Feb. 19, 2020 - The News Record at University of Cincinnati

New restaurants possibly coming to TUC | pg. 3

Learn more about UC’s new director of athletics | pg. 8 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2020

UC fails to alert campus, students held at gunpoint

PROVIDED | HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

KEELY BROWN | MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

Last year, the Cincinnati Fire Department (CFD) responded to a total of 57 incidents on Straight Street – where the Deacon is located – more than double from 2018, according to city data.

QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER

‘Luxurious’ housing falls short QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER

After just six months, the University of Cincinnati’s newest and most luxurious student housing development is falling short of its promises to students, with disgruntled residents complaining of a myriad of problems since moving in.

The Deacon, a $108 million residential development by the Indiana-based Trinitas Ventures, opened last summer just in time for fall semester, leasing approximately half of its 800 beds to the university for students housing.

With a variety of high-end amenities including a swimming pool, theater, dog park and arcade, the property markets itself online as “the premiere student apartment community.”

However, some students find it hard to see the benefit of these amenities as they prepare to pack up and relocate

once their lease is through, citing incessant fire alarms, a lack of security, poor cellular service and other problems stemming from rushed construction.

Stolen Laptops After living his first two years on campus in the “lowerend” housing of Daniels Hall, Matt Wetherill, a third-year accounting student, was drawn to the Deacon because of its high-end amenities.

While he found the unneeded fire alarms to be a “nuisance,”Wetherill said he didn’t have any real complaints up until recently when his apartment was burglarized.

He and his roommates often leave the door unlocked when someone is home. Late last month, while one of his roommates was at home alone doing homework, Wetherill Continued on Page 2

University of Cincinnati Police Department (UCPD) officers arrested a man after he threatened two students with a gun in a Stratford Heights dorm room Sunday, Feb. 16, according to public records. The UC Department of Public Safety failed to notify the student body about the incident.

Representatives for UC Public Safety and UCPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

30-year-old Montez Wiggins was charged with two counts of aggravated menacing and one count resisting arrest Monday, Feb. 17, according to court records. All charges are misdemeanors. Wiggins will remain in the Hamilton County Detention Center until his court date March 10 or until he posts the $20,000 bond.

Wiggins was accused of pointing a gun and threatening to kill two students inside building 13 at Stratford Heights. Both students were physically unharmed.

UC is required by federal

law to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). This act requires all colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to record and disclose information about crime on and near their respective campuses.

“The act requires colleges and universities to keep a public crime log, publish an annual security report that includes crime statistics and security policies, provide timely warnings to students and campus employees about crimes that pose an immediate or ongoing safety threat to students and campus employees and ensure certain basic rights for victims of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking,” according to Public Safety’s website.

It is UCPD’s role to send out these federally required mass notifications to warn students of any immediate threat to campus health and safety. No notification was sent out on the night of the incident.

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 January 29, 2020 September 4, 2019

NEWS

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UC students report broken promises at The Deacon

moving in.

As a UC employee, Bischoss was allowed says four people just walked into his to move in a week before the school year apartment and stole game consoles, laptops, began, but the room wasn’t finished yet, she AirPods and other electronics. said, adding that she had to wait another The roommate was not aware anything week before moving in. unusual was taking place until they walked Dropped Calls When she was finally able to move into the out of their room, catching the burglars in apartment, Bischoss noticed several issues the act, he said.

Besides fire alarms, Kaiser said she had a from uninstalled appliances to paint on the While he admits to part of the blame hard time finding good cell services during windows and holes in the walls. for not locking his door, Wetherill never her time at the Deacon.

“It just wasn’t perfectly finished when we expected that a burglar could make it up to “I had calls drop all the time,” she said, moved in,” she said. his apartment.

“Being from out of state too that was kind of Despite other residents experiencing “We live on the 11th floor, they shouldn’t an issue because there were things that I’d similar problems, Caprarella said have even been able to get up to where they have to call home for.” construction was not rushed in order to were in the first place,” he said.

She isn’t the only resident who has had allow residents to move in before the start Police told Wetherill that none of the trouble finding good reception. of the school year. residential floors at the Deacon have “In parts of the building it’s really bad,” “It is always our goal to have the final security cameras and that it would be said one first-year resident who spoke touches complete for move-in and those unlikely that they could identify whoever to The News Record on the condition of that were not, have been addressed and entered his apartment, he said. anonymity. completed as quickly as possible after the The developer, however, says that residents moved in,” she security systems at the building’s said. entrance do more than enough to This is a relatively prevent theft. normal occurrence for “The Deacon is outfitted with public projects like the secure electronic access control Deacon, said university therefore limiting building access representative M.B. Reilly to only residents and staff,” said in an email statement.

Karen Caprarella, vice president While under construction, of property operations for Trinitas the Deacon had to pass Ventures, in an email statement to several city inspections The News Record. before becoming included She also denied that any in UC Housing. apartments at the Deacon have “It’s common that public experienced any break-ins since its construction projects have opening. all life-safety and essential Wetherill says he was told by systems complete and in the apartment’s management that readiness but leave more people will often stand outside cosmetic work in public of the main entrance and follow spaces for completion in residents in as they open the tandem with occupancy,” door. The message he took from Reilly said. management? If someone is But as many of the determined enough, they can breakpromised amenities were in to the Deacon, he said. incomplete, Bischoss Since the incident, Wetherill and The Deacon, a $108 million residential development by the Indiana-based Trinitas Ventures, opened last summer just in time for fall semester, said the building was not his roommates have become more leasing approximately half of its 800 beds to the university for students housing. finished when she moved conscientious about keeping their QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER in — though she noted that door locked. maintenance acted quickly “We need to just take care of ourselves, located — more than double from 2018, Given that the Deacon was constructed to resolve most issues. because obviously we can’t rely on the according to city data. mostly of steel and concrete, there are areas “The first couple of weeks we were here Deacon to try and protect us,” he said.

Of the 111 incidents that CFD has of the building that suffer from poor cell there were maintenance people here all the Neither Wetherill nor his roommates plan responded to on Straight Street since 2017, service, said Caprarella. time,” she said. “There was a lot construction to renew their leases next year, he said. nearly 55% occurred after August of last “To offset this, The Deacon has a robust still going on.” year, around the same time the Deacon Wi-Fi system which allows residents and Housing at the Deacon is already filling up False Alarms finished construction. guests to utilize Wi-Fi calling — a practice for next year, with almost all of the 400 beds As fire alarms go off so often, most that is standard in properties and structures available through UC housing being filled, Having moved into the Deacon shortly residents choose to ignore the sound and built in this fashion,” she said. said Reilly. after it opened, Danielle Kaiser — a secondstay in their apartments, said Sam Ritze, a But outside of the room itself, internet Despite some of the issues she’s year fashion design student — said that second-year marketing major. routers are often unreliable, said the experienced, Bischoss said the Deacon is a for the amount students are paying in rent “They’re just tired of it,” he said. resident. step up from her other experiences with UC per semester, the building suffers from a The Deacon’s owner attributes these housing, and that she plans to renew her number of issues, most notably the fire alarms are to defective equipment and Holes in the Walls lease next year. alarms. residents tampering with the alarm system.

“Definitely just having a room to yourself “I think within the span of two days “We continue to stress that residents While she has mostly enjoyed her time and a bathroom to yourself is just the best they went off about 10 times just in our should treat every fire alarm as a serious living at the Deacon thus far, Lindsey thing you could get,” she said. “So, I really apartment,” Kaiser said. “And it would be at alarm until an all-clear is given,” Caprarella Bischoss, a third-year student double think that this is the best option I’ve been in least once a day.” said. majoring in biology and chemistry, said so far.”

Fire alarms will sound anywhere from As Kaiser is on co-op with DAAP, she has she experienced a number of issues upon

Continued from Page 1

20 minutes to over an hour, according to several Deacon residents.

With fire alarms going off at night, commotion from other apartments and the sound of continued construction, Kaiser said that life at the Deacon was disruptive.

“I just never slept at that place,” she said.

When she initially tried to complain about the issue to apartment management, Kaiser said she was directed to a representative who worked outside of the property, adding that she would be on hold for up to 15 minutes at a time.

“And then it went from that to ‘Oh, you call this number for maintenance and this number for after-hours noise complaints,’” she said. “It just changed so many times there was no consistency.”

Last year, the Cincinnati Fire Department (CFD) responded to a total of 57 incidents on Straight Street — where the Deacon is

already move out of the Deacon, and Ritze does not expect to renew his lease next year either.

“It was just not the ideal living situation,” Kaiser said.

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 September 4, 2019 January 29, 2020

Panda Express, Qdoba may come to TUC QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER The University of Cincinnati’s Department of Food Services is looking to bring two new additions to the Tangeman University Center (TUC) food court, in an effort to meet the changing demands of students.

Representatives from Food Services spoke to UC’s Undergraduate Student Government (SG) Feb. 12 during its weekly senate meeting to discuss the new additions coming to the TUC food court in the near future.

Although nothing has been finalized just yet, the potential brands that will likely be coming to TUC are Qdoba Mexican Eats and Panda Express, said director of Food Services Katy Wahlke to the members of SG. As UC’s campus continues to evolve, Food Services hopes to accommodate more and more students every year, Wahlke said. The move is also an attempt to increase the popularity of other brands in the food court, she said.

“It’s pretty easy to see just from looking at the lines where the most popular locations are,” said Wahlke, citing Chick-fil-a as the dominant brand in TUC. While Food Services only announced the arrival of two new brands, it plans to replace four of the five brands currently in the food court, said Wahlke. However, Chick-fil-a will remain.

The four brands in question are Taco Bell, Burger King, MainStreet Pizza and Greens to Go & KumaNeko Sushi.

“We want to stay fresh and we want to

NEWS

keep current, it’s just the cycle of changes,” she said.

As plans have not been finalized for the remaining two brands, Food Services is not yet ready to make an announcement, she said.

Those employed at TUC’s current restaurants will likely be transitioned into one of the new brands, said Wahlke. In making its decision as to which brands should be pursued as new additions to the food court, Food Services surveyed student opinion.

“We’re looking for all kinds of ways to connect with students and get student feedback,” she said.

No timeline was given as to when these new brands are expected to arrive at TUC, and Wahlke did not immediately respond to additional questions from The News Record.

In answering questions from student body senators, the representatives from Food Service also touched on what will happen to the space that once house the old Starbucks in the Steger Student Life Center.

That space has remained vacant ever since the Starbucks was moved to the new Carl H. Lindner College of Business last year.

Having been reacquired from Food Services by the university, the space will no longer serve as a food service space and will likely be renovated into a student lounge instead, said Todd Duncan, senior associate vices president of campus services, who was also at the meeting.

However, a formal announcement regarding the future of the space is not likely until fall 2020.

Students line up outside Chick-fil-a during lunch rush, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER

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Capstone project prevents pollution in Ohio River

Partnering with the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW), a group of four environmental engineering students researched how to prevent spills of hazardous materials from vehicles traveling across the Combs-Hehl Bridge from getting into the city’s drinking water.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER

Students within the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) worked to prevent contamination of Cincinnati’s water supply for their senior capstone project.

Partnering with the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW), the group of four environmental engineering students researched how to prevent spills of hazardous materials from vehicles traveling across the Combs-Hehl Bridge from getting into the city’s drinking water.

The project’s members included, Bethany Caspersz, Matthew Cummings, Dexter Adams and Qianhui Xia. They discovered that storm drains spanning the length of the bridge were the primary cause of hazardous material entering the Ohio River, as spills on the bridge can quickly pour into the drains and down to the water supply.

“If we mitigate risk by removing the potential for contamination whenever we can, that helps us in our overall treatment approach,” said Richard Stuck, source water project manager for GCWW in a press release. “It’s much easier and cheaper to keep the contaminants out of the water in the first place than it is to take them out once they are there.”

The Ohio River has repeatedly been ranked as one of the most polluted rivers in the United States, followed by the Mississippi River and the New River.

“This is a river where pollution is going to be a problem — one example of this is the algae bloom that happened over the summer and into the fall,” Madeline Fleisher, with the Ohio Office Law and Policy Center,

previously told The News Record. “Some other issues are being dealt with; some aren’t.”

By using a red dye to observe the river’s flow pattern, the group was able to measure how spill from the bridge mixed with river water.

In studying these patterns through computer simulations, the group determined the best locations to divert spills and subsequently rerouted discharge from the bridge to an area of the river that is farther away from GCWW’s intake.

“The purpose of the dye study was to gain a better understanding of the river’s flow patterns downstream of the bridge so we can design an effective spill diversion system that will help safeguard the drinking water,” Stuck said.

In presenting its findings to a group of judges along with other student projects, the group’s capstone project received the highest rank.

“The students are working with sponsors who have a real interest, so there is a sense of accomplishment and purpose,” said Drew McAvoy, professor of chemical and environmental engineering, also in a press release. “It’s ‘real world’ in that they are presented with a problem that they’ve never had to deal with before and they have to figure out how to solve it.”

McAvoy was not immediately available for comment at the time of writing.

Working with outside partners gave the students experience solving real problems that affect people and communities before the graduate from UC. The GCWW also plans to present the group’s findings at this year’s Water Management Conference in Minneapolis.

FEBRUARY 19, September 4, 2019 January 29,2020 2020

FEATURES

Researchers developing Living Openly: Student app to diagnose diseases spreads representation

adopted for wider use, but he hopes the chip will go a long way to diagnosing infectious Researchers at the University of diseases.

Cincinnati are developing technology “Everybody has a smartphone, right?” that can diagnose infectious diseases, he said. The challenge is integrating this such as malaria and coronavirus, with a technology with smartphones universally to smartphone. reach a diagnosis within five to 10 minutes.

Two UC researchers, Chong Ahn “As of 2018, there were 2.51 billion — professor of electrical engineering smartphone subscribers worldwide with an and computer science — and graduate unprecedented growth in the developing student Sthitodhi Ghosh, are developing countries,” read the study. This makes a smartphone-based technology that will smartphones an ideal platform to support let physicians their chip. access lab-quality With over diagnoses within 73,000 cases of minutes. the coronavirus In their Jan. 27 reported globally study published since late last in the journal year, according to “Nature,” Ahn and the World Health Ghosh developed Organization, Ahn a prototype chip hopes to test this that can be used in new technology conjunction with in diagnosing the a smartphone. The virus as well. duo successfully “A huge detected a malaria percentage of biomarker. deaths related to Ahn was recently major infectious named UC’s diseases occur Distinguished in resource-poor Research Professor countries that have for 2019, and is limited access to thought of as an clinical laboratory innovator in “lab-onfacilities and a-chip” technology. trained personnel,” As it usually takes a read the study. hospital laboratory “Developing to diagnose reliable diagnostic infectious diseases, tests that can Ahn’s work over be used at the the past six years point-of-care can has taken aim at result in earlier consolidating and disease diagnosis, miniaturizing this improved patient process. treatment, and “How can we more efficient make point-ofoutbreak care-testing that is prevention.” coupled to a mobile Beyond just phone?” he said. “That UC engineers have developed an app that can record infectious disease, and transmit results from a portable lab that people can Ahn also sees is the innovation, I access on their phones. believe.” potential for this PROVIDED | JOSPEH FUQUA II Though his technology in background is not in diagnosing mental medicine, Ahn has spent most of his career health disorders. As smartphones are researching medical technology. In 2004, already used effectively in psychiatric he founded Siloam Biosciences Inc., which questionnaires, it would not be a far stretch specializes in diagnostic technologies. He to measures the biochemical markers of currently serves as the company’s CEO. mental disorders, he said.

Through this new lab-on-a-chip, a Testing for mental health disorders would smartphone app can almost immediately be done in just the same way as infectious diagnose certain infectious diseases by disease, Ahn said. “I believe that it is a analyzing a sample of blood or saliva, said good application for the future [of this Ahn. Even still, Ahn said the prototype technology,]” he added. requires more clinical trials before it can be QUINLAN BENTLEY | CHIEF REPORTER

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out the toxic notion that a writer is only as queer as their poems are.

Beginning when she was 3-years-old, “I am gay, that is part of my identity but Emily Cole always looked for the words it’s not the only part of my life,” Cole said. to perfectly capture the beautiful things “Also, I am a disability advocate [and] I have she found in life. Growing up with parents a lot of feelings about feminism.” passionate for music, Cole quickly found an Fully aware of the power and importance inextricable connection to poetry. of representation, Cole has worked to After earning a Bachelor of Arts in integrate LGBTQ material into her courses.

English Language and Literature from When forming her syllabi, Cole includes Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and a diversity in bodies, experiences, race, Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois perspective, class and sexuality. She also University, Cole moved to the Queen City to begins each class with a poem of the day earn her doctorate in poetry and disability which allows for her to showcase a range of studies at the University of Cincinnati. diversity.

Now in her “The university fourth year, is a seat of power Cole has taught and it has a lot of a variety of cultural influence, courses such as even if it’s just one introduction to class,” Cole said. poetry, disability “The institution literature, music of a university, and poetry and and university in composition general, confers courses. power on the In her own person that’s at poetry, Cole the front of room, writes about grief whether that through topics person is like an like disability in adjunct or not, [a popular culture, professor] gets to body image and choose the syllabus. eugenics. For her And so, I take first book, “Love that responsibility and a Loaded really seriously, Gun,” Cole tackles and so I take very personal representation issues such as really seriously.” pollution in her Cole is grateful home state of to be a mentor for Pennsylvania, queer students and feminism and to be the person disability. for them that she As an out never had, she member of said. Even with the LGBTQ great mentors as community, an undergraduate Cole finds that student, she never writing about had a queer role her sexuality is model. In addition, the hardest to Cole works to write about than make students Emily Cole, a student pursuing a doctorate in poetry and anything else. with disabilities feel disability studies at the University of Cincinnati.

“I can write about PROVIDED | EMILY COLE welcomed and to my disability all day make her classroom long, like that is super easy and a relatively fully accessible. easy identity to explain, but gayness is “I want there to be a really strong weirdly less so,” Cole said. “I think part community bonds formed between my of that is because I grew up in really students,” Cole said. “I will try to display conservative, rural Pennsylvania.” information in as many ways as possible After searching through all her that they can access it, and that also means manuscripts, Cole found that she has only displaying as many perspectives as I can.” written five poems dealing with being gay.

Cole described her relationship with writing about sexuality as “disenchanted,” and called DAVID REES | FEATURES EDITOR

FEATURES

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 September 4, 2019 January 29, 2020

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Something old, something new: finding love at UC JENN CAMMEL | CONTRIBUTOR For most college students, Saturdays are for sleeping in, catching up on schoolwork or spending free time with friends. But on one Saturday last October, third-year journalism and international affairs doublemajor Olive Collins had another plan: she got married.

When Collins married her longtime boyfriend, Jonnie Niesz, in front of nearly 250 guests, they bucked a national trend.

The average age for US couples in 2018 to get married was 27.8 for women and 29.8 for men, according to the Population Reference Bureau. This is a steep increase from 1956, when the average was at its lowest: 20.1 for women and 22.5 for men.

Why would someone want to get married when they are still working toward their degree? For Collins and her husband, any other future seemed unimaginable.

They met while working at Bob Evans in high school and began dating. After graduation, Niesz followed Collins to New York while she pursued a degree in musical theater. After returning from New York, they broke up. Collins moved to Cincinnati to pursue a degree in journalism.

When Collins’ mom was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer in December 2017, Collins and Niesz reconnected.

“He and I hadn’t talked in months, but my mom and him were very close,” Collins says.

“It was something that, if we were going to go through it as a family, he needed to be a part of.”

Throughout Collins’ mom’s battle with

cancer, Niesz was by her side, supporting her and her family. It did not take Collins and Niesz long to want to be together as a couple again.

Before Collins’ mother died in April 2018, she told her daughter, “You are the happiest and the most you and the healthiest version of yourself when you’re with him.” Collins says that was when she knew she was meant to be with Niesz.

Like Collins, UC senior Tori Wernsman found the love of her life while in college, too. She met the woman she would eventually marry, Ryn, when she was a freshman at Kent State University.

“We actually met online through social media,”Wernsman says. “She was really into the nerdy stuff; I am, too. We found each other through common interests, and we just started talking… and eventually, we exchanged numbers. We had so much in common.”

Wernsman and Ryn were married in June 2018, when Wernsman was in her fourth year of college.

For some college students who marry young, the time from the first date to the wedding aisle is much longer.

UC alumni Jamie Ely first met her future husband when she was a high school sophomore. However, their connection didn’t start until her junior year when he tutored her in math. They married in August 2019, after six years of dating, just months after Ely’s graduation from UC. Although Ely and her boyfriend knew they wanted to spend forever together, they decided to take a month-long break from

Olive Collins and her husband, Jonnie Niesz, celebrate their wedding day in October 2019.

PROVIDED | OLIVE COLLINS

one another before getting married.

“I think if someone is serious about continuing a long-term relationship, there should be ‘check-ups’ once in a while — to spend some time apart and reflect on how you can improve in the relationship and change anything that’s bothering you or needs to be cleared up,” Ely says.

Some couples who marry in college say they face a lot of criticism and judgement.

UC senior Maria Miranda says her friends and family members were concerned when she decided to marry her boyfriend when she was only 19.

“I think that people judged us for getting married so young; even I did to an extent,” she said. “We only had the support of a few people, but it wasn’t as difficult as you would think. Now we have all the support in the world. In those dark days, we relied on each other.”

Not all young couples experience what they might describe as an “aha” moment. Ely remembers having a different experience when she fell in love with the man who would become her husband.

“I wish I could say there was one big moment when I knew that Nate was the man that I was supposed to marry, but there wasn’t,” Ely says. “It was more like a collection of many small moments that made me realize I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I also knew that there was nobody else that could make me feel the way that he did.”

While these young love stories may seem picture perfect, there are challenges that all newlyweds have to navigate.

“I don’t think people understand that it’s work sometimes,”Wernsman says. “You have to give so the other person can give and so you can take. You have to communicate a lot. Sometimes you have to sacrifice.”

Miranda saidely the first year of her marriage was tough. “There were difficulties both financially and emotionally,” she says.

“We overcame it, through communication, and [found] happiness not solely based on our relationship. Three years later we are the strongest and happiest we’ve ever been.”

Ely says the bumps in the road are nothing compared to the feeling of being married to the person you love.

“Being married for me right now feels easy,” she said. “Even the hard days are easier than before because I have another person to help me get through them. I constantly feel loved and important. I never feel alone.”

Despite getting married in the middle of the semester while being a full-time student with a full-time job, Collins is happy about her decision to marry her best friend.

After remembering how wonderful her wedding day was, she pulls out her phone and texts her husband a happy two-month anniversary. She swipes through her wedding photos and pauses on a close-up of her kissing her husband. Behind the couple, their closest friends and family dance to the last song of the wedding.

She stares in silence for a moment. “I wouldn’t change anything,” she says, her eyes still lingering on the photo. “It was the most perfect day.”

LIFE&ARTS

FEBRUARY 19, September 4, 2019 January 29,2020 2020

Get out and do something: Feb. 21 to Feb. 23

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EMMA BALCOM | STAFF REPORTER

Take some time for yourself outside of your school work this weekend and enjoy what Cincinnati has to offer in the slowly warming weather.

SUNDAY, FEB. 23

FRIDAY, FEB. 21 THE ALL AMERICAN REJECTS: Bogart’s is putting the spotlight on the pop-punk music of The All-American Rejects this weekend, with a performance from the band themselves. The iconic MTV Award-winning group is stopping in Cincy to relive some of its greatest hits from decades of music production and get you dancing and singing the night away. 7 p.m., Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St. SINGABLES AND SWINGABLES: If you love the jazzy tunes and finger-snapping music of artists such as Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, you won’t want to miss the sweet voices of some of America’s most loved jazz singers and their sweet tribute.

The most popular swing singers of the past are certain to make you get up and dance, sing your heart out, and put you in a great mood to last the weekend. 7:30 p.m., Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St.

The All-American Rejects will play at Bogart’s Friday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.

ALEX MARTIN | ART DIRECTOR

SATURDAY, FEB. 22 THE PINK FLOYD LASER SPECTACULAR: Experience the eclectic music of Pink Floyd like never before with the work of high-power lasers, stunning light shows and video projections. Pop on a pair of prism glasses to enhance the mind-blowing performance while rocking to some of the most well-known songs of the iconic band Pink Floyd. Fans of all ages can bond in the theater over the striking visuals coinciding with the classic rock music and make

memories you’re not soon to forget. 8-10 p.m., Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St.

MARDI GRAS AT THE OVERLOOK: The spirit of New Orleans is coming to Cincinnati this weekend at the Overlook Lodge, with fresh Louisiana crawfish, live music and a Mardi Gras celebration like no other in the city. Bring your tackiest beads and an appetite for the delicious seafood, flown in straight from Louisiana. Get your friends together for a party straight from The Big Easy. 12 p.m., Overlook Lodge, 6083 Montgomery Rd.

AMERICUS: Described as exuberant, insightful and “the unmistakable birth of a new art,” americUS has invoked a powerful message in many for its stark confrontation of social issues in contemporary America in the form of dance, music and poetry.

The unique presentation of such touchy topics through bright colors and outrageous costumes and acting intends to spark a more thoughtful dialogue of controversial topics across the audience. Don’t miss out on your chance to learn a new perspective.

2 p.m., 7 p.m., Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Cir.

MOZART’S DENOUEMENT: If you’re a fan of the classics, you won’t want to miss the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Mozart’s most beloved compositions. Performing both Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”) and “Requiem,” the orchestra will illustrate the powerful, robust notes of Mozart’s prominent and resounding creations. 3 p.m.. St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, 325 Eighth St. W.

Netflix’s ‘P.S. I Still Love You’ will warm your heart ANNE SIMENDINGER | LIFE AND ARTS EDITOR

Looking for a cheesy, aesthetically pleasing, romantic comedy with a killer soundtrack and a remarkably stunning cast? Log onto your Netflix account and turn on the “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” sequel, “P.S. I Still Love You.” In case you missed the first film, let me catch you up “Kitty Song Covey style.”The film’s protagonist, 16-year-old Lara Jean Covey writes letters to her crushes when they get too intense to control. After the she writes the letter, they go into her late mother’s hat box and that’s the end. At least that’s what she thought. What happens when all five of the letters get sent out (Thanks, Kitty) and one happens to land in her arch nemesis’s newly ex-boyfriend, the one and only Peter Kavinsky’s hand?

They start a fake relationship to make the other’s love interests jealous, duh. However, when developing a really convincing fake relationship, those feelings are bound to become real. And they do.

The sequel picks up with Lara Jean and Peter’s first date as a real couple, and the same sparks that flew in the first film remain. Valentine’s Day rolls around and everything is heart balloons and rainbows, except Lara Jean’s growing insecurity in her relationship with Peter. With every new

thing that Peter does for Lara Jean, she can’t help but think about how he also did these things with his ex-girlfriend Gen. To make matters more complex, one of the other recipients of Lara Jean’s love letters, John Ambrose McClaren from Model UN has re-entered Lara Jean’s life. Will Lara Jean overcome her insecurities in Peter’s past relationships and stay with him?

Will the feelings for her sixth grade crush resurface with John Ambrose?

Lana Condor continues to stun the masses as the adorable Lara Jean Covey.

The film opens with a music video sequence as Lara Jean dances around her room in various outfits to “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals. If anyone else had done this, I would not have been a fan of the overly cheesy beginning, but this fits perfectly with both Condor and her portrayal of Lara Jean. Condor brings such joyful, youthful yet emotionally mature energy to the protagonist, and you cannot help but root for her through everything.

If you were concerned that the chemistry between Lara Jean and Peter (teen heartthrob Noah Centineo) would be different after taking a break between filming the first and the second film, you are correct. It’s unclear whether the chemistry change is due to the break since they have both aged, or if it’s because of the writing

and their new relationship status. In a way, they seem like the kind of couple that is extra in love and likes everyone to know how in love they are by holding hands in the hallway and other public displays of affection that are nauseating. Whatever the case, it’s not so bad that you can’t watch it.

Especially since someone new and arguably better enters the scene.

Jordan Fisher is the newcomer to the “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” franchise, and is by far the best casting decision the creative team has ever made. Fisher’s portrayal of the nerdy yet suave John Ambrose is absolutely delightful. His smile alone could heal my skin, raise my grades and potentially bring world peace. Okay, that might be too far, but light beams from Fisher in every scene which totally fits the character. John Ambrose has entered back into Lara Jean’s life by volunteering at the same retirement home as her, and it’s all too fun to watch the old ladies flirt with him and ignore Lara Jean. Lara Jean doesn’t tell John Ambrose about her and Peter’s relationship initially, so John Ambrose interprets this as a greenlight to pursue a relationship with her. Fisher’s John Ambrose has these protective, loyal and caring qualities that make him all the more desirable and hard to turn down.

Fisher tweeted the day of the film’s release

that the piano scene was all improvised, which sent numerous hearts a-flutter, and makes that scene all the more enjoyable and special. I think I speak for the entire “To All The Boys” fandom when I say, Lara Jean, please remember that John Ambrose is the marrying type, and you will be thankful for this advice when you are a jaded single junior like myself.

If you are feeling down and out this winter and in need of a pick me up with some beautiful humans and a cutesy story, take an hour and 45 minutes out of your day to watch “P.S. I Still Love You.”

“P.S. I Still Love You,” is on Netflix to stream.

INSTAGRAM | @TOALLTHEBOYSNETFLIX

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 September 4, 2019

LIFE&ARTS

Students share experiences with panic attacks TAWNEY BEANS | STAFF REPORTER Your heart sprints as though its sole goal is to break the sound barrier, though currently it’s the defining note of your existence. You think, “This is it; this is true panic.” Every breath you take becomes shallower, until your fingers and toes start to tingle — signaling a lack of oxygen to the brain and your soon to be unconsciousness.

Panic attacks are unique to each individual who experiences them, sort of like a terrifying fingerprint. For some, the scene above is far beyond what they’ve ever experienced, while for others it would only be the beginning of a long and painful nightmare.

These attacks are often triggered by illness, loss of a loved one or upcoming stressors such as exams, said Amber Irwin, a registered nurse and assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing. These stimulants cause adrenaline to flood the body, sending it into fight or flight mode. Symptoms can include — but aren’t limited to — hyperventilation, dizziness, nausea, sweating and an increased heart rate.

Gabrielle James, a full-time nursing student at Galen College of Nursing and former UC student, has been having

panic attacks since eighth grade. She’s experienced many of Irwin’s mentioned symptoms, in addition to light-headedness, spiraling thoughts, restlessness and esophageal spasms. These spasms occur when the throat’s esophagus muscle randomly contracts, causing severe chest pain that can last from a few seconds to hours. James’s lasted for 15 minutes and she felt the entire time like she was dying, she said.

James said her panic attacks are usually triggered by regret and the fear of hurting others unintentionally. They also happen more frequently if she hasn’t had the proper amount of sleep.

“Most often I am convinced that it’s not ever going to be resolved or that person is not going to forgive me or that any mistake I have made in the past is eventually going to come back and haunt me in the future,” James said. “Dramatic, I know, but even though I logically know that it’s irrational, I can’t control the way that my body responds to that internal fear.”

While James uses medication to help with her panic attacks, another way for students to prevent and treat panic attacks is coping mechanisms, Irwin said. This can be listening to music, taking deep breaths and mindful activities like meditation or

focusing on an object.

Some students, like journalism major Victoria Wernsman, regularly see mental health professionals to help with their anxiety levels.

Her panic attacks are usually triggered by stress, Wernsman said, which there is no shortage of in college. She currently sees a psychiatrist for her anxiety medication and visits a therapist who helps her manage her anxiety and learn techniques to combat panic attacks.

Wernsman isn’t alone in her struggles.

At UC, 48.7% of students feel overwhelmed by anxiety, according to the university’s Student Wellness Center.

“Anxiety and panic disorder are often untreated due to the stigma that surrounds mental health,” Irwin said. “It’s our duty as healthcare providers to get the word out that seeking treatment for mental health should be as natural as seeking treatment for physical health.”

James has regularly been the victim of this stigmatization, often being told “it’s not worth worrying about” or — her personal favorite — “you need to get better control of your emotions.”The disbelief by those who haven’t experienced a panic attack is the most frustrating aspect of having them, she said.

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“I can be in the middle of a panic attack and acknowledge the fact that whatever it is that triggered me probably isn’t worth panicking over, but the thing about panic attacks is that they’re physical,” James said.

“If someone was injured and they felt the pain from it, I wouldn’t look at them and say ‘gain a better control of your nociceptors!

That injury isn’t worth feeling pain over!’

Their body can’t control the response it has to the physical stressor. Just because someone else may not see, understand or care about something that causes my body to respond the way that it does, doesn’t automatically make me a dramatic nut case.”

If you witness someone have a panic attack, stay with that person, offer support and encourage coping mechanisms. If the person having the attack is unable to use coping mechanisms, it’s time to call for help, Irwin said. When determining whether to contact 911 or a panic attack hotline (1-800647-2642), it is important to consider the severity of the person’s symptoms.

For more information on coping mechanisms and how to reach out to mental health professionals, visit UC’s Student Wellness Center’s page on mental health or UC Counseling and Psychological Services’ (CAPS) website.

Knitting club offers students escape from stress TAWNEY BEANS | STAFF REPORTER UC Knits is a student-run organization for those looking to fulfill service hours, watch Netflix and perfect their knitting techniques.

More than a dozen students attend the organization’s meetings every Thursday from 7–8 p.m. in 250 McMicken Hall. There, new members are shown how to knit and current members create and turn in hats or scarves for service hours — all while Netflix plays in the backdrop.

“I started out super shaky and my first scarf was an absolute atrocity, but by the end of the semester I was totally hooked,” said organization president Emily Fockler.

“I think for a lot of people, including myself, it’s a much-needed break from all the stress and insanity of the school week.”

With routine knitting sessions, UC Knits is able to provide a steady flow of scarves and hats to Scarf It Up, an organization that distributes handmade items to shelters in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas. UC Knits also creates waterproof bedrolls made of plastic bags for the homeless, called plarn mats. These are donated to Matthew 25: Ministries, an international program that sends its plarn bedrolls to third-world countries.

“It’s truly a great combination, because people who enjoy knitting often end up

with far more knitted items than they have a use for and homeless shelters have far more demand for clothing than they have available,” Fockler said. “This way, we can focus our efforts on a good cause and improve the standard of living for people in Cincinnati.”

The club has donated 46 items to Scarf It

Up so far this semester, and Fockler hopes to surpass last semester’s total of 97 items.

UC Knits also plans to start making blankets for dog shelters and baby hats, according to Bridget Waller, the club’s treasurer. However, in order to do this, each item must be approved for service hours through UC.

UC Knits officers promote their club at the Spring Organization Fair in January 2020.

INSTAGRAM | @UC_KNITS

Members can receive service hours by turning in hats, scarves and working on plarn mats during meetings. Presently, the club has accumulated 140 service hours and plans to outdo last semester’s 336 service hours.

“The scarves are three or five service hours each depending on size, and hats are two service hours,” Fockler said. “All are off-campus, so anybody with a Cincinnatus Scholarship can earn all 30 of their required hours simply by knitting and donating what they make.”

Meetings are open to those who don’t want to knit and donations of plastic bags, medium-sized needles, crochet hooks and yarn are always welcome.

“Everything is truly a tremendous help to both us and the people who’ll benefit from the items made with those materials,” Fockler said.

Danielle Robben, a first-year student studying operations management, joined the club at the beginning of the fall 2019 semester.

“I didn’t know how to knit coming into the club, but they had amazing teachers and now I know how to knit, crochet and how to latch hook quilt,” Robben said. “If you come as you are and are willing to learn, we would love to help you help others.”

FEBRUARY 12, 2020 January 29, 2020 September 4, 2019

SPORTS

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Q&A: Get to know UC’s new director of athletics LOGAN LUSK | SPORTS EDTOR

John Cunningham, UC’s new director of athletics, was hired Dec. 18, 2019 and began his tenure at the beginning of the spring semester.

The News Record interviewed Cunningham this week to get to know the former Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Minnesota The News Record: What attracted you most about coming to Cincinnati from Minnesota?

John Cunningham: The success of the athletic department is what initially attracted me. You look at over the last 20 years what this athletic department has been able to accomplish. Typically, the two sports you see most clearly from afar are football and men’s basketball. We’ve made 15 bowl games and 14 men’s basketball NCAA tournaments [in the past 20 years].

That tremendous amount of success in those two high profile sports is what initially attracted me here. The university itself and where it’s going, President [Neville] Pinto’s vision is something I immediately bought into and really appreciated him telling me. I really love the physical layout of the school and its feel.

TNR: When you graduated with a law degree from the University of Nebraska in 2005, did you ever envision this line of work being the path you would end of taking?

JC: No, not at all. I started wanting to be a lawyer, but once I got about halfway through, I knew I didn’t really want to practice law day in and day out. So, I looked for something else to take that law degree and apply it to. I kind of found my way into collegiate athletics through a couple of unpaid internships at the University of Maryland, living on my buddy’s couch.

Once I found my way into their athletic department, it kind of took off from there.

TNR: What about yourself do you feel makes you prepared for this new position?

JC: I’ve had the chance to be at six different schools and programs and when you’re at different institutions at different levels and different budgets, you get to see a lot of different things. So I do think that’s part of what’s good for me — all of the different experiences I’ve had at different institutions. I always want to make sure my decisions are strategic, so I make sure to take my time and think through things as well.

TNR: When approaching a new contract for head football coach Luke Fickell, do you have a “game plan?”

JC: My game plan is that we’re going to do our very best for a coach that we know is a tremendous coach and someone who has done so much for this program already, but is also just such a great fit for this program.

We’ll be putting our very best foot forward.

We obviously want him to be here, and we’ll support him in every way we can with the resources we have.

TNR: So far, what have been the biggest challenges facing you as athletic director?

JC: Really just understanding what my staff needs internally to be efficient and effective has been taking some time to dig into and feel out. Some mini history lessons across the way to piece everything together. When you’re dealing with these many sports and moving parts, that can definitely present a challenge. Obviously, when another school comes knocking about your football coach, that’s going to be a challenge as well.

TNR: Do you have any set initiatives for any specific programs or the Cincinnati

John Cunningham took office as UC’s new director of athletics after Mike Bohn left for the University of Southern California.

PROVIDED | UC ATHLETICS

Before taking the job at the University of Cincinnati, John Cunningham worked at the University of Minnesota.

PROVIDED | UC ATHLETICS

community?

JC: As I said in my press conference, I really want to reach out to local youth.

That’s going to be close to my heart in terms of what I’m trying to do here. I think that’s part of how you build long-term fans — by getting to them when they’re younger.

We sent a group out to meet with the schools here just the other day and gave out some t-shirts we purchased through Under Armour. We also want to make sure campus is accessible for these young people in the community. This is their home just as much as it is ours.

TNR: Are there any upcoming plans that the UC community should know about?

JC: We’ve been pretty public about our plans to re-do our football locker rooms and some other internal spaces that I’m not quite ready to announce. We’re also getting ready to hire an external person to come in and oversee our external units.

That person is going to really be focused on the environment within our stadiums and arenas, unique ticket sales ideas, bringing the community to games and being a part of everything we do. They need to be very strategically thinking and

obviously we need to find the right individual to come in and do that.

TNR: What kind of vision do you have for the athletics department going forward?

JC: My vision is that we continue to get better. We had a vision statement that we’ve been working on and just recently announced, “Next Level Success.” As you look at that, it’s a vision about continuing to grow.

TNR: How have you and your family settled into a new life in Cincinnati?

JC: Unfortunately, I’m living without my family right now. They’ve visited twice now, though, which they’ve had a blast getting to see the city a little bit these last couple of weeks. They’re still back [in Minnesota] and I’m living in an apartment here close to campus, so I’m getting a real sense of the Clifton area. The Kroger, the office and my apartment is kind of my own little world right now. Every chance I get I take my car and check out a couple neighborhoods and get a feel for what it’s all about and picking the right area and schools for my kids since we know this is where we want to raise them.

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 September 4, 2019 January 29, 2020

SPORTS

UC’s cheer team more than pompoms, stunts

The University of Cincinnati defeated the University of Memphis 92-86 in the men’s basketball game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020.

ALEX MARTIN | ART DIRECTOR

MACRCELLO JONES | STAFF REPORTER There is more than what you see during the sideline routines when it comes to UC’s cheer team at sporting events. But what does it take to consistently compete on a collegiate cheer team?

First and foremost, they are athletes. The sport they compete in requires immense strength and an innate ability to control their bodies, proving they are some of the most devoted athletes on campus.

“The age-old vision that people have of cheerleaders is on the sideline at the sport,” said Brad Habermel, the co-owner of Cheer Athletics on the hit Netflix show “Cheer.”

“They’re not the sport. They are the sideline attraction that’s there to lead the crowd and look pretty.”

UC’s cheerleaders strive to be the best they can be and there is a tight balance between supporting varsity sports and their competitive performances.

While head coach Tabby Fagan says the team “wouldn’t exist if [they] didn’t have football and basketball, and other sports to cheer for,” a lot of the cheerleaders on the team have a desire to win and compete for national titles.

The team is asked to be on campus during the summer months, although it’s not mandatory, according to Fagan.

“It’s highly recommended that they be there,” she said. “They prepare, train

frequently and they even arrange housing for each other, all in preparation for the fall semester.”

The fall semester is crazy, according to Fagan. “As football starts, they’ve got classes and practicing three-times-a-week, plus football games and then we try to visit some soccer, volleyball and other sports in there too. So, we could easily have a six-day week between everything they have to do.”

When the team is preparing for the national routines, they train every day in December, sometimes twice a day so they can compete for a national title in Orlando, Florida, every January.

The team competes in two separate competitions, “traditional” and “game day.”The traditional routine consists of a grueling and demanding two-and-a-halfminute routine that involves 16 cheerleaders on the mat. Working together, they form pyramids, perform basket tosses and execute tumbles.

The game day competition is where the Bearcats excel. Since the induction of the competition in 2017, UC has never finished outside of the top three, the only school to have achieved such a feat. UC won the title in its first year, placed third the following year and picked up silver this year.

“The game day [routine] is more kind of circusy, signs, more stuff that you might do at a game,” Fagan said. “I call it game-day on steroids because it’s not really what you do

at game day, but it kind of is. You take what you do and amp it up.”

While the team’s competitive season is now over, it continues its rigorous schedule of balancing training and cheer schedules.

The team has anywhere from 35 to 48 athletes on the team each year that is split up into two teams, a varsity and a junior varsity team. The varsity team will train on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, as well as cheering at all home men’s basketball games. While, the JV team trains on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and cheers at the home women’s basketball games. Both teams cheer for football in the fall.

But despite this hectic and demanding lifestyle, the cheerleaders are not classed as student-athletes. But still, they are incorporated and included in the athlete family.

“The athletic department does a really nice job of treating them like student athletes,” Fagan said. “They respect them, they know they work hard, and I think that’s all they ask for them. They recognize that it’s a challenge sometimes, and they rewarded them [by taking them with the volleyball team on their NCAA journey late last year], I think it was a reward for busting their butts. [The cheerleaders] don’t ask for thank-yous, but they get them because they do what is expected of them.”

Fagan believes there aren’t too many

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misconceptions about the team, but still thinks there’s an underlying misunderstanding.

“I think people don’t probably realize that they practice as much as they do,” she said. “It is a demanding sport, like all other sports, where injuries occur and training is paramount to their success.”

The team is half of UC’s “spirit group”, which includes the dance team. While it is a collective group that often performs at the same events, the two groups are separate.

One of the main differences is that the cheer team includes both male and female athletes.

“The guys mellow out the girls a little bit because these girls have been cheering since they were young,” Fagan said.

“It’s intense, and they want to be the best. They have thought their whole life that they want to cheer in college, and then you get this guy that has never cheered before and walks in all of a sudden.”

It gives those within the team much to learn about life outside of cheerleading, Fagan added. “Because when you have to work with people, you have to sit down and be able to talk to a male and talk to a female,” she said.

“That’s what they’re going to have to do when they graduate and when they get a job in the big world… I think it’s a really good lesson…”

The team will be cheering for varsity sports throughout the rest of the semester, as both men’s and women’s basketball teams are gearing up for postseason play.

UC beat Drake 81-59 to win the men’s basketball game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

ALEX MARTIN | ART DIRECTOR

OPINION

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 September 4, 2019 January 29, 2020

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Opinion | Facebook and fake news Opinion | NFL’s inconsistent policies EMILY CHIEN | STAFF REPORTER “Breaking News: Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook just endorsed Donald Trump for re-election,” all according to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign ad that ran on Facebook last fall. Warren makes it clear later that the statement is completely false, but she is making a point. She says later, “But what Zuckerberg has done is given Trump free rein to lie on his platform… If Trump tries to lie in a TV ad, most networks will refuse to air it. But Facebook just cashes Trump’s checks.”

Social media sites are exempt from Federal Election Commission disclosure laws and are generally not held to regulatory standards by law. It is largely up to big-tech corporations and the politicians who make public statements to regulate themselves, despite many laws securing political neutrality and fairness in other media. American libel laws, which criminalize the publication of blatantly false and harmful information, pre-date the American Revolution. It is a standard American practice that protects people from malicious intent. But with the rise of the social media, the line between fact and fiction, and who is responsible for deciding that, has blurred.

Already, Trump has spent tens of millions of dollars on Facebook ads. Millions of people saw his campaign promote a blatant lie with doctored confessional footage of former vice president Joe Biden, insinuating that he offered billions to Ukrainian officials last fall. Free speech is now a weapon for those willing to spread misinformation, and Facebook has nothing to say on the matter.

Especially in the midst of a major election season, widespread political rhetoric runs rampant on social media sites. Whoever catches the most supportive attention wins, and it’s supposed to be a fair game. Yet, fairness doesn’t mean much when all sides

play by different rules. If a disproportionate amount of viral misinformation is spread by one side, there is an automatic imbalance.

“The major new challenge in reporting news is the new shape of truth,” co-founder of Wired magazine Kevin Kelly said. “Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers. For every fact there is a counterfact and all these counterfacts and facts look identical online, which is confusing to most people.”

These days, the ad-targeting capabilities of most sites prey on specific people who already believe in what the ads preach, increasing the chances they will share false information. Lies spread faster on social media than true statements ever could, and those clicks add up to billions for social media companies like Twitter and Facebook.

During the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns paid $81 million in total for Facebook ads, lining corporate pockets.

To Twitter’s credit, it has banned all political advertising altogether. But after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump to address concerns, Facebook said it will continue to not fact-check any political ads whatsoever.

They claim that removing false advertisements would infringe on free speech, but that is not the case. The first amendment exists to sustain pluralistic, democratic debate without favoring any single narrative. Social media feeds into confirmation biases that make this very difficult, especially when it weaponizes lies.

Remaining neutral is a statement in itself, especially because Facebook still employs algorithms that promote specific content to specific people for the most revenue gain. With such an important and definitive presidential election coming up, we cannot allow blatant lies to go viral. We cannot let private interests sway our political discourse.

Mark Zuckerberg discusses “fake news” at a Facebook keynote in 2018.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

SAMUEL SCHELL-OLSEN | STAFF REPORTER

for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s incompetence for displacing players, is incredibly weak. The players have reported they want marijuana penalties to be decreased. In 2017, DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) indicated the leaders of the NFLPA wanted, “drug policies to take a ‘less punitive’ approach to dealing with recreational marijuana use by players,” according to the Washington Post.

It’s not a stretch to say most professional sports leagues have problems in terms of policies, whether it’s the MLB with the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal or the NBA with player in-game discipline punishments. Yet, one league rises above the rest. That league is the NFL, and its inconsistency with disciplining players.

For example, exBaltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt, ex-Carolina Panthers To give the NFL defensive end Greg credit, they have Hardy and ex-New recently agreed York Giants kicker to work with the Josh Brown have all NFLPA to study received suspensions the potential use ranging from a single of marijuana on game to 10 games pain management. due to domestic However, this Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football violence. Players doesn’t change the League, speaks at the State of the League press such as Rice and absurd standard of conference in February 2017.

Brown essentially a league potentially FLICKR | SAM BENSON SMITH, WEBN-TV received one-game severely punishing to two-game suspensions before public you for doing something legal in many outrage prompted the NFL to take further states, while actually breaking the law isn’t action, and their teams released the players seen as big as a deal. to calm public outrage.

For example, ex-Dallas Cowboys What makes this even worse is the defensive tackle David Irving was given willingness to punish players for marijuana, an indefinite suspension last March for but not domestic violence. substance abuse. It apparently stemmed In 2015, ex-Browns wide receiver Josh from marijuana. Instead of fighting the Gordon received a year-long suspension for suspension, Irving decided to leave the failing a marijuana test. He had previously NFL. Yet, ex-Cincinnati Bengals cornerback been suspended for failing a marijuana test Adam Jones physically assaulted a police and missed 10 games. Some have semiofficer in 2017. What was the length of defended or taken a nuanced stance on the Jones’s suspension? Just a single game.

NFL for its harsh stance on Gordon.

What about ex-Jacksonville Jaguars Writing for Sports Illustrated, Andrew defensive end Dante Fowler? He physically Brandt said, “Many fans [and media] struck a man, not a police officer, and broke erroneously compare and contrast penalties the man’s glasses. Surely the NFL would for marijuana use to those for things like discipline a player who was going to be on deflated footballs or domestic violence.” probation for a year. Nope, just a one-game Why are fans and the media erroneous in suspension. comparing the penalties for marijuana use According to the league’s logic, using and domestic violence? marijuana is really bad, but physically Brandt seems to explain why in the assaulting people? That’s not as bad. previous statements: “Despite continuing So, how can the league fix this situation? legislative (and societal) acceptance, the The NFL is currently on the right track in 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement regards to coming together with the NFLPA. — negotiated by the owners and the However, the simple answer is to redo the players—still tests players for marijuana Collective Bargaining Agreement. It’s going and disciplines them for positive tests,” and to expire soon anyway, and I can’t imagine “In the latter cases, the Commissioner has the NFL wanting to have a similar mess-up wide discretion; with marijuana use, it is such as the 2011 offseason. collectively bargained. Indeed, the topic of “Everyone knows this game is brutal,” marijuana use represents one of the only former offensive tackle Kyle Turley said things the NFL and NFLPA have agreed on in an article in the Los Angeles Times. since the negotiation of the 2011 CBA.” “Cannabis saved my life, period, and it The argument that because the could help a lot of other players.” players’ association and league agreed Simply put, the NFL should drop any to a deal eight years ago as an excuse penalties to marijuana use.

INTERACTIVE

FEBRUARY 19, 2020 September 4, 2019 January 29, 2020

Page 1111 Page

Sudoku

By The Mepham Group

Sudoku is played on a grid of 9 x 9 spaces.

Within the rows and columns are 9 “squares” (made up of 3 x 3 spaces). Each row, column and square (9 spaces each) needs to be filled out with the numbers 1-9, without repeating any numbers within the row, column or square.

Does it sound complicated? Each Sudoku grid comes with a few spaces already filled in; the more spaces filled in, the easier the game – the more difficult Sudoku puzzles have very few spaces that are already filled in.

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