March 15, 2019

THE APPALACHIAN March 15, 2019

Climate neutrality by 2025 Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative sponsored a bill to urge administrators toward “aggressive action” for increased energy efficiency on campus.

The bill passed unanamiously on March 12 at the SGA Senate meeting.

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LA MAN WHO STOLE $1.96 MILLION FROM APP STATE TO SERVE 3 YEARS IN PRISON

STUDENTS START FIRST CLUB FOOTBALL TEAM FOR NON-VARSITY PLAYERS

NATIONAL CHAIN TAKES A ‘BITE’ OUT OF LOCAL DELIVERY BUSINESSES

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News

March 15, 2019

Former student charged with first degree sexual exploitation of a minor Anna Muckenfuss ‫@ ׀‬noel1122 ‫ ׀‬News Reporter

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former App State student was arrested Feb. 26, after Boone Police and Watauga County Sheriff’s Office were notified of a potential incident involving sexual exploitation of minors, according to a press release.

Frank Darrell Cromwell of 359 Old E. King St. was charged with five counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of felony second degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Lt. Chris Hatton said one of the victims notified Boone Police of the incident.

“The general consensus was catfishing. He was pretending to be another person through an app on a social media type platform,” Hatton said. “He was getting inappropriate pictures from underage folks by pre-

tending to be someone else.”

Hatton said the social media platform used was Snapchat.

Hatton wrote in a text message that two victims have come forward, both under 16 years old. Hatton also wrote that Boone Police anticipates identifying more victims as the investigation continues. Hatton said both victims are in their parents’ care.

Cromwell’s assigned court date is March 22, and a Watauga County Magistrate has placed him under $100,000 bond.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Computer Crimes Unit assisted with the investigation due to the digital evidence.

“There were search warrants on two iPhones and a tablet,” Hatton said. “When you’re doing electronic search warrants like that it takes a

particular skill set. We have detectives here who are trained for that.”

Hatton said everyone should be mindful of the content they send digitally.

“Some of our young folks especially trust that a screen name and what somebody tells them online is who they really are,” Hatton said.

“Many times that is not the case.”

Hatton said the next Coffee with a Cop, an informational meeting series hosted by Boone Police, on June 27 will focus on internet safety.

“For parents that have juveniles, they need to remember that there are people in this world who will target their children, and they need to be mindful of that when they give their kids access to internet use,” Hatton said.

Frank Darrell Cromwell, a former App State student, was charged with five counts of first degree sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of felony second degree sexual exploitation by obtaining explicit images of underage girls on Snapchat. // Photo courtesy Boone Police

SGA bill presses university to climate neutrality by 2025 Moss Brennan ‫@ ׀‬MosBren ‫ ׀‬News Editor

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Freshman Senator Devin Mullins at Tuesday night’s SGA meeting. At the meeting, Mullins’s bill, The Climate Neutrality Act, was unanimously passed. The bill will put measures in place to make App State climate neutral by 2025. // Photo

by Hayley Canal

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embers of the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative burst into cheers as the Student Government Association passed The Climate Neutrality Act, which urges App State to “take aggressive action to achieve climate neutrality by 2025.”

Twenty-eight different groups and 41 individuals across campus sponsored the bill.

The bill passed during the March 12 SGA Senate meeting.

“I think it’s incredible,” sophomore political science major and creator of the bill Devin Mullins said.

“It only happened because we had this many people show up and they showed senators that they wanted it to happen.”

Over 50 students and members of the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative filled the seats and lined the walls as SGA debated and

voted on the bill.

“This is the first big step for us to really getting the university on board with climate neutrality and expressing to them that our student body does endorse sustainability,” junior sustainable development major Devyn Barron said.

Barron is part of the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative communications team.

A survey shared on social media found that 95 percent of 515 people surveyed would support “dramatically increasing energy efficiency on campus.”

“We have all these voices, this gigantic movement, that say, ‘Yes, we want Appalachian State to be climate neutral by 2025,’” Mullins said.

Danny Esposito is a senior sustainable development major who attended the March 12 Senate meeting.

“I think this is really a great opportunity for App State to become

an even bigger leader in the sustainability efforts across the nation as far as universities go,” Esposito said.

The bill has 15 resolved clauses that call for App State to support the Climate Action Collaborative, mandate that all university units begin reducing greenhouse gas emissions and that the university provide transparent accounting of the university’s trajectory of progress toward climate neutrality.

The final resolved clause of the bill endorses the Climate Action Collaborative and reads: “We wholeheartedly support the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative and the goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2025 at Appalachian State University.”

“The driving force behind this bill is the Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative,” Mullins said.

The full bill can be found on the SGA website.

News

March 15, 2019

LA man convicted of laundering $1.96 million from App State, sentenced to 3 years Christina Beals ‫@ ׀‬christinalala_ ‫ ׀‬WASU News Coordinator

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Los Angeles man indicted for laundering $1.96 million from App State was sentenced to three years in prison on Feb. 21, Western District of North Carolina U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray said in a press release.

Ho Shin Lee, 31, was ordered on Feb. 19 to pay App State back the $1.96 million he stole.

A Charlotte federal grand jury indicted Lee on March 23, 2018, on 14 counts of money laundering, with each count carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors dismissed 13 counts of Lee’s indictment as part of a plea deal.

According to the indictment, Lee registered a company with the Secretary of State of California called Royce Hub Trading around Nov. 18, 2016, and claimed it was in the “general merchandise” business.

Lee represented Royce Hub Trading as the CEO, secretary and chief financial officer.

He opened a bank account for the company on Nov. 23, 2016, and was the sole account holder.

At the same time, App State contracted the Charlotte construction company Rodgers Builders to construct the Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences building, according to court documents.

Around Dec. 2, 2016, an App State employee received an email with a direct deposit form and in-

structions to change Rodgers Builders’ banking information to Lee’s new bank account.

A source identified as “D.M.” sent the email from accounts@rodgersbuildersinc.com. Rodgers Builders’ email ends in rodgersbuilders. com.

The App State employee changed the construction company’s payment information and deposited $1,959,925.02 intended for Rodgers Builders into Lee’s company bank account around Dec. 8, 2016.

Lee received the money around Dec. 12, 2016, and transferred it out of his bank account through a series of transactions meant to conceal the funds.

App State discovered the mistake when a Rodgers Builders employee contacted the university and asked why the company had not received payment for construction on Leon Levine Hall.

In December 2016, the FBI located Lee’s bank account and seized the remaining $961,000. In January 2017, agents found $600,000 transferred to multiple bank accounts.

App State was awarded $1,542,442.33 in civil forfeiture proceedings after the FBI located the rest of the money, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release on Jan. 24, 2018.

James Cornett, junior finance and banking major, was confirmed to the Cabinet by the SGA Senate. He said he wants to bring financial knowledge and awareness to the student body through a new class and a week dedicated to financial literacy. // Photo by Moss Brennan

New SGA CFO wants to spread financial knowledge with general education class Moss Brennan ‫@ ׀‬mosbren ‫ ׀‬News Editor

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he new chief financial officer for the Student Government Association wants to create a financial literacy class and dedicate a week to learn about finances.

The SGA Senate confirmed James Cornett, junior finance and banking major, as the new CFO to the cabinet on Feb. 26.

“I envision a one-hour financial literacy class that would help satisfy the quantitative literacy requirements for the general education core requirements,” Cornett wrote in an email.

Cornett also wrote that the class would teach life-long financial skills.

“Ideally, this course would cover financial information like how to create and manage a budget, properly use a credit card, fill out your taxes and any other rele-

vant financial information that students would be able to use outside of the classroom,” Cornett wrote in an email.

Cornett also said he wants to create an event-based financial literacy week with similar topics to the class and provide on-campus resources for students to manage their finances.

Student Body President DeJon Milbourne, senior accounting major, nominated Cornett.

“He’s qualified, I mean he’s kind of overqualified if you look at his resume with what he’s done in our college of business,” Milbourne said.

Another reason Milbourne appointed Cornett to CFO is because he was the Interfraternity Council president for 2017-2018.

Cornett wrote in an email that he created many relationships with

administration during his time as IFC president.

“Previously, I have been the treasurer of an organization with a similar budget size and with similar responsibilities,” Cornett wrote in an email. “I also have had financial internships where I have gained real-life knowledge of the financial industry.”

Cornett’s goal for SGA is to grow the organization and provide a foundation for future administrations. He also wants to use his platform to spread financial knowledge and awareness to students.

“Many college students, and recent graduates, mismanage their finances because they haven’t had formal training or open discussions about how to responsibly spend and save their money,” Cornett wrote in an email.

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News

March 15, 2019

The Cottages of Boone experiences “unexpected overuse of water and sewage”

Jackie Park ‫@ ׀‬jackiempark ‫ ׀‬Associate News Editor

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n the evening of Feb. 22, 894 residents received an email informing them that for the next three nights, The Cottages of Boone would turn off their water from 11 p.m.-7 a.m.

In the email, The Cottages cited “unexpected overuse of water and sewage recently.”

Screenshots of this email were posted to the Facebook group App State Classifieds and received a large number of responses from residents and community members. Later, screenshots were posted of a second email from The Cottages explaining the water would not be turned off and that because of heavy rainfall, the facility was unable to drain their water storage tanks.

Mat Windsor, portfolio manager for Cardinal Group Management, which owns The Cottages, wrote in an email that the North Carolina De-

partment of Environment and Natural Resources was aware that the water was being turned off and wrote that “statutes require that they not be drained while the ground is saturated or frozen.”

“We are currently working with local pumping companies to haul the water out of the tanks and are keeping our residents and the NCDENR apprised of the situation,” Windsor wrote.

Gabby Midgett, freshman English major, has lived at The Cottages since August and said she was confused when she received the first email.

“I was just like, ‘But why?’ It didn’t make any sense,” Midgett said.

Taye Ward, sophomore marketing major, has also lived at The Cottages since August, and said he was upset when he received the first email because he typically showers late at night.

“I thought it was pretty unfair, especially because they never, in our lease

we signed for the 2018-19 school year, stated that they were allowed to do that or that we had limitations on our resources,” Ward said.

Ward said he and his roommates strongly considered calling The Cottages before receiving the second email.

Midgett said she understood that people who had 8 a.m. classes were concerned about not showering before class, but that they could shower the night before instead.

“I do see the issue with it, but the blow up wasn’t that necessary,” Midgett said.

Midgett said after receiving the second email of the night approximately three hours later, she understood more, but didn’t understand why that wasn’t explained originally.

Ward said he was relieved after the second email, but the situation made him wonder how else The Cottages would impact he and his roommates.

“It broke this unspoken word that made me think, ‘Are they going to do this again?’” Ward said.

The Cottages staff could not be reached for an interview.

The Cottages of Boone recently ran into controversy when residents were notified that their water would be shut off for eight hours for the next three nights due to the “unexpected overuse of water and sewage recently." Angered by the outage, residents shared their frustrations on social media and the complex canceled the shut-off. // Photo by Lindsay Vaughn

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Sports

March 15, 2019

Softball opens season 13-6, best start in over 10 years

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Junior pitcher Kenzi Longanecker winds up and fires to the plate. // Photo by Halle Keighton

Zack Antrum ‫@ ׀‬zantrum17 ‫ ׀‬Sports Reporter

fter a 17-35 finish last season, the App State softball team looks to improve early in 2019.

After an offseason in which the team had several players earn numerous academic honors, players are displaying their hard work on the field.

Sitting at 13-6, the team is riding its best start in over 10 years. Earlier this season, the team held an eight-game win streak, the longest in program history, according to App State Athletics.

Head coach Shelly Hoerner is in her second year at App State and said she has worked with her team to bring a winning culture to the High Country.

“The vision that we’ve brought in as a staff, they have bought into and they want to win,” Hoerner said. “They want to take this program to the next level, and I definitely see they are more committed.”

After a 3-3 start, the team went on a six-game winning streak at the Holy City Showdown in Charleston, South Carolina.

This stretch included wins against event host College of Charleston and Big 12 Conference member Iowa State.

The team also started 3-0 in conference play after picking up three straight wins against Georgia Southern on March 7-9.

Junior utility player Keri White, junior pitcher Kenzie Longanecker and senior infielder Hayley Stewart are helping the Mountaineers start the season strong.

White leads the team in batting average at .388 and the most at-bats with 67, which is good for No. 9 in the Sun Belt.

Longanecker is 7-0 on the mound for the season and sits at No. 5 in conference wins.

Stewart has 159 putouts in 165 chances and has committed only two errors in 2019. She leads the Sun Belt in both categories.

Hoerner said she will look for her squad to keep the momentum going for the rest of the season.

“We just need to be consistent in everything we do,” Hoerner said. “We need to stay focused on being in the moment, not worrying about the next game, just focusing on winning the inning and we’ll be okay.”

Students campaign to start club football team

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wenty-three sports are listed on App State’s club sports website, including major sports like baseball and basketball as well as lesser known sports like equestrian and Ultimate Frisbee, but there has never been a club football team. A group of students thought that needed to change, and the team plans to play its inaugural season in the fall.

App State is known for football. The success of the varsity program has led to an impressive fan base, uniting many people to support their Mountaineers.

“One of the biggest things we want to do is just feed that football culture,” said sophomore economics major Caleb Wright, who is vice president and treasurer of the club football team.

The club football team is still in its early stages, but the club executives have come up with a plan. Like all club sports at App State, any student who pays dues and meets academic requirements can join, and the team will compete against other schools’ club teams. Dues will range from $500- $600 depending on which helmet the player chooses. Included with dues are a helmet, shoulder pads, a girdle, a jersey and travel expenses.

The executives hope they can use Kidd Brewer Stadium for home games when the varsity team is on the road. This will give the community the opportunity to support the team and get their football fix when the varsity team isn’t at home.

Silas Albright ‫@ ׀‬silasalbright ‫ ׀‬Associate Sports Editor

Club football secretary Matt Scott (left), vice president and treasurer Caleb Wright (middle), and president Caleb Hudson pose at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Fall 2019 will mark the first season of club football at App State. // Photo by Silas Albright

“I mean obviously we’re very much a football school,” Wright said. “Our whole exec. board is always out at the games, always looking for anything football. We’re always into it. We wanted to fill that gap and basically give people something to do when App has away games.”

It wasn’t hard for sophomore finance and banking major and club president Caleb Hudson to come up with the idea of a club football team.

“When you love football or a sport that much, you have that drive. You want to keep playing it,” Hudson said. “Having played in high school, I was just like, ‘Dang, I really miss it.’”

For a sport as popular as football, it’s safe to say that Hudson is not alone in his desire to continue playing. The majority of high school football players don’t play at the collegiate level, but that doesn’t mean they lose their love for the game.

Other students, like sophomore international business major Ike Easterbrook, might have missed their chance to play football in high school and have another chance to play organized football at a competitive level.

“When I first heard about the club football team, I was stoked about it,” Easterbrook said. “It’ll help me stay in shape and to go play some football with a good group of guys will definitely be cool. I didn’t play in high school, but I wish I had.”

The first interest meeting was held on Feb. 19 and the executive board plans to hold another meeting at a later date. The executives will post updates to @AppStateClubFootball on Instagram.

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Arts and Culture

Christine Dudley ‫@ ׀‬chridud ‫ ׀‬A&C Reporter

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hen Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble opens March 20, seven tappers will treat the audience to a “special sauce.” The Department of Theatre and Dance puts on SADE, an eight-piece dance concert, each spring.

Assistant professor Cara Hagan created “(Shim Sham with the Special) SAUCE,” which tips a hat to 1930s and ‘40s jazz and the shim sham. The shim sham, which is regarded as the national anthem of tap dance, was often performed before the intermission and at the end of shows. During the shim sham, the dancers yelled “salt” and “peanuts” to entice the audience to buy concessions.

Hagan is incorporating this vocal element into her piece as well, which was challenging for the dancers at first.

Sophomore dance studies major Brianna Graves said one day in rehearsal they tried to think of words to yell in the moment, but only sounds came out.

Hagan is choreographing the shim sham-inspired piece in collaboration with her seven dancers. Hagan created the framework for the routine, but gave them freedom to create their own material.

“They have done some compositional activities, where I’ve given them phrase work and said, ‘Here are the parameters, do something with it,’ and so it’s been a collaborative effort,” Hagan said.

Hagan said the dancers in this piece are seasoned tappers, but for some it has been awhile since they’ve laced up their Oxfords.

“It’s kind of been challenging because I haven’t tapped in four years… so I’m kind of in the process of relearning and picking it back up again,” sophomore psychology major Abigale Wiggins said.

Other dancers like Graves, who’s

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tapped since she was 2, had to adjust to a more rhythmic style.

“I grew up with studio tap, and this is much more true to authentic tap when it was created, so it’s been a little difficult to adjust to different rhythms,” Graves said.

Sophomore dance studies major Sophie Reynolds said she appreciates Hagan’s holistic approach to teaching tap.

“I think I’ve definitely gotten a lot more about culture and the background of tap in this piece, and I think it makes it more valuable to me,” Reynolds said.

During rehearsal, Hagan explained tap history to her dancers. The nobility and the upper class funded fine arts like ballet and modern dance, but tap started as a colloquial dance form. Hagan explained that tap came primarily from slaves and Irish immigrants.

“People who were not considered people for a long time in this country created this art form,” Hagan said.

Tap not only combines different cultures, but also is rooted in the history of jazz. Because tap was considered low-class, it was never taken as seriously as ballet or modern dance. Thus, tap was usually left out of dance curriculums. Hagan said that tap should be included in more dance conservatories because it’s one of few quintessentially American dance forms.

In the fall, Hagan teaches a tap history class through the lens of race, class and gender, and said although the class combines lecture and studio lessons, dance experience isn’t necessary.

“It doesn’t matter what level you’re at. If you’re willing to engage in material, you have a lot of fun,” Hagan said. “Humans are inherently rhythmic, so even those who say, ‘Well I don’t have any rhythm,’ you can tap dance too.”

Junior dance studies major Amanda Proffitt predicts that SADE will make the audience smile.

“It’s a really fun piece that any audience member can get on board with. It’s just a fun time,” Proffitt said.

SADE runs at the Valborg Theatre March 20-24. Student tickets cost $10.

Tickets for SADE are on sale online and at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office.

PEOPLE OF

BOONE

New tap dance highlights art form’s cultural roots

March 15, 2019

Georgia Privott ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬A&C Reporter

William Green Time is just a marker of our space experience. We are all individuals. We all have individual life experiences. As time moves, life accumulates experience. My art is really that, it’s whatever flows out of me. For it is the truth that no one else has the same accumulation of life experience as you. You want to empower people to be themselves and unfortunately, some people don’t have that concept yet. As long as we have an outlet, we can empower people and give them their hope they are desperately trying to find. We are at a point in society where no one knows who they really are, but it’s normal, you know? I probably will never know who I am.

We spend the first half of our life developing a healthy ego and the second half tearing it down. I believe we should be tearing down

Tap dancers of the Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble rehearse their own special rendition of the shim sham tap routine in preparation for the upcoming performances. The ensemble will begin performances starting March 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the Valborg Theatre. // Photo by Brendan Hoekstra

our ego much sooner.

Arts and Culture

March 15, 2019

BITE SQUAD creates industry tension by buying out local delivery service Mariah Reneau ‫@ ׀‬reneau2 ‫ ׀‬A&C Editor

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hen Boone students came back from their summer break, they were met with a confusing sight. The food delivery company Boone Takeout was replaced with a bright green Bite Squad logo.

“Bite Squad has been on a growing

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spree and last year we more than doubled our footprint,” said Liz Sniegocki, Bite Squad media relations manager. Bite Squad has 70 drivers in the Boone market and is continuously growing.

Former employees of Boone Takeout who were angry with Bite Squad for taking

THE PROCESS

n late May, the owner of Boone Takeout sold the business to Bite Squad, Wilkins said.

“We knew the business was for sale, but we didn’t think it was going to happen that quickly,” Wilkins said. “It happened in three months and people were sketched out as to why it was so rushed.”

The short amount of time also didn’t allow for adequate notice for Boone Takeout employees.

“Our old owner of Boone Takeout was doing the deal behind the scenes,” Wilkins said. “One of our managers happened to go into the system to look ahead at the numbers for Memorial Day weekend.

“There was a manager block put down for the rest of the year because Bite Squad was buying us. So, we found out about this then, and two weeks later we were out of a job.”

Bite Squad offered jobs to Boone Takeout drivers, and many of the employees decided to switch over.

Some of the employees, like Wilkins, thought there were too many differences between the two companies to switch over and decided they didn’t want to move to Bite Squad.

“One of the biggest things for me was switching to be a W-2 employee,” Wilkins said. “With most delivery services you’re a subcontractor and make cash at the end of every day, but with Bite Squad all tips get put on a paycheck you get once every two weeks, so budgeting for gas is very hard.”

Sniegocki said Bite Squad uses federal W-2 forms instead of contracted employees because the drivers are uniformed, trained and someone is always available to bring the food to customers.

As W-2 employees, drivers are eligible for services like workers compensation insurance and payroll taxes.

“There’s always someone available to pick up your food,” Sniegocki said. “They’re going to do it consistently and with quality customer service because they are trained to do so.”

Having corporate headquarters in another state is sometimes challenging for employees.

“I will say that when there is a conflict with an order it is difficult to make adjustments because I have to text dispatch, and

over and implementing vastly different policies, came together to create Boone Delivery, a locally owned and operated food delivery service, Wilkins said.

Bite Squad is a corporate food delivery service that works in over 150 cities and towns in 18 states around the country,

then wait for someone to try and get ahold of the customer,” said Jackson Harris, a Bite Squad driver. “I don’t have access to customer contact info until I confirm the order is picked up.”

All Bite Squad orders are dispatched from the company’s headquarters in Minneapolis. The dispatchers manage all of the orders from 60 markets in over 380 cities, Sniegocki said.

RESTAURANT PERSPECTIVES For every customer who orders from a food delivery service, a restaurant has to deal with the company as well.

Bite Squad focuses on local, independent businesses when it looks at a new market, Sniegocki said.

“Bite Squad has been built on the backs of local restaurants, not large chains,” Sniegocki said. “We want to bring those businesses the same opportunities that a Chili’s has or a Buffalo Wild Wings.”

Bite Squad has run into issues with local Boone restaurants, even causing Hokkaido and Capone’s Pizza to drop its services.

“Bite Squad is incredibly difficult to get into contact with, mainly because I believe their customer service call center is in Mexico,” said Andrew Donaldson, a manager at Sagebrush Steakhouse. “You cannot physically call their IT department at all and you have to email them, so it takes quite a few days for them to get back to you.”

This lack of communication is difficult, because Bite Squad gives each partnering restaurant its own tablet to use to get orders and know where the drivers are.

“Their software doesn’t work but maybe 20 percent of the time,” Donaldson said. “Bugs like sending in the same order twice or not sending an order in at all has happened multiple times, and getting refunded our money for making the same order more than once is very difficult to do.

“It takes weeks to get that back.”

Bite Squad’s customer service department is also difficult to reach, Donaldson said.

“Once, their driver came into the restaurant and yelled and

according to its website. The Minneapolis-based organization is a far cry from the former locally owned Boone Takeout system, Wilkins said.

“There can’t be competing food delivery businesses in this town,” Wilkins said.

“Neither of them are going to do well.”

cussed at my hostesses in front of actual customers,” Donaldson said. “It took about a month to finally get him banned from my restaurant because every time I spoke to somebody at customer service they told me that they would handle it.

“They never put any kind of note in our account to verify that this specific driver would not return.”

It took Donaldson threatening to pull Sagebrush Steakhouse’s service from Bite Squad for the company to finally ban the driver.

Bite Squad employees are often told to go directly to the restaurant after they receive the food order, despite the food not being ready yet, Wilkins said.

“The tablet tells the customer how long a food item will take, but the actual drivers don’t even get that number,” said Tracey Thompson, an employee at Bella’s Italian. “They just get sent immediately, so they end up sitting at our bar for upwards of half an hour, oftentimes waiting on a calzone.”

Although Bella’s and Sagebrush still use Bite Squad, Hokkaido and Capone’s don’t due to Bite Squad’s refund policy, Wilkins said.

“Customers ordering Hokkaido from Bite Squad were claiming that things were forgotten or weren’t right,” Wilkins said. “Instead of correcting that issue, Bite Squad was just refunding them on Hokkaido's side, so that the restaurant wasn’t getting their money, even though it was Bite Squad that messed up.”

Unfortunately, not every restaurant has the ability to no longer use Bite Squad when the service is bad.

“In the restaurant industry we are seeing that guest count goes down every year for the last few years no matter the guest check average, so the amount of money a person spends on average, is increasing every year,” Donaldson said. “Our sales keep climbing from previous years but less people are actually going out and eating.

“More people are ordering to-go’s or using a third-party delivery service since it’s so easy. So unfortunately restaurants need to use these services as well to stay competitive.”

To read the full story visit theappalachianonline.com

7

App News

March 15, 2019 Paid Advertisement

What to do Submit Announcements App News is a service of the Division of Student Affairs. Email editor@theappalachianonline.com for submissions with subject line: APP NEWS PAGE. Submissions should not exceed 100 words and must include the event title, date/time, location and cost, and a contact email, phone and/or URL. Announcements will be edited as needed and will run as space allows. Preference is given for events that are free or have a nominal cost.

Lavender Graduation

This event is open to all LGBTQ+ students—undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral—at App State who will graduate in the 2019 calendar year, whether in May, August or December. Lavender Graduation will be on Wednesday May 1st, at 6pm in the Solarium in the Plemmons Student Union.

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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, March 15

Saturday, March 16

Sunday, March 17

Monday, March 18

Open Studio: Cultivating Joy! Reich College of Education, Room 301 3-4:30 p.m.

“A Star is Born” ($2) IG Greer 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Baseball vs. Georgia State Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium 1-4 p.m.

Bike App! Rivers Street Skywalk 1-4:30 p.m.

“A Star is Born” ($2) IG Greer 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

New Play Festival IG Greer Studio Theatre 7 p.m.

Student Tuba and Trumpet Recital Broyhill Recital Hall 2-3 p.m.

The Burden of Family History Belk Library 114 5-6 p.m.

“Helen” Greenbriar Theatre 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Baseball vs. Georgia State Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium 1-4 p.m.

Student Voice Recital Broyhill Recital Hall 6-7 p.m.

New Play Festival IG Greer Studio Theatre 7 p.m.

Student Voice Recital Broyhill Recital Hall 2-3 p.m.

Befriending Yourself with Self-Compassion Three Top Mountain Room 5:45-6:45 p.m.

Tuesday, March 19

Wednesday, March 20

Thursday, March 21

Bike App! Rivers Street Skywalk 1-4:30 p.m.

Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble ($10) Valborg Theatre 7 p.m.

Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble ($10) Valborg Theatre 7 p.m.

Internship and Job Fair Holmes Convocation Center noon-4 p.m.

“Mary Poppins Returns” ($2) IG Greer 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

“Holes” ($1) Greenbriar Theatre 7 p.m.

Student Trumpet Recital Broyhill Recital Hall 6-7 p.m.

Financial Wellness Workshop Belk Library 421 5-6 p.m.

SGA Senate Meeting Plemmons Student Union 6:30-8:30 p.m.

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ACT Team Applications

The Appalachian and the Community Together is accepting applications for the 2019-2020 ACT Team. ACT is a service based office that focuses on Community Engagement, Education, and Leadership. ACT Team leaders will coordinate and promote ACT-sponsored events and volunteer for one BIG Event during the year. Applicants are expected to make a year-long commitment. Apply at act.appstate.edu.

Opinion

March 15, 2019

Letter to the Editor Faculty respond to salary concerns

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very now and then, leaders are suddenly reminded of the price they pay for disregarding those they claim to serve. They avoid eye contact and grow uneasy as their canned applause lines fall on stony silence. This is what we saw at the Feb. 25 special meeting of the Faculty Senate. (If you doubt this,

By: Laura Ammon, Michael C. Behrent, Diane Mines and Greg Reck check out the video recording on The Appalachian’s Facebook page.)

Chancellor Sheri Everts insinuated that faculty members are either ignorant or spoiled because they are angry that “for the first time in five years,” as she put it, she “was not able to give faculty a raise.” But the faculty seized control of the narrative about its eco-

nomic situation. Faculty members talked about their passion for educating students, and the irony of those students going on to become K-12 teachers who earn more than they do. They talked about having to rely on loans from their parents well into their 40s and 50s. They talked about needing a “side job” to make ends meet as a college profes-

sor. They talked about being unable to pay for cancer surgery because their health benefits have gotten so much worse. They expressed their outrage that Chancellor Everts has received pay raises that are greater than some faculty members’ total salary (over $90,000 in raises alone in the past five years). Faculty are neither spoiled nor stupid.

Targeted harassment of journalists at the border infringe on First Amendment rights

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BC 7 San Diego released documents indicating that the U.S. government created a secret database of activists, journalists and social media influencers working with the migrant caravan.

The migrant caravan is a group of roughly 5,000 immigrants that caught media attention when it made its way from Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border.

In February, NPR released an article that said the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol conducted an increasing number of interrogations of these groups. Some of the journalists NPR spoke to alleged that agents tried to have them identify activists and other organizers that the agents said were “instigating” asylum-seekers.

The Intercept also released an in-depth article reporting on large-scale, continuous harassment by U.S. and Mexican authorities at the border. This included repeated secondary screenings of journalists, the CBP shackling journalists to benches in U.S. detention cells and agents forcing journalists to turn over notes, cameras and phones.

The Committee to Protect Journalists released a report in October about the increasing number of warrantless electronic searches at the border and called for the restriction of CBP’s power to enact these searches.

All of this has led to journalists and activists at the bor-

Q Russell ‫@ ׀‬Q_M_Russell ‫ ׀‬Opinion Editor der saying that they felt like the U.S. government was making a concerted effort to track them, and the documents NBC 7 obtained from CBP has proved their suspicions.

The documents are screenshots of a SharePoint application used by agents from Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations and agents from the San Diego sector of the FBI. The documents “list people who officials think should be targeted for screening at the border,” according to NBC 7.

The list contains 10 journalists, seven of whom are U.S. citizens, and 49 others.

The documents are titled “San Diego Sector Foreign Operations Branch: Migrant Caravan FY-2019, Suspected Organizers, Coordinators, Instigators and Media,” and are dated Jan. 9, 2019. On the slides are the U.S. and Mexico flags and a banner that reads: “ILU-OASSIS-OMEGA.” This indicates that the list is a joint effort of the U.S. and Mexican governments.

The documents show each individual’s name, picture, nationality, occupation, whether they had an alert placed on them and “disposition,” which means actions the government has taken toward them.

Some individuals have a colored “X” over the photo,

which indicates they were arrested, deported or had their visa revoked.

The source who provided the documents told NBC 7 that, allegedly, CBP is creating documents about the people on the list.

This is terrifying. The U.S. government is making a targeted, coordinated attack on the freedom of speech.

This is a flagrant abuse of authority by the CBP in what seems like retaliation against anyone who may be critical of CBP practices that violate human rights.

In May, the American Civil Liberties Union obtained documents that showed widespread abuse and neglect of unaccompanied immigrant children detained by CBP. This combined with other allegations of assault and mistreatment make it clear why the CBP is retaliating against journalists and activists; it’s trying to cover itself and prevent people from seeing what seems to be widespread, systemic corruption.

People should pay attention and speak out against these abuses of power. Otherwise, the government won’t stop, and it might become more brazen.

Fascism doesn’t happen overnight; it happens in degrees, and the U.S. is already several degrees further than it ever should have gotten.

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Opinion

March 15, 2019

Increasing Minimum Wage is a short-term solution for a long-term problem

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Caleb Garbuio ‫@ ׀‬TheAppalachian ‫ ׀‬Opinion Writer

hose expected to benefit will suffer when minimum wage increases to $15 per hour.

The supply of workers and businesses’ demand for workers determines the price of labor. The law of supply suggests that as prices increase, the amount of people looking for work will increase. The law of demand indicates that as the price of individual units of labor increases, the amount of labor a business demands decreases. Minimum wage restricts the supply and demand of the labor market.

An invisible hand guides supply and demand toward an intersection known as “market equilibrium.” This point is where employers and employees receive and consume the highest level of production. Moral philosopher Adam Smith outlines the invisible hand theory in his book “The Wealth of Nations” and asserts government interference with unintended consequences.

Lawmakers and academics say increasing minimum wage can alleviate the suffering of the working poor. Should the minimum wage rise above market equilibrium, unemployment will rise because labor supplied increases while labor demanded decreases.

The invisible hand has not found the market equilibrium, it implies that increasing minimum wage enables market efficiency because it brings de-

mand closer to equilibrium. This causes demand for goods and services from other markets to increase, which leads to higher prices.

Minimum wage causes a temporary increase in GDP, until employers increase prices to prevent inventory loss and higher profits. The long-run supply suggests that supply side inflation will wipe out gains made by minimum wage. Short-term growth from demand accounts for no increase in the supply of goods demanded.

Minimum wage must continue to increase for wages to keep pace with inflation, which causes negative externalities for businesses. Inflation affects creditors because inflation wipes out return on investment and favors debtors over the creditors. This may slow economic development because businesses now lack financiers to invest in their business’ expansion.

When companies expand, they require more workers to manage accounts and run their business efficiently. If capital flow is restricted by inflation, less wealth is created, leading to fewer opportunities.

As noted in “The Wealth of Nations,” policies done with good intentions have unintended consequences.

A minimum wage hike is a proposal that sounds good on paper, but lacks evidence to support its success. Supporters use the “appeal to pity” fallacy to validate their claims.

Knowledge and skill determine wages, which explains why underwater welders earn more than entry-level employees. Many can flip a burger, yet few wield the skill to weld. Minimum wage typically fills entry-level positions by providing knowledge and skills for those entering the labor force. Workers take with them the knowledge and skills and apply them to better paying jobs. These jobs pay higher wages because of the knowledge employees have. The process continues and wealth is accumulated as workers develop specialized skills. Nineteenth century Scottish immigrant and industrialist Andrew Carnegie noted, “The first third of your life should be spent learning all you can, the next third earning as much as you can, and the last third should be spent giving it all away.”

Carnegie’s example is worth mentioning because he came from poverty, but amounted to one of the richest individuals throughout history. It is a mischaracterization of capitalism to suggest that people get rich through exploitation. Bill Gates is derived from providing products people wanted, not robbing consumers and workers of their dignity. While some Microsoft workers struggle to make ends meet, increasing minimum wage will not change reality because scarcity determines labors value.

NORA SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF

MULTIMEDIA

IRA DAVID LEVY

VISUAL MANAGING EDITOR

ADVISER

EDITORIAL

MICKEY HUTCHINGS PHOTO EDITOR

REILLY FINNEGAN

EFRAIN ARIAS-MEDINA JR.

JULES BLAYLOCK

LOGAN BERG

MANAGING EDITOR

CHIEF COPY EDITOR

GRAPHICS EDITOR VIDEO EDITOR

Q RUSSELL OPINION EDITOR

BUSINESS

MOSS BRENNAN

CRISTIAN MCLAUGHLIN

NEWS EDITOR

MARIAH RENEAU

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SYDNEY SPANN

BUSINESS MANAGER

SHELLY BANZ

A&E EDITOR

ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER

BROOKS MAYNARD

MELISSA ALSUP

SPORTS EDITOR

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Daylight Saving time Q Russell ‫@ ׀‬Q_M_Russell ‫ ׀‬Opinion Editor

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pring is lovely because of the warmer weather, live foliage and the distinct lack of snow. However, with spring also comes an evil: daylight saving time.

While that statement is hyperbolic, daylight saving time is a frustrating practice that has no place in today’s society.

The original idea for daylight saving time came from Benjamin Franklin, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris that people should rise with the sun and go to bed earlier to save money on candles.

Modern daylight saving time was proposed as a two-hour shift by entomologist George Hudson because he wanted two extra hours of sunlight to go bug hunting in the summer.

Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time to have more daylight hours to produce weapons for World War I. Other European countries shortly followed suit.

The U.S. introduced daylight saving time with the Standard Time Act of 1918, but its use was inconsistent until it was firmly adopted by the federal government with the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

All U.S. states but Hawaii, Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) and the overseas territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands observe daylight saving time.

The problem with daylight saving time is that it doesn’t save any energy.

Yale environmental economists Matthew Kotchen and Laura Grant studied this change, comparing the before and after use of electricity from county to county. The study found that “contrary to the policy’s intent, DST increases residential electricity demand.

Estimates of the overall increase are approximately 1 percent, but we find that the effect is not constant throughout the DST period.”

What once may have been true is not the case now. Daylight saving time is an inconvenience with no tangible benefit. It’s a relic of a bygone age, and it’s time to reevaluate its continued practice.

Et cetera

March 15, 2019

HOME RUN!

BY NEIL AGNEW

Across 1. Pokemon trainer Ketchum 4. Bank bailed out in ‘08 7. Virtuoso 10. Head of maritime war affairs: Abbr.

11. Tel. wire connection 12. Lothario 13. Mai ___ 14. Narrow sea inlet 15. Brewery offering 16. Conditionals 17. Corporate ending, in brief 18. Unpleasant noise 19. With 20-across, like a home run ball ... or one not in any of the shaded answers 20. See 19-across 25. NPR journalist Shapiro 26. Crowning point 29. Or’s follower, in a common threat 32. Debtor’s note 33. Coxswain’s equipment piece 35. Busy GA airport 36. Not even

37. Savings mechanism for the elderly 38. Bruno Mars ___ Peter Gene Hernandez 39. Dining hall on App State’s campus, colloquially Down 1. Ending of a common director’s phrase 2. Confusion 3. Raise up, as a flag 4. At sea 5. Vogue 6. Mass of ice near a pole 7. French colony that’s now modern-day Maine 8. Los Angeles state, informally 9. Adam and Eve locale 21. [laugh] 22. ___ a la mode 23. Podiums 24. Rock with a crystal cavity 26. Ancient Jerusalem 27. Without clothes 28. Metal neckband of old 30. Den 31. Israeli airline 34. Dash

T H E C OV E R : Creator of the Climate Neutrality Act Devin Mullins embraces fellow Senator Emily Hogan as the Climate Neutrality Act was passed. The bill passed unanimously Tuesday night. // Photo

by Hayley Canal

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BRING YOUR AUDIENCE ANYWHERE.

PHOTOGRAPH FOR THE APPALACHIAN NEWS GROUP BUILD YOUR RESUME. ADD TO YOUR PORTFOLIO. GET PUBLISHED.

ROOM 217, PSU THURSDAY & SUNDAY 7 P.M. SEE YOU THERE.