4/20/18 Digital Edition

the rocket

Friday April 20, 2018 • Volume 101, Issue Number 9 • An Independent, Student-Run Newspaper

www.theonlinerocket.com

Committee encourages college students to star t the conversation on sexual harassment

By Stephen Cukovich Assistant Sports Editor

In the light of Sexual Assault Awareness month, the Slippery Rock Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has taken steps to start the conversation when it comes to sexual assault and harassment.

Zoe Rivet, a sophomore majoring in integrated marketing communications, has been using the power of Twitter recently to help advocate for sexual harassment awareness. Tuesday was StudentAthlete Day of Action, and Rivet, who has been running the SRU SAAC Twitter account the past week, has helped athletes in many sports to voice their opinions regarding the issue.

"I kind of took this one in because it's really important to me," Rivet said. "It's something I felt was really necessary to put out there and so put together an easy little photo campaign to just spread awareness and get the word out there and get athletes involved as well."

Rivet, an executive board deputy for SAAC, helps implement all the goals of SAAC for events and what they want to accomplish throughout the year. To begin, Rivet tweeted out some facts about sexual assault because she thinks knowledge and background information about the issue can be beneficial so people can know what you are posting for, Rivet said.

Next, Rivet tried to get the athletes involved with the campaign with the incentive to reward points to their teams for the ongoing Presidents SEE OPENNESS PAGE C-1

Courtesy of @SRU_Softball

Slippery Rock softball players participate in the student-athlete day of action by writing "Stop" on their hands to raise sexual assault awareness

Interpersonal violence addressed through on-campus services

JACK HOPEY/THE ROCKET

The Women's Center, located in the Suite in the Smith Student Center, employs a number of student workers throughout the year. The Women's Center offers various amenities for all genders regarding sexual assault and sexual violence.

By Hope Hoehler Rocket Contributor

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), "Among graduate and professional students, 8.8 percent of females and 2.2 percent of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation."

April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center states that the theme for this month is "Embrace Your Voice." On the campus of Slippery Rock University, there are numerous resources that students can confide in regarding sexual assault.

The Student Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Women's Center, the Office of

Student Conduct and even the University Police are resources that are available to students.

Sexual assault is not to be taken lightly.

"More than 50 percent of college sexual assaults occur in either August, September, October, or November," and "Students are at an increased risk during the first few months of their first and second semesters in college," according to 2017 statistics from RAINN state.

Coordinator of Health Promotion Renee Bateman says, "I always recommend students download Just in Case for SRU. There is a section called 'I’ve been sexually assaulted' that can connect you to help on campus and off campus.

There is also a section called, 'How do I know if I was sexually assaulted?' and 'My friend was assaulted; how can I help?' My advice is to visit

Lone Ticket Secures Save Student

bit.ly/srujicapp on your mobile device and save it to your home screen. This will provide you with easy access to support services and information on the topic."

In terms of sexual violence, the Student Health Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the semester.

"In addition to providing nursing and medical care to students...including sexual assault and emergency contraception, Student Health Services (SHS) can also place you in contact with various community services. SHS is a confidential service which means we will protect your confidentiality. Title IX requires Student Health Services to report occurrences of sexual assault to the appropriate university officials; however, we will not disclose your name without your permission," as stated in the Student Code of Conduct.

Through the Student Health Center, services such as Healthy Outreach through Peer Education (HOPE) and the Student Health Advisory Board (SHAB) raise awareness about sexual assault.

HOPE offers numerous programs that focus on learning outcomes and personal development such as Sex, Drugs, and Pop Culture, as well as Bed Bugs which focuses on teaching students the importance of safer sex practices. SHAB provides students the opportunity to provide their input into health care services.

On campus, there are three areas that have confidential reporting status: Student Counseling Services, Student Health Center, and the Women's Center.

Jodi Solito, director of the Women's Center, says, "I have confidential reporting status, one of three areas on campus with that designation, which means I do not have to report names of students who come to talk with me about their experience with sexual assault or rape. This can be significant for students who are concerned about what will happen if they tell someone about the incident. Often times, students will not get the help they need to deal with an incident because they keep it to themselves."

SGA Exec. Board

Newsrooms

MLB Welcomes Rock Pitcher

SRSGA elects new senators for the 2018-19 academic year.

A movement started by the University of Florida to unite and empower student journalists.

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Slippery Rock Alumnus Lou Trivino made his MLB debut Tuesday night for the Oakland A's.

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SEE WOMEN'S CENTER PAGE D-1

Author To Discuss Rape Culture As part of their Sacred Purpose, Theta Chi will host feminist author Kate Harding.

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NEWS

April 20, 2018

INSIDE NEWS Update helps students and faculty A new update to Banner allows for campus members to upload a picture and complete a profile with more additions to come.

Overview of new PASSHE presidents The spokesperson for the state system discusses how presidents are vetted and selected.

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NEWS

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Catch something exciting happening on campus? Want your Insta-photos to be featured in The Rocket? Just follow @SRURocket on Instagram and use # in the caption for your chance to be featured here!

ADAM ZOOK/THE ROCKET

The newly elected SGA Executive Board poses with this week's SRU Student, Joe Kelly.

OneSRU ticket sweeps SGA elections

By Adam Zook Assistant News Editor

INDEX Blotter.................A-3 Opinion................A-5 Sports...................C-1 CampusLife.............D-1

CONTACT US Newsroom: (724) 738-4438 Advertising: (724) 738-2643 Fax: (724) 738-4896 Email:

220B Eisenberg Classroom Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, PA 16057

therocketnewspapersru@ gmail.com Awarded first place in Newspaper Overall Excellence

by The Society for Collegiate Journalists.

The winners of the SRSGA elections were announced during common hour on Tuesday in the Smith Student Center lobby, with the ticket OneSRU sweeping the positions on the executive board. The ticket was led by Dallas Kline, current Vice President of Campus Outreach, who was elected to serve as SGA President for the 2018-19 academic year.

In addition to Kline, there will be five new senators on the executive board. Chadwick Burdick will serve as Vice President of Campus Outreach, Nicole Dunlop as VP of Internal Affairs, Kennedy Moore as VP of Diversity and Inclusion, and Logan Tupper as VP of Finance. Elizabeth Hernandez, a former Speaker of the Senate during 2016-17, did not run on the OneSRU ticket but was elected to serve as VP of Student and Academic Affairs.

OneSRU ran on the platform of being transparent and inclusive towards the student body. Presidentelect Kline emphasized this point during the open forum session with students last week.

“Slippery Rock is a special place,” Kline said. “We are an active student body who cares about what’s going on, and we’re here to be an advocate for students first and foremost. I intend to be an open and transparent president, and a large part of that is being the bridge that connects administration to the concerns of students.”

A large emphasis was also placed on what role the newly created position of VP of Diversity and Inclusion would serve in the near future. Several members of the executive board expressed a desire to do as much as possible from their elected position in

order to make sure that the Social Justice Committee succeeds. In particular, Moore is excited at the influence the Social Justice Committee now has.

“Now that there is a vice president position tied to the Social Justice Committee, it carries a lot more weight in the university,” Kennedy said. “Serving on the committee last year, I learned that there are a lot of groups on this campus that don’t have a voice. I think it's very important that we emphasize that while learning more about other cultures, communities, and diverse groups on campus.”

Building and commuter senators were also announced on Tuesday. All new senators will be sworn into their new positions on April 30 during SGA's final formal meeting of the 2017-18 academic year. The newly elected senators are: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Tyler Ben- Commuter Margaret Calvert- Commuter Taylor Cochran- Commuter Josiah Cole- Commuter Jacob Cribbs- Commuter Martha Dunkelberger-ROCK Apartments Christopher Garcia- Commuter Malaka Gouda- Building B Kaitlyn Hazelett- Commuter Caitlyn Kilmer- Commuter Samantha Kochis- Building D David Miller- Commuter Corinne Rockefeller- Rhoads Hall Emily Smolinsky- North Hall Julia Tremel- Commuter Marshall Tuten- Commuter Angela Vickers- Commuter Cale Walker- Commuter Sarah Corrine Zeni- Commuter

NEWS

April 20, 2018

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POLICE BLOTTER Campus

Building and Morrow Field House. would not leave the area. Police All four involved persons were observed damage of personal April 12- Police received a fire cited via mail. property upon arriving at the alarm from Rock Apartment no. scene. Tiffany Crosby, 19, was 8. Upon checking the area, it was April 14- Police observed a cited for criminal mischief discovered that the cause was person urinating on a light pole. burnt food and the panel was reset. The person was stopped by police April 16- A person in Spotts and identified. Carson Pacheco, World Culture Building passed April 13-The Health Center 19, was taken to the Health Center out. Police arrived on scene to requested assistance from police and was cited with an alcohol provide assistance, but the person regarding the transportation of an violation. was awake and did not require individual by ambulance. further treatment.

April 15- Police received a call April 13-A person reported that about an individual overdosing April 16- Police received a they had found a small amount of in their vehicle at Sheetz. The call from Building D regarding suspected marijuana on Campus ambulance crew arrived and used an incident. The police gave the Drive. The person turned in the NARCAN to revive the individual. person involved a ride to the substance to the police.

The person will also be charged for Health Center. driving under the influence.

April 13- Police received a report April 16- Pennsylvania State that multiple individuals were April 15- A person in Building B Police requested assistance from on the roof of the Jack Dinger called police about a person who campus police for enforcing a

Protection From Abuse order in Eisenberg Classroom Building. An individual was taken into custody

by Pennsylvania State Police for violating the PFA. April 16- A motorist in the Lower Stadium lot reported that a vehicle had backed into another.

Information was gathered by police and contact was made with the owner of the vehicle.

April 16- A person in Building A wanted to report an instance of possible harassment. An incident report was taken by police and the person was advised to also contact the Office of Student Conduct.

Compiled by Adam Zook

New system lets faculty and students create viewable profile

By Morgan McDonald Rocket Contributor

'My Profile' and 'My Advisor', two new systems launched from academic records, allow for students and faculty at SRU to get to know each other better.

Both new aspects are part of the SRU portal in the student information system Banner. The program took all the individual screens from the previous version of Banner and combined them into one screen.

According to Connie Edwards, director of academic records and registration, the purpose of the new 'My Profile' and 'My Advisor' is to help with advisement but also to better assist students in getting to know who faculty are, with pictures being used on both profiles. The new system also allows for easier navigation, with all information being located in one accessible location. Edwards said

ROCK NOTES

this system makes it more convenient for freshmen or transfer students because rather than just getting a name, a student gets a picture of their professor, where their office is located and information about the class the student is enrolled in.

Students will also be able to see their test scores such as SATs or ACTs, or PAPA scores for education majors. 'My Profile' can also tell students if they have holds on their accounts, where they will be notified if the listed hold will prohibit them from registering for the class.

Edwards said the reason for the change was due to the evolution of Banner.

“We went live with Banner in the fall of 2011 and this is just the natural evolution of the product," Edwards said. "The company Ellucian’s next evolution was called Banner 9 and so part of Banner 9 is the advising profile.”

Edwards said one advantage of Banner 9 is the chosen name policy, which was approved by the president's cabinet. This allows for students to change the option of going by either their chosen name, which will also be the name used on their diploma.

There are three modules that SRU will be implementing to 'My Profile' and 'My Advisor'.

The first module was the advising profile and the class list that shows faculty students' photos.

“A lot of times faculty like to see what the students look like so in addition to the name they can see what students look like,” Edwards said.

The next module will be registration, which is aiming to be unveiled during the fall 2018 semester.

The third module will allow for faculty grading, which will add a new way for faculty to show class grades.

BIRDS AND BAGELS Enjoy FREE bagels and bird-friendly Rock Roast coffee at the Macoskey Center bird watching station before heading out on the trails for a birding adventure for citizen science.

This free event allows SRU staff, faculty, students, and community members to participate in tracking bird migration while meeting and learning from birders of all experience levels every Tuesday starting April 10 to April 24. Binoculars will be available to borrow. Each session will run from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

I'M LINKEDIN. NOW WHAT? “I have a LinkedIn profile but I am not sure why.” This session will cover some basics of LinkedIn and provide an explanation of how the tool can be used effectively for career development. Participants do not need to have a LinkedIn account to attend, but the session will include some best practices for those that do. The session will occur on April 25 in the Maltby Center, Computer Lab, Room 105 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

9 No security deposits!

9 4 different locations - South Rock Apts. on Keister Road or South Rock Drive, Stone Crest Apts., & Main Street Apts.

9 2, 3 or 4 bedroom floor-plans 9 Over 180 apartments to choose from 9 Cable, internet, water, & trash included 9 Stove, microwave, dishwasher, disposal, fridge, washer & dyer included at South Rock & Stone Crest locations 9 NEW! On-site laundry facilities at Main St. location – NO COINS NEEDED! 9 Sofa, love seat, coffee & end tables, TV stand, twin or full size beds, dresser, desk, & night stand included 9 NEW! Living room furniture at South Rock!

9 24-hour emergency maintenance 9 Professional on-site management 9 Close proximity to SRU campus 9 Direct-wired smoke detectors 9 Fire extinguishers in each unit 9 Access to Clubhouse 9 Handicap apartments available 9 On-site parking 9 Close to SGA bus stop

NEWS

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April 20, 2018

Recent increase of presidential appointments in PASSHE universities reflect nationwide trend

Photos provided courtesy of PASSHE

From left to right: Dr. Daniel Wubah (Millersville University), Dr. William Behre (Slippery Rock University) and Robert M. Pignatello (Lock Haven University).

By Hannah Shumsky Rocket Contributor

As Dr. William Behre becomes the new president of SRU in July, he will be joined by Dr. Daniel Wubah and John Pignatello, who will become the presidents of Millersville University and Lock Haven University.

Three other PASSHE universities, Clarion, Mansfield and Edinboro, have interim presidents while a search is conducted for new presidents for the three universities.

Millersville University currently doesn’t have an interim president since the current

president, Dr. John Anderson, will remain in his position until June 30 when Wubah, who was also a finalist in SRU’s presidential search, takes over that position.

In a presidential search process, a search committee is formed that will develop the criteria for that specific university’s next president.

“Each university is different, but the search committee is responsible for essentially developing a job description,” Kenn Marshall, spokesperson for PASSHE, said. “Each university is unique, so that job description is going to look a little different at each school.”

Emergency drill simulates active shooter scenario

Ultimately, the search committee will send two candidates to the Board of Governors who will then select the next president.

The selection of a president for each university is becoming increasingly important as all PASSHE universities, except for SRU and West Chester University, have faced an enrollment decline. According to Marshall, more than two-thirds of the four-year colleges in Pennsylvania have seen an enrollment decline since 2010.

“This is a challenge facing not only our universities, but virtually every university in Pennsylvania is facing that challenge, and very few have been able to maintain their enrollments over the last half dozen or so years,” Marshall said.

According to Marshall, the number of searches for presidents within the past two years has been greater than normal and reflects a national trend that the average time served by university presidents is shrinking. While the average tenure a decade ago for a president was eight or nine years, that value today is closer to five years.

“The pressures of a presidency are enormous, and you’re seeing more turnover among the ranks of university presidents across the board not just in our system, but in all of higher education,” Marshall said.

Currently, two presidents at PASSHE universities are tied for the most time spent in their respective positions: Dr. Marcia Welsh of East Stroudsburg University and Dr. Michael Driscoll of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Both Welsh and Driscoll began as presidents in July 2012.

In addition to new presidential appointments and searches, PASSHE is in progress of finding a new chancellor. According to Marshall, interviews are underway with the hope that the Board of Governors will select a new chancellor by early May, who will then take office by the beginning of the 2018-2019 academic year.

Photos provided courtesy of University Public Relations

Responders check rooms during the active shooter drill Thursday morning.

By Daniel DiFabio News Editor

Slippery Rock University held an emergency preparedness drill Thursday which simulated an active shooter on campus.

The campus community was notified about the event in advance and received updates about the scenario via email and the e2campus alert system. Some of the messages sent included reporting shots being fired at Swope Music Hall (where most of the event occurred, though others on campus were told to stay in their rooms), the suspect being in custody, injuries reported, and three dead.

The drill started at 8 a.m. and the "all clear" was sent out at 9:29 a.m.

Responders included SRU Campus Police, Slippery Rock Borough Police, Slippery Rock Borough Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services.

In a press released posted by the university, SRU's University Police Chief Mike Simmons said the drill used the ALICE program, which provides staff and students with an "option-based, proactive response to an active shooter gaining entry into a school or business".

Paul Novak, interim executive director, planning & environmental health and safety and emergency management administrator, said after the event that this is the secondannual campus wide emergency drill.

"Our goals were to give the entire campus, faculty, staff and students, and opportunity to sit back, take a moment and start discussing amongst themselves," Novak said.

Novak and the rest of those who participated in the event underwent a debriefing where the role-players provided their thoughts on the drill.

"The overall commentary is very positive about doing the drill," Novak said.

There will be two upcoming meetings, one on April 20 with on-campus stakeholders, and another on April 26 which will be the final post-incident evaluation.

"We're going to gather all of our information and data from the reviewers, obtain as much input as possible and then all of this information will be translated into the next steps for the campus in terms of overall safety and security," Novak said. "[The information] will be utilized as part of our drill planning for next year. All-in-all we feel the initial comments are very positive so we're going to review everyone's information, get it all together and identify points to be addressed or areas we could improve."

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O

OPINION

Our View We are a par t of rape culture, and as such, we can end it

OPINION Volume 101, Number 9

220 Eisenberg Classroom Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 16057 Phone: Fax: E-mail:

(724) 738-4438 (724) 738-4896 therocketnewspapersru@gmail.com

EDITORIAL BOARD Cody Nespor

Editor-in-Chief

Daniel DiFabio

News Editor

Justin Kraus

Sports Editor

Megan Bush

Campus Life Editor

Victoria Davis

Copy/ Web Editor

Paris Malone

Photo Editor

Eric Davies

Multimedia Editor

Adam Zook

Assistant News Editor

Stephen Cukovich

Assistant Sports Editor

Megan Majercak

Assist. Campus Life Editor

Heather Donat

Assist. Copy/Web Editor

Lauren Ault

Assistant Photo Editor

Dr. Brittany Fleming

Faculty Adviser

ADVERTISING STAFF Miranda Morgan

Advertising Manager

ABOUT US The Rocket is published by the students of Slippery Rock University every Friday during the academic semester with the exception of holidays, exam periods and vacations. Total weekly circulation is 3,000. No material appearing in The Rocket may be reprinted without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief.

The Rocket receives approximately 5 percent of its funding from the SGA Student Activity fee paid each semester by students. All other income is provided through the sale of advertising.

Advertising inquiries may be made by calling (724) 7382643 or by emailing rocket.ads@sru.edu.

CORRECTIONS If we make a substantial error, we want to correct it. If you believe an error has been made, call The Rocket newsroom at (724) 738-4438. If a correction is warranted it will be printed in the opinion section.

GRAPHIC BY LAUREN AULT/ THE ROCKET

The following editorial addresses gendered violence, interpersonal violence, sexual assault and rape.

When we come to campus as first-year students, we learn about bystander intervention as it pertains to sexual assault and interpersonal violence. We learn what to do as witnesses of nonconsensual interaction. We learn that no means no. We learn that any kind of absence of consent is assault-- without exception. Why do we need to be told this? If we lived in a world that did not create institutions and structures that dehumanize survivors of sexual assault and protect rapists and their sympathizers, we wouldn't need this education. The need for these programs, from 'Step UP!' to the Women's Center's 'Consent 101' lecture, is proof enough that we live in a rape culture; the fact that some dispute its existence despite systemic re-victimization of survivors appalls us as a staff.

One of the results of rape culture is that standing up to those who commit, condone or OK interpersonal and gendered violence has the potential to result in social isolation or judgment. We get it. We've been in that spot.

It's awkward and uncomfortable, and sometimes it feels as though you're standing up to the massive institution that is rape culture, including the normalization of interpersonal violence, wouldn't result in a measure of success that would constitute its social repercussions.

While we empathize with the awkwardness of interrupting a conversation because of oppressive language, or really any language that promotes or subtly condones gendered violence, let us be clear: if you are in a public, safe space, any social discomfort you feel as a result of standing up for the 1 in 3 women and 1 in 16 men who are sexually assaulted is infinitesimally unimportant when you consider the current status quo: survivors living in a world in which we throw around jokes like "that test raped me" without a second thought.

The social repercussions of you doing the right thing are nothing compared to the people for whom interpersonal violence is a part of daily life.

It becomes a lot less difficult to speak up when you consider that you walking by, you being quiet, you not speaking up, you are complicit in rape culture—in a type of violence that disproportionately affects women, people of color, and LGBT+ people.

Knowing that rape is wrong is not enough. Knowing that nonconsensual intimacy is wrong is not enough.

Knowing is not enough. You can recite the 'Step UP!' or 'Consent 101' lectures verbatim, but if you do not apply that knowledge, if you refuse to be a barrier in the way of rape culture, then you are letting it continue. On your campus, around your neighborhood, in your home.

We aren't writing this to make you feel guilty for the moments you could have spoken up. We are writing this to assure you that we have been there too, but, in the same breath, that there is no excuse for not standing up in a situation where you are physically safe. Whether that is on Twitter, at Rocky's or in your closest group of friends.

We can't will sexual assault, violence against women and LGBT+ people and institutionalized oppression away, but we can refuse to take part in their progression.

No, you saying that your friend's (or a stranger's) rape joke or victim-blaming is unacceptable won't lessen the U.S. assault rates, but it will leave that seed of doubt in your friends' mind. It will make the oppressive language harder to listen to in the future. It will be a beginning. It will start the cracking of the structure that makes these kinds of jokes okay, that makes us question a survivor's clothing choice before the attacker's motives.

Rape culture won't crumble tonight, or tomorrow, this year or even in the next ten. But with fewer and fewer people being passive about the language and rhetoric of rape culture, we can start collecting the tools to start.

In the Quad

This week’s question: What do you think the campus could do to improve its secutiry?

In the Quad is a segment in which random students, faculty and staff are asked for their opinions on a specific topic.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions to The Rocket are available. Subscriptions are $20 per academic semester and $35 for the full academic year. Inquiries should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at the address listed here.

EDITORIAL POLICY The Rocket strives to present a diverse range of opinions that are both fair and accurate in its editorials and columns appearing on the Opinion pages. “Our View” is the opinion of the Editorial Board and is written by Rocket editorial board members. It reflects the majority opinion of The Rocket Editorial Board.

“Our View” does not necessarily reflect the views of Slippery Rock University, its employees or its student body. Columns and cartoons are drafted by various individuals and only reflect the opinions of the columnists.

LETTERS POLICY The Rocket welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication.

The Rocket retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes the property of The Rocket and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published.

Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any.

Please limit letters to a maximum of 400 words. Submit all material by noon Wednesday to: The Rocket, 220 ECB, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057. Or send it via e-mail to: rocket.letters@sru.edu.

Trevor Blose Senior Public Health Major Girard, Ohio “They should have more cameras around the buildings and on campus. They need to have a camera on every building and every dorm. My girlfriends car was smashed but the police couldn’t do anything because they didn’t have any video of who did it. Besides that it’s a relatively safe campus. “

Taylor Schultz Senior Public Relations Major Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Jake Gillette Junior Political Science Major Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania

"I think that we need to have more cameras and we need to educate students. Provide them with information and resources.

If that’s Slippery Rock police or a third party but if we provide information and people don’t come then that is on them."

“I’d say potentially armed security guards, possibly with tasers. More campus security in places where problems could occur to scare people away. It’s one thing to see a cop car but actual officers would help more.“

THE RACE ISSUE

April 4, 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In honor of his memory and in the spirit of his quest for equality and understanding National Geographic dedicate its April edition of the magazine to exploring the topic of race. Deemed “The Race Issue,” National Geographic publishes a series of stories “exploring race in America - what it is and perhaps more importantly, what it isn’t.”

In the memory of the late Dr. King, National Geographic wanted to use this issue to spark conversation all over the country and to achieve this, sent letters out to student newspapers all over America encouraging them to start conversations and facilitate discovery on a local level. The Rocket received one of these letters which stated, in part, “We urge you to join the conversation by examining, investigating, and delving into how race impacts everyday life on your campus.” Looking through National Geographic’s issue, The Rocket has decided to explore the issue of how skin color plays into people’s perception of race.

This issue has been explored by Angelica Dass, a photographer who started a project called “Humanae.” Dass takes pictures of people and matches their skin color to a color car from Pantone, the longest authority on color standards.

This is to show that even though race is only thought of in terms of black or white, people come in all colors, and to put people into only two classifications does not make any sense. The Rocket has taken pictures of 11 people; please look at each of them and see how all their skin colors are different, even if some would be classified in the same race. These people were also asked how they identify and how race and skin color has affected them.

Harshani Ranasinghe Sri Lankan, Asian “Well to start with, skin color does not relate to race. At least I don’t think it does.

I’ve seen people coming from different parts of the world, people who look like me but are from completely different ethnicities than me.

I’ve mistaken them for people with my ethnicity. Race and color are two different parts of one big segment. ”

Jack Lindey Caucasian “It plays a role. I don’t really know how to answer that.

We’re all people. Race doesn’t really matter to me.”

Cameron Rankins Black “Too often, people say they are color-blind and that they don’t see race. I don’t think that is how we should navigate the world. The fact is that race impacts daily life, sometimes in ways we do not even realize”

Alexa Sorch Asian/Chinese “I don’t know. I feel like they both go hand in hand.

I personally can understand the bad connotation of the question of “What are you”; it sounds like you’re not a person. “Who are you,” that sounds a little better. Even “What is your background” sounds better than “What are you.”

Sammie Walker I don’t know “I think the idea of skin color is really interesting when it comes to people of mixed race or ethnic backgrounds. I myself am white on my father’s side and of Mexican descent on my mother’s side but appear only monoracially White. Within the Latinx community, folks range from various skin tones and nationalities, but there seems to be a specific skin tone associated with our community.

People should focus on how a person identifies rather than question their authenticity.”

Donovan Ford Black and White “I feel like skin color shouldn’t matter, but it does. People should look more at who the person is rather than their skin color. We can’t accomplish bigger things when we are divided by something as simple as skin color. ”

Richard Flynn Black “I don’t see a correlation between skin color and race because there are people of all shades of skin color from different parts of the world. Too often we associate a specific skin color with a specific area of the world.”

LeMarr Terry African American “Skin color is a physical attribute that people normally assume to be connected, which I agree with at times. But it doesn’t define distinctively who they are.”

Chadwick Burdick Caucasian “Race seems like a social and cultural thing while skin color seems like an appearance thing that people just group in with race. ”

Photos by Paris Malone Design by Cody Nespor

OPINION

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April 20, 2018

#SaveStudentNewsrooms

This editorial originally ran in The Alligator, the independent student newspaper of the University of Florida. The Rocket has joined the #SaveStudentNewsrooms campaign and will be participating in the unofficial Support Student Journalism Day on April 25.

The Amherst Student. The Daily Campus.

The Sunflower.

Over the last few years, in the face of shrinking finances, these are just a few of the student-run publications that have had their independence jeopardized. Others have been forced to fold. Across the U.S., studentrun newsrooms — just like professional newsrooms — are struggling to survive.

They are hemorrhaging.

But no one is talking about it.

As professional newsrooms shrink, communities have become more dependent on student newsrooms as a source of local coverage, holding not only our universities accountable but also city governments and county administrations. And as most traditional newsrooms throw up paywalls, our journalism has remained free in the stands and online. We write these articles, attending meetings and hounding sources, while juggling classes, exams and, for many of us, part-time jobs. We do it because we’re passionate and care about our communities.

Freedom of the press is the freedom of the people.

But we face the same problems legacy publications do. Rising print costs are no longer offset by print ads, and the new paper tariffs will only make this worse. Because of this, more student publications are having to turn to their universities for funding. But the financial help often comes with unwanted opinions and less editorial control. In short, university funding can lead to censorship.

Publications that rely on a student government for funding, for instance, feel pressured to choose between running an article to expose corruption or greed within their university and paying their staff.

The Student Press Law Center has advocated for asserting legal rights for high school and college journalists state by state with the New Voices campaign.

But the conversation on helping studentrun publications survive needs to continue over the years, and that’s what #SaveStudentNewsrooms, a movement launched by the editors of The Alligator, is trying to achieve.

After news broke that the Daily Campus, the newspaper serving the Southern Methodist University community, would reaffiliate with its university later this

year, we realized how critical it is that this conversation happens now. Student journalists cannot wait for another year to strategize — some can barely wait a month — we need to act now.

So here is our solution: In order to survive the tumultuous era of journalism, student journalists must start advocating for themselves. It’s a strange concept; we are taught to write and think objectively about sources, issues and topics through the journalism college. Don’t become the story.

But it’s important for student journalists to become advocates for themselves and to remind others how critical they are to a community. No one else will. We can’t expect funding to drop from the sky or people to decry censorship if we do not. We also encourage those of you who are unaffiliated with the journalism world to pay close attention to the state of student journalism.

The students who are working long hours for little pay — and sometimes for none — are the ones who want to become the future professional journalists.

In the coming days, you’ll see social media posts with #SaveStudentNewsrooms from college journalists across the country. Pay attention, because we’re just getting started.

Help us save student newsrooms.

A false binary, the difference between skin color and race Race is something that society views as a very black and white issue. In terms of race, people are often categorized as either white or black, but people are all different colors. There is not one specific white or one specific black skin tone that makes up the spcially constructed race, and yet we force people to identify as one of these two races.

For people like SRU freshman Donovan Ford this presents a problem as he is not sure what race he fits into. Ford, a business undeclared major, is biracial. A mix between black and white, Ford has not always been sure where he fits into the race conversation.

“It’s difficult trying to figure out where I fit sometimes,” Ford said.

“It’s like I’m too black for the white kids and I’m too white for the black kids, so sometimes I have a difficult time finding out where I belong.”

Ford said that ultimately he does not let race define him and he just accepts who he is.

“I just embrace it. It’s difficult sometimes, but it’s something that I definitely embrace,” Ford said. “It’s life, I’ve been like this forever. It’s not really that big of an issue in my life.”

Ford also said that there are some big strides that we as a society need to make in order to move past people’s race and see them for who they are. Black Action Society secretary, Cadi McCoy, agreed saying that the societal construct of race is a big hurdle that we need to get past.

“Our current problems as a community are so much deeper than skin color,” McCoy said. “We make racism an issue because we don’t fix it. We need to find a solution to a problem we have created.”

In the end the only thing that will bring an end to categorizing people by race is to combat the false binary of race we have made and realize that people are all different, regardless of the color of their skin or what race they identify as.

KNOW THE SIGNS save a life from alcohol poisoning VOMITING

HYPOTHERMIA

CHOKING

UNCONSCIOUS UNRESPONSIVE

CAN’T SPEAK

GASPING FOR AIR

ERRATIC BREATHING

CLAMMY

BLUE

MAKE THE CALL. On-campus dial #724-738-3333 and Off-campus dial #911 If you are seeking medical attention for another, the Medical Amnesty Act will exempt you from prosecution for consumption or possession.

Remember: It is illegal to consume alcoholic beverages under age of 21 in the state of Pennsylvania.

Funded by a grant through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

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April 20, 2018

YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!

GROVE GROVE

SUPPORT SUPPORT THE SRVFC! THE SRVFC!

FEST 2018

APRIL APRIL

28 28 12–5 PM

TH TH

12–5 PM

VISIT

WWW.SLIPPERYROCKGROVEFEST.COM FOR INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER! 145 HARMONY ROAD, SLIPPERY ROCK, PA 16057 | (724)406-0277 GROVESLIPPERYROCK@ACHLIVING.COM

S SPORTS

INSIDE SPORTS SRU's songs on the diamond

Sophomore forward named All-American

We have collected the SRU softball team's walkup songs and put them into a Spotify playlist.

Throughout Micah Till's college career, he has played two different sports at four schools, ending up at SRU for basketball.

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#ItsOnUs awareness spreading throughout PSAC student-athletes

By Justin Kraus Sports Editor

Spreading awareness is the first step in solving any crisis and for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, that first step has been a "Weekend of action", the conferences tie-in to the #ItsOnUs social media campaign to stop sexual assault.

The movement, which has already spread to over 1,000 college campuses and trained over 5,000 student leaders has received a breakthrough of sorts for PSAC schools this year, with stickers reading "It's On Us" appearing on softball and baseball helmets, lacrosse sticks, tennis rackets and track equipment throughout the conference's 18 members.

"It's the right thing to do," Slippery Rock Director of Athletics Paul Lueken said. "Our teams are participating and you can see the support they are giving on social media. A lot of times in our world, athletics plays a part in defining what the culture should be, hopefully in a positive way."

In addition to the campaign's representation on equipment, the PSAC designated 53 events (four of which were at SRU) across seven sports as hosts during the sexual violence weekend of action, which occurred on April 6th-8th. Students, athletes, friends, family and fans were encouraged to tweet their presence at the events, using the #ItsOnUs movement.

"It's time to let everyone in the world know that this is not acceptable behavior: it never was," Lueken said. "We've had some very brave people step forward and say 'this has happened to me.' If we don't have people who speak out, we won't know about it and we won't be able to stop future assaults."

The athletics at SRU have made sure to take a proactive, rather than reactive, stance on sexual assault by taking a caring, family atmosphere to the athletic program.

"We're strong and family-minded. As an athletic program, departments and sports alike, we are a big family trying to watch out for one another," Lueken said. "I have a

PARIS MALONE/THE ROCKET

The Slippery Rock University volleyball team lines up and holds hands for the national anthem before a game last October.

daughter. A lot of us have sisters and brothers, we all have mothers and fathers, we would never want that to happen to someone. Our student-athletes have bought into it well."

For Lueken and the entire athletic program at SRU, it was a no-brainer to adapt the movement as fast as possible.

"Student-athletes live in a fishbowl, so that's good and bad," Lueken said. "The good part is we can lead the charge and take a positive stance to educate the rest of the student body, community and world that sexual assault is just not acceptable."

Slippery Rock has taken even further measures to assure that none of the student athletes at SRU, present or future,

are contributors to a harmful atmosphere of sexual assault.

"When we recruit transfers, we vet them to make sure they don't have a past not representative of what we want to be. We look hard at those types of things and if we see that, we move on," Lueken said. "Our student-athletes have been positive about that."

Those wishing to join the movement to end sexual assault can take the pledge at Itsonus.org to join the hundreds of PSAC athletes and thousands of NCAA athletes who are already actively involved.

Openess proves best way to combat harassment Continued from Page A 1

Cup, which encourages student-athletes to support one another and their community. This is the first effort SAAC has tried to spread awareness about sexual harassment through social media according to Rivet, but they have been talking about it for some time in meetings.

"I think I would like to see people kind of take initiative and do things on their own or get involved with separate campaign, outside of just SAAC," Rivet said. "And maybe just voice their opinion. I think that can be huge and getting involved or when people hear something to stop it right there or when they see something in public to stop it."

Rivet took it upon herself to get involved with this issue and one factor was that she knows people who have been affected by sexual assault and sexual harassment.

"Being able to hear stories from other people I think is really moving to me," Rivet said. "I think it's a huge topic. Its been really big in the news lately and I think its something that avoiding it isn't going to help it and its something that that I personally would hate to run into myself along with seeing other people do it."

Sexual harassment and assault can happen at any time and the conversation about it is hard to start sometimes because people don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject either, Rivet said.

"I think its hard to start because it's a touchy subject and its not easy to talk about and I don't think a lot of people realize how often it happens," Rivet said. "The first graphic that just had facts on sexual assault, and just getting people to see that kind of makes it more real."

COURTESY OF @zoerivet on Twitter

Sophomore volleyball setter Zoe Rivet creates her own photo campaign on Twitter to help raise awareness for sexual assault and harassement.The campaign encourages student-athletes to support each other and their community.

Rivet believes this subject needs to be talked about more, and she would be willing to offer her advice to anyone who has been affected by these actions.

"I would say to almost use their experience to help impact others," Rivet said. "I know

its not an easy thing to talk about and I don't ask people to talk about it by any means, but if they feel comfortable enough to talk about it to make an impact and to do something, get involved and kind of use their experience to make it more real to others."

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April 20, 2018

sounds of rock softball

Softball 1.

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Gannon california (pa) Seton hill Slippery Rock mercyhurst edinboro

19-10 (9-3) 11-11 (5-3) 15-11 (7-5) 17-4 (4-4) 6-22 (3-7) 4-15 (0-6)

Next games on Friday, april 20th

at

Baseball 1.

2.

3.

4.

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6.

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Mercyhurst Slippery Rock Gannon seton hill california (pa) indiana (pa) upj clarion

23-7 (12-4) 19-11 (12-4) 21-12 (10-6) 15-16 (9-7) 18-15 (7-9) 10-18 (7-9) 8-21 (5-11) 7-25 (2-14)

Next games on Friday, April 20th

CF

Emily Nagle

2B

Megan Brown

SS

Kailey Myers

C

Lauren Hawley

3B

Becca Roesch

1B

Allie Fischer

RF

Caitlyn Mackelvey

DP

Leah Vith

DP

Mckenzie garland

LF

alexa guglielmino

SP

brooke dawson

SP

camie shumaker

Rp

paige flore

RP

andria copelli PLAYLIST COURTESY OF SPOTIFY

The walk-up songs of the 2018 Slippery Rock softball team. The team's 10 regular-starting batters plus the four pitchers on staff have their songs listed.

at

Despite PSAC Tournament loss, Meredith is encouraged by young team

Lacrosse 1.

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west chester e. stroudsburg mercyhurst Lock haven Slippery Rock indiana (pa) bloomsburg millersville kutztown shippensburg gannon Seton hill edinboro

14-0 (9-0) 10-2 (9-1) 9-4 (7-2) 10-4 (6-3) 10-4 (6-4) 8-4 (5-4) 9-5 (5-4) 9-5 (4-5) 6-9 (3-7) 6-8 (2-7) 3-8 (2-7) 3-10 (2-7) 3-10 (0-9)

Next game on Saturday, April 20th

at

WOmen's Tennis 1.

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Indiana (pa) mercyhurst Slippery Rock seton hill edinboro clarion California (pa.)

17-5 (6-0) 21-1 (5-0) 12-12 (4-2) 7-9 (3-3) 8-11 (2-4) 5-10 (1-5) 0-6 (0-6)

Standings as of Thursday, April 20 at 4:17 pm

By Zack Bonnette Rocket Contributor

Coming off a magnificent week, Rock tennis entered the PSAC Tournament riding a 4-game win streak, looking to stun Mercyhurst University in their first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2011-12. The Green and White battled hard with all three doubles matches being decided by just two sets. Despite losing 5-0 in the end, the score did not tell the full story of the match.

Slippery Rock jumped out to a lead in all three doubles matches, but failed to finish off Mercyhurst in each matchup. Junior Allie Welch and freshman Lauren Fadden dropped a hard-fought match to Ivona Plecevic and Athina Tsagkaraki, 8-6.

The freshman duo of Viola Lugmayr and Olivia Warner lost to Adrianna Jeffress and Kayla Frost, 9-7, and The Rock’s top duo in Sophomore Lacey Cohen and Senior Carla Corrochano Moracho both struggled down the stretch in their matchup against Saioa Gomez de Segura and Adina Spahalic losing by a score 9-7 as well.

Slippery Rock’s youth and inexperience in big games showed, and if the team were to hang on to their leads and close out the opponent, the outcome of Tuesday’s matchup may have turned out different “We had them,” Coach Meredith said. “We were leading in all three doubles matches, and that would have been absolutely huge if we would have come up with wins in those three matches.”

The Lakers would go on to capitalize on their early lead and win the first two singles matches, effectively clinching the match win for Mercyhurst, with Gomez de Segura defeating Cohen 6-0, 6-3 and Plecevic securing a victory against Warner, 6-1, 6-0. With the outcome of the contest already decided, the last four singles matches were halted.

Even with the loss, Coach Meredith was impressed with the way the young Slippery Rock team battled against the juggernaut that is Mercyhurst University and offered some insight on what Rock tennis can do to set themselves up for success on Saturday.

“I’m very happy about the way we played in doubles,” Merdith said. “They competed, they fought, we just need to close it out next time, we

ALEX MOWREY/ THE ROCKET

Slippery Rock women's tennis head coach Matt Meredith coaches during a game last year. Meredith obtained his 300th career win against Ashland on April 15th.

need to know when to step on the gas and get the job done, but that is a part of being young. That will be a valuable learning experience for the team from here on out.”

The loss drops Rock tennis to 12-12 on the season, while Mercyhurst improves to a record of 21-1 and will advance to play Bloomsburg in the PSAC Tournament semifinals on Friday. Coach Meredith and the women in Green and White will now take the next few days to patch up Tuesday’s mistakes and set their focus on a pivotal matchup that will play a big factor in determining their NCAA Tournament fate on Saturday, against West Liberty (12-6) at 2 p.m.

SPORTS

April 20, 2018

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Don't call him a former football player: Till makes All-American

PARIS MALONE/ THE ROCKET

Slippery Rock sophomore forward Micah Till makes a move for a layup in a game this past season.

Till made several All-region and All-American teams at SRU, his fourth school in as many years.

By Brendan Howe Rocket Contributor

This past basketball season, it became common news to hear that The Rock’s sophomore forward was attaching yet another accolade to his name. The only Slippery Rock player to start all 30 games for a team that finished its season in the PSAC quarterfinals, Micah Till wrapped up his first season in the Green and White with a multitude of honors. Among other praises, Till was an All-PSAC West honoree and a consensus All-Region selection by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association. Most impressively, he was named as a third-team All-American by the D2CCA last month.

Now known as an integral part of Coach Kevin Reynolds’ team, Till first opted to play on the turf instead of the hardwood. He made a pair of one-year stopovers in different states, with different sports, before ending up here in western Pennsylvania.

Prior to his time as a significant player on two-state championship-winning teams at Wise High School in Upper Boro, Md., Till suffered a broken tibia and dislocated kneecap as a freshman.

“Going into eleventh grade, I wasn’t on any map, anywhere,” Till said of the injury that set him back as a sophomore also. That all changed in the subsequent months.

He began receiving interest letters from D-1 schools while his football team cruised undefeated into the postseason. The Pumas march brought them to the title contest for the state’s 4A classification at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Trailing late in the fourth quarter, Till snared a fade pass from his quarterback to put his team ahead. The catch ended up being the game-winner.

Later that year, Till pledged to play football for North Carolina State over other ACC schools Duke, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, and SEC schools South Carolina and Missouri. He was the 42nd-ranked tight end (according to 247 Sports) in a 2014

position class that was headed by former Penn State tight end and NFL prospect Mike Gesicki.

“I felt like [N.C. State’s] program would put me in the best position to further my football career,” Till said. “They had playing time open for me. I just felt like it was the best option.”

That summer, he was at an AAU tournament when Rutgers head basketball coach Eddie Jordan approached with the only high-level D-1 offer Till fielded as a high schooler.

“I told him, like, ‘I’m already going [to N.C. State] for football’ and he told me, ‘Well, if you ever change your mind, you have a full ride to Rutgers’,” Till said. “It was kind of an informal offer, but he still offered me.”

The following season, after his football team fell in defense of their title in the opening round of the state playoffs, Till looked for a better result in basketball. His team dropped two straight games in late-December and then responded by reeling off 16 straight wins to close out the regular season. Ending up in the state championship game, Till and company rolled Whitman High School, 70-43, for Wise’s first-ever state title.

He moved onto N.C. State the next fall and was told he would redshirt, and, saved for any sudden lack of depth at his position, would not see any game action in his freshman year. Meanwhile in practice, he pulled in passes from junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who has since gone on to start for both the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. He frequently had to block Bradley Chubb, a top defensive prospect in this month’s professional draft. Ultimately, with the demands of football and the absence of playing time with the Wolfpack, Till realized his love for the sport had waned.

“If you don’t love the sport you’re constantly doing, it’s like having a job, but you don’t want to work,” Till said. “All in all, I feel like I’ve always loved basketball more.”

He sat out the spring semester of 2016, unsure if it was just the school and setting that impacted the way he saw football. He visited a number of FCS schools, such as North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, and Bowie State, to see if they would be a fit on the gridiron. “It just never seemed right,” Till said.

He ended up at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md., a little over an hour drive from his hometown. “I actually didn’t have anywhere to go until the head coach remembered me from high school and was talking to people for me,” Till said. “That was pretty much my only full ride to junior college that I had on the table.”

In the summer before throwing on the blue jersey for Harford, Till played in three separate summer leagues. He played in the Kenner League, who’s most notable alumni include NBA icon Allen Iverson and Steve Francis, the second-overall pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. He also played outdoors in the George Goodman League at Barry Farms, where Prince George's county-native and Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant has rolled through.

The following winter, Till led his Fighting Owls to a 24-8 record and a Region 20 Championship. “Seeing [my family] at the games really kept me motivated … Just having them there supporting me throughout the time I was there was really helpful,” Till said. He paced his team’s offensive effort with a 16.3 scoring average and grabbed the second-most rebounds by a Harford player.

Multiple PSAC schools showed interest in Till coming to play basketball for school, and it turns out that the Rock was not initially his first choice. “I honestly wanted to go to Cal U at first,” Till admitted. His mind changed once SRU assistant coach Ian Grady began recruiting him. “[Coach Reynolds and Coach Grady] basically said that they were going to put the ball in my hands. That’s always a valid option for me if I want to go somewhere and go to the next level,” he said. “Why not go somewhere where they’re going to give you the ball and let you score?”

“The pitch to him was just ‘Hey, you’re going to be part of one of the better teams in division two,’” Head coach Kevin Reynolds stated. “’And, if you play up to your potential, you’re going to have a good year, and so will our team’.”

Read full story on theonlinerocket.com

Rock alumnus makes MLB debut for Oakland A's

By Cody Nespor Editor-In-Chief

Tuesday night, something happened that put Slippery Rock University baseball alone on a rather impressive list. In the ninth inning of a 10-2 blowout over the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics reliever Lou Trivino made his major league debut, striking out two and allowing three baserunners before closing out the game. With Trivino's debut, SRU is now the only school in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) that can boast having two former baseball players as current major leaguers. Trivino (SRU 2011-13) joins Matt Adams (SRU 2007-09) as former Rock players now in the MLB. Rock head coach Jeff Messer said that having two major leaguers is a shot in the arm for Slippery Rock baseball.

"To say that we had an Adams, or we had a Trivino, most of the times if you're a coach,tat doesn't happen at any level," Messer said. "I feel pretty fortunate that we've had two guys like that.

They're both the type of players that, with all the accomplishments and accolade that they had, they were always team first."

Much like Adams, Trivino left his mark on SRU while he was here. Despite only playing for three years, Trivino left SRU as the all-time career strikeout record holder with 217 punchouts. This record was just recently broken by current SRU senior Alex Pantuso. Trivino still currently holds the records for most career shutouts (six) and is still in the top ten in innings pitched (213), complete games (14), games started (35) and wins (19). He also ranks high in career earned run average (1.99) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.17).

Messer said that Trivino was the hardest working pitcher he had ever had in his 30-plus years as head coach. He said that the closest player to matching

that work ethic was his teammate and current Rock pitching coach, John Kovalik. Kovalik pitched at The Rock from 2011 to 2014.

Kovalik said that he and Trivino were always together when they were both on the team. "[Trivino] is one of the best people that you will ever meet," Kovalik said. "He's really one of the nicest guys that I have ever met. He was one of the best teammates I have ever had as well. The best way to describe him would be determined and competitive."

Kovalik said that every single time Trivino started a game he gave the team a chance to win like no one else did.

Messer recalled one start Trivino made early in the 2013 season against West Chester University.

Trivino was matched up against Golden Rams' starter Joe Gunkel. Messer said that those two were, at the time, the two best pitchers in the PSAC. "The two best pitchers during [Trivino's] era, Lou here and Gunkel in West Chester. They matched up in Florida and they beat us, Gunkel beat us," Messer said. "You could tell there was something else. Lou was going to get the chance to play at the next level."

Despite losing, Messer said this game proved that Trivino was a different kind of pitcher. Gunkel is currently in Triple A with the Miami Marlins.

Coming out of Upper Bucks Christian High School in Greenland, Pa. Trivino was not a highly touted recruit. Messer said that SRU was the only school to offer a scholarship to him his junior year and Trivino committed prior to his senior year.

Trivino dominated after coming to SRU, putting up 2.53, 1.78 and 1.83 earned run averages his first three years. Trivino was then drafted by the Athletics in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB draft.

He spent parts of six years in the minor leagues before his call-up Tuesday night.

So far Trivino has pitched four major league innings, giving up no runs and striking out six.

ALEX MOWREY/ THE ROCKET

Slippery Rock alumnus Lou Trivino delivers a pitch during his time at SRU. Trivino made his MLB debut for the Oakland A's on April 17th.

While the rest of his major league career may be a mystery, Kovalik said he only has one question to ask about his old teammate.

"Every time before he started a game he would eat donuts and drink a thing of chocolate milk," Kovalik said. "I don't know, but it would be funny if he still did that before he pitches now."

SPORTS

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April 20, 2018

Inline hockey raises own money for North Dakota tournament

By Karl Ludwig Rocket Contributor

Qualifying for the National tournament in any capacity is a life-changing event that people, especially people in the sports world, dream about from the time they are children until they are actually playing in those games themselves.

Most universities will do everything they can to get these teams wherever they need to be for the tournament; Fargo, North Dakota, in this case, but the Slippery Rock men’s inline club hockey team was left to fend for themselves after the University was unable to assist the team with any funds.

“We did a GoFundMe page and we did a tournament.

We raised almost 4,000 dollars. We made it work somehow,” First-year team president Nicholas Smith said.

The inline team sent a team to represent the Division 1 level and the Division 3 level at the 20th National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association National Championship in Fargo (ND.) “The trip [to Fargo] was a 17-and-a-half-hour car drive,” Smith said. “We had two 15-person vans, we had one coach drive his truck and one coach also got a vehicle to put all of our equipment in. Every team got to go, every player got to go.”

Originally, the team was not sure they would be able to raise enough money to make the voyage to Fargo and compete, but with selfless support from everyone involved with the team, the players were able to make it to Fargo.

“We had a lot of coaches and parents try to help us out the best they could. We figured everything out," Smith said.

With matchups against teams like Florida Gulf Coast, UC Santa Barbara and Massachusetts in the D1 level and tilts against Grand Valley State, Bethel and Cal Poly at the D3 level, the tournament provided The Rock a chance to show their skill against nationally recognized programs. The stage was not too big for The Rock either as both teams advanced deep into the tournament.

“The DI team made the Sweet 16 and the DIII team made the Elite 8," Smith said with a proud smile.

After not even expecting to have the chance to travel to Fargo, Smith and the team relished the chance to soak in the full experience.

“This was my first time ever being at Nationals, so it was a great experience," Smith said “It was only five minutes away from the hotel, so we could walk to the rink. It was cool playing teams we don’t always see. It was an awesome experience.”

Playing against other successful teams in the competition, enjoying the interaction with other inline hockey teams from around the United States and getting to immerse themselves in an atmosphere of a National tournament in a hockey town like Fargo was an experience that these players, coaches, and supporters of the team will never forget. Following the success of The Rock this year, Smith already has a plan in effect to make sure a pinch like the one The Rock experienced this year would not happen again.

“Next year we already have league dues set in and we have tournaments we are going to do, and we have fundraisers

COURTESY OF ECRHA FACEBOOK

Slippery Rock Club inline hockey forward Nicholas Smith controls the puck during nationals in Fargo (ND.).

that we’ve already talked about with some of the coaches,” Smith said.

With the future of the inline club hockey team here at The Rock in good hands with team president Smith, he also encourages those who are interested in hockey but not traveling to come down to Neville Island.

“It’s an awesome experience. We also have a club inline team in Neville Island,” Smith said. “There are normally two

or three teams there so if you don’t want to play travel and you just want to play hockey, come on out and we’ll throw you on a team and you can enjoy yourself.”

At the end of the day, Smith was just appreciative that the inline team was able to make it to Fargo. “We did everything we could to try to get there,” Smith said, and he plans on making it back again next year.

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CAMPUS LIFE

INSIDE CAMPUS LIFE ASL hosts rapper Sean Forbes The American Sign Language Club brought the Detroit-based rapper to campus to perform and talk about his advocacy for the deaf community.

See Page D-2

SUMA brings people together to celebrate The Student Union of Multicultural Affairs has a goal of bringing the campus together, and they succeeded during Unity Week.

See Page D-3

Theta Chi, Women's Center will bring author to SRU

JACK HOPEY/THE ROCKET Kate Harding's book "Asking For It" explores rape culture and how it's perceived and talked about. Theta Chi, with the help of Student Success, SGA amd the Women's Center, will bring Harding to SRU to talk to the campus about these topics.

By Megan Bush Campus Life Editor

As part of their ultimate Sacred Purpose, Theta Chi teamed up with the Student Government Association (SGA), Student Success and the Women’s Center to bring feminist author Kate Harding to speak to SRU about rape culture and sexual violence awareness.

Theta Chi’s Sacred Purpose, which is shared by the brotherhood of Theta Chi nationally, is an initiative started in 2013 to improve and standardize the health, safety, and overall well-being of the Theta Chi brotherhood as well as the communities and campuses surrounding them.

Junior economics and professional Spanish double major Marshall Tuten is the Vice President of Health and Safety for the Zeta Alpha colony of Theta Chi here at SRU, and he is in charge of the Health and Safety programming

for the group. Tuten said one of the topics of the Sacred Purpose here at Slippery Rock is sexual assault prevention and awareness, and because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it was the perfect time to bring Harding to campus to speak.

“We booked [Harding] to come to speak to campus...to discuss more openly the issues that we face as a modern society...and how we can address the way we think and talk about those things to change the way that we act and the way that we perceive victims and perpetrators to have a more equitable view of the problem,” Tuten said.

In many cases, there is a negative stereotype surrounding Greek Life, especially concerning this topic, and Tuten said he wants to make sure, as VP of Health and Safety, the campus knows that the Greek community has the potential to make a difference.

“We have a responsibility for one another as brothers in our fraternity, and just as humans to everybody,” Tuten said. “We have a duty to care for those around us, to take responsibility for our actions and to fight the negative trends and traditions that create unsafe environments that we’ve seen in the media and that we’ve seen in general.”

Director of the Women’s Center Jodi Solito said she played a big part in helping the brothers of Theta Chi choose an ideal speaker for this event. She said Kate Harding was one of the first people to come to mind because, not only does Harding address rape culture in her book Asking For It, she also has a deeper take on how to discuss the situation.

“She’s a staunch feminist who, I think, can bring a different message than what we typically have done on campus,” Solito said.

Solito said she was happy when Marshall and the brothers of Theta Chi approached the Women’s Center to work on this initiative because Solito has been wanting to get involved with Greek Life for some time, especially involving topics like this one.

Theta Chi is currently working toward being officially established on campus, which will be taking place in the coming weeks, and Tuten said the fraternity has plans to continue to work hard on their Sacred Purpose initiative. “ To continue doing what we’re doing, have good events and programming that engages faculty, student and other Greek life, make connections with organizations inside and outside of Greek life to kind of make the Greek organizations more a part of campus instead of this separate thing that people feel is exclusive and secret,” Tuten said of Theta Chi’s plans for the future.

Women's Center offers options and services for those who experience sexual violence CONTINUED FROM PAGE A-1

The Women's Center is there for women and men who have experienced sexual violence so they can speak to the center about services and options that are available for reporting the incident. The Women's Center maintains confidentiality. The staff will report the nature, time, date, and general location of the incident after consulting with the student that no personal details that could identify the student are shared.

"Sexual assault and rape are a serious public health problem in our society," Solito stated.

"SRU is no exception. However, sexual assault and rape does not look like a scene from Criminal Minds or SVU, and for many students,

that’s what they think of when they think rape. Consequently, when they experience unwanted sexual contact but there is no violence, no weapon, they don’t call it rape."

Most students are aware of sexual assault.

"How one defines sexual assault and rape may differ among people," Solito said. "I often hear people use the term 'regretted sex' in place of rape – the thought being that, in a heterosexual example, the woman later regrets her decision to have sex, and subsequently defines her experience as rape.

This line of thinking is highly problematic.

It implies that [heterosexual] women 'cry rape' or make false accusations against the man they had sex with. This is one of the most widelyspread myths that continue to permeate our

culture." 90 percent of sexual assaults and rapes go unreported. According to Solito, a reason for this may be "there is almost an expectation that women will be 'taken advantage of,' i.e. raped, at some point in her life because 'that's just how it is; in the world of sex and dating. We need to interrupt that thought process and reinforce the fact that all people have the right to agency over their body, and that setting boundaries is part of respecting oneself and one's body."

The number for the Health Center is 724738-2052. The number for Student Counseling Services is 724-738-2034. The number for the Women's Center is 724-738-2992. These are services that will maintain your confidentiality, but there are numerous other services on campus students can access in the case of sexual assault.

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CAMPUS LIFE

April 20, 2018

Rapper Sean Forbes performs, discusses mission of advocacy

By Taylor Akers Rocket Contributor

Students gathered in the Advanced Technology and Science Hall Monday evening to attend a concert and presentation by deaf hip-hop artist Sean Forbes.

Sponsored by the American Sign Language (ASL) Club, Student Government Association (SGA), and President's Commission on Disability Issues, the event was a fun way to bring deaf advocacy, general awareness of disability and its elimination of associated stigmas to life.

Forbes, a popular artist and icon in the deaf community, performed several original songs before discussing his mission as an advocate.

"I wanted to make music accessible to the deaf that the music business had roadblocks against and just didn't understand," said Forbes. "It was really important to me to do something for my community — the deaf community."

Since the 2000s, Forbes has not only presented across the country, but also created DPAN.tv, a deaf accessible sign language media and entertainment channel. Saturated with captioned and correctly-signed music videos, movies and television shows, the channel has become an essential location that has content created and produced correctly by and for the deaf community.

Forbes's performance and mission perfectly aligns with the hosting organizations here on campus.

"There are still some students that still feel like there is a stigma attached to disability but we're finding that through support, accommodations, awareness and the accepting community here on campus, has really helped some students embrace PARIS MALONE/THE ROCKET that and seek those services," said Kim Coffaro, advisor of the ASL Club. "The Rapper and ASL advocate Sean Forbes performs in the Advanced Technology and Science involvement of the club has improved and Hall Monday evening. Forbes was invited by the American Sign Language Club to come to increased and there's a lot more people SRU to speak about his career and his mission of advocacy for the deaf community as a coming to the meetings." member of that community himself.

Founded in 2005, the club not only learns sign and deaf etiquette, but also partakes in a variety of activities including Relay for Life, Sign-A-Thon, Homecoming and Holidays Around the World.

"For Holidays Around the World, we'll all meet in the Student Center, pick two songs, which is usually "Winter Wonderland" and whatever the club votes on, learn them and then do it right in front commuter lounge and sign it out," said ASL Club vice president Katherine Grant. "It helps spread that awareness."

President Rebecca Robles explained the process further saying, "It's just a lot of coming together. We look up the words and figure out how we're going to break [the song] down into sign language and slowly teach it to the club."

According to Grant, the ASL Club has also been looking at the big picture and into the future of the organization.

"We actually started a petition this year for getting sign language brought to classes," Grant said. "That's our overall goal because [sign language] isn't English, it is different and it's really growing. If you look around, there's a lot more interpreters, more programs, and more colleges picking it up."

Indeed, this increasing interest and advocacy of disabilities is apparent here on campus as seen through the success of Sean Forbes's concert.

"There's a lot of disability focused programs here at the University," Coffaro said. "I mean, we have recreational, occupational, adapted physical therapy, special education and all these different programs that were excited to hear about this big event. Everybody was on board and spreading word."

Although, the ASL Club has no future events planned for this semester, it's apparent that the organization will only continue to grow into the next academic year and spread even more awareness across the University.

BAS hosts Black Arts Festival Stoneworth Apartments 724-794-1333

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MEGAN BUSH/THE ROCKET Black Action Society hosted their annual Black Arts Festival Thursday afternoon in the Smith Student Center. The festival featured student art, live music and a caricaturist.

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CAMPUS LIFE

April 20, 2018

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College Dress Relief presents: transition trends for spring

RACHEL SPENCE/COLLEGE DRESS RELIEF Model Makenzie Cavalline 'plays with patterns' for spring, sporting polkadotted pants and a sweater good for both warm and cold weather.

By Rachel Spence Rocket Contributor

Days are getting longer and temperatures are getting higher (well not really), which means a new season for fashion. The calendar says its spring but unfortunately the weather hasn’t got the memo. Our favorite stores and pictures on Instagram are enticing us to want to dress in all things spring and move past, fashion hibernation. With it being 80 one day and 30 the next, how are we supposed to get out of the winter clothing rut? Now is the time to think back to the article I wrote, February: the month of fashion, because it’s time to put what we learned into action. Whether you know it or not, spring fashion week sets the tone for what you’ll be wearing for the next year. Let’s get ahead and jump on the trend train, because it’s time for some Spring-Summer '18 wardrobe plotting.

Since most people don’t live and breathe the runway, I’m here to let you know the hottest trends.

The awkward temperatures between winter and spring can be a struggle, especially when trying to dress appropriately. Is it cold, is it hot?

MAKENZIE CAVALLINE/COLLEGE DRESS RELIEF Model Rachel Spence wears springtime pastels and florals, made popular during this year's Fashion Week and easy to transition into eventual warmer weather.

With spring taking its sweet time to warm up, it can be difficult to fill that fashion gap. There is no chicer way to face April showers than with the fantastic, plastic trend. From jackets to bags, the plastic trend isn’t as bad as it sounds.

There is a way to pull it off without looking like you’ve been shopping in a recycling bin.

For college students, it boasts a few advantages such as plastic is cheap and durable, which translates into affordable pieces that will outlast any conditions. It also cleans very easily and is lightweight making it perfect for warmer weather.

During this transitional time, we want to dress for the upcoming season but with pieces that are wearable for the temperatures. Stay in the spring spirit by changing your color palette.

Pastels, are going to be seen everywhere this SS18, especially in a monochromatic way. Add some lavender, light yellow, or baby blue to your wardrobe and you’ll surely be feeling those spring vibes.

Play with patterns; Polka dots, the classic 90s check, florals and fruit prints (pineapples, cherries and lemons) are an instant wardrobe joy. Patterns are fun and can really flatter anyone

by controlling the flow of the eye. They were so popular during spring fashion week, no prediction is needed; everyone will soon be wearing them.

With it still being chilly out, cargo pants are the perfect transition piece. It’s a trend made for spring, before it’s too hot in the summer but too light to wear in winter. The khaki or green style pant goes perfect with a more fitted top and can be dressed up or down as seen on basically every top model out there.

The last thing you can do to create an unforgettable spring outfit, but still stay warm, is to accessorize. Your entire ensemble can be transformed from winter to spring with these simple accessories. Baker boy hats are back and perfect for rainy spring days. No one will know your hair is a mess and you’ll look undoubtedly stylish. Second is the belt bags or fanny packs. What’s better than a hands-free bag that is connected to you? You’ll never misplace anything again. Third, go out and get yourself a pair of matrix sunglasses. These retro sunglasses are unexpectedly cool and can make any outfit hotter. Last, bring the beach to you with a straw bag that you can carry around all SS18.

SUMA brings people together with week-long celebration

By Kathryn Kinder Rocket Contributor

During the week of April 16-20, the Student Union of Multicultural Affairs (SUMA) held their Unity Week. The week that happens every year consists of different types of events, ranging from fun to more serious in nature.

On Monday the 16, there was "Painting with a Twist" in the Smith Student Center Commuter Lounge. Tuesday the 17, there were two events. The first was "Awareness of Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence" that was near the Starbucks in the Smith Student Center.

The next event later that night was "Bridging the Gap" that took place at the Alumni House. Wednesday, the event held was a "Discussion with Payton Head" in Eisenberg. Thursday consisted of a powderpuff football game that was held at the Intramural Fields. The final event for Unity Week will be held on Friday, a "Cultural Showcase" on the patio outside the Smith Student Center.

"Unity Week is a week dedicated to working with different clubs inside and outside of the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIE)," said SUMA President Jesse Nwabueze-Ogbo. "We aim to show awareness,

and really showcase different activities that’ll bring people together, and for a lack of a better word, Unite."

Josiah Cole, the vice president of SUMA, explained that SUMA’s goal as a club is to bring people and organizations from all kinds of different backgrounds. That means racial, religious, cultural, gender identity and more.

"We want to help them find things in common, and learn to understand each other," Cole said.

Both Nwabueze-Ogbo and Cole said that being in charge of the club is, at times, challenging, but worth it in the end. They agree that having fun and bringing people together makes it that much more worth it to be a part of the club.

SUMA is a unique club on campus because they are a huge part in bringing together the SRU campus and all the different people who make up the campus.

"Everyone has their own comfort zone, which is absolutely normal and expected, but I think once we start getting even a little bit outside of that and into somebody else's world, it can really transform and improve our lives," Cole said on this being the core of SUMA. SUMA is all about bringing the community and campus together, which is such an important goal, especially in the world today.

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April 20, 2018