The Hoya: The Guide: October 8, 2021

PROFILE CBS broadcaster Anthony Mason (CAS ’80) makes a new career move B4

MUSIC Poppy leans into anger and embraces self-acceptance on her new album “Flux” B7

VIDEO GAMES Palmer Hudson (COL ’22) tells how to repel vomit-spewing aliens B8

October 8, 2021

Campus Comedy Reclaims Center Stage Improv and sketch comedy groups hit unmute and reassemble after a year of Zoom

Lucas Balon and Caroline Rareshide Hoya Staff Writer and Special to The Hoya

ILLUSTRATION BY: TIMOTHY GOH/THE HOYA

Live From Georgetown University: It’s Campus Comedy!

This year, members of Georgetown comedy groups can hardly wait to bring down the house for live audiences again as they pursue their passion for Hoya humor.

Lucas Balon and Caroline Rareshide Hoya Staff Writer and Special to The Hoya

An emotional buildup, a musical introduction, an hour or so of laughter, a hazy afterparty: according to Michelle Renslo (COL ’22), the executive producer of the Georgetown Improv Association (GIA), this is the transcendent experience of performing a comedy show at Georgetown University.

“After the improv show, it’s kind of a haze.

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You don’t really remember exactly what happened very well. But every single one is an event,” Renslo said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “There’s so much buildup: We usually have a band play us on, and we usually will have an afterparty where everyone in the audience will come by. There’s a whole leadup, and then a whole release after. I just love the ritual of that performance.”

For over a year, comedians at Georgetown were unable to engage in the exciting build-

COURTESY SHANNON BURKE

Even in the midst of a pandemic, humor-loving Hoyas are finding ways to lighten the mood through a vibrant live comedy scene. Student comedy and improv clubs are loading up the laughs as in-person performances become more accessible.

up and satisfying comedown that Renslo describes. They grappled with performing in the confines of Zoom squares, all the while wishing to take the stage in person. In Renslo’s mind, live comedic performance is irreplaceable.

“It’s definitely something that I’ve been missing throughout the pandemic. I think it’s really unlike anything else, any other form of performance that goes on,” she said.

Now, comedy clubs at Georgetown can

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021

finally feel that rush again. Whether they find it during practice or in performance like Renslo, these comedians are returning to campus with a renewed appreciation of laughter.

More Than a Zoom Reaction

In a virtual setting, comedy clubs found themselves limited. Acting in front of a computer and performing with glitchy audio made online regular practices difficult.

Patrick Cronin (COL ’23), president of Georgetown Sketch Comedy, said he was frustrated with writing, rehearsing and performing comedy in an entirely virtual world. The unprecedented format introduced a number of problems Sketch Comedy never expected to encounter in a live performance, like virtual laughter and WiFi issues.

“Laughter is a big part of comedy, and whether you let the audience broadcast their laughter in the Zoom, or if you have to silence them, or if there’s some idiot that’s talking and has their mic on, it’s hard to get all those little things down,” Cronin said in an interview with The Hoya. “In the virtual world, what separates good performances from bad ones is technological planning.”

In addition to performances in general, competitions between comedy groups were fraught with technical difficulties over Zoom, much to the distress of performers and club leaders. GIA was invited to competitive Zoom shows over the course of last year, but Renslo was unsatisfied with competing virtually.

“It just wasn’t what we were looking for. I think so much of doing improv is the in-person experience and being able to be in the room and have that dynamic, and it’s so physical, that it really does require you to be in the same space as someone,” Renslo said.

However, the virtual environment did not always kill the crowd for comedy groups. According to Shannon Burke (NHS ’22), the executive producer of GUerrilla Improv, over 100 people logged onto a GUerilla performance in March, far more than the group was expecting.

“There are a lot of specific things that we couldn’t do because they involve a lot of movement, for one, and then coordinated, like, speaking at the same time,” Burke said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “So we definitely missed some of those gains, but we really adapted and tried to find forms that would work well.”

Renslo is focusing first and foremost on having GIA meetings in person again. However, Renslo has found that the COVID-19 pandemic still poses issues even back on campus.

“Right now we’re just getting back into regular practice, and we’re planning to have shows following our normal schedule, which is around once a month,” Renslo said.

lighthearted as it may be, the scene is not entirely free from the pressures associated with Georgetown’s club culture. The application process of auditions and callbacks can be competitive and high pressure for new members. Ultimately, the different comedy groups overlap in membership and interests, although their application and audition processes differ.

GUerrilla Improv was born in 2015 from frustrated students who had auditioned multiple times for GIA but were not accepted to the association. GUerrilla promises no applications, auditions or cuts in hopes of extending comedy to everyone who wants to join. Burke said GUerrilla Improv is modeled around inclusivity.

“We believe that comedy can really be taught to anyone. And regardless of your experience coming into Georgetown, we want to give you an opportunity to participate in comedy, if that’s something that you’re interested in,” Burke said.

Renslo appreciates the diverse forms of comedy each club presents and notices ways in which GIA meshes with the other comedy clubs on campus. She sees the comedy community as a small group of people who share common interests and know each other personally.

“There’s a lot of overlap, just in terms of membership. There are a lot of members who cross over and do other things like Sketch Comedy, and generally the comedy scene is pretty small,” Renslo said.

Renslo said there is little to no competition among the clubs, since they each have a specialized form and medium. She also noted that GIA is hoping to be more inclusive this year by hosting a few open practices.

“We do different styles of improv. Georgetown Improv does long form, and GUerrilla does short form. I know a lot of people in GUerrilla and I’ve known a lot of them since freshman year. So there is that social bond,” Renslo said. “We’re also looking to have open practices this year, which is something that is new. It’s good to create avenues for inclusivity wherever you can.”

Learning From the Laughs

Many comics at Georgetown see humor as a means to provide the greater Georgetown community with the opportunity to escape the school’s unique pressures. Burke strives to create a welcoming, fun environment for those who do not engage with comedy on campus regularly.

“For people not specifically involved in the organization but who maybe come to our shows, I hope that it’s a welcoming environment for them and just kind of de-stresser on a weekend, kind of get away from your work and just laugh for a little bit,” Burke said. “All Comical Club Culture of our shows are free, and we strive to make On-campus comedy can often be a ref- comedy as accessible as possible.” uge from campus stressors; however, as Cronin said life at Georgetown can get

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

COURTESY SHANNON BURKE

Improv is about more than just the jokes. Through comedy, students are able to find community and learn to use humor in a productive manner, especially on the heels of a virtual year.

intense with stress culture and general seriousness, and campus comedy allows people to break away from stress culture.

“Georgetown’s a fairly stressful environment and people take themselves very seriously here,” Cronin said. “Comedy breaks that up a little bit and forces people to take a little step back and outside of the prevailing culture of seriousness.”

For Cronin, comedy has been a tool for personal growth. Prior to participating in campus comedy, he struggled to contain his own jokes in social situations; now, he has a way to channel his own hilarity.

“I love making people laugh, but I also wasn’t able to interact seriously in situations where I probably should have been acting seriously. If I’m nervous to do something,

I’d rather make a joke and have everybody laugh, but I’d say Sketch Comedy has provided me with an outlet for my jokes. I love comedy, but now I know when it’s appropriate,” Cronin said.

Dipping her toe in the Georgetown comedy scene has brought Burke new confidence.

She said it’s not just about getting people to laugh, but bonding with her peers.

“I didn’t know that improv was something that I’d be interested in doing, but I decided to give it a try, and now it’s one of the most important things that I do,” Burke said. “It’s really special, and has taught me to be supportive of other people’s needs and wants and appreciative of both the differences that we may have and the things that bring us together.”

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ANTHONY MASON/FACEBOOK

Georgetown University graduate Anthony Mason’s (CAS ’80) career as a journalist reflects a meaningful approach to journalism that recognizes the power of art and music alike.

PROFILE

Georgetown Graduate Innovates News Broadcasting Through Arts Journalism Mason Leath

Hoya Staff Writer

Fresh out of Georgetown University in 1980, Anthony Mason (CAS ’80) left Washington, D.C., with a degree in English and no idea what to do next.

After moving back in with his father after college, Mason found himself working at a news station owned by the broadcasting company Scripps Howard in Memphis, Tenn., where his cousin anchored a show.

Working at the station was a natural fit for Mason, who had come to enjoy writing news pieces for campus publications in the late ’70s, even serving as the features editor of The Voice at one point, he said.

“I loved it, I absolutely loved it. I actually loved it maybe too much because my grades suffered. We, the staffers, were terrible Georgetown students, considering many of us nearly flunked out,” Mason said, talking about his experience in college in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

As he worked his way up in broadcast journalism, Mason served as a CBS news

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correspondent, spending seven years covering international affairs and politics and 15 years covering business. However, when given the opportunity to start covering arts and culture for the channel, Mason took the chance and never looked back.

“Once I started doing stories on musicians and had such a good time doing it, I was like, ‘Well, I want to do more of this.’ The other thing that I realized was that most often the arts, at least on network television at that time, were not covered the way that I wanted to see them covered,” Mason said.

Mason quickly became known for his intimate and illuminating interviews with musicians and other artists like Lorde and Amanda Gorman.

In these sessions, trying to get past routine responses and listening closely to dig into topics that have remained previously unexplored are essential to his interview style, Mason said.

“Sometimes people drop little things in the course of an interview or a conversation that are hints about something deeper or larger,” Mason said. “You have to be listening to kick

open that door, and sometimes if you open that door, it will lead to a whole series of other doors that you did not know even existed.

And that’s the most satisfying part.”

In his journalism, Mason has been particularly fascinated with the experience behind the art, directing many of his interviews to understand artists’ creative processes. “I love the creative process because it often comes out of something that was tragic or sad. Sometimes it comes out of just pure happiness, but it is often taking something that has been a real challenge in life and turning it into something beautiful,” Mason said. “That whole transformational process is really interesting to me.”

The culmination of artists’ creativity is most noticeable at concerts, according to Mason, and so covering live shows has been one of the highlights of his career. Mason said he seeks out moments from shows that transport the audience to a different place, beyond the song the artist is playing.

“Occasionally, you get these — what I call ‘transcendent moments,’ when something just seems to happen in the room, and you

feel like you are lifted above life itself. There is some pure truth in the music that just takes your mind to a completely different place. Those are worth everything to me, and you wake up in the morning thinking, ‘Maybe if I can just have one of those — I will be okay,’” he said.

Starting fully this fall, Mason will accept a new position with CBS, covering arts and culture for a wide variety of news programs with the company. In this new role, Mason will be more active in reporting stories, particularly focusing on the storytelling aspect of music and culture pieces for the organization.

Like his new stories will illustrate, the influence of arts and music in society is incomputable, bolstered by media that seeks to understand this intersection between expression and society. True arts journalism is so changeable and powerful because, as Mason reminds us, the memories attached to the music are the most important part.

“It is very often that people talk about the soundtrack of their lives because music is so freighted with all kinds of memories that we personally attach to it,” he stated.

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021

‘SURVIVOR’ SURVIVAL GUIDE

Fresh Editing, Mechanics Cement New Era of ‘Survivor’ Ali Unal

Columnist

When host Jeff Probst said to “drop the four and keep the one” about season 41 of “Survivor,” he was not joking. While the show has largely retained its traditional format, its latest season has taken a new approach in both the editing room and in introducing new twists into the game — all of which are much-welcomed upgrades to the show.

The new editing style of “Survivor” immediately became visible during the premiere when, less than an hour into the episode, the show profiled the backgrounds of the entire cast, a stark change from the premieres of earlier seasons. Previously, opening episodes only did backstories on the central players of the game, but in “Survivor 41,” we got personal content showcasing footage of all the

contestants’ lives back home.

These segments explaining the stories and hardships of the competitors added muchneeded depth to the cast and their motivations for being on “Survivor.” For example, one of the first profiled contestants during the premiere was Sara Wilson, who applied to the show after losing her grandmother to COVID-19. Wilson was eliminated first from the season, but her voteoff was all the more gut-wrenching because the audience knew she wanted to be on the show to feel close to her late grandmother.

I feel as though these personal introductions are a crucial change to the show, and they really help pull the audience into the lives of the contestants, instantly forming more personal connections with the three tribes of the season.

For instance, the viewers got to learn about Genie Chen’s relationship with her family, as she was nervous to talk to them about her sexuality, even though they fully accepted her upon coming out to them. Tiffany Seely’s clip also highlighted the emotional cycle she underwent throughout

NEW RELEASES

the casting process, as she went from an alternate player to an official cast member only hours before flying out to compete in Fiji. Seely also discussed her mother’s battle with breast cancer and her experience undergoing a preemptive double mastectomy to prevent the same form of breast cancer from becoming a serious risk to her health.

In terms of gameplay, one change I thoroughly enjoyed was the introduction of new twists, like the “Shot in the Dark”and the prisoner’s dilemma.

The “Shot in the Dark” allows any competitor to give up their vote during Tribal Council for a one in six shot in safety during the vote-off process, and I believe this new mechanic will promote many more blindsides because it creates the possibility of safety for every tribe member. I also enjoyed the prisoner’s dilemma summit, where members of different tribes come together every episode to compete in the prisoner’s dilemma to earn or lose votes. It is really interesting to see the formation of cross-tribal alliances, what choices the contestants make during the prisoner’s dilemma and how, or if, they explain their decisions to the tribe.

By Haley Resnick

KALI UCHIS & SZA

@KALIUCHIS/TWITTER

I am also very intrigued by another twist this season regarding hidden immunity idols, which typically grant the user safety from being voted off during Tribal Council. In “Survivor 41,” idols are only valid once they are found across all three tribes, and all the holders say certain secret phrases at challenges to activate them. Moving forward, I am curious to see if contestants will be much more analytical of the dialogue during challenges and other parts of the game.

By the end of these refreshed first episodes, it seems to me that the frontrunners are Ricard Foyé, Evvie Jagoda, Tiffany Seely and Shantel Smith because of their strong social and tactical games.

However, I do think we have some potential dark horse winners in Liana Wallace or Naseer Muttalif due to their under-the-radar strategic games.

If these first two episodes of the season are any indication of the surprises in store for “Survivor” fans this fall, the show is sure to employ more twists and turns for the castaways this season that could potentially cause some chaos for these perceived frontrunners.

GRACIE ABRAMS

‘FUE MAJOR’

‘FEELS LIKE’

Kali Uchis’ latest single, “fue mejor,” is coming off her two successful albums, released in 2018 and 2020. The song, primarily sung in Spanish, has an intriguing sound, and SZA’s vocals further add an eerie element to the striking track, making it definitely worth a listen this week.

As Gracie Abrams grows her stylized Instagram presence, her newest single “Feels Like” leaves one questioning if she is more than just a social media aesthetic. Her gentle voice adds nothing to the soft backdrop of the track, leaving listeners disappointed and waiting for a rhythmic change in the song that never comes.

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@GRACIEABRAMS/TWITTER

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BRANDI CARLILE

KANE BROWN & H.E.R.

‘BLESSED & FREE’

‘BROKEN HORSES’

Although country singer Kane Brown and R&B singer H.E.R. may seem like an unusual pairing, their recent duet “Blessed & Free” proves the combination of country and R&B should be tried more often. Both artists offer impressive vocals on the track matched with a rhythmic beat that may find you adding more country to your playlist.

If you are not familiar with Brandi Carlile yet, just wait. “Broken Horses” comes off her seventh studio album, “In These Silent Days,” and her powerful vocals, combined with the rockinfused beat will make you quickly understand why she is a six-time Grammy award winner — with more awards surely to come.

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 KANE BROWN/FACEBOOK

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

BRANDI CARLILE/FACEBOOK

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MUSIC

Rock Band Weathers Welcomes DMV Into ‘Poser Family’ at Jammin Java ‘Pillows and Therapy’ ­— Weathers

 Maddie Gaeta

Special to The Hoya

Los Angeles-based rock band Weathers is taking the alternative indie world by storm since they have kicked off their first nationwide tour.

The band officially formed in October 2015, taking its sonic inspiration from groups including The Killers and the 1975. With both piercing lyrical depth and energetic beats that walk a fine line between the alternative and pop genres, Weathers have distinguished themselves from many other up-and-coming alt bands. Alongside guitarist Cameron Olsen, bassist Brennen Bates and drummer Cole Carson, lead vocalist Cameron Boyer took the stage at Jammin Java in Vienna, Va. where they rocked out to fan-favorite headbangers.

Weathers released their second album, “Pillows and Therapy,” this past summer, inspiring their “Our Little Secret” tour, which brought them to Jammin Java this past Saturday. “Pillows and Therapy” takes on themes like mental health in a poignant way, according to Boyer.

“Taking mental health a step further, and

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instead of just bringing awareness and talking about it, we wanted to talk about taking steps to get better and wanting to get better,” Boyer said in an interview with The Hoya.

Aaron Taos, an alternative musician in the same vein as Weathers, opened for the band with some recently released songs, including a slow ballad called “Closure” and two other numbers with strong beats, “Control” and “Loneliness.” Taos’ lively energy prepared the crowd for Weathers to take the stage soon after his set.

Weathers opened their Northern Virginia concert with “Hello,” an electrifying song that got the whole audience dancing. “Hello” is Boyer’s personal favorite of his tracks, he said.

“The lyrics are really dark but the song is just so fun,” Boyer said.

All eyes were on Boyer when he took the microphone, and he dazzled the audience with a burgundy suit and black bandana across his forehead.

After playing two more songs, the band began experiencing technical difficulties because of issues with Jammin Java’s sound system, but this inconvenience did not slow

MADDIE GAETA/THE HOYA

Weathers performed an electric repertoire of dance-worthy alternative tracks at their Jammin Java concert last Saturday. . down Weathers’ momentum, as they proceeded to play four songs from their repertoire while the sound system issue was being investigated. These tracks were not included on the preplanned setlist, but were fan-favorites among the audience anyway. The spontaneous songs included the band’s breakout 2016 singles “I Don’t Wanna Know,” “Dirty Money” and “Secret’s Safe with Me,” which had the crowd all swaying together.

As Jammin Java’s sub-bass speakers glitched, Weathers improvised amid the technical difficulties and continued on with their setlist without the sub-bass speakers. Weathers followed up “Secret’s Safe with Me” with an unreleased song, “One of a Kind,” which aims to break the negative stigma associated with talking about mental health.

“One of a Kind” tells the story of someone realizing that it is time for them to seek help to improve their emotional well being, with lyrics like “What’s going on, I’m over my head, at the end of the rope,” and “I think that somewhere, out there, there’s a happy version of me / Somewhere, out there there’s an invitation for me.”

In addition to “Hello,” another highlight of the concert was the performance of “Rehab,” which is another one of Boyer’s favorites because of its smooth sound. The band then proceeded to play each band member’s favorite track: “Karma,” Olsen’s favorite song, “Talking is Hard,” Bates’ favorite and “Strange Dayz,” which was Carson’s personal favorite.

Weathers’ performance at Jammin Java on Saturday exhibited their close connection with their fans, as Boyer yelled to the audience, “welcome to the poser family!”

The term ‘poser,’ which Weathers applies to their fans, comes from their popular song “Poser,” which is about living life to the fullest even when things inevitably go awry. The audience knew the song by heart, singing in unison with the band while they played.

The band wrapped up the concert with their single “I’m Not Ok,” performing with the same animation and liveliness that they brought to the stage when they opened with “Hello.”

Weathers is rapidly ascending in the music field, greatly aided by their “Our Little Secret” tour, which is helping their fan base grow more and more with each stop.

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021

POPPY/FACEBOOK

Rather than dwelling on her past, singer Poppy celebrates her evolution into a new era of reflection in her album “Flux.” The former YouTube enigma has officially split from her old producers, liberating her creative style.

MUSIC

Poppy Takes Her Sound Into Her Own Hands, Channels Anger With ‘Flux’ ‘Flux’ — Poppy

 Sofia Wills

Hoya Staff Writer

In her newest album, “Flux,” singer-songwriter Poppy (Moriah Pereira) attempts to reconcile the manufactured internet persona of her past with her current state of self-actualization, using tracks that critique societal norms by gazing inward.

Since leaving her old label, Mad Decent, in July 2019, Poppy has slowly departed from her Poppy.Computer era, which was characterized by bizarre Youtube videos and funky pop tracks. Specifically in her last Poppy.Computer era album entitled “I Disagree,” Poppy relied on a hardcore rock-metal sound to express her frustration over not having any creative control over her early career.

Mad Decent and Poppy’s ex-producer Titanic Sinclair infamously controlled Poppy’s previous production style, and tracks from “I Disagree” like “BLOODMONEY” and “Sit / Stay” unapologetically exhibit her anger toward her former label and Sinclair, as they both pushed Poppy into highly manicured roles from the beginning of her career.

While “I Disagree” centers around Poppy’s anger toward Mad Decent and her old producer, “Flux” describes what came after in Poppy’s life. In “Flux,” Poppy is in limbo, reflecting on her past and picking up the pieces of her life after separation from Mad Decent.

The title track starts off the album with a minute-long intro filled with cryptic radio warbles and electric guitar. After the first 45 seconds, drums kick in, followed by increasing-

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

ly high-pitched synths that introduce Poppy’s voice. Her vocals are light and airy, contrasting with the song’s crunchy base.

In the track, Poppy sings about being objectified in her search for 2016 Internet fame. She belts out the lyrics “Cause I’ve been through it all / Chewed up and used” and “You gotta flux and flow, flow, flow / I won’t fear what I don’t know.” Poppy embraces the artistic limbo of the song, reflecting on her past and facing the unknown bravely. Although the instrumentals in the song often overpower Poppy’s voice, it effectively opens the album’s theme of punk-rock reflection.

Focusing on her intentionally edgy Poppy.

Computer persona in the second track off of “Flux,” “Lessen The Damage,” Poppy deconstructs her previous identity, attempting to

reckon with her lack of creative autonomy.

Compared to the dynamic instrumentals of the title track, however, “Lessen The Damage” fails to captivate listeners with its slower beat.

Reminiscent of early 2000s Paramore and Avril Lavigne, Poppy’s vocals throughout the album alternate between low, throaty grunge and her characteristic light head voice, perfectly complementing the catchy guitar chords present on most of the tracks on “Flux.”

“So Mean” is an immediate album standout in showcasing this dichotomy of Poppy’s voice, capturing both her low bass range and her piercing high notes. On this track, Poppy taps into the album’s central pop-punk sound and messaging, asserting her newfound self-respect lyrically and sonically. She also uses this song to comment on how women are often praised for following orders in the music industry, but as soon as they express differing opinions, they are labeled as bitchy or mean.

Unfortunately, the latter songs on “Flux” are somewhat underwhelming compared to Poppy’s tracks earlier in her career, with a lack of sonic dynamism and repetitive lyrical messaging, exemplified by the songs “Her” and “Bloom.” “Her” is thematically identical to “Lessen The Damage,” and “Bloom” tries to embody the same ambiance as early 2000s alternative rock hits like “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse but fails to be nearly as dynamic as the earlier rock anthem.

In the album’s final tracks, Poppy radically accepts her current self, and she describes no longer needing to chase after external validation. Poppy sings, “Take what’s mine and get my space / ’Cause I know that I will be fine / If I never find my place” in “Never Find My Place.”As the final songs progress, acoustic guitar and soft synths turn into electric guitar and drumming bases where Poppy leaves the last of her anger behind, moving forward into accepting both her Poppy.Computer era and her personal identity, Moriah Pereira.

Despite some of its underwhelming tracks, “Flux” is a long-awaited window into the person behind the viral Poppy sensation of 2016.

Poppy successfully explores her transitional period from her internet personality to a new identity as a pop-rock songstress, making both new listeners and old fans excited for her future projects.

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CONSOLE COMMENTARY

The 2004 OSL StarCraft Tournament and the Rise of the Bunker Rush When it comes to displays of skill in competitive video games, no genre has more exciting moments of genius strategic play than real-time strategy games.

Referred to colloquially as RTS games, these games are complex and challenging because they require calculated forethought and technical skill to realize tactical goals involved in overcoming opponents. “StarCraft” is a prime example of an RTS game that took the world, and especially South Korea, by storm after its release in 1998.

The premise of “StarCraft” is relatively simple: Each player chooses one of three tribes and builds one primary structure they call “home.” From this structure, the user commands workers to gather resources from the area while expanding their territory through additional construction. The player

WHAT TO DO IN DC

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“WE ARE ALL CONNECTED” ART OPENING FESTIVAL Kennedy Center

Celebrate your inner child by participating in the creation of an abstract public artwork this Saturday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This event is a great chance to meet artist Mo Willems and enjoy live music and food trucks.

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PUMPKIN PICKING

Butler’s Orchard

What better way to celebrate fall than by picking out the perfect pumpkin to decorate your dorm? Luckily, there are many great pumpkin patches less than an hour away from D.C., including Butler’s Orchard. Come for the pumpkins and stay for the corn maze and fallthemed foodstuffs!

YellOw was starting to set up a rush of his own, BoxeR was already knocking on his doorstep.

BoxeR trained several marines as quickly as he could from the barracks he had built near YellOw’s base, sending them immediately into the Zerg bunkers. Commanding the marines to focus on individual enemies until the bunker was nearly destroyed, he quickly shuffled each marine out of one bunker and onto the next.

In just a few minutes, BoxeR had won the first match, before quickly proceeding to take the next two matches in similar fashion and taking the set in fewer than 30 minutes. Even though BoxeR went on to lose in the finals, his “bunker rush” strategy went on to become an infamous move still widely used in “StarCraft” today.

“StarCraft” is an incredibly difficult game to play because both macro play and micro play are so important. Conceptualizing deep strategies while having the technical proficiency to execute them is the fundamental challenge of “StarCraft,” and BoxeR inspired “StarCraft” fans to hone their technical skills for new intense strategies through use of his “bunker rush” strategy. By showing mastery of both macro and micro play, BoxeR quickly canonized himself in the “StarCraft” community.

By Maeve Silk

KENNNEDY CENTER

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BUTLER’S ORCHARD

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were prepared for a back and forth bloodbath between the players and their tribes.

BoxeR’s strategy during the semifinals of the 2004 OSL “StarCraft” tournament displayed his immense proficiency in the micro skill set of the game. Skill expression in “StarCraft” is split into two primary categories — general tactical skill known as macro play and precise technical play known as micro play. To take proper advantage of his new strategy, BoxeR had to perfect his micro play, performing hundreds of actions per minute in order to command his units perfectly.

While YellOw initially dominated with the Zerg Rush strategy, BoxeR endeavored to outrush the Zerg using his Terran tribe, a group of high-tech humans with marine gunmen and heavy machinery. One of the tribe’s structures is a bunker that can be filled with marines who can shoot out of the fortress but cannot be hit by enemies. However, if the bunker is destroyed, all the marines inside go with it.

BoxeR pioneered a strategy where he sent several workers at the very start of the game toward YellOw’s territory to start producing troops. BoxeR then slowly built a trail of bunkers near YellOw’s starting structure so that just as

“MAKE GOOD THE PROMISES”

O MUSEUM IN THE MANSION HALLOWEEN HUNT

The Mansion on O Street

Embrace the spookiness of the season with a visit to the O Museum in the Mansion for its annual Halloween Hunt. Travel through the historic house’s themed rooms and secret doors as you search for prizes and secrets. Tickets can be purchased online.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Be sure to visit the National Museum of African American History & Culture’s latest exhibit, “Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies.” Opened just last month, the exhibit examines the history of the Reconstruction period and its legacy in American life.

OMANSION

Columnist

can then upgrade attributes of their workers and produce different kinds of fighting units like soldiers, tanks or even exploding aliens. The ultimate goal of “StarCraft” is to destroy your opponents’ structures while they attempt to bring the same fate to yours.

Early in the game’s history, the phrase “Zerg Rush” was popularized to refer to a strategy in which the Zerg tribe, a bizarre group of vomit-spewing aliens, would quickly allot all of their resources to produce cheap fighting units, overwhelming the opponent.

The effectiveness of this strategy saw players try countless methods to defeat it across the competitive “StarCraft” scene.

Within this competitive side of “StarCraft,” many new strategies have emerged during intense tournament matches. Playing in the semifinals of the 2004 Ongamenet Starleague (OSL) “StarCraft” tournament in South Korea, one notable player named BoxeR (Lim Yo-hwan) came up against his long-time friend and rival, YellOw (Hong Jin-ho). BoxeR typically played using the Terran tribe, while YellOw was not only famous for playing Zerg but also for using the Zerg Rush strategy. Their matchup was one of the most anticipated of the tournament, and all eyes

NMAACHC

Palmer Hudson

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021