of Stanley cups. Hoarding anything can be a problem. But hoarding any type of water bottle — not just Stanley cups — is bad for the environment.

Personally, I own one Stanley. Before that, I was using a plastic water bottle and water fountains. I think we can all agree that using a reusable water bottle is better for the environment than using a three-day-old Dasani plastic bottle.

And yes, often a specific group of people in society own a Stanley. But who are you to judge? I get it, everyone wants to be different and set aside from societal norms, but things are popular for a reason.

As a 20-year-old college student with three jobs and an urge to do nothing but knit in my free time, being hydrated is what I’m primarily concerned with — not what water bottle I drink out of.

Get off your high horse and realize that not everyone has to be different. It is a freaking water bottle. Please, can we acknowledge that there are so many more dangerous events happening in the world that we should be getting mad over? Let’s bring this attitude to human rights, and help other countries who are clearly in need.

The next time you see someone holding a Stanley, please remind yourself that it is just a water bottle. It will not hurt you. It will not call you names.

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Opinion

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Forgetful Knight

Max Alsop, Staff Cartoonist A third-year studying anthropology and paleontology

Slow and Steady

Avery Szakacs, Staff Cartoonist A third-year studying art and design

Let’s be Frank

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

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

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TECHNICIAN 9 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Daniels Hall and the creation of NC State’s renaming policy

JERMAINE HUDSON/TECHNICIAN

111 Lampe Drive, which sits on Lampe Drive, pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. The building was formerly named for Josephus Daniels, an outspoken white supremacist but was changed in 2020.

Pierce Bruns Correspondent

On June 22, 2020, the NC State Board of Trustees voted to rename then-Daniels Hall, now 111 Lampe Drive, as a result of renewed discussion regarding racism in North Carolina and the nation as a whole.

A system-wide petition created June 12, 2020, to pressure University leadership to change the names of buildings on all 17 UNC campuses, including NC State, was a driving force.

Voting unanimously, the Board removed the namesake dedicated to Josephus Daniels, one of NC State’s founding members, a 19th-century newspaper magnate and an influential and outspoken white supremacist.

Daniels used his influence and control at The News and Observer to promote Democratic Party rhetoric, particularly the implementation of Jim Crow laws and general white supremacy.

Daniels was also considered a leader in the Wilmington Massacre of 1898, where a mob lynched hundreds of African Americans, burned many Black-owned businesses and launched a successful coup d’etat of the newly-elected biracial Fusionist government in the largest city in North Carolina at the time.

During the Board of Trustees meeting regarding the issue, Chancellor Randy Woodson said the building was named for Daniels due to his pivotal role in founding NC State — Daniels was a member of the Watauga Club, which successfully chartered NC State University, then known as

the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

Melanie Flowers, the 2020-21 student body president, was a voting member on the Board of Trustees at the time.

“I think it might have been my first Trustee meeting,” Flowers said. “We’re all on Zoom, and that was one of the only actionable items on the agenda.”

Flowers said the vote met no resistance at the meeting and was a sign of progress from University leadership.

It was an unignorable name that we had on our building, and it needed to be rectified.

- Melanie Flowers

“The vote happened quickly and unanimously,” Flowers said. “There wasn’t any debate or disagreement on the matter.”

At the meeting, Woodson said Daniels’ values of white supremacy do not reflect the University’s values, and it didn’t serve the interests of the University to keep the name.

Flowers said the chancellor spoke about his talks with the Daniels family on the removal of the name.

“The chancellor read a statement about

the history of the building and expressed that the Daniels family supported the decision to take the name down,” Flowers said.

In the days before the Board of Trustees’s decision, a statue of Daniels across from the News and Observer building in Nash Square was also removed in downtown Raleigh, and Daniels Middle School was renamed to Oberlin Middle School with the blessing of the Daniels family.

Flowers said she was not sure whether the removal of the statue had a relationship with the renaming of 111 Lampe Drive, but instead attributed it to the renewed dialogue around racist figures within North Carolina.

“I don’t know if that influenced what was happening at NC State,” Flowers said. “But I think Josephus Daniels’ legacy coming into the spotlight during that summer likely influenced the acknowledgment of having a namesake on our campus and the need for it to be removed.”

The renaming of Daniels is part of a larger dialogue regarding the role of universities in upholding systemic racism and white supremacy, as well as the UNC System in particular. However, the decision to remove Daniels in particular was due to his larger role in the history of racism within North Carolina, Flowers added.

“The prominence of the name and legacy likely pointed to that being a name that was hard to look over,” Flowers said. “It was an unignorable name that we had on our building, and it needed to be rectified.”

Flowers said the student body was one of the largest forces asking for these changes in the naming of Daniels Hall.

“I think students were really a fierceful influence in making sure the University prioritized rectifying anything that was honoring people such as Josephus Daniels,” Flowers said.

Benjamin Westerhold, a fourth-year studying chemistry and philosophy, said that namesakes play an important role on campus and that the administration has to weigh both the will of the student populace as well as the acknowledgment of history in the individuals after whom buildings are named.

“It would be hard to say doing the right thing for the student populace would be a good idea because I don’t know to what extent that might sacrifice other things,” Westerhold said. “Clearly, if you only prioritize the historical meaning, people are going to be pretty pissed off.”

Justin Miazga, a third-year studying mechanical engineering, said he keeps up with controversies such as the renaming of Daniels Hall very little because it doesn’t affect his ability to study.

“I don’t keep up with too much of it,” Miazga said. “I’m here doing my school — as far as I’m concerned, I’m just here to do my job.”

Later in the summer of 2020, University administrators released a new policy to review building namesakes. The policy requires initiative from the chancellor, either by his own volition or as requested by the Board of Trustees, students or faculty.

The policy has not been used since its introduction, despite racist namesakes still being present on campus.

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D.H. HILL JR. LIBRARY DAN ALLEN DECK AND DRIVE Dan Allen Drive and parking deck commemorate Daniel Allen, a prominent Raleigh realtor who graduated from NC State and briefly served on the University’s Board of Trustees. Allen was well-known for his philanthropy and had the road dedicated to him in 1940. Allen was the secretary of Raleigh’s White Supremacy Club and actively participated in the violent repression of Black voters in the 1900 election.

D.H. Hill Jr. Library was dedicated to Daniel Harvey Hill Jr. at the library’s opening ceremony in 1955. Hill was renowned for his scholarly reputation, serving as the University’s first librarian and eventually its third president. Hill was a proponent of the Lost Cause, which frames the Confederate Civil War effort as justified and ignores the social implications of slavery.

His books on the war state North Carolinians should be proud of their efforts and laud the individual achievements of Confederate soldiers.

DAVID CLARK LABS

POLK HALL

David Clark Labs was formerly named Mangum Hall and was renamed to honor David Clark in 1963. Clark was influential in the development of the School of Textiles, whose chemistry department and research facilities were originally located in the building. Clark was an outspoken white supremacist and antisemite who frequently voiced these prejudices toward students and faculty. He was so vocal about these views that NC State’s student legislature attempted to have him removed from the Board of Trustees in 1952.

Polk Hall was named for Leonidas Lafayette Polk in 1926.

Polk was integral to the early 19th century lobbying effort that sought to establish an agricultural college using land grant funds. He founded the Progressive Farmer and was an influential figure in state agriculture development.

Polk was a slave owner and served as a colonel for the Confederacy in the Civil War. He called emancipation and the constitutional amendments guaranteeing formerly enslaved people rights “the greatest crime of modern times.”

BROUGHTON HALL

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Many of North Campus’ buildings celebrate men for their pivotal contributions to the historical establishment of the University.

But where does bigotry fall in the balance?

GRAPHIC BY ELLIE BRUNO

Broughton Hall was named for Joseph Melville Broughton, who served as North Carolina’s 60th governor and as a U.S. senator. He was the first president of NC State’s Engineering Foundation and first incorporated a supplemental private support program for the University’s budget. Though he advocated for the advancement of Black North Carolinians in several respects, he was a staunch segregationist who believed “in a policy of purity” and refuted the effects of racism in his administration.

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RICKS HALL Ricks Hall is named for Robert Henry Ricks, a successful farmer who helped introduce popular tobacco strains to North Carolina.

Ricks served as a member of the 1903 General Assembly, which provided appropriations for much of the early development of the University, and he was one of the first members of the Board of Trustees. Ricks was also a Confederate veteran and funded a large marble statue commemorating fallen Confederate soldiers in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

TOMPKINS HALL Tompkins Hall is named for Daniel Tompkins, an industrialist who was pivotal in the creation of a textile school at the University. The building originally housed the textile department and Tompkins was the original designer of the building. Tompkins also argued against abolition, integration, civil rights and child labor laws. He voiced these views in the Charlotte Observer, where he was partowner, and used this platform to aid a statewide white supremacist campaign in the late-19th century.

HOLLADAY HALL Holladay Hall was NC State’s first building on campus and was named for Alexander Holladay, the University’s first president.

Holladay helped transform the University from a plot of land into a professional institution of education. He also served as a colonel in the Confederate Army. Jospehus Daniels wrote of him, “The best type of the real Southern Christian gentleman.”

PARK SHOPS Park Shops was named for Charles Park, who taught engineering and industrial mechanical arts in the building for over 40 years. Park was also the first vice president of Raleigh’s White Supremacy Club. With this group, Park helped pass a state constitutional amendment requiring a poll tax and literacy test intended to disenfranchise Black voters.

LEAZAR HALL Leazar Hall is named for Augustus Leazar, who served as the speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1889. Leazar coauthored, introduced and oversaw the passage of the original bill to establish the North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanic College in 1887; the college opened in 1889. He was also a first lieutenant in the Confederate Army.

POE HALL Poe Hall was named for Clarence Hamilton Poe in its 1971 dedication. Poe served as the chair of the Board of Trustees Executive Committee and was well-known for his agricultural work, especially as the editor of the Progressive Farmer. In this role, he also advocated for the segregation of rural North Carolina and sought to diminish opportunities for Black farmers. In an article entitled “Which is the Handicapped Race?” he argued African Americans “made no important contribution to civilization.”

BROOKS HALL

Brooks Hall was named for the University’s fifth president, Eugene Brooks, in 1956. Brooks was an influential figure in the expansion of state education, both for Black and white North Carolinians. As president, he oversaw the organization of schools — now colleges — and steered the University through part of the Great Depression. Brooks also advocated for segregation, and he published a children’s book that said enslaved African Americans could not be free because their “semi-savage state” would threaten the happiness of the white race.

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Great-grandson of Josephus Daniels speaks on name removal from building

Koen Rodabaugh Focused Editor

Frank Daniels III, the great-grandson of Josephus Daniels, spoke to Technician about the 2020 removal of the Daniels name from the building 111 Lampe Drive. He said though the family was not opposed to the removal, he was unsatisfied with how NC State approached the change.

111 Lampe Drive was originally named Daniels Hall in recognition of Josephus Daniels for his role in the creation of NC State. Daniels was also an outspoken white supremacist and a major leader in the Wilmington Riots and Coup in 1898.

When NC State’s board of trustees met to vote on the removal of Daniels’ name from the hall in June 2020, Chancellor Randy Woodson told the board he had spoken with the Daniels family and that they had understood why the change was important to the NC State community.

Daniels said he and his family were generally dissatisfied with Woodson and NC State

administration in how they handled the removal of the Daniels name from the hall.

“As far as I can tell, that chancellor doesn’t understand communication,” Daniels said.

“I don’t even know their name, … but I can tell you that the whole process was very unimpressive in the way the administration managed it.”

Daniels said when UNC-Chapel Hill’s board of trustees voted to remove Josephus Daniels’ name from its student store in July 2020, UNC’s then-chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz had more meaningful discussions with the Daniels family before the vote. NC State, on the other hand, did not have the same approach.

“There was no communication from NC State,” Daniels said. “They just informed us that they were going to change.”

Technician could not independently confirm to what extent the chancellor communicated with the Daniels family.

Daniels said UNC considered the family’s role in its conversations, specifically recognizing the contributions of Frank Daniels Jr.

for his contributions to journalism, social policy and education both in the state and in the country.

“Since UNC wanted to take that name, we weren’t going to remove the Josephus Daniels name from [the Josephus Daniels Foundation scholarship] because that’s where the money was,” Daniels said. “So we took the money that we had given for scholarships and moved it over to the School of Journalism and created an executive-in-residence and an annual lecture in my father’s name, Frank Daniels Jr.” Daniels said unlike UNC, NC State missed an opportunity to recognize the good the Daniels family did for the state of North Carolina after Josephus Daniels died.

“I think that they missed an opportunity to show and put it in context that here was Josephus who did terrible things,” Daniels said. “His two sons that ran the News & Observer became leaders in racial integration, racial equity as much as they possibly could. Frank Jr. was part of the group that did the merger for the county school system,

which helped address many of the problems that were happening with white flight from the schools and things like that.”

Speaking about how future buildings should be reviewed, Daniels said building names are complex issues that require hard conversations and open deliberation.

“I don’t think you could have an answer that addresses this whole problem,” Daniels said. “I don’t think that you can take a 50,000-foot view and say, ‘This is everything we do.’ Case by case, contextualize some, remove others, recognizing that people are people, and go through that process.”

Daniels said if a community decides to remove the name of an individual from a building, the onus is on news organizations, like Technician to report on the history of the community.

“Once you write these stories, then it’s in your archive forever for anybody to go and look at,” Daniels said. “You would hope [students] would be curious to go and look.”

OPINION: A promising catalyst left as a catalog too much of what we would consider negative today.”

To these negative elements, Zonderman agreed with the necessity of a historian’s perspective.

“Well, of course we have to talk about that — it would be professional malpractice to ignore it,” Zonderman said.

Even after the editorial and publication process, this sentiment of hesitancy persisted.

“I think when we got to the next potential stage, like, ‘What do we do with this?’ the conversations became a bit more challenging,” Zonderman said. “[Administration representatives] became a little more circumspect, reluctant.”

Justin Welch Opinion Editor

Almost five years on from the initiation of the Brick Layers Project, its work and legacy remain unfulfilled.

In the spring of 2019, Chancellor Woodson funded several graduate students to work on a project exploring the campus’ built history for five semesters. The research publicized the reasons for the dedications of several individuals throughout campus, as well as the more nefarious sides of their biographies.

Tammy Gordon, a professor in the history department, headed up the work.

“A lot of buildings on our campus are named after people who weren’t just casual racists of the time,” Gordon said. “They were architects of segregation.”

The research was premised as a social history project, meaning that it sought to explore all aspects of these individuals’ lives and their implications: the good, the bad, the gray areas and everything in between.

“We’re going to look at the things that social historians look at, which include power relations,” Gordon said. “Our job as historians is to highlight the complexity.”

David Zonderman, who was head of the Department of History at the time and part of the advisory team for the project, supported this sentiment.

GRAPHIC BY JUSTIN WELCH

“I believe, and particularly as a public historian, that history ought to be acknowledged and ought to be explained to people today,” Zonderman said. “It’s not something that we should hide. It’s not something we should avoid talking about. We should talk about it because then it opens up a whole bunch of other conversations.”

This approach drew questions from ad-

ministration. Though the content of the work was never challenged or undermined, administrators raised concerns of how it was initially presented.

“They were concerned that the project was too one-sided, and we tried to address those concerns by emphasizing that we had proposed a social history project,” Gordon said. “They were concerned that it showed

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EDITORIAL: Let’s talk about NC State’s connections to white supremacy I

n this edition, Technician brought attention to 12 buildings on NC State’s campus with names directly connected to white supremacists and their racist ideologies and policies.

Any way you frame it, the values and the sentiments they advanced in their public capacities are contradictory to our principles today.

The work of the Brick Layers Project is extensive but not exhaustive. Those involved with the project believe there is more to be uncovered about our university’s founders and those commemorated on campus. In Technician’s individual research in the lead-up to this edition, it identified and highlighted several namesakes with controversial connotations in addition to Brick Layers’ initial research.

As Chancellor Woodson voiced years ago with the removal of Josephus Daniels’ name from our campus, the values espoused by Daniels and the rest of these men are not representative of our modern university. At the time, the chancellor added, “There is much more that needs to be done at NC State to cultivate a campus environment where all Black students, faculty and staff feel safe, supported, respected and valued.”

The persistence of these names on our campus — who we know are in the same boat as Daniels thanks to the chancellor’s initiative with the Brick Layers

The unsigned editorial is the opinion of the members of Technician’s editorial board, and is the responsibility of the editors-in-chief.

Project — and the public comments of the administration show a troubling contradiction.

Technician sought comments from university administration through several different channels. Various administrators involved in the decisionmaking process for reviewing and renaming buildings declined interviews.

On Nov. 10, 2023, Technician submitted a public records request for communications between the chancellor and the board of trustees regarding University Regulation 03.00.04 - Review of Faculty Namings for Removal. The University has yet to fulfill that request.

Previous volumes of Technician have issued editorials requesting that all buildings with racist and otherwise problematic namesakes be stripped and renamed immediately. The more constructive and responsible approach is to seek education and foster a wider conversation from the entire NC State community.

This issue is nuanced and requires discourse to arrive at the best course of action. There is complexity in attempting to reconcile the productive things these individuals did for our university, while also acknowledging their definitively racist views and actions, which

are matters of historical fact.

One cannot acknowledge the establishment of NC State without acknowledging these men. From the Watauga Club’s lobbying for the creation of a land-grant university to the various foundational developments the school went through in the following decades, NC State was founded by white supremacists. These men, highlighted by Brick Layers and Technician’s research, would likely be appalled at the demographics of NC State’s current population.

There is no point in disregarding this in its entirety. These men were successful in their pursuit of institutional education, but those institutions cannot be untangled by the white supremacist attitudes inherent to their being and time.

North Carolina is a Southern state. It fought on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War. Its historical economy was built on the back of slave labor.

Wherever you look in the state’s history, you will find these connections to ideals we view as abhorrent today. That is simply the nature of historical study.

It should not be ignored and needs to be discussed. The only way to handle these issues incorrectly is to not deal with them at all. Despite its statements in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives

Matter movement and its initiation of the Brick Layers Project, University administration has not taken any steps to further this process or nurture this conversation.

The Board of Trustees approved a policy that required the chancellor, either of his own volition or at the request of the Board of Trustees or a written request by students, to initiate facility name reviews. Rather than calling for the reviews himself, Chancellor Woodson has relied on the most transient population at NC State to bring forward complaints: the students.

The result has been a standstill in the review of facility names despite the work done by the Brick Layers Project and Technician to uncover the history of the buildings on campus.

Administrative intransigence has functionally halted the reforms started in 2020. The chancellor must take the lead in starting and continuing these discussions as students come and go.

In the meantime, the onus has fallen on NC State students to initiate and engage in this discussion, as nothing will move without the input of the wider community.

Ultimately, we as a campus community must be willing to bring these issues to the table and talk through them rather than ignoring our admittedly ugly history.

OPINION: In building namesakes, we have better options

Mark Mikhail Correspondent

When I walk across campus, other than the million red bricks, I expect to see the names of people on our buildings who were essential to our campus. I may have little emotion for the names due to a lack of knowledge; however, I envision them exuding excellence in their field or being a role model for our students. On our campus, there are buildings where that premise is seemingly contradicted by racial bias.

For example, Eugene Brooks, the person after whom Brooks Hall was named, advocated for education for the masses — Brooks also advocated for segregation. Do the masses not include people of color? In consequence, Brooks could have done his role better.

Moral relativists may argue this is just how things were during the time. However, I would say I don’t want my role models to follow the status quo; I want them to set a new status quo.

So here are some suggestions for new names that don’t remind people of inequality and white supremacy.

Thomas E. H. Conway Jr.

Frank Harmon is a former design student who won several awards throughout his professional career, including the F. Carter Williams Gold Medal — the highest award that the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects can give. The University should look at renaming Brooks Hall, since it houses classes for the College of Design.

E. Jefferson is a fictitious person; however, the story behind George E. Jefferson is one of the most unique stories about our university.

For those who are unaware, our Belltower is a memorial tower dedicated to students of the University who lost their lives during World War I. Inside the tower are the names of students who lost their lives in the war, including George Jeffers. Initially, Jeffers’ family thought he died due to severe combat wounds; however, he recovered, so there was no reason for his name to be in the tower.

Even in the early 20th century, our university administrators were penny pushers, so they decided not to create a new plaque. They replaced Jeffers with a new name — George E. Jefferson — to honor unidentifiable soldiers who died in the war. Having George E. Jefferson on a building would be a good way to commemorate our fallen soldiers and their families.

George E. Jefferson

Donald L. Bitzer

This change is a rogue shout because George

Broughton Hall, which has the words me-

Conway served our school for 32 years and is the former dean of undergraduate academic programs. Conway was able to achieve his lifelong goal in 2016 when he was appointed chancellor of Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black college in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Frank Harmon

chanical engineering inscribed in its stone, should honor the advancements NC State has made in the trade. Bitzer, a university professor since 1989, is often credited with being a forefather of the plasma TV for co-inventing the flat plasma display panel. He is in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention.

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Culture

14 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

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African American Cultural Center spotlights Black healing through book blitz display

JERMAINE HUDSON/TECHNICIAN

Toni Thorpe, a past program coordinator for the African American Cultural Center, tells listeners the story of Sankofa during the opening of the “29 Days of Healing: Black Book Blitz Exhibit” in the African American Cultural Center Art Gallery and Library on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The story of Sankofa highlights the importance of using the knowledge given by our elders to guide our future pursuits.

Mark Mikhail Correspondent

The African American Cultural Center unveiled its “29 Days of Healing: Black Book Blitz Exhibit” showcasing 29 books written by Black authors Thursday.

Through the exhibit, the center aims to create a nurturing learning environment where students can collectively engage in the healing process.

Brionna Johnson, the library coordinator of the African American Cultural Center Library and curator of the exhibit, said the idea for the book blitz came from her grandmother.

“My director asked me, ‘What do you imagine when you think about healing?’”

Johnson said. “Instantly, I thought about my grandmother; I thought about her living room. ... So the book blitz idea came from that — thinking about my grand-

ma, thinking about the elders, thinking about storytelling and how books have healed me.”

Johnson said the blitz also helps amplify Black voices.

“Because the publishing industry does not always do a great job of uplifting and amplifying Black voices in Black literature, we really wanted to use this book blitz as an opportunity to highlight Black literature for Black History Month but also to highlight the books that are in our library, in our collection that specifically focus on healing,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s a shadow workbook, a self-care book or just a novel that once you read it, you walk away feeling a bit healed.”

Toni Thorpe, the center’s former program coordinator, said books have always comforted her when she needed it.

“Books have a lways been my best

friends,” Thorpe said. “I like the transformative healing that books provide.”

During the ceremony, attendees heard readings from Tarana Burke and Brené Brown’s “You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience and the Black Experience” as well as an excerpt from Audre Lorde’s “A Litany for Survival.”

Thorpe shared her own dramatized version of the Sankofa story. The Sankofa story is a Ghanaian story that highlights the importance of ancestral knowledge.

“The Sankofa story is traditionally told in Ghana, West Africa,” Thorpe said.

“The original story is about a bird deeply rooted in his village. … He decides to explore the world. ... He becomes hungrier and frail, … so he calls to his ancestors for help, and they say, ‘Go back and fetch it,’ so he starts walking backward. … He finds the nutrition he needs. … The lack

of food symbolizes the lack of knowledge of in your origin and roots. By the time he returns home, he’s healthy and whole again.”

Thorpe said understanding one’s history helps address current issues.

“It’s important to understand and value what people before us have been through,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe also said knowing ancestry can build a sense of your community where you can feel loved.

“We benefit by seeing the humanity in one another and that we really want the same things,” Thorpe said. “We’re designed to be in groups, and we want to belong, and we want to feel valued. …

You don’t heal alone. You heal together.”

The exhibit is open until March 15 in the African American Center’s art gallery.

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JERMAINE HUDSON/TECHNICIAN

Jackson Lods, a fourth-year in chemical engineering, sings to the crowd during the “Jekyll & Hyde” musical performance in Stewart Theatre on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Lods played Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. The musical follows the journey of Dr. Henry Jekyll as he attempts to find a scientific solution to separate the good from the evil inside humans.

Drama, desperation and duality in University Theatre’s ‘Jekyll & Hyde’

Campbell Depken Staff Writer

Blood red curtains hang over a marbled stage, obscured by a ghostly shroud befitting a gothic musical. As a haunting score plays and actors in Victorian-esque clothing enter the stage, University Theatre’s “Jekyll & Hyde” begins. “Jekyll & Hyde” is a musical adaptation of the 1886 novella, following Dr. Henry Jekyll as he uses himself as a test subject to attempt to separate good and evil.

The production of “Jekyll & Hyde” involved over 120 students in the cast, crew and technical shops making up over 30 different majors. Danica Jackson, the director of “Jekyll & Hyde” and University Theatre’s assistant director of performance, said the lack of a theater major at NC State allows University Theatre to be a playground for students theatrically.

“University Theatre as a whole gives students that safe place to play and safe place to be themselves and really take big risks without it feeling like a big risk,” Jackson said. “And I think this production in particular, you know, we’ve done some really

interesting exploration in movement. We’ve done some really interesting exploration in choreography, … just being able to showcase the true extreme talent that our students have. And again, none of them being theater majors, they’re doing it for the love of storytelling, the love of each other.”

“Jekyll & Hyde” is an intense show not only in subject matter but in its music and songs. There are 42 different musical numbers brought to life by a 17 piece orchestra, featuring four NC State student musicians.

Yi Chen is a second year doctoral student in electrical engineering who worked on the production as associate music director and as a keyboard player.

“There’s barely any time where there’s dialogue without music,” Chen said. “This has some of the most music I’ve seen in a show.”

Chen said working with University Theatre felt like working with experts.

“It’s been really awesome because University Theatre is kind of like a faculty-run thing,” Chen said. “Just the caliber of the work, both on the cast and the crew side, but also kind of on the tech side, it almost feels like a professional production piece.”

The technical elements of the production shined, often literally, under the bright stage lights. The set, costuming and light production were polished and incorporated details that, with a careful eye, added depth to the show.

“Make sure you’re paying attention to all the little details that are happening around the set and happening around the costuming because there’s a whole lot of detail that is going into every single aspect of this,” Jackson said. “And pay attention to the mirror that is being held up to you and to society, and ask yourself those same questions that are being asked of Dr. Jekyll.”

With six solos and many of the most demanding numbers in the second act, Jackson Lods’ performance as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde was phenomenal, and his singing only became stronger over the show.

Madeline Core, playing Lucy Harris, was another stand-out performance. Her powerful yet tender ballads provided a fantastic juxtaposition to Lods’ dramatic solos as Jekyll and Hyde, and she gave a deep emotional core to the character.

From a story perspective, the first act

is significantly stronger than the second.

While the actors did well in the second half, the storyline was frustrating at times. The scenes where Lods plays both Jekyll and Hyde are the most fun part of act two, but the script loses its grounding in reality as time goes on.

With high caliber acting, directing and technical direction, University Theatre’s “Jekyll & Hyde” was well worth seeing over its four-day run time. Even when the story drags at parts, it’s easy to overlook with an attractive stage picture and a talented cast.

With high caliber acting, directing and technical direction, University Theatre’s “Jekyll & Hyde” was well worth seeing over its four-day run time. Even when the story drags at parts, it’s easy to overlook with an attractive stage picture and a talented cast.

“Jekyll & Hyde” ran from Feb. 15 to 18.

The performance on Friday, Feb. 16, featured a talkback after the show, where audience members asked questions of the cast and production team.University Theatre’s next production, “Ada and the Engine,” will begin showings in early April.

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Diaspora Dinner events celebrate cuisine across the African diaspora

Elizabeth Dull, Amelia Russell Culture Editor, Assistant Culture Editor

The African American Cultural Center hosted the third installment in its Diaspora Dinner event series Friday, celebrating Black History Month and Black culture through cuisine from the African continent and diaspora.

Tamir Elsharif, a fourth-year studying psychology and AYA ambassador who facilitated the dinner, began the event with a presentation on various types of Caribbea n c u isine.

He said many Caribbean foods were influenced by slavery, from the introduction of European spices to cooking methods that prevented captors from detecting smoke from cooking fires.

“I felt like the history kind of made me realize how much went into the food because I feel like a lot of the time African people, or people from different parts of the African diaspora, they’re resilient, and they come up with a lot of stuff even though

they don’t have like a lot of resources,” Elsharif said. “They come up with stuff like on the f ly, and a lot of it’s just based on the history and their experiences, like I found with the jerk chicken, how it was used to cook to avoid getting caught again by their captors.”

The African American Cultural Center hosts Diaspora Dinners in place of its “What’s on the Table?” series during Black History Month to dive deep and highlight different aspects of the Black diaspora. It has hosted dinners focused on soul food and Western African cuisine and plan to focus on Congolese food next week.

“So the goal in mind is really to expose students to different pieces of the diaspora, to think about Blackness in a way of it not being a monolith,” said Kelis Johnson, a fourth-year in Africana studies and public health and lead AYA ambassador. “So really focusing on like, okay, ‘What does it mean to be a part of the diaspora? …

What different cultures do they celebrate?’ And specifically through food.”

Elsharif said he picked Caribbean food to highlight an underrepresented part of the African

diaspora.

“I [felt] l i ke Caribbean could be something I would do, especially since one of my friends, she’s also Caribbean, and she told me that she didn’t feel like she had a lot of representation when it came to [food],” Elsharif said. “And so I thought that that wou ld be a good, a f u n l it t le thing, especially since a lot

of people when they think of the African diaspora they don’t really think of the Caribbean.”

Johnson said common foods across the African diaspora help connect different cultures.

“So at all of the dinners so far … will have plantains served,” Johnson said. “One is West African plantain, but then also in the Caribbean, they do serve [plantains] and we just didn’t have it here from the dinner this week.

But next week, we’ ll have plantains also. So it’s really just [to] show how we’re all interconnected, but our diasporas, they all differ.”

The food served at this iteration of the Diaspora Dinners included rice and beans, jerk chicken, stewed cabbage and beef and chicken patties catered from Virgil’s Jamaica Food Truck.

A f ter students enjoyed t he food, Elsharif invited attendees to ref lect on their favorite dishes and how k nowing the history of the food impacted eating it.

much and representation,” Elsharif said.

Elsharif said the Diaspora Dinners are especially important during Black History Month in giving students a space for unity and representation.

“I feel like Black students don’t have a lot of places t hey can ta lk about these issues amongst other Black students,” Elsharif said. “And so I think that’s something that we at the African Americans Cultural Center value. This is supposed to be a safe place for African American students to hang out and find their people. And I feel like these events strengthen that bond that we have as a community.”

GRAPHICS BY AMELIA RUSSELL

“Learning about the history and then eating the food felt a little bit more personal, … and maybe it creates a connection with food better,” said Emani Small, a second-year studying psychology.

However, the true merit of the dinners lies beyond the food in the opportunity for students to connect.

“I feel like [the Diaspora Dinners] kind of brings people together because people who might not have known about Caribbean food, who might not have known about Nigerian food or who don’t identify with those things, come together, enjoy good food, have a good time and share time with friends, especially during this month, where we need unity as

The African American Cultural Center will host one more Diaspora Dinner focused on Central African and Congolese food Friday, Feb. 23. Interested students can sign up through the NC State events calendar by scanning this QR code:

Sports

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

COLUMN: Keatts deserves another year

Ben Ellis

Senior Sports Writer

When considering the hardest jobs in the world, only one job is tougher than being president of the United States: head coach of NC State men’s basketball.

That may be a bit of a stretch, but the point is that the head coach of NC State men’s basketball has one of the toughest, perhaps the toughest, job in all of college basketball.

NC State’s head coach has to compete on the court in the same backyard as two of the greatest college basketball programs of all time: Duke and North Carolina. Additionally, because of the program’s storied past, the Wolfpack fanbase always holds high — sometimes unreasonably high — expectations. Considering NC State is often measured against Duke and UNC, those expectations are seldom ever met.

Such is the case with the man who is currently at the helm of the Wolfpack and has been for the past seven years: Kevin Keatts.

In seven seasons as head coach in Raleigh, Keatts has built an overall record of 129-88, including a 63-64 ACC record. However, Keatts’ teams have made the NCAA Tournament just twice in the previous six seasons, and another miss this season will undoubtedly leave athletic director Boo Corrigan with a decision to make regarding Keatts’ future.

The Wolfpack is not having a bad season by any stretch, sitting with a 16-9 overall record and an 8-6 ACC record, tied for fourth in the conference at this point.

That said, the Pack still has plenty of work ahead to qualify for March Madness. That fact combined with some disappointing losses are not sitting well with a lot of NC State fans at the moment.

In 2017, Keatts took over an NC State program that was in shambles after going a combined 31-34 and finishing 13th in the ACC in back-to-back seasons under previous head coach Mark Gottfried. That season, the Wolfpack was predicted to finish 12th out of 15 teams in the conference, yet Keatts performed one of the best coaching jobs in recent school history, assembling a ragtag group of transfers and players left over from Gottfried’s tenure and leading them to a tie for third in the ACC and to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.

Looking to make a return trip to the Big Dance in 2019, Keatts and the Wolfpack had a strong season, winning 21 regular season games and going 9-9 in a loaded ACC. However, despite being ranked 33rd in the inaugural NET rankings, the NCAA inexplicably decided not to use its new tool and snubbed the Pack from the tournament.

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Head coach Kevin Keatts draws up a play before the game against Charleston Southern in PNC Arena on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. NC State beat Charleston Southern 87-53.

NC State had another solid season in year three for Keatts, going a similar 1010 in the ACC and finding itself on the bubble once again. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 shut down the NCAA Tournament and sports indefinitely. In most bracket projections, NC State was one of the last four teams in the field of 64, meaning the Pack likely would have made the tournament had it taken place.

The 2020-21 season was one that was defined by the pandemic. Amidst the challenging backdrop, NC State had a promising start to the season, but any hopes of making the tournament were dashed when star Devon Daniels suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Once again, Keatts was out of luck and had now made the NCAA Tournament once in four seasons.

Keatts’ fifth season in Raleigh was one of the worst seasons in school history, losing a school record 21 games and finishing dead last in the conference, which came after losing star forward Manny Bates mere minutes into the season-opener.

Despite this, and many calls for his firing, Corrigan retained Keatts and allowed him an opportunity to get the program back on track.

With another chance, Keatts replicated his first year on the job and took

advantage of the transfer portal, adding the likes of Jarkel Joiner and DJ Burns while Terquavion Smith blossomed into a superstar. The 2022-23 team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, which similarly ended in a first-round exit.

That leads us back to this season, where the Pack is on the outside looking in to the NCAA tournament and still has much work to do to make it back to the Big Dance.

When looking back on Keatts’ previous six seasons in Raleigh, it’s difficult to say that Keatts hasn’t had the best of luck during his time with regards to injuries and other circumstances. He’s made the NCAA Tournament twice, should have made it another time, probably would have made it another time and had two seasons where his best player went down with a season-ending injury.

Missing the NCAA Tournament this season would be disappointing, especially considering the talent Keatts pulled out of the transfer portal. But even if that were to happen, it would still be a knee jerk reaction to pull the plug after this year.

NC State’s previous two coaches, Gottfried and Sidney Lowe, did not last more than six seasons and were fired before they had a chance to right the ship. The

coach before Lowe, Herb Sendek, didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament until his sixth season in Raleigh, and then he led the program to five consecutive tournaments before leaving for Arizona State.

If Keatts were to be fired at the end of the season, there’s no guarantee that Corrigan would be able to find someone better — or who even wants to coach the Wolfpack — and six or seven years from now, we could be having this same discussion again.

Keatts has proven that he can maximize the potential of his players, and he has even proven that he can compete with Duke and UNC, beating each three times.

He’s a stand up guy who runs his program the right way.

No matter how the season ends, Keatts should be given at least one more year at the helm of the program. After that, we can have this same discussion again, but let’s keep in mind that this man has a hard job and he’s coached in the midst of difficult circumstances.

This season isn’t over yet — don’t be surprised if NC State hears its name called on Selection Sunday. The Pack just needs some more big wins like it got this past weekend against Clemson.

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Connor VanDerMark

12 Virginia Tech, they returned to Durham and lost to then-No. 16 Notre Dame. Finally, before hosting the Wolfpack, they will travel North to take on No. 17 Syracuse.

This tough stretch of games from the Blue Devils put the Pack in a tremendous position to get a rivalry win on the road. When the two faced off earlier in the season, NC State won in dominant fashion with a score of 72-57.

Duke is led by guard Reigan Richardson, who has averaged 11.7 points per game this season. Though the scoring is low compared to other teams, the Blue Devils are the top defense in the ACC, allowing just 58.6 points per game. They also lead the ACC with 5.79 blocks per game.

With solid defenders at all five positions, the Wolfpack could have trouble scoring against the sturdy Blue Devil defense. James and Rivers will likely draw the majority of the attention, so look for someone like senior guard Madison Hayes to step up and be the primary scorer for the Wolfpack.

Hayes has averaged 12.4 points per game, good for second on the team. She is also the Pack’s most consistent shooter, averaging 47.6% from the field and 44.8% from beyond the arc.

The Wolfpack will be glad to have graduate forward Mimi Collins back in the starting rotation after she missed the Notre Dame matchup due to an injury. After getting reacquainted against Georgia Tech, she will be an important offensive weapon to the team, shooting 45.6% from the field. She may be heavily relied on against a defense as strong as Duke, so expect to see multiple double-digit scorers in this matchup.

NC State women’s basketball preps for rivalry week against UNC and Duke

Correspondent

Following an exciting week that included a win against then-No. 16 Notre Dame and a one-point overtime victory against Georgia Tech, No. 6 NC State women’s basketball will look to fully establish itself as the premier women’s basketball team in North Carolina.

The Wolfpack will travel to Chapel Hill to take on UNC on Thursday and then travel to Durham to take on Duke on Sunday.

At UNC The Tar Heels are coming off a solid 2-0 week in which they defeated Pitt at home then beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.

The last time these two teams played, it proved to be a tough fight with the Pack prevailing 63-59. The Wolfpack couldn’t break out of a double-digit lead, but the redand-white was unrelenting in its defense.

NC State closed out the game by forcing six missed shots in the last three minutes.

The Tar Heels are led by guard Deja Kelly, who is the heart of the offense and the ACC’s eighth-leading scorer. Kelly led all scorers in their last matchup with 21 points and is averaging 16.9 points per game this season.

She excels at scoring in the paint, but has only shot 27.8% from beyond the arc, showing inconsistency in her game.

Anticipate head coach Wes Moore to task junior guard Saniya Rivers with containing Kelly. Rivers has averaged 2.5 steals per game, and with her 6-foot-1 frame, she is the easy choice for this matchup. She is also

HALLIE WALKER/TECHNICIAN

Junior guard Saniya Rivers shakes hands with junior guard Aziaha James during the game against Georgia Tech in Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. James and Rivers combined for 40 points. NC State beat Georgia Tech 86-85.

the biggest hustler on the court, and her energy is a driving force behind the success of the Pack.

The other threat for Chapel Hill is two-way guard Alyssa Ustby, who leads her squad in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. She is also second on the team with 12.7 points per game. Ustby is arguably the Tar Heels’ best defender and can be a nuisance for anyone she is guarding.

Aside from Rivers, the Pack will be led by junior guard Aziaha James, who is in the midst of the best season of her career

averaging 15.8 points per game. In her last matchup against the Tar Heels, she only scored ten points, but she’s fresh off a 30-point performance against Georgia Tech. If she can get hot early, her sharpshooting and playmaking will carry the offense for the rest of the game.

At Duke The Blue Devils are in the midst of their toughest stretch of the season, going 0-2 last week. After losing on the road to then-No.

Sports

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

No. 5 NC State women’s tennis alive and well after successful ITA run

Ethan Bakogiannis Editor-in-Chief

After an impressive run in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships — highlighted by a quarterfinal upset over then-No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill — NC State women’s tennis is alive and well.

Despite a loss to then-No. 5 Michigan in the semifinals, NC State is set to play the Wolverines in a rematch. Let’s break down the highlights from the ITAs in Seattle and what it all means for the redand-white going forward.

Toppling the Tar Heels NC State and UNC found themselves in yet another thrilling battle, this time in the ITAs. After the Pack relinquished a 3-1 lead, then-No. 40 sophomore Anna Zyryanova battled through the highestpressure situation of her career so far — a thrilling, back-and-forth tiebreaker to finish off the deciding third set.

With the match on the line and her teammates barely able to watch, Zyryanova heroically fought off two-straight match points to defeat UNC’s then-No. 7 Anika Yarlagadda.

“I was standing with my shirt over my eyes,” said senior Abigail Rencheli. “When she was at 7-6, she turned around and prayed, and I think I tried to pray with her. So I was like channeling it with her, but it was very, very nerve-wracking. But I’m glad she believed in herself. We believe in her, and she came through.”

Zyryanova said she didn’t realize she fought off those match points until after the fact. In possibly her best match in the red-and-white, the sophomore dug deep and delivered the killing blow.

“It’s good that the team was there for me; they were cheering and supporting after every point,” Zyryanova said. “I guess I found the right moment — I was in a moment — I was focused really well. It was one of the best matches for a long time for me, to be honest.”

Now 2-2 against UNC in the rivals’ last four matches, it seems as though NC State’s gotten the Carolina Blue-colored monkey off its back. For Rencheli and company, treating the Heels as just another team allowed NC State to knock its rivals out of the Championships in the Pack’s statement win.

“I think at this point we know we can beat UNC, and I even told some of the girls it didn’t feel like we were playing them that day,” Rencheli said. “It just felt like another match and I’m actually re-

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Sophomore Anna Zyryanova smiles after scoring a point during the match against Alabama at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. Zyryanova won both her doubles and singles matches. NC State beat Alabama 4-0.

ally happy that that’s how it’s starting to feel because at the end of the day, it’s just another team. Yeah, they’re good, but I think we’re good too.”

Preparing for Michigan — again The Pack’s thrilling win over Carolina shocked the college tennis world, but thenNo. 5 Michigan made sure it didn’t suffer the same fate. The Wolverines knocked NC State out of the ITAs on the next day with a 4-1 victory in the semifinals.

While NC State was firing on all cylinders the day prior, the Pack ran out of magic against the Wolverines. Once Michigan won the doubles and two quick singles matches, it was hard to claw back into the match.

“It’s like we were out of ideas, or we were just struggling to execute when we really needed to,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “We needed that little bit of impetus just to jumpstart us — we didn’t get it — but one thing you don’t want to do when you’ve gotten down after the doubles point is to give them a quick point. And unfortunately, we gave them a couple of those for whatever reason.”

However, it just so happens NC State is set to play a rematch against the ITA runner-ups in its next regular season match on Thursday, Feb. 22, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

It’s not often a team in college tennis gets to face a team in back-to-back matches. It’s less often that said team has nearly two weeks of rest, training and preparation before hitting round two. NC State has had plenty of time to reflect on its loss to the Wolverines and manifest its potential revenge.

“I think this time around, we kind of know they’re a solid team,” Rencheli said.

“They’re going to fight for every point.

So I think we’re just making sure we’re mentally prepared to fight for every point and making sure we’re fully recovered and physically there to kind of grind out as long as it takes.”

However, the Wolverines are likely just as motivated as the red-and-white. Michigan’s coming off back-to-back losses, one against first-time ITA Indoor Championship winners Oklahoma State and another after then-No. 17 USC upset the Wolverines 4-2 in Ann Arbor.

Now, the Wolfpack is set for a rematch in a bout against possibly the highest ranked

team it’ll play for the rest of the season, making mental toughness and precise execution vital against the No. 2 Wolverines.

What’s next?

Win or lose against Michigan, NC State is set to face yet another tough road test in Oklahoma. Even though the Sooners have fallen far out of the top 25, the Wolfpack will still have to contend with a raucous crowd and an experienced college tennis program in Norman, Oklahoma.

From there, the Wolfpack ’s intense travel is set to subside as conference play begins. The Pack’s home opener against No. 21 Notre Dame is scheduled for Friday, March 1. After that, NC State is slated for another throwdown with UNC to kick off rivalry weekend.

With the ITA Championships in the rearview mirror, NC State has gained valuable experience and made the necessary noise to solidify its standing as a national championship contender. But if able to knock off Michigan, the Tar Heels for a second time and the rest of its daunting ACC slate, it may just become the favorites to win the entire thing.