The Appalachian 11/8/19

The Appalachian

Nov. 8, 2019

professor wins poetry award

English faculty member is recognized for her work on the intersection between women, animals and the land.

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Three alumni awarded for service

Review: “Terminator: Dark Fate�

OPINION: A fusion-based future

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News Faculty, students raise concerns over enrollment growth

Nov. 8, 2019

Josie Barnes | Reporter

Parking during football game weekends, navigating the bus schedule and making an appointment at the Counseling Center could all become more challenging in coming years due to enrollment growth. App State’s total enrollment goal is projected to increase student population more next year than it has the previous nine.

App State Faculty Senate Chair and history professor, Michael Behrent, presented concerns from faculty and students, regarding the increased enrollment plan for the 202021 school year to the Student Government Association. The concerns include parking, housing, academic resources and non-academic resources available for students and faculty.

The total enrollment for fall 2019 is 19,280 and the target enrollment for fall 2020 is 20,000 or more students.

From 2010 to 2019, the number of first-year students grew from 2,829 to 3,501, a 672 person increase. The proposed enrollment number will increase the student population by 720 undergraduate and graduate students in one year Megan Hayes, associate vice chancellor and chief communications officer wrote in an email.

At the Oct. 3 Faculty Senate meeting, associate vice chancellor for

enrollment management Cindy Barr said first time, full time student enrollment would increase by 850 to 4,351.

Behrent said the increase is possible, but not guaranteed.

Hayes wrote that there are categories of students with various enrollment goals; however, administration and admissions recognizes it is key to maintain “flexibility across those categories.” The categories include on campus, online and off campus students.

Sophomore sustainable development major Meredith Ingram, said the plan “scares” her because of Boone’s small size.

Faculty members are concerned the increase will negatively impact funding for current students and faculty. They questioned the amount of resources available to achieve the enrollment goal, class sizes increasing and students’ ability to enroll in required classes, as it is already a competitive process.

However, “Chancellor Everts and Provost Kruger are committing resources to fund solid enrollment growth implementation plans to reach the 2020 goal,” Hayes wrote.

Behrent said faculty is worried about the ratio of faculty to students,

the amount of non-academic resources for students and the impact on the town of Boone.

“It kind of feels like they’re not valuing the students that are already here,” said Ella Fowler, sophomore English major.

She said students and faculty already face parking and housing issues.

“I have heard nothing about expanding the Counseling Center, and that’s already a huge issue. It’s not about the (quality of the) counselors we have; it’s about the number of counselors we have,” Fowler said.

Hayes said at App State students “have never been ‘numbers’” and admissions accepts “well-qualified, successful students.”

“In the general sense, I think everybody is a little concerned about stretching the facilities beyond their maximum,” said Andy Koch, vice chair of Faculty Senate.

Behrent suggested SGA members and students pose questions to administration about the effect on current students and faculty. He said administrators need to know how students feel so they can be successful and thrive at App State.

During the Oct. 29 SGA meeting, Destiney Houghtalen, director

of Academic Affairs, offered to set up meetings with the SGA senators to dissect the issue. She also offered to include Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning and admissions in the conversation.

Aiyana Willoughby, sophomore class senator, asked if scholarships would become more competitive.

“My understanding is that scholarships are seen as key to increasing enrollment,” Behrent said.

He said scholarships attract students and increase the likelihood for students to strongly consider App State as their first choice.

total enrollment Fall 2019 19,280 students

Target enrollment Fall 2020 20,000+ students

Behrent said the rationale for the push to enroll 20,000 students is “primarily with the issue of the university’s funding and with the university stature.”

He said compared to other North Carolina public universities, App State is underfunded. Behrent said the administration thinks increased admission will help App State “be taken more seriously as a larger and more prestigious institution,” especially by Raleigh, the center of state government, and Chapel Hill, the core of the UNC school system.

From 2010-2019 student population increASED BY

672 FIRST-YEAR students proposed total enrollement to increase at least

720 students

Geology department hosts outreach for middle schoolers Nikki Parker | Reporter

Geology scavenger hunts, fossil workshops, rock smashing and career exploration activities are what some visiting groups enjoy when they arrive at the Rankin Science Building.

Sixth-graders from Sherrills Ford Elementary School in Asheville and Foothills Community School Scholars from Marion visited App State last week through the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences Outreach Team. The team catered to each group and gave the students a day filled with activities in relation to

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the geology curriculum they are currently learning in school.

The GES department typically hosts one to three school groups a week.

Most groups are coordinated through admissions by Pre-Enrollment Program Coordinator Tracey Tardiff, who works with Outreach Coordinator Marta Toran on providing school groups with a hands-on science experience during their visit.

“These events take a lot of people power, so some weeks, like this, we can

have 28 students from different majors signed up to help; some are volunteers, some are doing service learning hours and others are employed as interns in the GES department,” Toran said.

The outreach department educates not just students, but teachers, as well. Toran, along with other students in the major, instruct fourth grade teachers across the state on how to teach geology to students better.

“Having kids come to Appalachian provides them with an experience they can’t get in the classroom. It

also allows App to lend helping hand to teachers by providing them with resources to take back to the classroom,” said Carly Maas, Volcan intern and quantitative geology major.

The outreach not only supports educational institutions in efforts to elevate STEM education, but also to get middle school students excited about coming to App State.

“My favorite part as an outreach coordinator in the GES department is watching our students interact with kids and the public, and watch-

ing them share their research experiences about field trips,” Toran said.

“During their visit, they get to touch a real dinosaur bone as well as the oldest thing in the entire planet (the Acasta Gneiss). That’s pretty awesome.”

The department will pursue events, like group visits with Hardin Park School and a career day at Granite Falls in the coming weeks.

Nov. 8, 2019

Alumni rewarded for service and dedication to App State

News

Hadasa Rivera Marin | Reporter

Time may have passed since graduation for three App State alumni, but their devotion to serving students and faculty on campus has remained.

The Appalachian State Alumni Association awarded Avery Hall Sr. and Ronald Norwood the 2019 Outstanding Service Award, and Jonathan Kappler the 2019 Young Alumni Award.

The OSA is awarded every year to individuals who have assisted with alumni functions, provided financial support, or have served on any board or council devoted to the advancement of App State. The Young Alumni Award recognizes alumni under 40 who have similarly provided service to the university.

Hall and Kappler said they were “humbled by the recognition” and felt they served the institution in a way any of their fellow alumni would.

Hall was a defensive lineman

for the Mountaineers from 1989-92 and joined the Appalachian Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. He is a former member of the Yosef Club Advisory Board and the board of trustees.

Hall said he “really wanted to make a difference” and see if he could “help another Avery Hall.”

He currently serves on the board of directors for Appalachian State University Foundation Inc. Based on his experiences, Hall said he knew how crucial education was and how it could change the trajectory of his life.

Hall said while in school, he worked every summer. Whether it was hauling trash or interning on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., he tried to be proactive and prepare for life after graduation.

Former president of the Appalachian Alumni Association, and current member of the College of Art and Sciences Advancement

Board, Kappler said he continues to grow through his affiliation with the university.

Kappler said that in his transition from student to alumnus, he wanted to serve the university.

Though his service may not have been monetary, he wanted to help out in any way he could.

“I’ve come back, spoken to classes and shared my experiences, so that students have a better sense of what the opportunities simply are for them post-graduation,” Kappler said.

Hall said after completing his undergraduate years at App State, he felt intimidated going out into the world. What made him worry less was that he knew how to work.

He said that over time, he’s gone from a “hard-charging 22-year old” to a “seasoned corporate guy,” and he’s learned to understand and realize what he does and doesn’t know, and that’s made him a more

open person.

“Seize the day. Take care of the moments. If you take care of the moments, the days will take care of

themselves. If you take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves,” Hall said.

Appalachian alumnus Avery Hall, class of ’93, is the senior vice president/commercial banking lender at Wells Fargo in Greensboro. He is a recipient of Appalachian Alumni Association’s 2019 Outstanding Service Award.

Courtesy of Marie Freeman

National Science Foundation awards App State professor over $600,000 for research Gianna Holiday | Reporter

The National Science Foundation awarded a visiting assistant biology professor over $600,000 to support her research on sea sponges in the Caribbean.

Cara Fiore is collaborating with Amy Apprill, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Apprill’s lab will participate in field experiments and conduct microscopic-based analyses to examine if and how bacteria use sponge-produced emissions to support their growth, and how sea sponges support coral reefs.

“Sponges are filter-feeding organisms that play a major role in the coral reef food web,” Apprill said. “Our goal is to better understand their specific role, which involves examining their intake and processing of carbon as well as understanding if seawater bacteria surrounding

the coral are also using the carbon.”

Apprill said the project will bring “exciting” coral reef research to App State and will support a young App State scientist, a postdoctoral scholar and undergraduate students.

Fiore and Aprill will work with Cole Easson at Middle Tennessee State University and Craig Nelson at the University of Hawai’i.

Apprill said she and Fiore will lead the field collection and synthesis of all collected data, and Easson will study microbes present in the water column and how the community of microbes change in response to sponge metabolism. Nelson will analyze nutrients in seawater samples.

“We are at an early stage of understanding the flow of nutrients in coral reef ecosystems and the role that sponges have in mediating that

flow of nutrients,” Fiore said. “Because of this, it is likely that our research will lead to more testable hypotheses on how the assemblage of species on coral reefs influence which nutrients are available and how different species may interact through this pool of dissolved nutrients.”

Multiple undergraduate students and at least one graduate student will participate in data collection, analysis and dissemination of results.

Student researchers will learn analytical tools and work with other scientists, including a postdoctoral researcher, who will soon be hired at App State to work on the project full time and collaborate with other institutions.

“My goal for all students who work on the project is for them to present their research at a scientific conference,” Fiore said.

Fiore also plans to work alongside Jennifer Geib in the Department of Biology, Marta Toran in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences and undergraduate secondary education biology majors to put together an educational activity related to their research project for local middle school students.

“The collaboration allows us to combine our expertise in coral reef sponges, microbiology and chemistry to understand a new a complex question on coral reefs,” Apprill said.

Fieldwork for the project will take place this summer off the coast of the Caribbean island Curaçao.

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A&C

Nov. 8, 2019

App State professor receives award Signs, Wonders, Blunders: for recent poetry selections campus organization discusses climate change through art Marlen Cardenas | Reporter

A Department of English professor was recently recognized for her poetry selections that explore the challenges of living in a woman’s body, and how it relates to climate change.

Professor Kathryn Kirkpatrick was awarded the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry for her book, “The Fisher Queen: New & Selected Poems,” released in March.

The award highlights the “most significant work of original poetry published over the course of the last year by a North Carolina poet,” according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

“The award is a great honor,” Kirkpatrick said. “I’m really pleased to be in such great company. I know many of these poets, and they’re terrific poets, so I’m really honored to have my book chosen from such a field of really fine writers.”

This is Kirkpatrick’s second time winning the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry. In 2004, she was awarded for her book, “Beyond Reason.”

“New and selected for poets (is) kind of a later career or mid-career kind of volume where you draw selections from each of the books that you’ve published,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s the seventh collection that I’ve published, but its drawing on six previous collections, and then there’s a whole section of new poems at the beginning, as well.”

Kirkpatrick started writing poetry while attending Winthrop University. She took Susan

Ludvigson’s poetry writing class, who later became her mentor.

“It’s important to me to mention that there are many ways through the woods in becoming a writer,” Kirkpatrick said. “Creative writing has been very professionalized, and there are many creative writing programs of terminal degrees, and those are wonderful programs. I didn’t go through such a program; I really learned from individuals. I like for students to know that that’s another way to be a writer.”

Kirkpatrick describes her work as “eco-feminist,” which she said is the way women, animals and the land are all connected.

“Several of the volumes I draw the selected poems from are dealing with grief,” Kirkpatrick said. “We knew in the 90s what was happening to our habitats, and to our species and how the climate was being impacted by human activity. I saw that, and I wanted to write a poem about how much grief I felt about the anthropogenic causes of climate change.”

Kirkpatrick said we still have not made large enough changes to prevent the harm we are causing to the world around us.

“We should try to be human differently, try to be related to the land differently and the other creatures differently.” Kirkpatrick said. “I hope that maybe some of that work will be helpful to other people.”

Kathryn Kirkpatrick, an App State English professor, won the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry for her new book "The Fisher Queen." The works dive into "eco-feminism” as Kirkpatrick describes it and how women, animals and the land they inhabit are interconnected.

Jesse Barber

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Camryn Collier | Associate A&C Editor A partnership between campus program Climate Stories Collaborative and creative research project Dear Climate is bringing a new “playful and enigmatic” art installation to campus, Dear Climate co-founder Una Chaudhari said.

Dear Climate was established in 2012 and has showcased four major artists over the years, including Chaudhari, Marina Zurkow, Fritz Ertl and Oliver Kellhammer.

CSC is an interdisciplinary faculty-led program that started in 2017 and is co-facilitated by professors Laura England, Jennie Carlisle and Derek Davidson to better communicate climate change to the public.

Opening this semester, “Signs, Wonders, Blunders” will remain on campus through the spring semester.

The installation will have 13 signposts with trail markers placed strategically around campus.

Dear Climate focuses on changing its audience’s perspective of climate change, Chaudhari said during an Oct. 28 presentation with co-founder Kurkow about the new installation.

Often, there are feelings of “dread, guilt and fear” toward climate change, but Dear Climate wants to communicate ideas of playfulness and optimism through their design work. These ideas are implemented in the wording and presentations on the signposts, Chaudhari said.

The signposts will have three quotations on each with a specific focus. One example will have “First Man,” “Second Nature” and “Sixth Extinction” quotations on it.

“It’s a novel model for thinking about ways to reposition humans inside these larger stories of climate change, and to think about broader stories of how humans connect back to the non-human world,” Carlisle said.

CSC encourages multimedia use to tell stories of how climate change has affected people. This includes work from visual and performing arts, England said.

“There’s a big gap in the public under-

standing that climate change is happening, and it’s harmful in various ways to people now and people in the future,” England said.

“But, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has documented with survey work that only about a third of Americans actually talk about climate change. So, we are engaging in the story.”

Over 25 departments and majors are involved in CSC, including physics, social work, applied design, military science and leadership.

The interdisciplinary involvement was what attracted Dear Climate to work with CSC. “When I first heard about the Climate Stories Collaborative, I was so impressed because you want saturation and penetration of this subject matter into all areas of academia,” Chaudhari said. “It shouldn’t just be in environmental departments, it should be everywhere.”

Part of “Signs, Wonders, Blunders” includes an “Adopt A Sign” program, where a class, individual or club can adopt signs for creative research and study, Carlisle said.

CSC will host a Climate Stories Showcase in April, which will highlight work done through the “Adopt A Sign” program.

“The way (Dear Climate’s) project models interdisciplinary work is very much in keeping with the work that we have already been doing here on campus, and it’s really nice to feel like we are connected to a larger system of artistic process,” said Carlisle, CSC co-facilitator.

A&C

Nov. 8, 2019

Movie Review Terminator: Dark Fate

Ebony Foster | Columnist “Terminator: Dark Fate” premiered Nov. 1, and while entertaining, it does not offer anything new. The film features the return of “Terminator” stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton with the addition of some new stars, such as Gabriel Luna, who plays the Rev-9, and Mackenzie Davis, who plays Grace.

The story centers around Dani, played by Natalie Reyes, a strong-willed Mexican native caring for her father, brother and community.

After learning that increased automation took over her brother’s factory job, the day goes from bad to worse. Sarah Connor, Hamilton’s character, and her brother are attacked by android assassin Rev-9. They narrowly escape because of interference of an augment, or upgraded human, named Grace.

The Rev-9 has some upgrades of its own.

Though its design is similar to the terminators in the first two films, it can separate from its skeleton frame entirely and function in two forms, making it a formidable foe.

Both Dani and Grace need help against it, and that’s where Connor comes in. Motivated by a shocking loss at the beginning of the film, she now hunts terminators. Through Grace, she learns that though she and John managed to stop Judgement Day. The future Connor dreaded is still coming in a different form and is now right around the corner. These characters come together for a climactic showdown as they stand

Graphic by Efrain Arias-Medina Jr.

against the Rev-9 and ill-fated future once more.

The movie starts out strong, and gives fans a massive shock when they kill a young John Connor, a decision not well received among fans.

The movie let the audience time get to know Dani, but jumps right into action with the reveal of Grace, and then shortly thereafter, the reveal of the Rev-9. The fight scene choreography is well done, and the acting, thankfully, does not go below subpar. The Rev-9’s action sequences and features are incredibly grounded within the reality of this world. Besides suspending disbelief in a couple of stunt scenes and occasional political humor, the movie is well done.

This film mainly explores Connor’s struggle with loss and the new version of the future she fought to prevent. This film is far from the trainwreck that was “Terminator: Genisys,” and completely retconned the movies post-”Terminator 2: Judgement Day.” While not necessarily called for, this reboot shows promise, despite the similar story line and deserves a watch. Mistakes were made, in making this film but the mistakes do not overshadow the film’s entertainment value. However, given most of its reception by fans, this film looks to have faced a dark fate of its own.

Mary Ray Georgia Privott | Reporter Though professor Mary Ray originally went to school for speech therapy, she discovered her true passion for apparel design when she began working at a small fabric store in the 1970s.

“It was just like heaven for me. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed being in that atmosphere. I ended up working there for about 12 years,” said Ray, apparel design and merchandising professor.

She said her love for sewing continued when she started a custom bridal business and later became an editor for Threads, a sewing magazine. After moving to Boone in 2009, she became an apparel design instructor at App State.

Ray said in the fashion industry, the majority of pre-consumer waste comes from garment scraps after sewing. She teaches sustainable fashion design and includes zero waste projects, where students create a pattern and garment without any leftover scrap, and use the mending initiative.

The mending initiative is a class where apparel students can teach people how to fix clothes.

“I like to keep up with what the classes are doing, even if I don’t work with them. If I assign a zero-waste project, I want to explore that myself,” Ray said. “If you can fix your clothes, you keep them out of the landfill.”

Even though it is a lot of time and work, Ray said she enjoys handmade patchwork, such as couture, for its meditative qualities.

“I would hate to see couture go away because there is just something wonderful about the idea that couture clothes are still made by hand. I mean, literally, by hand. There are people that are putting in a lot of time and a lot of effort to make those garments,” Ray said.

Ray said she tends to wear fitted and neutral-colored clothing, but she still admires interesting designs like couture and fashion designer Issey Miyake, who designs oversized clothes. She said she sees the importance of including her style in her fashion and design.

“When I was doing a lot of my own sewing and designing, people would say, ‘Oh, that looks like you made it,’ and at first I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just so predictable,’ but I realized that it’s so important to have that signature. Someone can see it and know it’s yours,” Ray said.

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Sports

Nov. 8, 2019

GAME DAY

Game 9 | Saturday, Nov. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | Williams-Brice Stadium | Columbia, SC

App State (7-1, 4-1 Sun Belt)

VS

South Carolina (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12)

Game Notes: The Mountaineers head down to Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday to take on their second Power Five opponent this year — the South Carolina Gamecocks. After losing to rival Georgia Southern on Oct. 31, App State fell out of the Top 25 rankings shortly after achieving the highest ranking in school and Sun Belt history. They’ll look to get back on track against a South Carolina team that has proven it can beat anyone after defeating #3 Georgia. While ESPN’s Football Power Index gave the Gamecocks a 69.7% chance to win, the Mountaineers have already proven the FPI wrong on several occasions this year. Notably against North Carolina.

Getting Back on Track

Hot and Cold

Tale of Two Teams

For the second year in a row, Georgia Southern has knocked App State out of the Top 25. Before the heartbreaking loss on Halloween night, the Mountaineers’ hopes of a New Year’s Six bowl were becoming more than just hopes.To get back in to the race, App State can’t afford another loss.

While South Carolina has proven that it can beat anybody this year, it has also proven it can lose to anyone. Its season has had a mix of highs and lows, with a win at the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, but also 20-point losses to Missouri and Tennessee.

This game will be decided by whichever version of the Gamecocks shows up.

App State started off the season scorching hot, winning its first seven games. Meanwhile, South Carolina lost three of its first four. Now, the Mountaineers just suffered their first loss and the Gamecocks have won three of their last five games.

POINTS PER GAME

38.5 OPP. POINTS PER GAME

19.6

YARDS PER GAME

437.5

OPP. YARDS PER GAME

6

329.6

PLAYER TO WATCH #12 Zac Thomas Junior Quarterback South Carolina allows its opponents to throw for 242.3 passing yards per game. That’s good for 108th in the country.

Thomas has averaged 195.8 passing yards per game this season.

Thomas’ QBR of 70.9 is the 36th best in the nation

POINTS PER GAME

27.2 OPP. POINTS PER GAME

25

YARDS PER GAME

409.2

OPP. YARDS PER GAME

383.3

Sports

Nov. 8, 2019

Plummer set for senior season of roller coaster career got some really great coaches and support staff that really support me in all that I do, so they’ve really helped me to grow into the person I am today.”

Last season, Plummer didn’t slow down. She led the conference in rebounds with 12.9 per game and destroyed the App State single season rebounding record with 463. Plummer also started all 36 games, which extended her streak of consecutive starts to 67 games. Plummer’s contributions helped lead the team to its first winning record since the 2012-13 season, when they finished 20-11.

Bayley Plummer holds off UNC Greensboro players as she prepares to score points for the “Sometimes, you have to really get Mountaineers. Now in her fourth season, Plummer will serve not only has a star center on the to the bottom before you can get to the court, but as a role model for younger players on the team. top, and the first two years were defiLynette Files nitely the epitome of that,” Plummer Connor Davidson | Reporter said. “We were pretty low right there, When the final buzzer sounded in the last game of the but last year, it was nice to taste a little bit of success and just 2018-19 season, the App State women’s basketball team was keep working hard and keep fighting, and it was nice to be the winner of the Women’s Basketball Invitational tourna- rewarded.” ment. The 22-win season was huge for the program. For star Armani Hampton, who has played with Plummer senior, forward Bayley Plummer, it meant a little bit more. throughout her entire college career, has seen the impact “My best memory is definitely winning the WBI Cham- someone like Plummer can have on a team firsthand. pionship last year,” Plummer said. “That was something un“Even if you miss a shot, Bayley’s always there,” Hampforgettable.” ton said. “When you pass it in, (if) she doesn’t have a shot, you The team finished with a 8-23 record Plummer’s sopho- know you can count on Bayley to kick it out, and that’s where more year. Her freshman year, the team finished 12-19. Suc- a lot of our play comes from.” cess has not come easy for most of her career at App State, This season, Plummer will look to be even more of a but there was still much to learn through those tough seasons. leader and role model. Freshman forward Jackie Christ is tryHead coach Angel Elderkin remembers Plummer’s first ing to follow in Plummer’s footsteps for years to come. two seasons and how difficult it was for her to adjust to play“I look up to her in every way. She’s not only an amazing at the college level. ing basketball player, but she’s also a great person. She’s a “I think all freshmen struggle with ‘I’m a freshman in hard worker,” Christ said. “If I could be anything like her college, and I just came from being all-everything at my high going through this program, this is a great person to look up school,’ so she had a learning curve,” Elderkin said. “And to, and I hope I’m any bit as good as her.” then her sophomore year, we relied heavily on her. So, she’s Elderkin said she appreciates how Plummer helps the trying to find her way as a player and then also (trying) to be freshmen out in a way that a coach might not be able to. a leader.”

“She can talk to freshmen and keep it real in terms of Plummer’s second year did not disappoint. She started everything she went through, and there’s a light at the end of all 31 games for the Mountaineers and had a sophomore re- the tunnel. You just got to make it through freshman year,” cord of 355 rebounds, which led the team and the Sun Belt Elderkin said. with 11.5 rebounds per game. In addition, Plummer tacked Beyond the statistics and recognition, Plummer has a on nine points per game, which was the third best on the different personal goal for her last season. team. “(I’ll) just go out and have fun,” Plummer said. “It’s my Plummer said she believes there were a few factors that senior season. This is the last time I’ll be playing basketball. brought her game to the next level.

It’s kind of scary for life after sports, but I’m excited just to “A lot of hard work, a lot of hours spent off the court, I go into senior season with an open mind and just (as) ready believe, just getting in extra work, and just really being dedi- to attack it as the last three years.” cated to take my game to the next level,” Plummer said. “I’ve

My last

word

Stop scheduling Southern on short weeks Brooks Maynard | Columnist

It’s now two years in a row that the App State football team has lost to the Georgia Southern Eagles on short week, Thursday night games, spoiling the Mountaineers’ national ranking and chance at an undefeated season.

We need to stop scheduling short week games against teams that have given us trouble in the name of getting the game on national TV. The exposure that comes along with being on ESPN turns into taunts and tweets about the program being overrated when you not only lose the game, but look totally inept while doing so.

Georgia Southern is not only App State’s main rival, it runs a triple option offense known for giving defenses trouble when they’re not used to seeing it. Scheduling that game on regular length weeks gives coaches longer to plan, players longer to prepare and keeps everyone on a regular routine, which is good for winning games.

I think I speak for most App State fans when I say that I’m tired of hearing the words “Black Thursday.” It’s Black Saturday.

Always has been and always should be.

Booneshine even named a beer after it.

Saturdays also tend to be better attended, since fewer people work on weekends.

Thursdays just do not feel the same.

Especially when those days are tainted with a loss.

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Opinion

Nov. 8, 2019

The

Tea

Richard Burr wants more taxes?

Tommy Mozier | Opinion Editor

The NCAA proved me wrong. After California forced its hand, the NCAA ruling board voted unanimously Oct. 29 to begin the process to allow college athletes to profit off of their names and likenesses.

Aside from the obvious benefits to college athletes, fans are already salivating over the possibility of EA Sports recreating its incredibly popular college football and basketball games after a 10-year hiatus.

But, one prominent North Carolina senator sensed another opportunity from the NCAA’s actions.

Less than four hours after the news broke, Richard Burr, North Carolina’s senior senator, tweeted: “If college athletes are going to make money off their likenesses while in school, their scholarships should be treated like income. I’ll be introducing legislation that subjects scholarships given to athletes who choose to ‘cash in’ to income taxes.”

If there’s one thing the public associates with the Republican Party, it’s jumping at any opportunity to create new taxes.

As of Nov. 4, Burr had not introduced the legislation. His tweet was deliciously ratioed; people commenting criticism far outnumbered those who simply liked or retweeted.

Like almost every elected Republican, Burr voted in favor of a massive tax cut for the wealthiest Americans in 2017. It’s almost as if the tax cuts are not paying for themselves, and the government needs a new source of revenue.

It’s almost as if Republicans’ age-old promise that cutting taxes at the top will benefit everyone is a ploy to only cut taxes for their rich donors. After all, many of the government officials who wrote the original tax bill now lobby for the companies who benefit from it.

Burr, who said he is retiring in 2022, saw an opportunity to raise taxes on an overwhelmingly impoverished, predominantly minority group of Americans, because money can’t trickle down from the bottom now, can it?

It’s one thing to tweet at him on Twitter. It’s another entirely to vote and ensure his hand-picked successor as well as his partner, Thom Tillis, do not represent North Carolina after 2022.

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The way to fusion-based power is closer than we think

Amy Waas | Opinion Writer

Imagine taking the most powerful energy source in the universe and harnessing it to create a sustainable, low-risk, clean source of energy on Earth. Though it sounds impossible, a global initiative has been in the works to create such a source — ITER, which translates to “the way” in Latin, is a French-headquartered project attempting to create one of the most ambitious modern energy products.

The most powerful energy source in the universe currently known is nuclear fusion, the process of combining atoms. Every atom has a nucleus that holds specific numbers of protons and neutrons. Different chemical elements have varying numbers of protons and neutrons; if two unique atoms combine, or fuse, with a high concentration of energy, a new element can be created.

This process yields energy and heat in high quantities. For instance, both the sun and the stars shine because of nuclear fusion. This is the opposite of nuclear fission, which also releases energy, but instead involves the separation of nuclei.

ITER nuclear power plants would incorporate nuclear fusion into their design in an attempt to produce and harness the released energy as an alternative form of power. Currently, no nuclear-fusion based plant with harvestable energy exists, current nuclear power plants use fission to create energy. But ITER is a stepping stone in that direction.

ITER is using the participation of 28 countries, including China, members of the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States to create an experimental device that produces net energy, which refers to the raw, powerful energy that could be used in place of modern power sources. ITER tests global technologies and designs with unprecedented scientific cooperation, and it currently predicts full operational ability by 2025, a deadline which is quickly approaching.

Why fusion opposed to other means of creating raw energy? From sea-water uranium, fusion could produce massive quantities of carbon-free energy with no environmental impact. It’s the holy

grail of new energy development.

ITER created and employs a tokamak reactor resembling a cored apple, which is important for the key function of the machine: to absorb the heat and energy it creates within its walls. The process of a tokamak is unique, as it converts hydrogen into plasma through extreme heat and pressure. It’s the most promising fusion device of the modern world, and ITER is projected to have the largest tokamak in existence.

More than 200 tokamaks have contributed to the research involved in creating ITER, which is nearing completion. This October, the first shield thermal segments were installed. In November, coils and vacuum vessels integral to the machines’ functionality will be completed. With each milestone, ITER comes closer to prototyping a feasible nuclear fusion energy source. Once ITER is functional, nuclear fusion-based energy will be a worldwide possibility.

More importantly, ITER can help solve the growing issue of sustainable energy sources and power plants. These plants rely on fossil fuels, nuclear fission or renewable sources, then generate electricity by converting mechanical power into electrical power. This is expensive, with plenty of negative environmental impact.

Using a tokamak will harness the energy of fusion itself, preventing the waste and environmental damage of most modern power plants.

Though this sounds amazing, the process and creation of nuclear fusion machines are incredibly difficult. Milestone completion is exciting, but the finished project is still at least five years away. Until then, following ITER’s progress on its website is important — the historic experiment has more potential than we know and could provide an alternative energy source capable of sustaining the world for a fraction of the cost.

Opinion

Nov. 8, 2019

Donald Trump is helping the progressive movement Caleb Garbuio | Opinion Writer President Donald Trump has done more for progressive causes than any progressive activist has in the 21st Century.

While Trump is the furthest thing from a progressive president, his tenure in office has inspired progressive activists to take to the streets and voice their concerns.

According to a 2017 NPR article, the Trump presidency has resulted in activism from both sides of the political spectrum. However, Trump’s tenure has resulted in an exponential increase in activism from politically engaged progressives, not conservatives. For example, according to a survey by University of Maryland sociologist Dana Fisher, onethird of the 527 participants randomly sampled at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington had never protested before.

Trump has unified progressives fighting for a variety of issues due to his pursuit of policies targeting progressive causes. According to CNN analyst John Blake, Trump has caused Americans to face ugly truths about racism and sexism that previous administrations swept under the rug.

Through his blatant sexism and policies targeting Muslim immigrants, Trump triggered a “Trumplash,” culminating

in a record number of women and Muslim Americans running for office.

This resulted in the most ethnically and racially diverse Congress in United States history. While it’s difficult to determine causality between Trump’s election and an increase in congressional diversity, there have been significant increases in diverse voices since Trump took office four years ago.

From 2015 to 2019, Congress saw a 21.7% increase in black representatives, a 34.4% increase in Hispanic representatives, a 54.5% increase in Asian voices and a 100% increase in Native American voices.

However, from 2001 to 2005, prior to the “Trumplash” — there was a 13.9% increase in black voices, which was followed by a 4.9% decrease from 2005 to 2009. Hispanic voices increased by 31.6% from 2001 to 2005 and continue to steadily increase. Asian voices increased 57.1% from 2009 to 2013, and Native American voices increased by 100% from 2009 to 2013.

While Asian voices increased more and Native American voices equaled the same percentage total under Trump,

these percentages are misleading. For example, from 2009 to 2013, Asian voices only increased by five seats, and Native American voices increased their seats by one.

Since Trump’s election, the number of seats added by each demographic is larger than the other four year spreads.

Black representation increased by 10 seats, Hispanic voices increased by 11, Asian voices increased by six and Native Americans increased by two.

While correlation does not equal causation, there is enough data to suggest that Trump had an impact on the increase in diversity since he took office because of the increase in diverse candidates and an increase in voter turnout.

While there is a steady upward trend in congressional representatives from different backgrounds, the numbers have grown under the Trump administration. On account of this, more progessive candidates are being elected than ever before.

A Presidential Press Conference Circus Ricky Barker | Opinion Writer

In a move that should surprise no one, President Donald Trump took what could have been a respectful and patriotic victory for his presidency and turned it into a circus.

On Oct. 26, CNN reported that after a long search in coordination with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, eight helicopters carrying teams of United States Delta Force troops flew into ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s secret compound. After breaching one wall to enter, a gunfight began, killing several ISIS soldiers. After the two-hour assault, U.S. special forces cornered Al-Baghdadi in one of the underground tunnels surrounding the compound. Backed into a corner, he exploded a suicide vest he was wearing, killing himself and three of his children.

The operation was called Kayla Mueller in memory of an American woman who was repeatedly raped and then killed by ISIS soldiers.

It was a historic, yet somber victory against terrorism. After an event such as this, it’s the president’s duty to announce what has happened, in

a respectful and graceful manner.

However, during the Oct. 27 press conference, viewers could have thought Trump was reciting the plot of his favorite action movie.

Sporting his usual dramatic flair, Trump managed to somehow undermine what would otherwise be a great achievement for his presidency.

Trump excitedly told his audience how the U.S. forces eliminated the terrorist leader, saying: “He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming.”

He consistently barraged Al-Baghdadi, calling him a dog, thug, loser and a fearful coward. The president left out no gory detail, including how “his body was mutilated by the blast.”

Trump went on to exclaim how Al-Baghdadi inevitably fell to the almighty power of the U.S., when he said,“Terrorists who oppress and murder innocent people should never sleep soundly, knowing that we will completely destroy them. These savage monsters will not escape their fate – and they will not escape the fi-

nal judgment of God.” If you think all of this seems incredibly dramatic, the delivery was even more so. Trump was overreacted to the extreme. The whole scenario seemed so theatrical and staged, and ironically, some aspects probably were staged.

For one, Trump had no way of hearing what was happening during the operation or seeing it in great detail. Several defense officials told The New York Times there was no way for Trump to have known exactly what Al-Baghdadi was doing, and he certainly couldn’t hear him.

The drone footage Trump watched had no audio. So, it seems the story of the terrorist leader whimpering and begging for mercy was another alternative fact from the president.

In the photos taken in the situation room during the operation, Trump sits stoically, surrounded by the vice president and multiple officials. It’s suspiciously similar to the famous photo of Barack Obama and officials during the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. But, unlike that

photo, Trump is front and center in his photoshoot.

Pete Souza, former White House photographer, pointed out that International Press Telecommunications Council data shows that the picture was taken at 5 p.m. The raid reportedly happened at 3:30 p.m. It could be that the picture was simply taken late into the operation; however, it seems plausible that it was faked, considering the perfect placement of everyone, the fact that Trump is looking directly at the camera and that many of cords on the table are unplugged.

This seems to be another case of the president creating a false narrative for himself to benefit his image. Trump tried to create an image of himself as a great and heroic commander defeating the forces of evil, but all he’s managed to do was make himself look like a fool.

9

Et Cetera

Nov. 8, 2019

ACROSS 1 Blooming tooth robber! You have the legal right to fine him (12) 9 Dostoyevsky's Prince Myshkin gives one girl books (5) 10 Bursting in and bursting out, we hear (9) 11 Completed dub on soundtrack extraordinarily quickly (9) 12 Recent time lost makes one tardier (5) 13 Some metal boxes get returned, flattened at the edges (6) 15 Radioactive metal found in protein by one university microbiologist originally (8) 18 Composer who brought Spanish language to Italy? (8) 19 It helps produce groovy music (6) 22 Required by one sitting president at meeting (5) 24 Topless sex on Prague television initially bothered censor (9) 26 One who makes good money for his employers wouldn't be welcome at Lord's, perhaps (9) 27 Brad returns with a climber (5) 28 Repeatedly speak with East European corrupt dialect (6-6)

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DOWN 1 Bespectacled Corin somehow finds a S. American flower (7) 2 Brief moment for a lyricist? (5) 3 Give advance payment to South African province before delivery (9) 4 Non-Spanish speaker in America has to travel around to make a call (6) 5 Version of Christe eleison primarily for those with unorthodox creed (8) 6 Banish former huntsman out East (5) 7 Defective hearing result of putting one in the wind (8) 8 Worker is on the edge in Northern Ireland (6) 14 Reluctant Marion undressed for seducer (8) 16 Raised capital to support one theatre with production of Lear, among others (5,4) 17 Eskimo shaman finds English king in capital city, decapitated (8) 18 Commander in chief to the Queen has love for orator (6) 20 Leak incomplete cross-reference (7) 21 A mineral source extremely thin on the ground (6) 23 Dance graduate leaves cake (5) 25 A shortage? What a shame (5)

Nov. 8, 2019

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Thursday Nov. 8 Friday, Nov. 9 Saturday, Nov. 10 Sunday, Nov. 11 Monday, Nov. 12 Tuesday, Nov. 13

Wednesday, Nov. 14

Cody Chessor/Student Tuba Recital 6-7 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

“The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov Play Performance 7-9 p.m.

I.G. Greer Auditorium

Opera Performances 8-10 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

Wrestling Mountaineer Invitational & Open 9 a.m.-all day Varsity Gymnasium

Men’s Soccer vs. Georgia State University 7-9 p.m.

Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex

“The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov Play Performance 7-9 p.m.

I.G. Greer Auditorium

Opera Performance 2-4 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

Saxophone Chamber Ensembles 8-9:30 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

Transit of Mercury Across the Sun Viewing 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Rankin Science South Third Floor

Appalachian Trail Panel Featuring Warren Doyle 7-8:30 p.m.

Plemmons Student Union Room 220

Brass Chamber Ensembles 8-9:30 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

Craft Talk by Jacinda Townsend 3:30-4:45 p.m.

Plemmons Student Union Room 417

Men’s Basketball vs. East Carolina University 7-9 p.m.

Holmes Convocation Center

Terrell Cordice/Student Clarinet/Composition Recital 8-9 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

De-Stress Fest 12-3 p.m.

Plemmons Student Union Room 226

Anthropology Brown Bag Series “Warfare and Aggression in Human Evolution” 12-1 p.m.

Anne Belk Hall Room 342

Hayes String Quartet 6-7 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

Volunteer with the Children’s Playhouse 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The Children’s Playhouse 400 Tracy Circle, Boone

Zach McRary/Student Trombone Recital 6-7 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

Clarinet Ensemble/Studio Recital 8-9 p.m.

Rosen Concert Hall

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