"Just Another Game" — Technician 02/23/23

OPINION

WHAT YOU MISSED:

A quick look at the headlines in and outside of NC State

NC State researchers find PFAS can impact immune system

Researchers at NC State found the PFAS chemical called GenX suppresses the capabilities of white blood cells to kill invading pathogens. All of the PFAS chemicals included in the study were detected in the Cape Fear River and the blood serum of residents whose drinking water is sourced from the river.

SOURCE: NC STATE NEWS

$1 million Powerball ticket sold at gas station in Garner

A $2 Powerball ticket purchased from the Murphy Express on Highway 42 is worth $1 million. The ticket matched all five white balls in the nationwide drawing on Monday, defeating odds of one in 11.6 million. The winner has 120 days from Feb. 20 to claim their prize.

SOURCE: WRAL

Alligator discovered in Brooklyn park

A four-foot alligator was discovered in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake and captured by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The department spokesperson said the gator was found lethargic, likely because it is native to warm climates. It has been transferred to the Bronx Zoo for rehabilitation.

SOURCE: CNN

2,400-year-old flush toilet discovered in China

Archaeologists discovered a 2,400-year-old flush toilet in China, which may be the world’s oldest known flush toilet. The toilet was found among ancient palace ruins and was likely reserved for high-ranking officials during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) and Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220).

SOURCE: CNN

THE RADAR

Events to keep an eye on for the week of February 23

PROJECT POTTERY

Thursday, Feb. 23, 6-7:30 p.m.

TALLEY STUDENT UNION, 3285 Free

Join the Black Students Board for a beginner pottery experience. Students will be guided through beginning pottery techniques and will get the opportunity to paint different ceramic pieces.

“URINETOWN”

Feb. 23-25, 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26, 2 p.m. STEWART THEATRE $12-32

Join University Theatre as they fight for their right to private urination in the satirical spring musical. “Urinetown” centers around a revolution against the government-enforced bans on public toilets.

CAREERCON 2023

Sunday, Feb. 26, 12-4 p.m.

TALLEY STUDENT UNION BALLROOMS Free

The Career Development Center’s CareerCON 2023, themed Redefining Professionalism. Those looking for internships, co-ops, full-time positions or general career advice should register in advance to secure their spots.

UAB WINGIN’ IT

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7-9 p.m.

TALLEY STUDENT UNION, 4280 Free

See what member of the Wolfpack can take the most heat in UAB’s hot wings challenge with prizes for the contestant for the highest spice tolerance.

University Housing to expand housing for largest incoming freshman class

tions for students on campus.

University Housing has announced plans to enter a lease agreement with privately owned University Towers to expand first-year student housing options for the upcoming fall semester in order to accommodate the largest freshman class in NC State history. Upperclassmen could previously lease units at University Towers through campus housing, but this is the first time incoming first-years can also do the same.

University Towers, owned by Greystar Real Estate, is located on the corner of Hillsborough Street and Dan Allen Drive and currently used as an apartment building.

“The plan is to lease the entire building, which is just over 900 bed spaces,” said Katrina Pawvluk, director of administration and occupancy management. “About 680 of those spaces will be for incoming new students and just over 200 will be for returning students.”

One floor of single rooms and another floor of double rooms will be available as options for returning students in the room selection process for the 2023-24 academic year.

“The rooms are suite style, meaning every room space will have two rooms with a bathroom in between,” Pawvluk said. “The double rooms can house four people with two per room while the single rooms are spaces for two people living in separate rooms.”

Living at University Towers through campus housing will open up much needed room op-

“Some of the suites will be for groups of four, so if a roommate group cannot find an apartment, they would be able to get a suite,” Pawvluk said. “Some of the rooms will be set up so the doubles can be selected individually. We’re trying to meet all kinds of needs for students.”

The single rooms at University Towers are larger than most single rooms currently available on campus, Pawvluk said.

“I like the layout of the rooms,” said Sneha Nandapradeepan, a third-year studying biology and applied clinical psychology. “Even though you don’t have a completely private space, the layout is a lot more conducive to interaction and having your own personal space. It would offer the same amount of privacy as a room in Wolf Village would.”

The rooms at University Towers will be available for the same price as any other single or double room in campus housing, Pawvluk said.

Donna McGalliard, assistant vice chancellor and executive director of student affairs, said unlike most other on-campus housing options, University Towers will not offer a Living and Learning Village.

“Living and Learning Villages are incredible partnerships either with other departments or colleges on campus,” McGalliard said. “They take a little more time to set up and develop.”

Although on Hillsborough Street, University Towers is somewhat removed from main campus, and some students have expressed concern about the location.

“The location is really inconvenient,” Nandapradeepan said. “The front of the building doesn’t have a blue light system, which could be really dangerous for students walking back from campus late at night.”

The decision to lease University Towers has been in the works for months as the University enacts its physical master plan.

“We always have an eye towards how we can ensure we have facilities that meet the needs of current students and new students,” McGalliard said. “The physical master plan is an incredibly comprehensive look at the University’s footprint.”

McGalliard said University Housing is exploring campus infrastructure right now to make decisions about where to put resources.

“We are super excited about the possibility of new housing, but that will come out of a larger plan that the University is wrapping up,” McGalliard said. “We want to make sure we have the right mix of buildings on campus, in locations that make sense for what our students’ experiences are.”

A diagram of the room layouts at University Towers and an FAQ for students will be available on the housing website during the room selection period.

High rent prices open discussion about rent control and policy change in Raleigh

Jacob Henderson Correspondent

Many NC State students and alumni have enjoyed off-campus living, but high rent prices around the city of Raleigh makes it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing.

Julia Mattox, a fourth-year studying environmental engineering, said her experience trying to find an affordable apartment to move into after graduation has not been easy.

“Raleigh has definitely gotten really expensive, and it’s definitely a lot more expensive than Cary by comparison,” Mattox said. “A lot of the places that would be most convenient for me to live in in Raleigh would either be downtown or close to Glenwood, and even something that’s small, like 550 square feet, is still $1,400 which is absolutely insane.”

Mattox said she is optimistic about rent control but believes there just aren’t enough apartments available in general.

“Rent control would help, but we also just need more housing in Raleigh,” Mattox said. “There are so many buildings that could be renovated.”

Steven Greene, professor of public and international affairs, said rent control isn’t likely to come about in Raleigh any time soon.

“[Rent control] is where local government sets caps on rent in certain locations,” Greene said. “Since it has not even been part of North Carolina politics … this is something that would be more likely to pass with a Democratic trifecta, which, who knows when we’ll ever see that again.”

GRAPHIC BY ISABELA GEORGE

Grace Pfister Correspondent

Parents’ Bill of Rights passes through NC Senate, waits for vote from House

The North Carolina Senate passed Senate Bill 49, also known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights with a supermajority vote of 29-18. The bill has gone to the House and has yet to be heard for a vote.

Introduced on Feb. 7, the bill outlines a set of rights parents should have regarding their children’s participation in public schools and the overall curriculum. The provisions include restricting the topics of gender identity, sexuality and sexual activity in kindergarten through fourth grade, giving parents new access to school curriculums, the ability to sit in on a class and requiring school faculty to report requests of name or pronoun changes by students to their parents.

Republican Sen. Amy Galey, a primary sponsor of the bill, said it’s intended to present parents with their rights in the educational system and support them in their attempts at being more involved in their children’s school.

“A lot of the time, parents will know or feel like something is supposed to happen, or should happen, but they don’t really know how to make it happen,” Galey said. “This bill is intended to help address that.”

Galey said the restricting of the K-4 curriculum to not include these topics was the result of parental concerns regarding the content being presented to their children, particularly about books including topics such as sex acts.

“I wasn’t present, so I can’t exactly say what [books] they were reading to their students,” Galey said. “Just anecdotally, I’ve heard that parents are feeling that it’s more the sexual activity and sexuality that is being discussed.”

One of the most vocal opponents to the Parents’ Bill of Rights, Democratic Sen. Graig Meyer, said he hasn’t heard any reports about books containing sex acts being read in kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms.

“Usually, the objections that happen in kindergarten through fourth-grade classrooms are objections to books that reference samesex or same-gender relationships,” Meyer said. “There is no kindergarten teacher in the world that is like, ‘oh I think we should [read] kindergarteners more sex books.’”

Galey said children should be focusing on learning about things other than gender identity when in kindergarten like cutting with scissors or writing their names.

“A kindergartener doesn’t need to learn about gender identity theory,” Galey said. “We carefully wrote the bill so it would be okay to have sort of good-touch, bad-touch classes because that isn’t necessarily innately sexual. That’s when a teacher should say, ‘You need to ask your parents.’”

Meyer said kindergarteners naturally have these questions and that their teachers are already equipped to answer them.

“Kindergarten teachers are especially attuned to the developmental needs of kindergarteners and kindergartners do have questions about how families are made and how families are made up,” Meyer said. “Teachers have to have a way to answer that when it comes up in class. But the way that you answer that is not the way that you do when you’re in fifth grade. … You try and give kindergarteners the minimum amount of information that you can to answer their questioning mind and leave the rest of it for a later developmental stage or for their family to take care of.”

Natalie Bullock Brown, an assistant teaching professor from the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program at NC State, said not every kid has a parent they can talk to about their own gender identity, and school teachers and counselors play a major role in their development.

“I feel that it is critical that I am at least one person that [her children] can come to me and feel safe,” Bullock Brown said. “Not every kid has that right. Not every kid has a parent that feels that way. I think it’s a dire situation when counselors are basically mandated to betray the young people that they’re supposed to serve.”

Meyer said students shouldn’t have to rely on their parents to answer all of their questions in the first place.

“Senator Galey assumes that those kids

have parents … and those kids who do have active parents [might not be] any better at talking about these issues than a professional educator,” Meyer said.

Galey did not provide a definition of what gender identity was, nor does the bill explicitly define it as a term. The only mention of gender identity in the bill is the prohibition of it in the curriculum. Meyer said he was disappointed Galey and the bill couldn’t define what gender identity was.

“[It’s] upsetting if somebody is introducing and passing legislation and they can’t describe what it is that’s in it,” Meyer said.

Meyer said the bill’s lack of clarity was one of his biggest concerns and that even with an exception of parental notification in cases of abuse or neglect, it forces teachers to lean towards notifying.

“The bill itself, making it a law, indicates that the bias should be towards telling [parents], not towards protecting child’s safety, and I think you should protect [children’s] safety,“ Meyer said.

One of the most controversial provisions of the bill requires school personnel to notify parents when their children request a change in name. Galey said this only applies to official record requests, and not between individuals for a child’s preferred name.

“Under this bill, [a child] can put in his PowerSchool preferred name … nobody has to call his parents,” Galey said. “We heard in committee, a child wanted to be called Cloud, so they can put that in their PowerSchool … nobody has to call the parents.”

In Wake County, however, a parent’s signature is required for a preferred name change in PowerSchool as well as for the official record changes Galey mentioned. Galey said a child’s pronouns, though, should not be unknown to the parents and that they should be notified if a child requests to be referred to differently at school.

“Pronouns, under the bill, would require that the parents be notified that the child has asked that their pronouns be changed,” Galey said. “We shouldn’t have one life at school and another at home.”

A notification would not just be required for requests between a student and a teacher, but also for school counselors who previously had confidentiality with exceptions for harm or violence. This is due to the language of the bill defining school personnel as any “employee of a public school unit.”

Bullock Brown said the bill is a clear statement that children’s needs are not important to lawmakers.

“I think it’s saying, without saying it, that what you care about is not really that important,” Bullock Brown said. “These ideologies are more important than you are and what you’re struggling with. [The LGBTQ Community] is watching, you know. It’s not like they don’t see the way that [Republicans] are trying to strip away rights.”

The bill has yet to be put for a vote in the House. Currently, State Republicans need just one democrat vote in the House to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto and pass the bill with a supermajority.

Jacob Henderson

Correspondent

DANIEL GILLIAM/TECHNICIAN

Raleigh’s statue of George Washington stands beside the Capitol Building on May 16, 2018.

The Physical Master Plan: How NC State will improve accessibility over next decade

After my last article discussing Wolfpack Pickup, accessibility and walkability across campus, I decided to find out what NC State is doing to modify our campus to improve these aspects and what changes will be made to the historic buildings.

This brought up the extensive Physical Master Plan, which is a comprehensive tool that aids NC State in reexamining campus every 10 to 20 years and searching for improvements. Some of these modifications can be things like new dining opportunities, residence halls, parking renovations and new academic buildings. There are also new pedestrian opportunities within the master plan to improve campus accessibility.

Tom Skolnicki, NC State’s landscape architect, heads the land planning effort on campus, which includes thinking about the uses for the spaces the University has. His department has had a large say in the planning of the Physical Master Plan.

“Our group is involved a lot in the design of campus buildings,” Skolnicki said. “Our focus is more on the places between the buildings, including all of our paths, streets, courtyards, open spaces, natural systems, natural areas, our utilities and how they serve campus.”

When discussing the Physical Master Plan and accessibility, Skolnicki said there were a number of committees with representatives from all colleges, students, faculty and staff, that participated in the creation of the plan to ensure diverse feedback. Skolnicki also said the University could follow what it did to make the Belltower accessible for other campus accessibility renovations.

“A big part of that project was saying, ‘OK, it’s a historic building,’” Skolnicki said. “And because it is historic and was built prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act, it could have been the result that we said we can’t make that shrine room accessible. There are a lot of challenges to it, it’s going to compromise the historic character of the building, it’s one of our hallowed places. … It took a lot of effort, but I think we found a way that that path that provides a route for people who can’t navigate steps is used by

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Rent control isn’t as cut-and-dry of a solution as many think, Greene said.

“The costs [to live in Raleigh] are more hidden and more diffuse and that makes [rent control], I think, a popular policy,” Greene said. “It’s big in New York. I know that the only way that the friends were able to have their apartment is be -

a lot of people.”

Skolnicki also said in 2019, the department finished a study that examined the most historic buildings on campus. He said they’ve had a transition plan in progress, which is essentially a plan to transform these buildings from these historic conditions to buildings that meet the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. They had enough funding to look at 34 buildings, most of which are on North Campus, and highlight their shortcomings.

“We maintain a list of projects called our integrated priority list where we track these things and so those deficiencies get on that list and as opportunities come up, either through funding from one source or the other, or a capital improvement project like those building renovations where we can address those issues,” Skolnicki said.

“There’ll [definitely] be some challenges, I think there will be in some buildings. But, I don’t think that means you don’t make the improvements that you can, and some of the improvements just might take longer to get to or to identify the funding to address them.”

cause it was rent controlled.”

Greene also said due to the political barriers and other limitations of implementing rent control, there may be better solutions out there such as the Yes In My BackYard movement, which advocates for housing development as a solution to out-of-control rent prices.

“You have Liberals saying, shall we say, ‘The rent is too damn high,’” Greene said. “One of the ways to lower that is to simply make more housing available.

In terms of accessibility, Skolnicki said to create more pedestrian-friendly walkways, like converting Stinson Drive or other areas on campus, there would need to be a pilot program to test it out on a block or two at first.

Mark Newmiller, director of the Disability Resources Office for the University, oversees the providing of accommodations for students with disabilities on campus.

“We are working with students, identifying who’s a student with disability, what are those barriers that they experience, and then what accommodations might be appropriate to remove those barriers,” Newmiller said. “On the backside, we work with faculty and the University staff depending upon organizations and the programs and services to identify if those accommodations would fundamentally alter that program or service. And if they do, then we look for alternatives to those accommodations so that students can still participate.”

Newmiller said his team also works with instructors about inclusive training, how to properly accommodate, how to make statements about receiving accommoda-

The reason housing is not available is because of regulations. It appeals to Conservatives too.”

Greene said these sorts of alternative solutions are better for multiple reasons.

“Some of the [alternative] solutions are probably not only more efficient policies, but they’re more politically feasible in the sense that you have more bipartisanship on some of these,” Greene said.

tions and how to help students seek out the organization. He also said his team doesn’t have much of a role in the physical access of the University, like the architects or ADA coordinators do. Newmiller has had a voice in the Physical Master Plan, as he’s a part of one of the task forces.

“If there’s an idea or if something is coming up, I might suggest some concerns like have we thought about this for a student who has a disability, are we looking at it in a way that’s inclusive to all abilities,” Newmiller said. “I will say that the campus as a whole is very in tune to that and I’ve been really impressed with the physical master planning process. I think the University has a long way to go to be fully accessible. But I think it’s also a part of the topography of the campus.”

Newmiller said he thinks the changes they’re presenting with the Physical Master Plan provides are great improvements for accessibility and navigation across campus. He also said he encourages students to reach out to the Disability Resources Office if they need to speak with someone about accommodations for disabilities.

Finally, Greene said real policy change could come about if people, especially students at NC State, pushed for these alternative solutions.

“Those are the types of policy changes that people should be pushing for and I think would have a lot more prospects than something like rent control which I see as a much more brute force instrument,” Greene said. “Some of the other solutions are not only more efficient policies but more politically feasible.”

Mariana Fabian Opinion Editor

COURTESY OF TOM SKOLNICKI

Movie theaters should blame themselves for their own death

Mark Mikhail Correspondent

In 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic represented the fall of the movie theater. Audiences couldn’t visit their local AMC or Regal, and streaming services became the only way to release movies.

As pandemic restrictions ended, streaming services did not relinquish their hold on the film industry. Prior to the pandemic, many people went to the movie theaters because they knew they would not be able to watch the film for at least a month. After the pandemic, however, this exclusivity changed. Film studios like Universal struck deals with movie theater companies such as AMC to lower the time in between release in the movie theaters and release in streaming services.

AMC took this deal in order to gain revenue from Universal’s streaming services, but in return, they hindered their own movie theaters.

This is not the only confusing move AMC has made. On Feb. 6, AMC announced a change to its ticket pricing. This change created three pricing tiers based on where theater goers are sitting. AMC released a

statement that this change allowed moviegoers to, “have more control over their experience.”

I, like many, was left very confused by this decision. Why would AMC choose to raise their prices when their sales were already low?

Dr. Marsha Gordon, head of the film studies department, said AMC was attempting to incentivize ticket sales by targeting a certain demographic.

“Audience members feel more like they’re going to the theater … if they have a designated ticket by the theater, like live theater designated seats,” Gordon said. “Maybe that will make them come back. So I’m sure that is part of the gamble that they’re making.”

No matter how one may look at it, the price of a ticket increased with this decision. An already expensive outing became more pricey.

Movie theaters also increased the price of popcorn to an unprecedented amount. Popcorn at the theater is now marked up to 1,275% of its grocery store price. Although the inflated price of popcorn is nothing new to movie theaters, adding this high cost to the inflated ticket pricing system AMC wishes to employ will make theaters

a luxury many will want to avoid.

This pricing paired with the film industry stuck on blockbusters and a lack of exclusivity due to streaming services makes going to the movies simply not worth it anymore.

The situation can be salvaged as well. When talking to Gordon about possible solutions to this problem, she pointed to history for potential answers. When people could no longer afford going to the theaters during the Great Depression, they found ways to incentivize people to go.

“Movie theaters did, very creatively, things like giveaways,” Gordon said. “So they would do things like a lottery, where you would come and everyone would get a ticket when you came in. And maybe they will give away, you know, $100.”

Gordon also referenced a point I agree with fully. Going to the movies is a unique experience, an exhibition, and the movie theaters should do their best to create a more pleasurable experience. Gordon pointed to the Alamo Drafthouse as an example of a movie theater that creates a more unique experience. The theater serves beverages and food directly to your seat. They also have a half hour pre-show directly related to the movie.

I recommend movie theaters expand on the creativity the Drafthouse displays. Movie theaters could create interactive experiences like games you can play related to the movie you are watching. Also, the theater could actually learn from streaming services and employ interesting facts and trivia on the side, similar to what Amazon Prime Video makes available.

Going to the movies is an American tradition that was created with the introduction of film. Seeing it go away will not only harm our social traditions, but also disrupt our economy. Movie theaters create jobs for not only the people that work there but also production companies that want to make more meaningful films. Currently there are 195,444 people employed in movie theaters. When the world is facing an economic crisis, the destruction of the theater could strike a major blow to the unemployment rate.

Movie theaters have two options if they want to revive their industry: create a better movie watching experience that is more marketable and appealing to their audience,or lower the prices so it is more accessible to more people. No matter how you look at it, the fate of movie theaters is in their own hands.

Wellness days are necessary, now more than ever

things we wouldn’t normally do because we are too busy studying or doing homework is beneficial. Considering the daily struggles of college students with a heavy workload experience, we should be allowed to have a break — and wellness days are the best way to do so.

Emilia

Rivadeneira

Correspondent

No classes, no homework, no Moodle — just a day to focus on our mental health. In a nutshell, that’s what a wellness day is. This concept, which was introduced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, has become more prevalent as NC State makes more of an effort to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their mental health and well-being.

Two wellness days, one in the fall and one in the spring, have been offered this academic year by the University. While most students are in favor of having them, the inclusion of such days into the academic curriculum has sparked mixed reactions among students, faculty and staff. Not everyone is convinced time off is what students need in order to nurture their mental health.

For example, some argue that wellness days interfere with the learning process because classes are canceled and assignments cannot be assigned. People also think it’s a flop because they don’t provide an adequate break and because they may unintentionally worsen people’s mental health by removing their routines. However, a lot of these reasons don’t take into account how much college students are going through.

College is a stressful environment. Therefore, having a day off to unwind and do

So, instead of interfering with the learning process, wellness days enhance it by providing students with the time to recharge, and return to class with less stress which will help them absorb topics more quickly and thoroughly according to Matt Shenker, MEd. Moreover, taking care of our mental health is important because it has an influence on our thoughts, behaviors and emotions. As college students, it’s easy to forget to nourish on a daily basis, so having a day dedicated to that purpose is essential, even if it’s randomly placed throughout the week.

Some students have criticized the way wellness days are scattered throughout the semester, saying they don’t actually provide an adequate break. But, having one day of relaxation can make a significant impact, the trick is in knowing how to make the most out of your day.

For instance, I went on a hike with two friends last wellness day, and it was nice being able to enjoy nature and talk with my friends about everything and nothing. In addition, this hike provided an opportunity for me to reflect on my life and mental health, which was ultimately beneficial for my future.

However, I agree the University should give more consideration to the placement of days in our schedule to improve students utilizing this time properly. For this, NC State should consider scheduling days near the weekend, such as Mondays or Fridays. In that way, students can have their well-deserved pause from classes and take care of themselves but also allow a smooth transition back to their normal schedule.

Some might argue the absence from an academic setting of wellness days might negatively impact students already facing mental health issues, yet academic burnout can also cause stress that will lead to a worse well-being and an increased chance of mental health issues. Wellness days give us the time and opportunity to look after one another — checking in on our friends, making plans together or even just giving them a call.

I understand that for those already struggling with mental health, a wellness day may not be as beneficial or enough. If students believe a day off may not be conducive to their comfort and well-being, NC State also provides different resources they can use. As well, students who don’t have anything planned for the day, may still find something to do on campus thanks to the many activities hosted by departments like Wellness and Recreation. Being involved in these events might help them connect with others, and help create a sense of community.

Although there’s always room for improvement — the University should consider the

scheduling of wellness days more thoroughly. Iit’s really necessary to keep having time to focus on mental health and relaxation. Thus, it’s important the University continues to have these wellness days that allow students to take a break from school.

If you or someone you know is having difficulty processing grief or having a mental health emergency, the Counseling Center can be reached 24 hours a day at 919-515-2423. If you are in a crisis situation and need immediate help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. In the case of a life-threatening emergency, call 911.

The Counseling Center’s website offers free online screenings, a plethora of self-help resources regarding mental health and wellness concerns and a comprehensive list of campus services available for those who need guidance. To view an exhaustive list, visit counseling.dasa.ncsu.edu/ resources.

If you’re seeking professional counseling or other mental health services on campus, visit the Counseling Center’s Getting Started page at counseling.dasa.ncsu.edu/about-us/gettingstarted to complete paperwork, set up an appointment and more.

NC State students suffering as University refuses to invest in expansion

The problems are not the result merely of daily mismanagement on the behalf of dining employees; they work very hard to keep up with the unrealistic expectations of food production. The lack of diverse options for dining means that workers face pressure to cut corners in food safety and quality to serve the student body.

subpar. Mold is a concern in older residence halls and in the last few years, and floods in residence halls like Metcalf and Bragaw and power outages in Metcalf, Carroll and Bowen have forced students to relocate.

NC State is actively pushing for large growth in the size of the student population, continually breaking first-year class -size records every year. Because of this, increasing stress has been put on the social institutions on campus, from housing and dining to counseling and community engagement. The way in which NC State has grown the University is greedy and harmful to the quality of student’s health, safety, education and culture.

One factor of notable concern due to population growth is the quality of dining. Many students encounter concerningly inconsistent cooking from dining options at NC State — food poisoning from Fountain, overpriced, cold burgers from Tuffy’s and hours-long waits for a coffee from Starbucks. No one should be surprised that these problems exist with such an increasingly high demand for food, especially at peak hours.

As the population of the University increases, housing for first-years also becomes more complicated. University Housing generally strives to keep first-years on main campus as much as possible, but with growing class sizes and little immediate progress in the way of new residence halls, first-years keep having to live further away from campus.

The University does have plans for new housing and dining, but it is disappointing and frankly confusing that it has promoted its expansion projects for niche areas like esports and athletic upgrades more than critical infrastructure that benefits all students. With increasing social crises and criticisms regarding NC State’s approach to addressing its community, it seems odd that it is so dead-set on growing the campus population without first having housing options readily available.

For those students who do live on campus, the quality of the residence halls is beyond

The end result of this trend is a growing number of students living off campus, the ramifications of which can easily go unseen. The sociological concerns of a physically distant student body are at best, worrisome and at worst, tragic.

Living off campus physically removes students from campus culture, making social cohesion and involvement more difficult. This may be easier for upperclassmen who have spent time forming connections with other students in their first year of school.

But for first-years who have yet to form their social netting, the effects can be disheartening.

This anatomization of campus culture is putting a strain on the social institutions that support students. Recruitment and outreach for organizations of all sizes have become increasingly difficult beyond massive events like Packapalooza and major sporting events.

The result is a campus full of students devoid of social cohesion at a critical stage of social development and in need of support. For students without a social net, professors are a common place to turn to for support.

We have had multiple professors address our classes transparently regarding current mental health concerns and offer to be resources to the best of their capacities. However, professors are becoming less available for many students.

For example, NC State has made becoming a tenure-track professor more difficult, with requirements for scholarship and teaching becoming harder to manage, especially in STEM fields. Because of this, more adjunct professors, who are generally paid less and are guaranteed fewer benefits, are hired. If an adjunct professor is not available, graduate students are employed. As they have unionized for better pay and benefits, those who distressed students may turn to are also working under dire straits financially and educationally.

With nowhere to turn, NC State is leaving its students out to dry. The emotional and mental health of campus has never been more concerning and the irresponsible expansion by the University only contributes to these issues. We cannot simply invest in some new shiny buildings and call it a day. A larger campus requires larger expenditures to support a larger student body. If NC State cannot do that, the crises that we are currently facing will pale in comparison to what will come.

Koen Rodabaugh Correspondent

Jordan Birkner Correspondent &

Nova and Comet: A Familiar Face Pearl Knight, staff cartoonist A fourth-year studying art and design Season’s Pickin’s: Red Wine Poached Pears Wylie Phu, staff cartoonist A second-year studying art and design

Falling Into Place

Jacinto Sho Hernandez, staff cartoonist

A second-year studying art and design

Creatures of Habit

Rachel Bergman, staff cartoonist A graduate student studying landscape architecture

Hair Sophie Gabriel, staff cartoonist A second-year studying art and design

Shared Moment Lucy Osborn, staff cartoonist A second-year studying art and design

Hairy Situation, Part II Harrison Burstion, staff cartoonist A second-year studying art and design

Chill Out!

Avery Szakacs, staff cartoonist A second-year studying art and design

EXPECTATIONS RELATIONSHIPS

ANXIETY

FINDING PEACE AND PURPOSE

LONELINESS IN THE MIDDLE OF TOUGH TIMES

CONFLICT

UNCERTAINTY CONFUSION

BLAME RESPONSIBILITIES DEPRESSION

PRESSURE

EXHAUSTION SELF-ESTEEM

There is hope! Consider this thought: Who you are is more important than your accomplishments (or failures.) What if society tells you that your value comes from your looks, accomplishments, power, wealth, etc.? We have all experienced what it is like to hear conflicting voices telling us what our worth is, the meaning of life, and answering other important life questions. But what if there were a person who tells you he loves you and you were worth him coming to earth to make a way for you to experience God’s love and have a real relationship with him that brings forgiveness, meaning and peace? We believe Jesus Christ is that person. He loves you. He is faithful and true, and sticks with you through life’s ups and downs. We are a group of faculty and staff who are united in our discovery and experience that Jesus Christ provides intellectually and spiritually satisfying answers to life’s most important questions. Interested? Have questions? Want to know how to have a relationship with God through Christ? Talk with us or go to EveryStudent.com or MeetTheProf.com

Sponsored and paid for by the Christian Faculty/Staff Network at NCSU | www.cfsn-ncsu.org

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Therapy dog Delilah sparks joy and spreads love on campus

Delilah, a trained therapy dog, has been stealing the hearts and minds of students at what is now known to many as Delilah’s spot in Wolf Plaza. Addressing mental health and stress on campus, Delilah’s owner has been routinely bringing her to campus to shower students with love.

Delilah is a three-year-old dogo argentino adopted by NC State alum Chris D’Arco from a local rescue in 2019, when she was a few months old. D’Arco said Delilah was surrendered due to her deafness, which is common in dogs with white skin pigmentation.

Dogo argentinos fall under the category of mastiffs and were first bred from the nowextinct cordoba fighting dog along with Great Danes and boxers in the 1920s. The breed was created for the purposes of dog fighting and hunting pumas and wild boar in Argentina.

D’Arco said Delilah’s breed is banned in multiple countries and New York City due to the aggressive stigma associated with the breed.

“Any dog is just a matter of how you train them,” D’Arco said. “She will kill you with kisses.”

Delilah was trained through Sit Means Sit, a local dog training agency that also trained the Durham Bulls’ bat dog and NC State’s tee-fetcher, Ripken. Michael O’Donnell, the owner of the agency, advised D’Arco to train Delilah to be a therapy dog because of her sweet temperament and tolerance.

D’Arco said Delilah’s deafness resulted in him adopting unique practices to train her, including American Sign Language, which he said made him a better dog trainer.

“She doesn’t know she’s deaf,” D’Arco said. “It just takes a little longer training [and she] actually made me a better trainer. People use the word no very often when training a dog and it’s not something that should be [used], because it’s constantly used wrong and they get confused. So not being able to say no to her makes a difference.”

D’Arco said Delilah’s deafness allows her to provide therapeutic services in louder environments than most dogs would be comfortable with, such as Wolf Plaza, where she has no issue with the constant smacking of skateboards on brick. During her training, Delilah was required to pass tests in multiple environments, including a mall, a nursing home and a firehouse, all of which she passed with flying colors.

D’Arco was first inspired to take Delilah to campus after speaking to his college-age

daughter about stress during finals. After working things through with Prevention Services, D’Arco and Delilah have been on campus since last semester. As a college graduate, D’Arco said he can relate to the stress students feel and hopes Delilah’s services can help.

“I remember [when] I came from New York to go to NC State back in the ‘80s and you miss your animals — sometimes people miss their animals more than miss their family,” D’Arco said. “It’s a stressful thing, and seeing a dog is fantastic. We went out to the library last semester, just walking around and having people taking breaks and they just got so excited for it. But with everything that’s happening, I just felt like it was a little more important to get out here as much as we can, so people can take advantage and see her and love her and her to love them.”

Rebecca Maher, a licensed social worker in the College of Veterinary Medicine, said it is proven that therapy animals can greatly improve the quality of one’s mental health.

Maher cited a Duke University study that demonstrated pediatric patients in contact with therapy dogs before heart scans were calmer and, in turn, had more stable and clearer scans than patients who had not been in contact with the dogs.

Maher said therapy animals can create a state similar to mindfulness practices.

“They make us be in the present, which is a really important thing,” Maher said. “If one is prone to anxiety or overwhelmed, and you start thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, how am I going to do X, Y or Z?’ When they’re out with Delilah, they’re probably just thinking ‘I’m here outside, she feels lovely, she’s got a great face.’ All of that [thinking] really is sort of reminiscent of mindfulness practices.”

Sophie Mueller, a first-year studying psychology who had met Delilah before, said seeing Delilah and other dogs on campus helps fill the gap left by not being able to see her dogs back home.

“It makes me so happy to see dogs on campus, because my dogs are like my best friends and leaving them is the worst part

about going to school,” Mueller said. “They are just happy and they’ve got no stress in their lives, really, so they can just take on a little bit of that for you.”

D’Arco said many students catch Delilah at every chance they get.

“The smile on their faces — some of them come running to her,” D’Arco said. “I have girls that come back four, five, six, seven times to come see her. [Some] every time we’ve been out here.”

D’Arco said the reactions and engagement with students have been invaluable to him and he hopes to continue bringing Delilah to campus.

“When people talk about destiny, I really think me getting with her and having the ability to do this just worked — it was meant to be,” D’Arco said.

D’Arco said students convinced him to create an Instagram account for Delilah. Pictures of her with students, in addition to times and locations where she can be found on campus are posted regularly.

Matthew Burkhart Staff Writer

MATTHEW BURKHART/TECHNICIAN

African American Cultural Center showcases Black love in book blitz

Matthew Burkhart Staff Writer

To celebrate both Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, the African American Cultural Center displayed the exhibit “28 Days of Love: Black Book Blitz.” The showcase features Black authors who published books about Black love that are available to be checked out of the center’s library.

Brionna Johnson, the center’s interim library coordinator and curator of the exhibit, said renovations that made the center’s exhibit room unavailable during January 2023 inspired the center to devise the exhibit, adding the seasonal theme of love to the subject of Black literature.

Brionna Johnson said Black love and relationships are often portrayed as flawed, toxic and traumatic in popular culture, and the exhibit aimed to shed light on the reality and many forms of Black love.

“In the Black community, you always have to go through struggle love first to get to the end result where, then, it’s something beautiful,” Brionna Johnson said. “But why do we have to struggle? Why can’t it just be euphoric all the time? And then why can’t we think about self-love and platonic love, like love for friends … the ways in which it doesn’t have to struggle — it can be boring, and it can be joyful, and it can be something that’s presented beautifully.”

Sol Johnson, a fourth-year studying psychology who helped curate the exhibit, said required readings of Black literature in schools often show only one representation of Black life.

“Often when Black love is discussed in various mediums, there’s usually a focus on Black trauma, or there’s simply just a lack of softness in the representation of Black love,” Sol Johnson said. “To me, Black love is soft. It’s intimate. It’s kind — it’s all of

those things.”

angela gay-audre, the director of the center, said Black love represents the universal care and understanding between every Black person.

“Even in the midst of struggle and pain, and the struggles and the things that happen in our every day, we still have the ability to choose joy,” gay-audre said. “We can still laugh. We can still engage in the vernacular of our people, of our ancestors. We can still engage with our most innermost selves and allow that to be a guiding force, a guiding light in our life.”

gay-audre said this love is present in the miniscule moments of everyday life.

“[Black love] is walking down the street,

and you see a stranger, and just by making eye contact or a simple head nod or a gesture or particular looking in your eyes, you know that that person sees you, that they witness you, and you have the ability to be able to witness them too,” gay-audre said. “It’s that feeling of feeling connected. Even in a world that makes you feel alone, you know that you’ve got somebody.”

The exhibit featured books by Black authors from multiple time periods and backgrounds. Alongside classics, there were a wealth of new books from queer authors.

gay-audre said Black culture is intertwined with queer culture; without one, the other would be incomplete. Along with accurately depicting these two cultures, she

said the exhibit looked to promote marginalized authors whose work has not received the attention it deserves.

The exhibit displayed the true depth of Black literature, featuring books that are centered on all aspects of Black life, including Black womanism, Black feminism and Black boyhood, among others.

Sol Johnson said the selection of books the center devised hoped to shine light on every aspect and view of Black life and Black love. They said books centered around Black womanism have taught them how to live as a Black woman among other Black women.

“Being Black is one thing; being a woman is another thing,” Sol Johnson said. “Being a Black woman is a whole different thing entirely because you’re facing oppression based on so many different aspects of your identity. And for me, Black womanism is existing in spite of that. It’s learning to love who you are. It’s learning to love other Black women. It’s learning the things that you’re going to face as a Black woman, learning how to combat those things, how to grow in spite of those things.”

Amonte McNair, a first-year studying accounting and a visitor at the exhibit, said being aware of books centered around Black love gives him a sense of belonging, as most Black literature he has read has been centered around Black trauma. For McNair, the exhibited books fill a gap in the representation of Black people in literature.

gay-audre said the ultimate purpose of this exhibit was to prove that Black love has always been represented in literature, and now is a time as important as ever to elevate these works.

“We wanted to really center that narrative,” gay-audre said. “Not to say this is a future goal, but this is where we are right now — we’re actually doing this.”

Annual poetry contest accepting submissions

Jameson Wolf Assistant Culture Editor

NC State Department of English’s annual spring poetry contest gives a voice to North Carolina’s poetic talent while searching for tomorrow’s poets.

Each year, the department receives hundreds of submissions to perform initial reads on before passing off the top 50 or so to a prominent poet acting as the year’s guest judge. The winning poem earns the poet the $500 Dorianne Laux Prize for Poetry.

Submissions for the 2023 contest with guest judge Khalisa Rae are open to North Carolina residents and NC State students through March 1.

Wilton Barnhardt, a professor in the Department of English and founder of the contest as it functions today, said the nature of a free-to-enter poetry contest open to all unpublished poets across a state encourages a massive variety in submissions.

“You always get the elementary school who decided, as a class, to send their rhyming poems, and you’ll get some poems that would be quite appropriate for a church bul-

letin,” Barnhardt said.

Amidst this variety, however, there are undeniable gems from both practiced poets and people who do not consider themselves poets at all.

“If somebody at UNC-Wilmington wins the poetry prize, that is not a great surprise,” Barnhardt said. “But what is so wonderful is when it’s an older retired person in the mountains, who just has a few good poems and sends it in and beats everybody in the state. That’s a great joy.”

As a member of the MFA in Creative Writing faculty, Barnhardt likens the po-

etry contest to football scouts attending high school games in search of talent, saying that often, winners go on to enroll in NC State’s MFA program.

“How else do you find the poets of tomorrow?” Barnhardt said. “It’s important [to] the craft, to the art, to move on.”

DANIELLE MEYER/TECHNICIAN

Marita Golden is a highlighted author at the “28 Days of Love: Black Book Blitz” exhibit in Witherspoon Student Center on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. The interactive exhibit featured 28 Black authors in celebration of Black History Month and Valentine’s Day.

NC State men’s basketball heats up late, downs UNC in electric fashion

to a six-point lead with 10:22 left in the game. The six-point advantage UNC held felt like the beginnings of a run to crack the game open, but Burns and Joiner refused to

For the first time in a long time, NC State men’s basketball seems to be the team to beat in North Carolina. PNC Arena was at its loudest Sunday afternoon for a closelycontested dual with the Tar Heels, a game that saw the Wolfpack pull away from its rival in the closing minutes of the second half to come away with a 7769 win.

The two teams met earlier this year on Jan. 21 with UNC-Chapel Hill (16-11, 8-8 ACC) getting the better of NC State (21-7, 11-6 ACC) in an 8069 victory, a game in which the Pack hovered around a 10-point deficit for most of the afternoon. Today had a different energy, with both teams trading buckets in a contest fueled by emotion from the fans and players.

The Pack took care of the ball on offense and swarmed on defense, forcing 13 UNC turnovers and racking up seven steals. This statistical advantage and the stellar play of graduate guard Jarkel Joiner are what gave the red-and-white the edge it needed to come away with the much-needed win after losing its previous bout with Syracuse.

“Our fans were tremendous,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “The atmosphere was great. This was the first time our current group of guys got to see what Wolfpack nation looks like.”

UNC ran its offense through RJ Davis to start the game, while NC State let sophomore guard Terquavion Smith do his thing. Smith has the ability to get to any spot on the floor at will, a skill that demands defensive attention and affords his teammates extra opportunities. Smith tallied eight first-half points to go with Joiner’s nine to combine for 17 of NC State’s 32 points at the break.

In addition to the do-it-all guards, senior guard Casey Morsell and graduate forward Jack Clark contributed to the Pack’s success in the first half. Morsell scored eight first-half points, shooting 50% from 3, and Clark pulled down six of his eight total rebounds. Despite Clark’s effort, rebounding was a sore spot for NC State that allowed the Tar Heels to remain competitive.

The Pack came out of the break motivated to limit the Tar Heels’ second-chance opportunities and increase its own, continuing a first-half pattern that saw NC State take 15 more shots than North Carolina.

“Rebounding was something that really hurt us in the first half,” said graduate forward DJ Burns. “Once we decided we were gonna muscle up and take that away, that’s when we really opened up the lead.”

UNC’s Armando Bacot ended the day with a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double, an effort that kept the game close and helped push the Tar Heels

Keatts went to Burns in the post, time after time. Whether it was Pete Nance or Bacot guarding him, it didn’t seem to matter as Burns put up 14 second-half points.

Joiner had been a consistent scoring option up to this point, but hadn’t been very efficient. He went 3-10 from the field in the first 20 minutes, a pattern that shifted during a 7-0 run with nine minutes left in the game that gave the Wolfpack a one-point lead. This run was capped off by a 3-pointer from Clark in transition that caused the crowd to erupt and gave the team the boost it needed to make a late game run.

Joiner went into takeover mode from that point on, scoring 14 of his 29 points in the final seven minutes of play to edge the Pack past its rival.

“That’s Jarkell Joiner for you right there,” Smith said. “I don’t think he’s been on a run this year that’s been more electric.”

NC State dictated the final three minutes of the game due to its growing lead, loud fan base and composed nature. Very few errors were made by the redand-white, as the team only turned the ball over three times during the course of the game. The Pack minimized turnovers by effectively passing out of double teams and making smart passes to beat the Tar Heels’ full-court press during the final minutes.

“There was 3:22 left on the clock, we came out of a timeout and got a stop immediately,” Burns said. “We went down the court and scored and that’s when I knew [the game was over].”

NC State is closing out on one of its most successful seasons in recent memory with only three games left to play before postseason play begins. Its seeding should be favorable after today’s win, but a strong finish is necessary to lock that up.

Griffin Cunningham Staff Writer

JON WILLIAMS/TECHNICIAN

Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner shoots the ball during the game against UNC-Chapel Hill in PNC Arena on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. Joiner had 29 points for NC State. The Wolfpack won 77-69.

Sports NFL Pack Pros: Joe Thuney adds another Super Bowl to his stellar resume

Gavin Gallimore Staff Writer

On Sunday, Feb. 12, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl 57. With the victory, the Chiefs and former NC State standout Joe Thuney have established themselves as the next great NFL dynasty.

In a game highlighted by spectacular performances by two of the best quarterbacks in the league, it was no surprise that offensive play dominated the flow of the game and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was able to shine. However, the Chiefs’ offensive line and Thuney played an integral role in this game.

Facing a very talented Philadelphia defense, Thuney and the rest of the line helped prevent Mahomes from getting sacked for the entire game. This feat was extremely impressive because the Eagles led the NFL with 70 total sacks this season.

Thuney, now a three-time Super Bowl champion, lined up for NC State from 2011 to 2015. In his Wolfpack career, he battled injuries that caused him to miss a considerable amount of time. Despite these setbacks, in 2013, he truly showed his capabilities.

Thuney began the season at right tackle and split time at right guard and left tackle for the remainder of the season. Even though he was sidelined with an injury for the first four games of his junior year, he still played at a high level in the remaining eight games.

The NFL came calling in 2016, when the New England Patriots drafted Thuney 78th overall in the third round. In the height of the Patriots’ dynasty, head coach Bill Belichick was hoping to continue his team’s amazing run by adding Thuney to the already stacked offensive line. In his first season in New England, he saw significant playing time, making an appearance in every game and tallying 1,184 total snaps. He earned his first Super Bowl ring as the Patriots capped off an immaculate 28-3 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.

After a frustrating 2017 season, Thuney truly began to break out in the 2018 season, when he started every game for the Patriots and ranked third in the NFL with 1,120 total snaps played. That same year, he went the entire season without allowing a sack. Thuney and the Patriots finished out the year on a high note yet again with a win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53.

Following his second championship ring in three seasons, Thuney continued to prove himself to be a staple in the Patriots offensive line. Over the next two seasons combined, he only allowed three sacks and committed just three penalties. His success in the trenches also helped establish New England’s rushing attack, which ranked fourth in the NFL in total rushing yards in 2020.

After the 2020 season, Thuney had reached the end of his contract and sought a new one. Unable to come to an agree-

ment with the Patriots, Thuney took his talents to Kansas City, committing to a five-year, $80 million deal. With this move, he put himself in a similar situation as he was in as a Patriot — in the presence of another talented quarterback in Mahomes and a legendary coach in Andy Reid.

In his first season with the Chiefs, he continued to get lots of playing time, and as a result, ranked third in the league in total snaps. Even though limiting penalties was certainly an issue for Thuney, he continued to perform consistently and only allowed one sack.

Moving forward into the 2022 season, Thuney had arguably the best season of his NFL career. Even though his snap total dipped under the 1,000 mark, he was highly efficient as he improved in regards to penalties, only collecting a pair and allowing just one sack yet again. At the conclusion of the regular season, he was named to his first Pro Bowl.

As the Chiefs stormed through the regular season and playoffs, it was evident that this team had the potential to

go all the way. With a powerful offense led by Mahomes, the Chiefs continued to find ways to win games. These wins can largely be attributed to their offensive line, which only allowed 26 total sacks throughout the season — the third lowest total in the league.

Despite allowing three sacks in the AFC Championship, Thuney and the line rebounded by putting forth a superb performance in Super Bowl 57. With the victory, his three championships are the most that have been won by any former NC State player.

On the heels of his seventh year in the NFL, Joe Thuney has emerged as one of the league’s most talented offensive linemen. With continued consistency and efficiency, he’s been an unsung hero of his teams’ three championship runs. If he is able to continue his stellar work, it shouldn’t be a surprise if he picks up a few more Super Bowls in the near future.

BEN SALAMA/ARCHIVE

Joe Thuney walks onto the field for Senior Day before the game against the Tar Heels on Nov. 28, 2015 at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Canes crush Capitals 4-1 at 2023 Stadium Series in Carter-Finley

Sam Overton Managing Editor & Ethan Bakogiannis Sports Editor

In their most highly anticipated game of the season, the Carolina Hurricanes cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in front of nearly 60,000 fans at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Amidst the fanfare and pregame press, the Hurricanes (37-10-8) buckled down to play extraordinarily well against the Capitals (28-24-6). Despite the hype and high expectations that come alongside a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity, the Canes didn’t let the pressure get to them.

“We got here three hours before the game, so we had time to refocus and just be ready to be dialed in,” said center Martin Neĉas. “I feel like once we stepped on the ice and went in for the national anthem, all of us had goosebumps, and we were so pumped up to go out and play.”

The pregame festivities kicked off with the Truly Hard Seltzer NHL PreGame as soon as fans were waved into parking lots at 2 p.m., six hours before puck drop. Fans had the opportunity to participate in ice hockey foosball, snap a photo with the Stanley Cup and attend a quick show from American indie pop group lovelytheband.

At 5:15 p.m. sharp, Caniacs flooded the short walkway between PNC Arena and Carter-Finley Stadium to watch the Hurricanes embark on the short trek to the outdoor ice rink. The men appeared dressed in retro golf gear — knickerbockers and all — which, apparently, was the brainchild of right wing Stefan Noesen.

The Capitals made the same trip about 20 minutes later, sporting letterman jackets and blue jeans after stepping off a school bus. Fans started to flood the concourse at Carter-Finley, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite players before the game was officially underway. The stadium felt alive for the first time since late 2022 when the

NC State Athletics’ week in review: Feb. 13-19

Wolfpack played its last football game of the season under the lights at Carter-Finley.

Both rosters remained fairly stable, with the exception of Washington left wing Alex Ovechkin — the Capitals’ star player is unlikely to return for another week or so due to family matters, so head coach Peter Laviolette looked to fill the gap in his roster the best he could.

Those in attendance who had seen an NC State football game or Durham Bulls game happily recognized Ripken the Bat Dog, who commenced Saturday night’s match with a ceremonial puck drop.

Carolina made light work of the Capitals in the first frame, getting off to a strong start thanks to center Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s goahead goal. Although the match was by no means completely one-sided, Washington never really got going after falling to the Hurricanes early. Carolina killed two penalties in the first period without much incident, and Neĉas drew a penalty off of an incredible through-the-legs attempt that just barely missed the goalposts.

If the Super Bowl had Rihanna, Carter-Finley had Jake Owen. The country music star, best known for hits like “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” played in front of the NC State student section during the first intermission. His performance, alongside lovelytheband’s set, only contributed to the infectious atmosphere. If it weren’t for the ice rink in the middle of Carter-Finley, anyone might’ve drawn comparisons to a late-season football game or an evening at the North Carolina State Fair.

The second period belonged to Carolina’s offense — center Paul Stastny, Neĉas and left wing Teuvo Teravainen all scored within six minutes, boosting the Hurricanes’ lead to 4-0 with plenty of hockey left to play. A high-energy atmosphere fed into Carolina’s performance, and while an open-air stadium doesn’t lend itself to containing noise like PNC Arena does, you can’t define a crowd 60,000 strong as anything but loud.

“We just try to play our game,” said center Sebastian Aho. “There’s no secret, we just try to play [our way] every night and

especially on a night like this. You want to just do it your way and keep it simple and all that, so I think we did a really good job.”

Neĉas, who’s been arguably one of the Hurricanes’ most valuable players this season, deserved nothing less than a big play under the bright lights at Carter-Finley. He leads the team in points and logs the second-most goals and assists after finishing an underwhelming season in 2022.

“This game was pretty special,” Neĉas said. “It doesn’t really matter if I score, we got a huge win and the fans were unbelievable and really enjoyed every second of it. It was a special night, and obviously I’m happy I got a goal, too.”

Washington didn’t let the Canes have all the fun, however. The Capitals broke the 4-0 shutout midway through the third period with a goal from right wing Tom Wilson. But Carolina’s monumental second period was far too much for the visitors to overcome, rendering the score as pure consolation.

And with that, it was over — Carolina clinched a 4-1 victory, much to the chagrin of the Capitals fans who made the trek to Raleigh (or, at the very least, Wade Avenue). The Hurricanes’ most enthusiastically awaited game came to a close, and Caniacs prepared to sit in traffic for what seemed like hours as tens of thousands of fans left the stadium in one fell swoop.

That being said, the experience — for fans and players alike — will remain legendary for years to come. For several players, it was their first outdoor game, and something like this doesn’t come around all that often. It’ll likely be a while before the Hurricanes see another outdoor rink, but one thing’s for certain: this game will be hard to top.

“It’s special,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “It’s a special community and a special relationship between the players and the people that support this team, and hopefully other people got to see that tonight.”

The Canes will return to the ice this Friday, Feb. 24 for a matchup against the Ottawa Senators back inside PNC Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

Jenna Cuniowski Assistant Sports Editor

Highlighted by ACC championship victories by the men’s swim and dive team and the wrestling team, NC State Athletics has completed another successful week of competition.

Women’s basketball struggles to find consistency

Ever since its impressive 11-1 start to the season, NC State women’s basketball has had immense difficulty stringing together multiple victories, particularly against ACC opponents. This week was no different as the Pack executed an awe-inspiring comeback win on Thursday, Feb. 16 against the North Carolina Tar Heels but then proceeded to lose to the Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday, Feb. 19 for the second time this month.

Track and field closes out regular season

NC State track and field traveled to compete in two meets this past weekend: the JDL Invitational and the VT Challenge. The women’s DMR team, composed of junior Katelyn Tuohy, senior Sam Bush and graduate students Savannah Shaw and Timara Chapman, traveled to the JDL DMR Invite in Winston-Salem, where they broke the NC State and the facility record for the event. In Blacksburg, a number of NC State’s talented sprinters and throwers competed in the VT Challenge. On Friday, Feb. 17, the throwing squad captured three podium finishes.

Gymnastics picks up four wins

NC State gymnastics competed in two meets this week, hosting the New Hampshire Wildcats in a dual-meet on Friday, Feb. 17 before traveling to Philadelphia on Sunday, Feb. 19 to compete against Temple, George Washington and Penn in a quad-meet. In both meets, the Pack emerged victorious.

Wrestling claims share of fourth consecutive ACC title

NC State wrestling had no trouble taking down its rival North Carolina in the last meet of the regular season on Friday, Feb. 17. The Pack won the match 28-6 and clinched its 10th consecutive win over the Tar Heels in the process. Despite the meet being held in Chapel Hill, the majority of the crowd was made up of Wolfpack fans, making it even easier for a very talented red-and-white team to win eight of its 10 bouts.

Swim and dive dominates at ACC Championships

To say the least, it was an eventful weekend for the NC State swim and dive teams as both the men’s and women’s squads finished in the top-2 at the ACC Championships. For the second year in the row, the men’s team captured the ACC title, beating the second-place team by over 600 points. The women’s team lost to a very skilled Virginia squad but still collected an impressive second place finish.

Men’s basketball loses on the road, defeats rival UNC at home

NC State men’s basketball had a rough start to the week, coming up just short against Syracuse on the road by a score of 75-72. On Sunday, in what was arguably its most highly anticipated game of the regular season, the Pack bounced back to defeat North Carolina at home, 77-69.

Softball splits four games in ACC/ Big Ten Challenge

After a disheartening string of losses at the Candrea Classic last weekend, NC State softball won two of its four games against Big Ten opponents in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge that took place in Raleigh this past weekend. The Pack played two games each against the Purdue Boilermakers and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Against the Boilermakers, the Wolfpack won 4-0 and lost 4-3. Against the Hawkeyes, the red-and-white won 3-1 and lost 11-2.

Women’s tennis sweeps Wake Forest in ACC-opener

NC State women’s tennis went on the road this week to compete against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in its ACC-opener. The No. 10 Pack coasted through the match, winning every possible point to claim a 7-0 victory. A couple of the singles matches concluded with a tiebreaker, but the Wolfpack held strong and pulled out the win each time.

Baseball crushes Wagner in three-game series

NC State baseball hosted the Wagner Seahawks in a three-game series this week, only letting up three runs the entire weekend to get off to a strong 3-0 start to the season. The No. 21 Pack beat the Seahawks 14-1, 3-2 and 9-0.

Icepack completes weekend sweep against Tar Heels with a 7-3 win at Frozen Finley

The NC State Icepack dominated the UNC Tar Heels with a 7-3 win in the first-ever Frozen Finley game at Carter-Finley Stadium on Monday, Feb. 20.

Over 24,000 fans packed the lower bowl and upper deck seating to experience a once-in-a-lifetime outdoor hockey rivalry showdown, smashing the all-time ACHA attendance record. The game even had a higher attendance than the previous two NCAA “Frozen Fenway” games combined at Fenway Park in Boston. This was a crucial win in the cold war between ACHA club hockey and the NCAA.

Speaking of fan turnout, Frozen Finley also became the second-most attended hockey game in the history of the state of North Carolina. Just two days before, the first-place record was set by the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals in

their Stadium Series matchup, where the Canes won 4-1 in front of a sold-out crowd in the same venue.

Hockey has had a huge impact on the Raleigh community this weekend between the Stadium Series NHL game, the Hurricanes Fan Fest in downtown Raleigh, the 10th annual Hurricanes Alumni Game and the NC State Icepack game. A hockey market that hasn’t been around long is now flourishing in a place that not a lot of fans of the game would expect.

“I think Raleigh is the hockey capital of the southeast, but I think we might even be expanding that footprint,” said head coach Tim Healy. “We showed the world this weekend what we can do for hockey on the pro level and on the collegiate level. It’s unreal.”

This spectacle has put NC State’s hockey team on the map, gaining attention and support from the likes of ESPN’s Marty Smith,

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour and even Chancellor Randy Woodson himself, who dropped the puck for the historic matchup.

As for the game itself, freshman forward Zach Herman made his name known by every household in Raleigh, scoring a hat trick. He is one of the fastest skaters on the team and used his speed to his advantage, giving the UNC defensemen nightmares all night long.

Sophomore defenseman Logan Todd, sophomore forward Phillip Bailey, senior forward Matt Miller and junior forward Drew Bresingham each put a puck in the back of the net in the contest as well.

NC State now sits at a 2-3 record versus the Heels this season and will look to break even when both teams travel to Springfield, Virginia to compete in the first round of ACHA Southeast Regionals on Feb. 24. Puck drop is set for 10:20 p.m.

They kept battling, and it made for an unbelievable win and memorable game.

-Head coach Wes Moore

GRIFFIN BRYANT/TECHNICIAN

Freshman forward Zachary Herman celebrates his goal during the Icepack’s Frozen Finley home game against the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels in Carter-Finley Stadium on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. Herman had a hat trick during the game. The Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels 7-3.

Joey Biancone Correspondent