September 7, 2018

THE APPALACHIAN Sept. 7, 2018

FOOD SERVICES IMPLEMENTS COMPOSTABLE CUPS PAGE 3

PSYCHIC KIM KNOWS ALL AND TELLS ALL PAGE 13

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH FOR GROCERIES? PAGE 16

News

Sept. 7, 2018

SGA PRESIDENT MILBOURNE AIMS TO EMPOWER SENATE, INCREASE INVOLVEMENT

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hen DeJon Milbourne, SGA president, takes a seat at the first Senate meeting for the Student Government Association on Sept.

11, it will be a weird feeling for him. After working hard as a senator for two years, Milbourne will have to step aside and watch instead.

“I was talking to Lee Franklin, one of our cabinet members, and I was like ‘man have you thought about the fact that we’re going to sit on the side of the room and watch them do what we love?’” Milbourne said.

“It’s going to be a little weird cause I’m so used to being on the front lines.”

The Student Government Association will have their first Senate meeting on Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in Linville Falls in the Plemmons Student Union.

Milbourne is still on the front lines, but must take the reins as president this year.

Moss Brennan│@mosbren│News Editor

While the Sept. 11 meeting may be the first Senate meeting of the year, the work has already started for Milbourne and his cabinet.

“My days are crazy,” Milbourne said. “We’ve had tons of meetings but I guess that’s the first big open forum.”

Connor Hughes, junior political science major and director of legislative operations, said that Milbourne is one of the busiest people he knows.

Along with being president, Milbourne is also majoring in finance and banking, risk management and insurance, accounting, and economics. He is taking 18 credit hours this semester, the maximum amount allowed.

Milbourne’s office had stacks of boxes that he has been meaning to move into his dorm but because he has been so busy he hasn’t had the time.

One of the reasons Milbourne has been so busy is because of the

DeJon Milbourne, SGA president. // Photo by Moss Brennan

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1. Lee Franklin, junior political science major and director of external affairs, sits at a desk in the SGA office. Franklin is looking forward to working with the Senate this year after being a senator for two years. 2. Connor Hughes, junior political science major and director of legislative operations, knows that the Senate is where the student’s voice is most empowered. Hughes is really excited to work with this year’s Senate and thinks it will be really strong. // Photos by Moss Brennan initiatives he wants to take on this year, including mental health.

“I’ve struggled with mental health before so I can kind of identify,” Milbourne said. “My sister actually, she has too, so it’s kind of like those are things that I value because I see my journey and I see where I’m able to be now as opposed to where I was.”

Milbourne idea’s for promoting mental health are to remove the stigma and advertise the resources that App State has by working with the wellness center.

Milbourne’s unique goals include getting minority students in better leadership positions and creating a pop-up shop that offers free professional business attire to students.

Keeping the Senate engaged is key to Milbourne.

“You don’t have to be president to make a huge impact on campus and to be known for it if that’s what you like to do,”

Milbourne said. “So empowering our Senate and making sure that they feel that they are apart of something special.”

The Senate is where the student voice is empowered, which is something that Milbourne is a big believer in and wants to empower that student voice.

“At the end of the day, the student voice, if you think about it from a numerical standpoint, more people voted to create that Senate than the president and vice president just from a representational standpoint,” Hughes said.

Milbourne said he thinks that the Senate is going to be really strong this year and is looking forward to giving them his support.

“I know that they’re going to kill it,” Milbourne said. “I have no doubts in my mind that we’ll probably have one of the best Senates ever.”

Milbourne will support the

Senate by making sure they have name tags, feel they are valued and know that Milbourne and his staff appreciate them.

Lee Franklin, junior political science major and director of external affairs, said he thinks that the Senate is going to be an effective one this year.

“I think what we’re going to have is a Senate that is extremely independent and willing to step up to the plate when it comes to leadership and being involved on our campus, more than past Senates have been,” Franklin said.

When it comes to what Milbourne wants people to know about SGA, he said he feels it is important for them to know the office is always open.

“You can always come by and always get involved and even if you don’t want to necessarily be involved in SGA, come by here anyway and we can point you to the right people if you tell us what you want,” Milbourne said.

News

Sept. 7, 2018

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COMPOSTABLE CUPS AND STRAWS SUBSTITUTED IN DINING HALLS

lastic straws and cups are harmful for the environment, and starting this semester, App State Food Services has made the transition to compostabel options at their on-campus dining locations.

Those facts are the reasons that dining facilities that are operated by food services on campus have changed the types of cups and straws that they use.

In spring 2018 school year, Food Services teamed up with the Office of Sustainability to sponsor a documentary called “Straws,”

by Linda Booker. The film placed campaigns throughout the country that support more environmentally friendly substitutes, such as only receiving straws by request or using compostable straws, in the spotlight. There was also a discussion after the viewing of the film with the director.

“During that discussion, students seemed very enthused at the idea that this is a switch that we could make,” Stephanie Lee, communications speacilist for Food Services, said. “We started this off last semester by putting up signs where you could get a straw.”

The signs read such as, “Do you need this straw?” and would list facts about using plastic straws to encourage the reduction of straws being used.

This past summer, Food Services and the Office of Sustainability asked their supplier about getting paper straws.

Now there are paper straws by request but there are still plastic options for drinks such as milkshakes and smoothies, Lee said.

“We want to empower the university with the Zero Waste mission,” Lee said. “It is also part of our mission as a department to work towards a more sustainable operation in ways that make sense for our customers and business.

That’s why we have it by request.”

While paper is not the perfect solution, it has less environmental

Anna Dollar│@anna_carrr│News Reporter impact than plastic.

“Plastic straws are made from petroleum products. A paper option can be composted if you are collecting them properly,” Jennifer Maxwell, sustainability program manager, said.

The cups this year, from a partnership with Pepsi, are also better for the environment because they are compostable. Last year,

cups that had the “Appalachian” logo on them were not compostable due to a plastic coating that prevented them to break down in the composting facility on campus, Lee said.

In order for these new cups to be composted properly, people should not recycle or throw them away, Maxwell said.

“You should leave them on

the tray and they will be collected for composting in the back of the house,” Maxwell said. “Eventually, we will offer some public collection for composting.”

Also, when objects are not properly recycled, most of the time they are thrown away and sent to landfills, Maxwell said. Unless there is a special type of recycling center nearby, single use objects,

such as a plastic straw, cannot be recycled because it is too small.

If people are ever confused about what to do with their trash, there are graphs located above the trash cans and recycling bins in the dining halls on campus. They are there to make sure everything is being disposed of properly to help Appalachian achieve Zero Waste, resulting in a healthier planet.

The new cups and straws signal initiatives to make App State more sustainable. // Photo by Lynette Files

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News

Sept. 7, 2018

FORMER POLICE CADETS REFLECT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING

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n May 14, students at App State with the hopes of becoming police officers started basic law enforcement training. On Aug. 25, they became sworn-in officers for the campus police department.

These students now work security at the Appalachian Panhellenic Hall and the new health sciences building, Bryce Helms, one of the student officers and senior criminal justice major, said.

“I originally came in a nursing major, but things changed for me my freshman year,” Helms said. “I got a speeding ticket and when I went through the criminal justice

Anna Muckenfuss│@noel1122│News Reporter system, I was just fascinated by it and how it worked, and so I decided criminal justice was what I wanted to do instead.”

At first, Helms said she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with her new major, but as the years went on, and she learned about the opportunity to become a police officer, she became more confident.

“It was just something that I had to do. I couldn’t turn it down,” Helms said.

Joshua Warren, a senior criminal justice major and one of Helms’ classmates, said that he has always wanted a career in law enforcement.

“I’d like to work in behavioral analysis, but I’m still a little on the fence about precisely what I want to do,” Warren said.

Over the summer, Helms and Warren both participated in basic law enforcement training.

The mission of the program was to develop new leaders of law enforcement, Warren said.

“My favorite technique to learn was law enforcement driving,” Warren said. “My least favorite to learn about was civil process; how to serve papers.”

Helms said that students would have class for the program six days a week, and physical training at 6 a.m. every day.

“It was a lot of late nights, early mornings, and it was really exhausting,” Helms said. “You had to be able to fight through it until the end because it was a crazy schedule. It was a huge commitment. No vacations. You had to be strong-willed, not just physically, but mentally as well.”

Warren said he looks forward to his future as a police officer and to the challenges it will bring.

“It’s not an easy career,” Warren said. “But it’s a necessary one. You have to want it. It’s not something you can do part way.

You have to jump in with both feet and be ready to run.”

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Rachel Greenland│@rach_greenland│News Reporter of change, but so few results?”

Williams asked the audience.

Williams has a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and management from the University of Michigan and founded the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The talk was one part of the three-day tour at App State. During the tour, Williams also talked to deans, associate deans, department chairs, assistant chairs, faculty and staff.

“We went out and we launched a national Inclusive Excellence Tour, and as we were moving around the country and engaging in residency moments, like the one that I’m having here at your great institution,” Williams said. “We were trying to help leaders and trying to spark innovation, trying to help folks level up in different types of ways.”

He said that the leaders of these universities were feeling a certain way because hate and disunity in our country is growing.

“The inclusive excellence model emerged in the wake of the Supreme Court decisions of Michigan that the Ford Foundation had funded a major national project to say, ‘how do we catalyze a broader system and conversation of change?’” Williams said. “And, in light of that, we were talking about a comprehensive organizational change effort and how do we start creating a more fundamental approach to change in the culture of our institutions.”

This required thinking about change in terms of the people it affects. The four dimensions of the model are: access and equity, preparing students for a diverse and global world, research and scholarship that takes place amongst faculty and scholarly community and

SEPT. 3

11:49 P.M. | MARIJUANA USAGE Bowie Hall

Student Referral

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1:30 A.M. | SIMPLE PHYSICAL ASSAULT Beasley Media Center Further Investigation

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1 A.M. | UNDERAGE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL Hoey Hall

Student Referral

DAMON A. WILLIAMS’ INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE TOUR COMES TO APP STATE he three-day residency for the Inclusive Excellence Tour at App State began Aug. 27 with a TED Talkstyle address at the Schaefer Center that addressed diversity, equity, inclusion and change.

“Innovators share in common several key qualities across sectors,” Damon Williams, the leader of the Inclusive Excellence Tour, said.

These characteristics are questioning their work, finding solutions across boundaries, engaging others, testing new ideas, taking ideas to scale and leading with courage, Williams said.

Williams addressed how issues of diversity are approached in a manner that results in a cycle, yet innovators don’t allow the “rate limiting factor” that Williams described as a lack of courage to keep them from sparking change.

“Why is there so much talk

CRIME LOG

a climate of inclusion, Williams said.

“We can apply this to our campus by continuing to provide opportunities that ‘increase our awareness and knowledge of diversity from an inclusive excellence framework,’” the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Leroy Wright, said in response to Williams’ presentation. “We need to continue affirming identities and building communities across all identities.”

Many students in the audience were fond of an analogy Williams made about institutional action that he referenced from his book, “Strategic Diversity Leadership.”

He challenged institutions to act like wolves and be collaborative, collective and prepared, rather than like a cheetah and being crisis-driven.

The tour concluded on Aug. 29 with two talks to faculty and staff in the Plemmons Student Union.

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2:48 A.M. | DISORDERLY CONDUCT Hardin Street at Founders Plaza Student Referral

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2:39 A.M. | INFORMATION

Holmes Convocation Center None

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9:50 P.M. | MEDICAL New Dining Hall

Information Report

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1:40 P.M. | CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO PROPERTY Outside Newland Hall

Closed, Leads Exhausted

News

Sept. 7, 2018

UNITED STUDENTS AGAINST SWEATSHOPS SUCCEEDS WITH ALTA GRACIA CAMPAIGN Nora Smith│@noraagracee│Editor-in-Chief

Marketing materials hang from the neck of a mannequin wearing an Alta Gracia sweatshirt. Alta Gracia is a Dominican Republic-based company associated with United Students Against Sweatshops that produces clothing for universities. All workers of the company are paid a living wage. // Photo by Nora Smith

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n February, 25 students and faculty members associated with United Students Against Sweatshops walked a letter to Chancellor Sheri Everts’ office.

Now, a living-wage clothing brand, Alta Gracia, is available in the University Bookstore after collaboration between USAS and the Office of Sustainability.

Alta Gracia is a clothing brand formed in the Dominican Republic in 2010 that produces clothing for universities, according to Alta Gracia. Alta Gracia is affiliated with USAS and Mackenzie Morgan, senior anthropology major and USAS organizer, met workers and learned about the company at the national USAS conference in November 2017.

“We knew about it and we knew other universities had it,”

Morgan said. “We knew we wanted it here.”

Soon after the February letterdrop at the Chancellor’s office, USAS met with John Eckman, director of auxiliary services, and an Alta Gracia buyer to select products to be sold in the bookstore.

The Alta Gracia campaign is not the first action USAS has taken to promote social sustainability at App State. In 2015, USAS campaigned for App State to affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium, a company that conducts investigations and defends workers’ rights, according to Worker Rights Consortium. In 2016-2017, USAS campaigned for the university to break their contract with Nike.

“This campaign wasn’t as

much of an uphill battle because it wasn’t us asking to cut a contract because workers are being exploited,” Morgan said.

“It was positive. It was us saying that we wanted to support this brand because they’re doing the right thing and they are a good company.”

The Office of Sustainability also worked with USAS to sell Alta Gracia products in the bookstore.

The office supports student ideas about sustainability on App State’s campus, and recognizes social justice as an important part of sustainability, Lee Ball, chief officer of sustainability, said.

“Sustainability in all its forms needs to be a reciprocal, winwin relationship,” Ball said. “If we’re carrying a product that has demonstrated providing a living wage throughout the supply chain, then we’ve succeeded.”

The Office of Sustainability is a place for students to communicate their ideas about sustainability on App State’s campus before reaching out to administrators, Ball said.

“Alta Gracia aligns with our values and demonstrates that we care,” Ball said. “Despite what some people think, we really do care. We try to make the right decisions, but when you’re working with a really large state entity, change can sometimes be a very time-consuming endeavor.”

The Alta Gracia products in the bookstore fill two shelves and one rack. There are male, female and unisex styles of clothing. Articles of clothing vary from T-shirts to sweatpants and were purposely selected across price points, Trixie Wilkie, visual merchandising and marketing director for the bookstore, said.

“We are trying to do everything right and to see if students are interested,” Wilkie said. “We all want to make moral choices but sometimes the pocketbook has to weigh in. The nice thing is that

students get to speak through their purchases, and the money they spend here, stays here.”

App State’s bookstore is independent and profits from the bookstore go toward funding student scholarships. This means that the bookstore is able to take product suggestions from student groups and provide products that will specifically benefit students, faculty and family members, Wilkie said.

“The student population is interested in sustainable products, and one of our goals is to meet the students’ needs,” Wilkie said.

“The presence of Alta Gracia also educates students and exposes them to ideas that they might not have been aware of.”

The bookstore also stocks other sustainable products, like reusable straws and utensils, which have sold out and been reordered in the past month. Another new addition to the bookstore this year are Cotton of the Carolinas T-shirts

from TS Designs, a company based in Burlington. Each part of creating the T-shirts-from growing the cotton to printing water-based ink designs-happens in North Carolina, according to TS Designs.

After the success of their Alta Gracia campaign, this year will be the first year in three years that USAS has not had a year-long campaign.

“I think this year is just going to be more about raising awareness in general about the garment industry,” Morgan said. “We’re going to try to get people thinking about where their clothes come from.”

Alta Gracia is the only student-ignited product available in the University Bookstore, but the store is always open to App State community members’ requests, Wilkie said. Students can make requests for products on the bookstore’s website, www. bookstore.appstate.edu.

Alta Gracia T-shirts and sweatshirts are now available on the second floor of the University Bookstore. // Photo by Nora Smith

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News

Sept. 7, 2018

FOOTBALL FALLS TO PENN STATE Brooks Maynard│@BrooksMaynard│Sports Editor

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The team huddles in prayer on the field after their loss to Penn State on Saturday. // Photo by Moss Brennan ess than 2,000 seats were empty inside Beaver Stadium in Pennsylvania when the App State football team marched in to have a meeting with Big Ten opponent, the Penn State Nittany Lions.

While the Mountaineers kept things close, they weren’t able to pull out the victory, taking a 45-38 overtime loss. This is the second time in three years that App State has fallen in overtime in their season opener against a top ten opponent.

“It’s tough for us. This team has been there, (we were at) Tennessee two years ago, took them to overtime, lost in overtime again, a very similar type situation. It’s hard, it is extremely difficult for our team,” head coach Scott Satterfield said.

Penn State got things going early with quarterback Trace McSorley leading a quick drive down the field that ended with him rushing the ball 12 yards for

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a touchdown. The Mountaineers took it from there for the rest of the first quarter with redshirt running back and wide receiver Darrynton Evans returning Penn State’s kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Due to redshirting last season, this is Evans’ second straight appearance with a kickoff returned for a touchdown.

“That kickoff return, it was pretty big, especially coming off not playing last year,” Evans said. “I really just fielded the kick and then started running. I saw the hole and I was like ‘You gotta be kidding me.’ I just hit it from there.”

Shortly after tying the game on Evans’ run, redshirt sophomore kicker Chandler Staton was successful on a 38-yard field goal attempt, giving App State their first lead of the game. The score remained 10-7 throughout most of the first half until Penn State kicker Jake Pinegar tied things up with a field goal of his own with 12 seconds left on the clock.

It was a game of quarters from that point on. The third quarter belonged to Penn State, putting two rushing touchdowns on the board, one from McSorley and one from running back Ricky Slade. The Mountaineers were quiet in the third, producing only 76 yards of offense and picking up four first downs.

With a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, it was beginning to look like the Nittany Lions may run away with things. But the Mountaineers fought on through the fourth quarter to make things close again and Satterfield said he was proud of the way his team responded to adversity.

“That was the biggest question mark that I had for this team. Any time you have a young team, you don’t know when ‘it’ hits the fan and things are going rough, it’s real easy to quit, lay down. Or you can fight,” Satterfield said. “With a veteran team, you know how they’re going

to react. With a young team you just don’t know. That’s what I didn’t know and it was a resounding ‘Yes.’ They will fight. They will not back down.”

The Mountaineers surged back into the game in the fourth quarter, finding the end zone four times, three coming in the final eight minutes of the game. Brand new starting quarterback redshirt sophomore Zac Thomas threw for 270 yards in the game, 153 of them coming in the fourth quarter along with both of his two touchdown passes.

“My offensive line, they did a hell of a job. I think I got out rushed one time and I had to throw the ball away. Other than that, they did their job. Receivers were doing their job, they were getting open, so I can’t just put it on me,” Thomas said. “Jalin Moore, he had a heck of a game too, so it’s not just me. The whole offense really clicked tonight and we showed the nation what we have.”

Redshirt senior running back Jalin Moore had a strong fourth quarter, rushing for 57 of his 92 yards and scoring the go-ahead touchdown for App State with about two minutes to go. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, this left enough time on the clock for McSorley to lead Penn State back down the field to score the game-tying touchdown with 42 seconds left. Junior running back Miles Sanders scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on the Nittany Lions fourth play of overtime.

Despite the tough loss, Satterfield said he has confidence that his team is ready to take on the rest of the season.

“They are so fired up right now that when we get back to Boone, we could practice right now. Our guys are encouraged by what we did tonight. They’re hurt but they’re encouraged and they’re ready to play again. That’s just the mindset of our guys right now,” Satterfield said.

Sports

Sept. 7, 2018

PHOTO ESSAY

Moss Brennan │@mosbren│News Editor Brendan Hoekstra │@TheAppalachian│Photographer

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1. Graduate transfer wide receiver Dominique Heath fights for the ball against a Penn State defensive back. 2. After the turnover in overtime that lost the Mountaineers the game, junior cornerback Clifton Duck clutches his helmet in disbelief. 3. Senior running back Jalin Moore buries his face in his helmet after losing to Penn State on Saturday night. 4. Senior cornerback Tae Hayes gets ready for the next play against Penn State. 5. Junior cornerback Clifton Duck emotional after a tough loss to Penn State.

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Sports

Sept. 7, 2018

GAME DAY

Game 2 / Saturday, Sept. 8 / 6 p.m. / ESPN+ / Jerry Richardson Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.

Appalachian State (0-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)

VS

Charlotte 49ers (1-0, 0-0 CUSA)

Game Notes:

App State will travel to Jerry Richardson Stadium on Saturday to face the Charlotte 49ers for the first time in their history. Since resurrecting their football program in 2013 after a 65 year hiatus the 49ers have posted a record of 18-41, the third worst of any team in the country in that time, according to teamrankings.com. In that same space, App State has produced an overall record of 41-22, including a record of 36-9 in their last 45 games. Only Alabama (41-4), Clemson (41-4), Ohio State (40-5), and Wisconsin (37-8) have played better over that period. This is the first of two games the programs will play as Charlotte will travel to Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone in early 2019.

PLAYER TO WATCH POINTS PER GAME

38 - 34

PASSING YARDS PER GAME

292 - 267

Darrynton Evans #3 Running back / Wide receiver Had a kickoff return for 100 yards for a touchdown against Penn State, his second straight appearance with a return for a touchdown Averaged 43.33 yards per return against Penn State

YARDS PER KICKOFF RETURN

43.33 - 14.5 TOTAL YARDS PER GAME

451 - 488

Also caught 1 pass for 10 yards and had 1 carry for 9 yards against Penn State

Prevent Penalties: A huge reason that the Mountaineers lost to Penn State is that they lost 100 yards (equal to the entire length of the field) on nine penalty flags, compared to Penn State who lost only 10 yards on two penalty flags. The Mountaineers had several chop block and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, both of which cost a team a 15-yard loss. If App State wants to be more successful against Charlotte, and throughout the rest of the season, they need to cut down on mental mistakes and play a clean game.

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3 KEY POINTS Keep the defense off the field: One of App State’s big advantages against Penn State was their time of possession. The Mountaineers held the ball on offense for over 32 minutes while the Nittany Lions had it only for 27 minutes. App State’s defense having those extra five minutes to recover was essential in their fourth quarter comeback, and a fresh defense will always perform better than a winded one.

Open up the run game: While senior running back Jalin Moore rushed for 92 yards against Penn State, he gained only 35 through the first three quarters of the game and averaged only 4.9 yards per carry for the game. App State’s offense cannot function effectively if it must rely almost solely on its passing attack to score points. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas and graduate wide receiver Dominique Heath also posted rushing attempts against Penn State. If the Mountaineers can get their rushing committee to run the ball efficiently, they will start to put up serious points.

Sports

Sept. 7, 2018

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LONGLEY RETURNS TO THE COURT

s a freshman in 2016, junior outside hitter Emma Longley was a key piece of the Mountaineers volleyball team, leading the team with 363 kills and 284 digs. She posted double-double statistics nine times during the season and had five matches with 20 plus kills, including a 30-kill performance against the Virginia Tech Hokies in her first ever match.

After a stellar freshman campaign, Longley was expected to be just as integral as a sophomore in 2017. Things started off well, producing a double-double in the first game of the season with 18 kills and 13 digs against Missouri State University and following up with a 17-kill performance against UNCW two games later. But it didn’t last, going down with a lower leg injury she started to develop as a freshman, which sidelined her for most her sophomore season.

“I had a peroneal strain so the tendon in my lower leg was strained to the point where I could barely even walk, so I was non-weight bearing for about two and a half months,” Longley said. “The rehab was a lot of icing and heating and then practicing walking and balance so I could build my strength back up.

Once I got back into lifting it was gradually going into lower leg lifts like squats and presses.”

Longley returned to the final seven matches of the season, earning starts in both Sun Belt tournament matches. She finished the season with 107 kills, an average of 2.82 kills per set after appearing in 38 total sets.

“I feel bad for her, she hasn’t been able to put together a full season yet. If you look at two years ago, the way she started with 30 kills in her first career match, 37 kills two weeks later, we expected big things out of her and then she just got hurt.

She had a great freshman spring, expectations were really high, and then that thing just flared up again,” head coach Matt Ginipro said. “Then when she was cleared about three quarters of the way through the

Brooks Maynard│@brooksmaynard│Sports Editor

season and we put her in the fourth set against Troy and she goes off for 20 kills in two sets. You look at what she’s done on the floor, I still think she’s going to be one of the best outside hitters who’s ever played here. She just hasn’t put in a full season yet.”

She has started off strong so far this season, starting all six matches and totaling 73 kills for an average of 3.65 kills per set. She has also looked good on the defensive side of the ball, posting 36 digs for an average of 1.80 digs per set and adding five blocks, according to App State Athletics. The team has been equally impressive, going 4-2 through their first six regular season matches and grabbing a victory over Wake Forest University in a preseason exhibition.

“She’s always been a hungry player but I think the whole ‘I’ve been here for two years, I’ve worked my butt off and I haven’t played a whole season yet,’ has gotten to her and she wants to have a really good junior season,” Ginipro said.

App State still has a number of key games remaining this season before Sun Belt play begins in late September, including a tournament that is hosted by North Carolina State and Campbell University where the Mountaineers will have matches against Utah Valley University, Wright State University and Campbell.

“I think our whole team looks phenomenal. It’s going to be a real team effort for everyone to look great,” Longley said. “I really am ready (to get back), I’ve missed playing and competing, especially in the fall. I’m excited to get after it.”

Ginipro and his staff are confident that she is prepared to be successful on the court again, but they are taking precautions to make sure that she does not get hurt again.

“She had a big weekend in Asheville. She’s doing great things in practice, not only as a hitter but just as a leader and as an upperclassman,” Ginipro said. “We’re just trying to make sure we’re keeping her healthy because we know what she can do for us on the court.”

Emma Longley, outside hitter for App State’s women’s volleyball team, gearing up for a hit on Aug. 31 against Davidson College at Holmes Convocation Center. // Photo by Megan McCulloch

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Sports

Sept. 7, 2018

THOMAS TAKES OVER STARTING JOB IN FIRST GAME OF SEASON AT PENN STATE Silas Albright│@silasalbright│Sports Reporter

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Quarterback Zac Thomas, redshirt sophomore, avoids the sack and releases a pass downfield. // Photo by Brendan Hoesktra

edshirt sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas’ debut as the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers has been talked about since he arrived on campus before the start of the 2016 season. He remains the topic of coversation after four-year starter Taylor Lamb’s

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departure after the 34-0 Dollar General Bowl victory over Toledo at the conclusion of last season.

“Zac, to me, he’s got a stronger arm, he can run better than Taylor, he’s got a lot of intangibles that are better than Taylor,” head coach Scott Satterfield said at the preseason

Sun Belt Conference Football Media Day. “The one intangible he doesn’t have though is game experience. He has not really played very much.”

Lamb was great under center for the Mountaineers.

He finished his career as the Sun Belt Conference’s all time leader in touchdown

passes thrown with 90, so for Satterfield to come out and say this even before Thomas’ first start is setting a high bar for the young quarterback.

Satterfield isn’t the only person with high expectations for Thomas. He was named to the preseason third-team all-Sun Belt squad by Athlon

Sports without having ever having made a start at the collegiate level.

Although he is inexperienced, Thomas has been involved with the team for three years. After his redshirt year in 2016, he was the backup quarterback in 2017 and totaled 33 passing yards with six

Sports

Sept. 7, 2018 completions on ten attempts.

Thomas was able to work closely with Lamb in practice and on game days and said he learned a lot from him in his first two seasons.

“Taylor was an awesome figure just for leadership, he led the offense and he led the whole team, just in every aspect of the game,” Thomas said. “He taught me how to lead people in the right direction and that’s just one thing I want to do as being the starting quarterback.”

Although the Mountaineers return many of their offensive weapons from last year ’s successful season where they finished 9-4 overall, won a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship and won the Dollar General Bowl in a shutout, they don’t return one of the single most important contributors: the quarterback.

“It’s extremely important to find a quarterback. You can look at the NFL all the way to Pee Wee, if you don’t have a quarterback you’re going to have a hard time winning football games,” Satterfield said. “For us, we feel like we’re in good shape with Zac.” The time has finally come for Thomas to run the show and let people see what he’s got.

The 6-foot-1-inch 205 pound player out of Trussville, Alabama made the first start of his young career on Saturday afternoon as the Mountaineers made their way to College Station, Pennsylvania, to take on the No. 9 Penn State Nittany

Lions in front of a crowd of 105,232 fans.

Thomas impressed on Saturday, finishing with 270 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 65 percent completion rate to go along with his 43 yards and another touchdown on the ground while nearly willing the Mountaineers to the big time upset.

In the early part of the fourth quarter and at the beginning of the Mountaineers’ comeback, Thomas left the game for a play after taking a big hit and getting the wind knocked out of him. Redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Derrick came in and completed a 22-yard pass that set Thomas up for a touchdown throw to sophomore wideout Malik Williams on the next play to cut the Penn State lead from 14 points to seven with 13:39 left in the game.

“He’s a competitor, that’s one thing I love about Zac. He competes his tail off and our guys feed off of that,” Satterfield said. “When you go out because you got hit that hard, and you have to come to the sideline and we don’t even know if you’re coming back, and you come back the next play and go score—it’s incredible heart. That’s what our team is made of.”

Penn State eventually won in overtime 45-38 after senior cornerback Amani Oruwariye made an outstanding interception on a would-be game-tying pass in the end zone from Thomas.

“The corner made an unbelievable play. He reached right over top of Corey and made a great interception,” Satterfield said. “That’s football, you have to be able to make the plays and their guy made it.”

After the debut that Thomas made, it will be a fun ride for the rest of the season to see how he handles the ups and downs of a full season of collegiate football. Thomas and the Mountaineers turned a lot of heads on a national scale with the performances they put up during the season opener.

App State will travel to UNC-Charlotte next week on Saturday for a 6 p.m. matchup with the 49ers. It will be interesting to see how they respond going up against a nonPower Five team in their first action since the heartbreaking overtime loss in University Park.

Zac Thomas prepares to take the snap in the fourth quarter of the game against Penn State. App lost in overtime after Thomas was picked off in the endzone. // Photo by Moss Brennan

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11

Arts and Entertainment

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LOCAL CHURCH PROMOTES FRIENDSHIP IN SPEAKING SERIES Alex Hubbell│@therealalexhubb│A&E Reporter

here are many avenues in life. A young student might travel across state for school, find someone special and marry, then they might find work thereafter. Stable relationships, however might be lost in the process.

Shannon McCready, lead pastor of Mountainside Community Church, has built a church on building relationships. The church has been open for a little over a year now.

Sunday morning at the church’s meeting place at Regal Boone Cinema, the lesson for the day was friendships.

McCready has an “in-themoment” personality, which has lead to unique friends. However,

F

it has also lead to distant ones, McCready said. While most people may look down on social media for being distracting and superficial, McCready is more optimistic.

“Living in a Facebook world dilutes the word friendship, but there are moments you can appreciate social media and the digital world that enables us to keep some sort of communication,” McCready said.

Friendship is a process, however the effort is worth the heartache, McCready said. People can start by looking around the community for opportunities to begin relationships with a mind that is present.

McCready summarized the merits of maintaining a friendship

with Jonathan and David’s biblical relationship. Jonathan was to be the heir to the throne to a king who many found distasteful, but when his father, the king, attacked his friend David, Jonathan sacrificed himself for the benefit of the relationship, McCready said.

“I know that some of you might have friendships from the past and if you’re like me, I’ve moved three different times, with three different types of friends,” McCready said. “I’m beginning the process of starting to connect with some of those friends from the past.”

To construct a frame of reference for the audience, McCready brought on longtime friends Andy Le Beau, a captain

of police operations at the Boone Police Department, and John Shoaf, a physician assistant in the area. The two have maintained a friendship for over 22 years, Shoaf said.

“I was a new police officer. I just got out of the academy and had a local academy, so I didn’t have great training. Then I got into this place where we had poor training officers. Andy is a Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer and has highly specialized training,” Shoaf said.

The relationship was never expected to be a long-term friendship, Shoaf said.

“He’s trying to make it to Florida and I’m just trying to make it in a small one horse town, with

two stop lights. Andy happened to live in that town,” Shoaf said.

For Le Beau to reach Florida to find work, the police department required fingerprinting signed by a law enforcement officer. Le Beau wanted this to be more covert so he asked his new acquaintance Shoaf to do it.

“I was just so impressed by him,” Shoaf said.

Shoaf did not expect anything to come out of asking to see Le Beau again. Le Beau eventually did come back and visit though, and the relationship built from there, Shoaf said.

To read more, visit our website theappalachianonline.com.

IPALS FOSTERS FRIENDSHIPS BETWEEN U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

or many students, college opens up a world of new possibilities. Students are on their own for the first time, and the opportunities to further their education are beyond anything they’ve known to that point.

Included among these new opportunities is the chance to to leave the country by themselves to travel or study abroad, which can be pretty overwhelming to even the most confident. However, many places have resources that can facilitate the experience for students and for App State, that’s where iPals comes in. iPals is a student-led organization that matches up incoming international students at App State with U.S. students that have been on campus for a year or more.

“I like to describe it as pen pals in real life,” iPals president

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Sept. 7, 2018

Mack Foley│@splatunechi│A&E Reporter

Larissa Jenkins, senior biology major, said. “We match incoming international students with current domestic students, and then we just try to foster a lot of friendship and understanding of language and culture.”

At the beginning of each semester, iPals are matched at the club’s first meeting after interested students fill out an application on AppSync. Aside from intermittent events, pairs are largely left to their own devices to explore and learn from each other.

Most of the international students at App State come from Japan, iPals vice president and junior psychology major Shannon Bartolac said.

School is different here, so it takes time to adjust. Having friends to reach out to that teach new international students about App State and the surrounding area helps alleviate stress and worries,

as well as quicken the transition.

Another problem that incoming students have to deal with is a different public transportation system.

“A lot of international students, when they first come, are challenged by the limited public transportation that there is here,” iPals advisor Lindsay Pepper said.

“Of course, AppalCart goes pretty well around Boone, but in terms of actually seeing other places and getting outside the city limits, that can be more challenging.”

Many domestic students in Boone have cars to get to and from home, which is valuable for international iPals. Getting around Watauga, and the rest of North Carolina, without a car is easier said than done. Having a pal with a car can go a long way for international students.

Having a friend on a new campus that already knows their

way around can be helpful for international students who might have questions about campus, Pepper said.

Additionally, iPals can also offer language practice for both U.S. and international students. More than 70 percent of international students at App State come from Asia, but the university also sees students from Europe, South America and Africa, Jenkins said. For students that are taking foreign languages, their iPals can be instrumental in pushing their education forward.

“It kind of forces them to step out of their comfort zone,” Bartolac said. “Everyone here doesn’t speak what they speak, so they’re kind of forced outside of whatever language they take to speak English.”

Alongside language practice, iPals can help each other learn about their respective cultures.

Domestic students can help teach their pals about American and Appalachian cultures while they’re here, but their international pals can also teach them about their country’s culture. This is especially helpful if a U.S. student plans to study abroad in that country or travel there outside of school.

The club also pushes students to expand their comfort zone socially, Pepper said.

“It’s really easy for international students to kind of stay in their own bubble or just hang out with other international students,” Pepper said. “So this is a really good way to make sure they’re meeting other Americans or people that have been attending App State for a couple of years.”

To read more, visit our website theappalachianonline.com.

Arts and Entertainment

Sept. 7, 2018

T

FROM LIFE TO LOVE: PSYCHIC KIM HAS YOUR READING

he word, “psychic” beamed from the side of a building leaving no imagination for commuters passing by on Blowing Rock Road to ponder the possibilities of what waited for them behind its brick exterior.

Inside, scattered Buddhist relics, crystals and chakra posters fill the one-room establishment. A small-statured woman rolled up a half-eaten bag of hot Cheetos and introduced herself as Rita Miller, better known as Psychic Kim. Miller began to feel her gift of psychic insight emerge when she was a child. Around the time she was 9 years old, Miller said the beginning stages of her insight included voices in her head.

The voices inhibited her from being comfortable in crowds and ostracized her from some of her other classmates.

The voices concerned Miller as she was beginning to figure out that she was not like other children and even feared for her family.

“I was sort of afraid of it I guess,” Miller said. “I didn’t know what was happening.”

As the gift became more prominent Miller began to have insight into the future.

“I remember one time my mom was reaching for the cupboard and something told me to stop her. I told her not to,” Miller said. “Of course she did it anyway and then something fell on her and she got a little hurt.”

The incident led Miller’s mom to tell her grandmother. Her

Savannah Nguyen│@TheAppalachian│A&E Reporter

grandmother simply responded, “It’s a gift.”

Miller’s grandmother, who also had the ability of insight, reassured her granddaughter that she was blessed and should not be afraid.

“We all knew I had a special gift. My grandmother helped me through it and as I got older then I knew I was supposed to do psychic readings with people oneon-one,” Miller said.

Miller said she has dealt with her fair share of skepticism. Many people did not believe her when she revealed to them things she saw in their futures.

“Some people would listen, some wouldn’t believe but when the realities that I told them came to pass they knew,” Miller said.

Because of Miller’s trade and her gift, some have condemned her practice. Although Miller and her family subscribe to the Catholic faith and practice the belief that there is only one god, she has had people come to her storefront just to denounce her practice.

“They’ll say it’s not with Jesus and condemn it,” Miller said.“We are allowed to worship him in all different ways. It’s not a bad thing, it’s still spiritual.”

For Ervin Thielen, PR advocate for App State’s Pagan Student Association, following the parameters of Christianity never felt right.

Although he, too, has experienced hostility due to his spiritual divergence, Thielen keeps an air of optimism.

“I find from personal experience that listening and showing as much kindness as you can in the face of adversary makes people more open to acceptance,” Thielen said.

Despite harassment, Miller sees what she does as an extension of her faith, a gift from God that serves as a medium to help others find peace within themselves.

She said like an alternative to traditional Christian practices, mysticism can help her clients find answers for themselves through an alternative spirituality experience.

Similar to a psychiatrist, Miller sees clients who want to

improve themselves and do so by seeking out a psychic.

“We go into sessions and some go into their personal lives,” Miller said.

Clients open up to her allowing the one-on-one sessions to become intimate spaces giving Miller insight into the lives of her clients, which allows her to advise them about their futures. Some use their sessions as alternatives to psychiatric evaluation, Miller said.

Kenneth Steele, a psychology professor at App State, compares seeking a psychic to a lowinvestment attempt to reduce a level of uncertainty on one’s life.

However, Steele said this method

of therapy is not intended for lasting change.

“You pay a few bucks and can walk out without needing to change your behavior if you disagree with the psychic’s analysis,” Steele said. “The psychic may have genuine goals to help a person but simply telling someone what is their issue does not mean that the person will change his or her behavior.”

Psychic Kim’s new location is on Boone Docks Road at the intersection of Hampton’s Body Shop, Inc. and Carpet House.

Readings range from $20 to $70 and she gives insight into everything from life to love.

Rita Miller, also known as Psychic Kim, posing in front of her business. Miller uses her gift of insight to help others with hopes to change their lives. // Photo by Gabe Ramirez

13

Arts and Entertainment

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Sept. 7, 2018

STUDENTS CREATE AND FUND FILM FROM GROUND UP

n a campus of over 18,000 students studying in many departments, opportunities for narrative filmmakers are limited.

Two students at App State wanted to show that it’s possible.

“We found some really great people, but we live in a town where not many people want to do film,” senior commercial photography major Seth Grant said. “We don’t have a film school. The most we have is TV

Alex Hubbell│@therealalexhubb│A&E Reporter production.”

Grant and Logan Frazier, a senior English major, who have been friends since freshman year, ventured into the community to fill spots for their film crew. Film is a platform of many mediums, so they searched for individuals with those mediums in mind. From makeup, to catering on set, to actors, all the positions were filled by the community, Grant said.

“We found a wonderful special effects makeup artist,

costume person and then we found two people who did want to do film, so we put them in logistic roles,” Grant said. “Once those two roles were filled up we were freed up a lot on set, but beforehand it was pretty much all us.”

Grant was co-producer and director of photography, while Frazier was director, editor, writer and co-producer of the project.

The project has been on both Grant and Frazier’s mind for

about a year under the working title “Helen.” The pair raised around $1,400 over the summer to produce the film, Grant said.

The concept of the film required creative restraints and took two scripts to craft the idea, Frazier said. Between the two scripts, Grant and Frazier found their creative process in the aesthetics.

“We did a photo series on it,” Grant said. “I had a few classes where I was trying to find

something to do for projects.

We got together what images we wanted to do, and went out and shot it. It turned out really, really cool.”

The duo have worked on only one prior project together before “Helen.”

“We had done a short film called ‘Sin Eater,’ a year or a year and a half ago,” Grant said. “We wanted to build off that aesthetic.

We heard a lot of people say:‘you made me feel this tone, this

First-time director Logan Frazier and Director of Photography Seth Grant compose a scene for their film “Helen.” // Courtesy photo by Josiah Clark

14

Arts and Entertainment

Sept. 7, 2018 mood.’”

The mystery of the densely packed woods that line the Boone landscape inspired the look of the film.

“We wanted to try to make this as good as possible and the best way to do that is to work off things you know,” Grant said. “That’s the aesthetic of the Appalachian woods. You’re not really sure of what lives in that area.”

Frazier wanted to capture an environment that is right in App State’s backyard that few people knew about.

“I really love Appalachian folklore,” Frazier said. “I have a particular passion for that sort of thing. If you go far enough outside this area, it’s a different place.”

Derek Davidson, an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, pointed the duo to the locations that would suit their style.

“I live up on Rich Mountain, only about 12 minutes away. So they just drove on up to film,” Davidson said. “They had a murky pond surrounded by forest; they had a rocky cliff to play with, a mountain stream and a whole bunch of trees. Perfect for the kind of mood piece Logan and Seth were creating.”

While the aesthetic of the film is defined, Frazier had trouble classifying this film as any particular genre; instead he detailed the importance of growing from the story as opposed to pleasing a genre. Films that draw out a mood or a feeling were drawn for inspiration; films like “The Witch,” “The Gift” and “It,” Frazier said.

“I think ‘It’ is just a kids movie, the way it’s structured and the way you feel most of the time,” Frazier said. “Genre films in general bother me when they’re oriented around pleasing a particular genre.”

At first the duo wanted every scene to be as cheap and approachable as possible for everyone involved. The first script was scrapped soon after beginning the project and took a clear shape

after visualizing the environment around them, Frazier said.

“The second time I wrote the script we had done the photos that clarified for me what was interesting to me about the script, and part of that was subversion,” Frazier said. “It’s not going to scare you, it might theoretically horrify you.”

The duo funded the project primarily themselves, which helped get the majority of the preparation phase of filmmaking complete before shooting, Frazier said. The work on set also took on a more daring approach.

“We’d get there on set and get ready to shoot, and would be like: ‘That is going to be difficult!’ But then you’re like: ‘But we’re going to do it,’” Frazier said.

One day on set, the duo had a scene to shoot where they planned to film the protagonist and the antagonist of the story in two different environments in one scene. They did not have the correct locations for the shots, so they adjusted so that the shot followed the antagonist into a pond, without moving.

“The thing we couldn’t compromise on is that we had to get that mood. We were able to find another way of doing it that was better than we originally planned,” Frazier said.

The whole experience was like attending a film school, an experience that is lacking around the community, Frazier said.

“It really let me know what it was like to direct, in a way I had not had access to before,” Frazier said. “It’s a lot more complex than other creative ventures I’ve been on.”

Both Grant and Frazier’s backgrounds in working in a kitchen prepared the duo to take on the sink or swim environment of filmmaking, Frazier said.

“The film is kind of like the customer,” Frazier said. “When people put in orders, the food is coming out. The food has to come out. If you’re backed up, no one cares but you.”

Grant and Frazier hope that this experience was not only

beneficial for themselves but to others who have not had the opportunities afforded to other locations.

“There’s not enough film opportunities in the Boone community. Not enough narrative film,” Frazier said. “I think it’s a cool opportunity for some people to get involved with us on set.”

An incoming student or a community member of Boone who is interested in narrative film might have a production company to support their projects in the future. The duo is contemplating the decision but will think on it after they finish more projects, Frazier said.

Grant and Frazier hope to have the film finished soon and are working with I.G. Greer Hall and the Greenbriar Theater to have a showing of “Helen” on campus.

1. Director Logan Frazier and Director of Photography Seth Grant compose a scene for their film “Helen.” 2. The crew of “Helen” shoot a scene while rain pours down in a wooded area in Boone. “Helen” is a masterpiece realized by Logan Frazier and Seth Grant. // Courtesy photos by Josiah Clark

1

2

15

Opinion

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Sept. 7, 2018

WHY APP STATE STUDENTS SHOULD SHOP AT PUBLIX

ublix, with its superb customer service, array of organic options and cheap prices for groceries, makes it the best place for App State students to go grocery shopping.

To figure out a price comparison of groceries at six different grocery stores, a list was constructed of average items college students buy.

The list consisted of: cereal, milk, Fuji apples, bananas, frozen pizza, ice cream, protein bars, ramen, chips, water, eggs, bread, chicken breast, shredded cheese, frozen vegetables, pasta, yogurt, rice, macaroni and cheese, beans, soup, toilet paper and paper towels.

Walmart was the cheapest at $59.34. It does not have a student discount, but its low prices draw many students to them.

Kat Edwards, a freshman

Jeremy Doblin│@TheAppalachian│Opinion Writer

special education major, said they choose to shop at Walmart.

“It is cheaper and a lot easier to buy a bunch of food at a much cheaper price than anywhere else,” Edwards said.

Food Lion was the second cheapest at $61.04. Like Walmart, Food Lion has no student discount.

Publix then came in third with a total of $66.90. It has a 10 percent student discount every day of the week until the end of September.

Then, students have a 5 percent discount until the end of the school year in May. Kate Geisinger, a freshman psychology major, said she chooses to shop at Publix.

“It has better quality ingredients and their produce is better than places like Walmart,” Geisinger said.

Ingles came next with a total of $70.94. It does not have a student discount but many students choose to pay the higher price for the organic products it offers.

Harris Teeter is the second most expensive grocery store with a total of $72.80. It does, however, offer a 10 percent student discount with a VIC card until Oct. 2. After, it gives a 5 percent discount until May 31.

Lowes Foods is the most expensive grocery store at $73.34. It gives a 10 percent student discount only on Sunday, provided students bring their Lowes card and student ID. The grocery stores had different prices for the same item. The difference between the cheapest and most expensive item ranged from $0.13 for a pack of ramen to $4.33 for a pack of six paper towel rolls.

Given the information, it is obvious why Publix is the optimal grocery store.

To begin with, Publix boasts some of the cheapest prices of the major grocery stores.

Publix has the cheapest milk at $2.45 per gallon. Harris Teeter and Lowes both have the most expensive at $2.99. Publix also sells some of the cheapest store brand mac and cheese at $0.91 and chicken breasts at $4.99 per pound.

While Walmart and Food Lion have lower prices, Publix’s student discount gives a better price for groceries and anything else a student might need. The discount makes Publix’s prices as low as Walmart’s.

Publix also remains a forerunner in availability for organic foods. They offer a variety of choices that are locally grown and

not overpriced. This includes the cheapest bananas at $0.35 per pound and eggs at $1.79 per dozen.

“We hang our hat each day on our quality and service we provide,” Mark Taggart, Publix assistant manager, said.

Publix also has excellent customer service.

“The only difference between us and any other grocery chain is the people,” Joel Wise, Publix manager, said. “The people here care about the shopper’s needs.”

Some students prefer to shop locally. Becca Coleman, a senior elementary education major, said she chooses to shop at Be Natural Market.

“It is full of local things from the area and also really healthy options for fresh food,” Coleman said.

HOW DOES YOUR GROCERY STORE COMPARE? WALMART

FOOD LION

INGLES

LOWES

HARRIS TEETER

PUBLIX

HONEY NUT CHEERIOS

$2.98

$3.68

$3.78

$3.65

$3.69

$3.83

1 POUND FUJI APPLES

$0.49

$0.80

$0.65

$1.78

$1.99

$2.29

1 POUND BANANAS

$0.60

$0.50

$0.50

$0.80

$0.49

$0.35

NATURE VALLEY BARS

$2.88

$3.58

$3.18

$3.49

$3.49

$3.59

4-PACK RAMEN

$0.80

$1.28

$1.32

$1.16

$1.00

$1.00

LAYS CLASSIC POTATO CHIPS

$2.48

$3.49

$4.29

$2.50

$3.49

$3.52

DASANI WATER

$3.98

$4.99

$4.55

$7.99

$6.69

$5.99

NATURE’S OWN BREAD

$2.68

$3.49

$3.47

$3.49

$3.49

$3.04

OIKOS YOGURT

$1.00

$1.28

$1.48

$1.20

$1.25

$1.25

SUCCESS WHITE RICE

$2.28

$2.29

$2.28

$2.69

$2.65

$2.29

BUSH’S BAKED BEANS

$1.00

$1.17

$1.08

$1.49

$1.49

$1.19

TOTAL

$21.17

$26.55

$26.58

$30.24

$29.72

$28.34

16

Opinion

Sept. 7, 2018

STUDENTS NEED TO WORK WITH APPALCART TO ADAPT TO ROUTE CHANGES

Students waiting to board AppalCart to head home on Tuesday afternoon in front of Garwood Hall. // Photo by Vince Fortea

B

y now, everyone knows that on Aug. 20 AppalCart implemented controversial changes to its routes and schedules and that not everyone in Boone is happy about these changes.

On social media, people have been open about their displeasure.

Twitter user @ZachariahDBrown said, “Go back to the original routes, the new ones are absolutely terrible.”

A common sentiment among students is that AppalCart sprung these changes out of nowhere.

Heather Arledge, a senior history major, rode the Pink Route for two years before the route changes. Over the summer, while working for the university, she said that she heard that there might be changes.

“It wasn’t until literally the first week of class where I started looking to try to see how the changes affected my route that I realized that they completely took the stop out from in front of my apartment,” Arledge said.

Even those who like the changes agree that they felt suprised.

“I think it’s much more streamlined and adding the buses has helped a ton and I think the route changes themselves are mostly positive changes,” Amber Olsen, a graduate biology student, said.

“I just wish there had been more communication about the changes because I know even today I’ve seen

Q Russell│@Q_M_Russell│Opinion Editor people on the buses that have no idea about the changes.”

NextBus, the app many students use to keep track of bus schedules, has also not been updated with the new schedules.

“It was kind of a rough start,” Craig Hughes, the transportation director for AppalCart, said.

“NextBus wasn’t ready to go, which I think confused a lot of folks. We had some of the routes ready to go on that Monday before classes, the Red and Green routes are a little more complicated so they were slower coming online.”

NextBus not being updated was not something that AppalCart could control. Initially, NextBus said that it would have the routes updated by the time classes started. However, NextBus then told AppalCart the schedule updates would take longer than predicted, which contributed to the confusion, Hughes said.

Furthermore, students said they felt they couldn’t decipher the new way that AppalCart documents its route schedules.

Prior to the change, the schedules were laid out by what time after the hour a particular bus would be at a route in a multi-column layout. Now the schedules are laid out in a single column format.

AppalCart has a page on its website dedicated to helping students understand the new schedule layout.

Despite what many students

believe, AppalCart did attempt to inform students of route changes ahead of time.

The organization attempted to include students and the community in the planning process for the new routes.

In mid-March, AppalCart brought in Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP, a consulting firm, which is a “nationally-recognized engineering, architectural, construction management and environmental firm,” based out of Baltimore, according to WRA. “The first thing we did was collect basic operating data about the system, the hours it runs, the number of miles it runs, and the number of passengers it carries, and looked at that by route,” Jim Ritchey, the lead consultant for the AppalCart project and vice president at WRA, said. “Then we conducted an onboard survey where surveyors rode the routes, about a little better than 1,100 surveys were received on board the buses. Then we conducted a SurveyMonkey online survey that collected another 300 or so.”

There were three public comment sessions held total, in March, April and May. AppalCart also held a meeting in June for the community to comment on one of several plans they proposed.

These meetings were advertised around town, Hughes said, and notice was put up for them on

AppalCart’s Twitter.

The Watauga Democrat released an article June 14 detailing the proposed route changes. It confirmed the changes July 2 and released another update Aug. 17.

AppalCart also released several tweets between the time of the proposed changes and the day the changes occurred on Aug. 20.

AppalCart did not fail to communicate these changes, but it did not do so adequately. This, combined with students not doing their due diligence, has led to a mess in the first few weeks of the semester.

AppalCart did attempt to inform people over Twitter, however the AppalCart account only has 3,000 followers. Each of its announcement tweets averaged less than 10 retweets and likes.

AppalCart has not updated its Facebook account since Aug. 10, 2016. Facebook is one of the foremost methods that organizations use to interact with consumers. The fact that AppalCart chose not to use Facebook to advertise this massive shift is downright neglectful.

Hughes claimed AppalCart partnered with App State to get the word out to students, yet the only evidence of this that could be found was an announcement on the App State announcement page advertising one of the public comment meetings in April.

Students are right to feel that this change came out of the blue, because it did. The final changes were proposed in June, after the majority of the student population of Boone had left. While the changes were based on data gathered while students were in town, it was still bad form for AppalCart to propose the final changes then.

However, ignorance isn’t an applicable excuse here. It’s AppalCart’s job to get people where they need to go, but it is the students’ responsibility to know how AppalCart is going to do so.

In regards to the quality of the new routes, students need to give AppalCart and its drivers time to adjust.

“Bus operators, as well as customers, take a little bit of time to get used to changes,” Ritchey said.

“The first couple weeks of a semester are just not representative of travel conditions in a university.”

This is the first massive overhaul to routes that has ever occurred at AppalCart. In previous years, the changes were minor, with only a route or two being added or modified. There is no precedent for AppalCart to rely on, which is why they need to be given time.

“There’s some things we know we have to work on, and we’re working with ASU to address those things, but overall I think it’ll work out,” Hughes said.

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Et cetera

Sept. 7, 2018

SHAPE UP

!

By: Neil Agnew

BY NEIL AGNEW

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Down 1. 33 down vehicle 2. Corporate ending, briefly 3. 1990 civil rights law for the disabled 4. A few 5. App State East side hall* 6. Giant meaning 7. Made inferior 10. ”___ of life” (The Lion King tune) 13. Type of bond or column 14. Criticize (against) 16. Joke around 18. Aggressive 20 down 19. Word whose meaning is portrayed by “once” and 5 down 20. ___ Days (hottest times of the year) 25. Austin Alfred, founder of individual psychology 26. Out of place 27. Walking piece for a 20 down 29. Quandary 30. Opposite of close, in literature 31. Boxing the great Muhammad 33. Public.org for city travel

Across 1. Favoritism 5. Gave up, as authority or territory 8. Ctrl + Z, on a keyboard 9. Futbol exclamation 11. Hoodwink 12. Type of sushi 15. Barley manage (out) 17. What many lions do 18. Lothario 21. What certain rock band members do at the disco?

22. Colorful card game with skips and reverses 23. Pickled cucumber variety 24. Sanskrit music genre 26. Baldwin of SNL 28. Feature shared by Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the Taj Mahal* 30. Relating to the mouth 32. Pentameter 34. Wan 36. Arab ruler 37. Molds to a design... hinted at by the answers to the starred clues

PHOTO OF THE WEEK Moss Brennan│@mosbren│News Editor

T HE C OV ER :

IRA DAVID LEVY ADVISER

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MANAGING EDITOR

JULES BLAYLOCK CHIEF COPY EDITOR

MOSS BRENNAN

Q RUSSELL

MARIAH RENEAU

PATRICK MCCABE

NEWS EDITOR A&E EDITOR

BROOKS MAYNARD SPORTS EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

IN-DEPTH EDITOR

RACHEL SASSER

INCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT

SYDNEY SPANN

VISUAL MANAGING EDITOR

MICKEY HUTCHINGS PHOTO EDITOR

EFRAIN ARIAS-MEDINA JR. GRAPHICS EDITOR

LOGAN BERG VIDEO EDITOR

BRAXTON COATS WEB EDITOR

BUSINESS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

VICTORIA HAYNES

MULTIMEDIA

NORA SMITH

EDITORIAL

Junior cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles tears up after taking a 45-38 loss at Penn State. // Photo by Moss Brennan

CRISTIAN MCLAUGHLIN BUSINESS MANAGER

STEVEN CAUGHRAN

ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER

MELISSA ALSUP MARKETING DIRECTOR

Sept. 7, 2018 Paid Advertisement

WHAT TO DO Submit Announcements

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calling all creators!

The Peel Literature and Arts Review is App State’s student-run literary arts publication. We are seeking students to submit their creative works for review and possible publication. Submit your art, music, design, poetry, prose, fashion and more at thepeelreview. submittable.com. Find more information by visiting thepeelreview. com or following us on social media @thepeelreview.

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The Appalachian student newspaper is looking for students interested in getting their political cartoons and illustrations published. Use your illustration talents to express your opinions and commentary on current events. Email editor@theappalachianonline. com for questions or interest.

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Email editor@theappalachianonline.com to express interest! Experience with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) preferred but not required. Opportunities available for student designers of all skill sets.

FRIDAY, Sep. 7

SATURDAY, SEPT. 8

SUNDAY, SEPT. 9

MONDAY, SEPT. 10

International Student Teaching Information Session Reich College of Education Rm. 124A 9-10 a.m.

Men’s Rugby App State vs.

Wake Forest State Farm Fields Noon-3:30 p.m

The Appalachian Staff Meeting Plemmons Student Union Rm. 217 7 p.m.

Resume Clinic Plemmons Student Union 11 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

“Love Simon” I.G. Greer Auditorium 7-9 p.m.

Eric Luke and Hunter Cox Piano Recital Rosen Concert Hall 6-7:30 p.m.

A Taste of Dialogue: Identities Plemmons Student Union, Table Rock Rm. 6-8 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 11

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12 THURSDAY, SEPT. 13

FRIDAY, SEPT. 14

Senate Meeting Plemmons Student Union, Linville Falls Rm. 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Make Your Own Vision Board Plemmons Student Union, Linville Gorge Rm. 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Pick up the new issue of The Appalachian at newsstands across campus!

Evening of Encores Roden Concert Hall 8-9:30 p.m.

Alex Lapins Guest Tuba Recital Rosen Concert Hall 8-9 p.m.

Among Wolves film screening and Q&A with director Shawn Convey Greenbriar Theater 5-6 p.m.

Money Moves Plemmons Student Union, Linville Gorge Rm. 7-8:30 p.m.

The Appalachian Staff Meeting Plemmons Student Union Rm. 217 7 p.m.

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BE ON THE FIELD

WRITE FOR THE APPALACHIAN SPORTS SECTION PSU 217 AT 7 P.M. EVERY THURSDAY AND SUNDAY

PHOTO: HAYLEY CANAL