The Breeze 1.26.23

The Breeze

To overcome

son’s suicide, Hilinski parents

to prevent another on JMU trip

By GRANT JOHNSON The Breeze

Editor’s Note: This story contains references to suicide that may be triggering for some readers. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health in any way, please check out these resources from the American Psychological Association, linked on The Breeze’s website.

When Kym Hilinski found out JMU softball player Lauren Bernett died by suicide last April, it hit her in a different type of way.

Like after any student-athlete’s death, Kym said, she felt a wave of sadness. But also, no matter how unfair it may have been, regret.

Kym and her husband, Mark Hilinski, were slated to talk to JMU student-athletes in 2020 to share the story of their son, Tyler Hilinski, a former Washington State quarterback who died by suicide in 2018.

The pandemic caused their talk to be rescheduled. Kym couldn’t help but think: What if?

“I just wish we could have been there,” Kym said. “Maybe Lauren could have heard our talk and it might have made a difference.”

The Hilinskis’ rescheduled Tyler Talk, as they call it, occurred Tuesday night inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center in front of a roughly 300-person audience, mostly JMU studentathletes, almost exactly nine months since Bernett’s death.

The JMU Tyler Talk was around their 150th since 2019, Mark said. They’ve stopped counting exactly. But Kym and Mark push forward to save other Tylers. And Laurens. And any student-athlete who may be struggling with their mental health before it’s too late.

Jewish community members to boycott JMU’s Holocaust Remembrance event

By CHARLOTTE MATHERLY & ASHLYN CAMPBELL The Breeze

Two dozen Jewish faculty, faculty emeriti and staff from JMU intend to boycott a “Holocaust-centered” lecture event planned for Jan. 26, the group said in a letter addressed to President Jonathan Alger, in which they say the planning of the program “disrespected and disparaged Jewish individuals, dismissed Jewish participation and failed to reflect the inclusive values that JMU purports to foster.”

The letter, included in full on The Breeze’s website, was created to share the faculty members’ concerns, perspectives, feelings of isolation and to ask for action in response to their “alienation,” according to the letter. Several sources sent the letter to The Breeze.

The three Jewish members of the planning

committee resigned following concerns about the planning process, saying Jewish voices at JMU and in the community were “casually diminished,” according to the letter. This was confirmed by several people familiar with the matter.

The event, “An Evening Conversation on the History and Legacy of the Holocaust,” is to be held Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Festival Ballroom. According to a copy of the event program sent to The Breeze, the event is sponsored by JMU’s Office of the Provost, the Office for Inclusive Strategies and Equity Initiatives, the Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence and the Madison Center for Civic Engagement, and the evening will feature two speakers: Alan Berger from Florida Atlantic University and Phyllis Leffler, a professor emerita from University of Virginia. There’ll also be a musical performance featuring JMU Provost and Senior Vice President for

Academic Affairs Heather Coltman on piano.

The letter also takes issue with the tone and language of the event. A local rabbi who wasn’t involved with the writing of the letter, Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner, said the program for the event felt insensitive because it felt more like a celebration than a commemoration. If JMU had made “adequate preparations,” the letter reads, the university “would have marked the somberness of the occasion.”

The letter also alleges that JMU “ignored members of the community” who pushed for more consultation and reliance on experts, uninvited those who sought change and didn’t acknowledge concerns raised by Jewish faculty behind closed doors “for years.”

No matter the toll it takes.

“I lost my son,” Kym said. “I’ll always be honest — I’m miserable. I think I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life.”

‘Can happen to everyone’

When Tyler died, the Hilinskis had three options: Stay put, run away or make a difference in other student-athletes’ lives before it’s too late.

Kym talked to her oldest son, Kelly, about what to do — how to keep living without Tyler. They considered to “just dig our heads in the sand,” she said, in their California home and let Tyler’s suicide go. Kym also contemplated taking Mark, Kelly and her youngest son, Ryan, off to a faraway island to try to live, breathe and walk again.

Those two options didn’t seem right, Kym said.

They chose option No. 3, just as Tyler wore No. 3 at Washington State. In 2018, Mark and Kym started the Hilinskis Hope Foundation, also called H3H, which strives to improve mental health for student-athletes. Tyler Talks are part of H3H, as are mental health modules and other resources. JMU football players adorned green-ribboned stickers with a No. 3 on the back of their helmets Oct. 1 against Texas State, as did 123 other programs across the country, to honor Tyler during College Football Mental Health Week.

But all that doesn’t make rehashing Tyler’s story over and over any easier.

Students ask for more food diversity, security

By MORGAN VUKNIC The Breeze

No student should go hungry.

This is the message of The Pantry, Jeremy Hawkins, the assistant director of the program, said. The Pantry is a resource for JMU students who face food insecurity or find nutritious food hard to access on campus.

While there are many dining options available for students, Hawkins said access to nutritious food is limited as students, especially those living on campus, mostly have access to the food at the dining halls that’s covered by their meal plans.

At the beginning of the fall semester, JMU Dining Services nixed several punch deals available on campus.

Kym Hilinski said she hopes she can help just one person during her Tyler Talks, which she does with her husband, Mark Hilinski. Photo illustration by Shirin Zia Faqiri / The Breeze

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AUDIENCE EDITOR ALI MCCALEB thebreezesocials@gmail.com

1598 S. Main St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801 PHONE: (540) 568-6127 FAX: (540) 568-7889

MISSION

The Breeze, the student-run newspaper of James Madison University, serves student, faculty and staff readership by reporting news involving the campus and local community. The Breeze strives to be impartial and fair in its reporting and firmly believes in First Amendment rights.

Published on Thursday mornings, The Breeze is distributed throughout James Madison University and the local Harrisonburg community. Single copies of The Breeze are distributed free of charge. Additional copies are available for 50 cents by contacting our business office. Comments and complaints should be addressed to Charlotte Matherly, editor.

Valerie Chenualt / The Breeze

Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

‘Feeling isolated’

JMU faculty members send letter to President Alger indicating they won’t attend Holocaust Remembrance event

from HOLOCAUST EVENT, page 1

“Had JMU been willing to recognize that inclusive strategies conceived in isolation cannot be universally applied,” the letter states, “JMU would have understood the difference between being ‘difficult’ and being informed, judicious, and willing to stand up to make JMU the best University it can be.” [sic]

The Breeze reached out to Mary-Hope Vass, executive director of communications and JMU spokesperson, for comment on this story. Malika Carter-Hoyt, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion and the university’s chief diversity officer, responded to the letter in a written statement.

The statement, on behalf of JMU, acknowledges the concerns expressed in the letter. Carter-Hoyt said neither she nor the President’s Office were notified of these concerns before the receipt of the letter. She said she’s reached out to a spokesperson for the group of faculty and staff to schedule a meeting and learn more about the situation. Carter-Hoyt’s full response is available on The Breeze’s website.

“While there is disagreement, it is important to note that a committee was formed through the recommendations of college deans as this was an academic event hosted by Academic Affairs,” Carter-Hoyt said. “Committee members were selected based on substantive expertise and commitment to the creation of an event that properly marks the occasion; no one was included or excluded explicitly based on a particular protected characteristic.”

Maura Hametz, the history department head at JMU, said she’s part of the group that wrote the letter. She served on the planning committee for last year’s inaugural Holocaust Remembrance event and remembers her time on the committee as a “wonderful experience” working with other faculty members to choose last year’s speaker.

A year later, she’s boycotting the event.

“This year, I’ve had several people say to me, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go to the thing on Thursday. See you there,’ and my answer, of course, is, ‘Thank you, you know, I’m not attending,’” Hametz said.

The letter states these issues concerning the

Jewish community are especially pertinent concerning rising antisemitism, and cites a Dec. 16 statement from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, noting that anti-semitism is rising on college and university campuses across the country, including a rise in “Anti-Israel incidents” on college campuses.

The Jewish community in Harrisonburg also took issue with the event.

In a Jan. 24 email shared with The Breeze to members of the Beth El congregation in Harrisonburg, congregation leaders wrote of the event that, “normally, we’d help spread the word. However, in this instance, we CANNOT in good faith promote the event.”

Kurtz-Lendner, a leader of the Beth El congregation, said the Jewish community continues to feel repercussions from the Holocaust, and the program for the event felt insensitive because it felt more like a celebration than a commemoration. While Kurtz-Lendner said he doesn’t know the thought process behind the event, members of the Beth El congregation feel slighted.

“Many of us are children of survivors, or grandchildren of survivors, grandchildren of people who did not survive, and we grew up with the reality of that trauma in our households, so this

is not a historical event for us,” Kurtz-Lendner said. “We kind of live this.”

Moving forward, Kurtz-Lendner said he’d like to see JMU put on events that could “be a model for others.”

“You’d want it to be reflective and represent inclusivity,” Kurtz-Lendner said. “It feels like it’s opportunistic rather than inclusive.”

One of the Jewish faculty members who volunteered for the planning committee after outreach from university leadership requested to speak anonymously because they were worried about repercussions for speaking out. The faculty member, who said they later resigned from the planning committee, said with the limited timeframe, they felt decisions were made “pretty rapidly,” there was limited time for discussion and there was a lack of expertise concerning the Holocaust.

The faculty member said after they resigned,

they were contacted individually about their concerns rather than being treated as a member of a community.

“When we’re already feeling isolated on campus … it takes a lot of courage for us to speak out,” they said. “I didn’t want to meet as an individual because it’s not about me, it’s not about assuaging my personal concerns — we’re part of a community.”

The faculty member was one of the three Jewish committee members to resign, according to several people who spoke to The Breeze. “I thought I was filling out a gap or adding representation, not being it,” they said.

Hametz did say she’s encouraged by people’s response to the letter. After hearing about the situation, JMU community members have reached out to express concern and apologize, Hametz said, even when they haven’t been involved in it.

“It’s profoundly disappointing that the way that this has come about, but it’s also hopeful to me that so many people are coming together and saying, ‘No we have to do better in the future,’” Hametz said. “It tells me that there’s a core at JMU of people who really, who are getting it and who want … to not have something like this happen again. And so in a weird way, it makes me a little hopeful.”

Shirin Zia Faqiri contributed to this report.

Maura Hametz JMU history department head

CONTACT Charlotte Matherly at breezeeditor@ gmail.com and Ashlyn Campbell at breezeinvestigations@gmail.com. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

EDITOR EMAIL Kasey Trapuzzano breezenews@gmail.com

“This year, I’ve had several people say to me, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go to the thing on Thursday. See you there,’ and my answer, of course, is, ‘Thank you, you know, I’m not attending.’”

Graphic by Ben Moulse / The Breeze

Employment emergency

With ongoing shortages, future educators see opportunity

By JANE MCCONVILLE contributing writer

COVID-19 created shortages of all kinds across the world, including in different areas of labor in the U.S., such as retail, hospitality and the food industry. One area, in particular has been hit hard: teachers.

In Harrisonburg City Public Schools (HCPS), there’s high demand for time off and leave from teachers, but not enough substitutes to fill all the requests, according to Jeremy Weaver, the director of human resources for HCPS.

Going into the 2022-23 school year, Weaver said HCPS was looking to fill roughly 50 teaching positions. While he didn’t share an exact number of spots that need to be filled now, the most in-need positions are substitutes, special education teachers and foreign language classes, he said.

Schools nationwide are facing harrowing teacher shortages and burnout, with a June 2022 Gallup poll reporting four in 10 U.S. teachers feel burnt out “always” or “very often.” In counties across Virginia, there’s been a decrease in the applicant pool — leaving rolls unfilled, or filled by under-qualified workers — and many other educators are finding higher-paying positions in different industries and fields. Not only are educators feeling the strain of shortages, but other positions in schools such as custodial staff and bus drivers are as well.

Weaver said leaving a current position for a different one, both within education and outside of the field, isn’t uncommon. Weaver said there are no easy jobs when working in a school and that no job should be overlooked.

“It is possible to find jobs that are not as taxing and can pay at least as much, if not more than, what they are making in a school setting,” Weaver said. “So for their own benefit, other jobs become competition for schools. Hours and flexibility are important in a job and in a school setting that is hard to come by, so other jobs are enticing in that sense.”

Emma Phillips, a member of the HCPS School Board and a JMU alumna (’05), said each elementary school within the district has one full-time substitute in the building. In a recent School Board work session Jan. 17, Phillips said she heard from HCPS teachers about the need for substitutes and help within the classroom.

“One of the teachers shared with us that at her school, there were nine subs needed for the day,” Phillips said. “And I think a lot of times teachers get called in to cover other teachers’ classrooms and they lose time to do their own planning.”

Phillips said the shortage is exacerbating stress and other issues surrounding education that have been accumulating for a long time, such as limited time for planning, time off, and lack of resources. The pandemic created a narrative for teachers that has been difficult to uphold, she said.

“What we are hearing from teachers now is that they are drowning and they need help now,” Phillips said. “So for me, as a parent and an educator, I think it’s a matter of making sure our teachers are feeling heard and supported and that we are looking for solutions that will help to alleviate some of the pressure in the long run.”

Part of that may come as new teachers prepare to enter the workforce.

A sign of hope

JMU’s College of Education hosts a practicum program where students get field experience while working in a classroom setting. Students shared their experiences in the practicum program and how the recent shortage has impacted their goals and opinions on the profession.

Emmie Aiello, a junior elementary education major, said she often hears about some of the more negative aspects — like low income and burnout — of a career in education. This doesn’t rattle her though, she said, as she finds that her passion for working with children outweighs the downsides.

“I often get asked by the teachers where I work if I am sure that I want to go into this and if I know that there isn’t much money involved,” Aiello said, “but I think that passion is what matters and that really having a positive outlook is better.”

Sarah McHugh, also a junior elementary education major, said the overall atmosphere and community surrounding the education program is more encouraging and teambased than anything of the other major programs she’s seen. The implementation of a practicum also gives a different feel to the major, she said.

“Being able to actually go into the field and observe teachers who have been doing this for a while is really special, and the opportunity is so unique,” McHugh said. “All of the teachers want the best for us too which is a great feeling.”

Aiello completed her practicum in fall 2022 at Riverheads Elementary in Staunton, Virginia. She said that after facing these issues head-on and interacting with other students and teachers, she’s gaining new information and outlooks from those around her.

“It can be really difficult to go into the classroom knowing that there is stress behind the scenes for the host teacher, but seeing how [the host teacher] handles the class, handles herself, and the way that she encourages me is what inspires me throughout my classes,” Aiello said.

McHugh said that in her practicum classroom at Keister Elementary, the shortage emphasized the importance of flexibility.

“With a shortage of teachers and substitutes, the school I was working with showed me that your day is never going to be the same and that you can’t go into the day knowing what to expect,” McHugh said.

Both Aiello and McHugh said shortages and teacher burnout are aspects of the career that they value and understand, especially now that they have had experience in a classroom setting. They said they hope their passion for their work will come across in all areas of the field.

While Aiello and McHugh have more time before they enter the post-grad world, seniors like Beatrice Bradner are coming up on the job hunt.

“Schools in the area have sent out so many emails encouraging us to apply to be substitutes

and they have sent out emails encouraging us to stay in Harrisonburg and work here,” Bradner said.

All three students who spoke to The Breeze mentioned that schools across Harrisonburg and Rockingham have tabled on JMU’s campus, providing information about applications and positions within schools. Bradner said some schools that have tabled are waiving application fees in an effort to get more students to apply.

Working together

Bradner said that for her and other education majors, part of the initial appeal of JMU was the five-year master’s program. This program was available to students in universities across Virginia. In 2019, though, that program was disbanded in many universities by former Virginia governor Ralph Northam (D) to expedite students into educator roles to help alleviate the shortage. Students already in the program were to carry out the five-year plan, while students like Bradner missed out on starting the program altogether.

“So many of us were drawn to JMU because of the five-year program, and to get here and have it kind of taken out from under us was really hard,” Bradner said. “So I think that is the main impact that the shortage has had on my time as an education major and in my senior year especially, knowing that I don’t have the extra year to get more experience.”

Savannah Neale, a 2022 graduate of the master’s program at JMU, now works in Chesterfield County Virginia. Neale said her job search was much different than many others’ experiences.

“I was really lucky that I fell in love with the school where I did my student teaching and I was

observed by the administration and was offered a job by the HR of the district,” Neale said. “As a firstyear teacher, though, I was kind of scared of what I was seeing on social media and of people I know that are burnt out and leaving education.”

Both Phillips and Weaver said they’re impacted in their jobs by the students of JMU and their willingness to step up when needed.

“JMU students are fantastic. Every time I walk into a classroom and a JMU student is there, it’s so nice seeing their enthusiasm for working with students and for being in the classroom,” Phillips said. “I think that the collaboration between HCPS and JMU is a mutually beneficial one, and I know that our teachers are so appreciative of JMU students.

Weaver said the passion and drive of future educators and current students at JMU are inspiring to him as someone who’s spent much of their career in the field of education, having taken on various roles at different levels over the years.

“I never dreamed that our community could look the way it does and that I would get to interact with people from every corner of the world,” Weaver said. “That is something that I feel the education program at JMU is helping to build and encourage.”

Weaver also said that after speaking with students in the major, he’s excited for them as future teachers. He said they make him feel like HCPS can continue to meet the high standards and demands of education.

CONTACT Jane McConville at mcconvjx@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

Graphic by Ben Moulse / The Breeze

Engaged & informed

Madison Center fosters conversation on freedom of expression

By ELEANOR SHAW The Breeze

The James Madison Center for Civic Engagement hosted the first session in its new Freedom of Expression Information Series on Tuesday to discuss the interaction of free speech and inclusivity.

The Zoom event — Freedom of Expression, Public Speech and Speakers — was facilitated by David Kirkpatrick, interim executive director of the Madison Center, and featured Kara Dillard, interim associate director of the Madison Center; Angelina Clapp (’20), the Center’s graduate assistant; and Gabriela Leija-Hernandez (’21), a Woodson Martin Democracy Fellow.

Prior to the session, participants were asked to submit their questions for discussion. There were 41 participants in total — a mix of both JMU faculty and students.

Kirkpatrick and Leija-Hernandez began the session by introducing the First Amendment, as well as starting discussions about three Supreme Court cases — Healy v. James (1972), United States v. Alvarez (2012) and Texas v. Johnson (1989). The purpose of this was to introduce certain restrictions to freedom of speech and how it applies to a university setting, which set the stage for the remainder of the discussion.

“Free speech is not necessarily a license to say [anything], but the university may have some restrictions,” Kirkpatrick said. “There are very minor restrictions that allow us to function as a democracy and a university.”

Kirkpatrick and Dillard spoke about how free speech may conflict with the goal to create an inclusive campus environment.

Dillard said she works to help groups at JMU “deliberate together” and encourages community members to share their stories.

Dillard presented various tools for navigating conflicts between free speech and inclusivity, including prioritizing the safety and well-being of students, affirming the value of diverse ideas and upholding absolute free speech. Dillard said while each of these options has its benefits, each has its drawbacks, including the isolation of students into “like-groups,” justification of “bad

ideas” and implied support of offensive ideas. Dillard encouraged participants to use and analyze these options whenever they face conflict.

Dillard then presented “deliberative questions” to encourage intrapersonal and interpersonal discussion among participants prior to the presentation of pre-submitted questions.

“These questions get students talking and get students thinking,” Dillard said. “It helps them see we can talk together about an issue that could divide us.”

For the remainder of the event, Dillard and Kirkpatrick opened the floor up for discussion. The ability to restrict free speech on university campuses remained a major theme throughout the discussion.

The discussion covered restrictions on on-campus protests, the limits placed on guest presenters, what precedents universities set, faculty members’ free speech online and constructive classroom discussions.

“These issues are deeply divisive, but we can find a way to discuss them together,” Dillard said.

Participants both expressed their opinions and addressed their experiences within JMU as instructors, faculty members or students — several of which Kirkpatrick encouraged to speak.

“We have several different identities that are operating at JMU and they will all, at some point, be reflected in the anti-discrimination statement,” Malika Carter-Hoyt, a participant in the session and JMU’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), said.

Dillard closed the event by sharing an anecdote of an experience with a student who was concerned about expressing her political views on campus and how encouraging open conversation helped the student overcome her reluctance.

“Those are the kind of things … that I want my students to take away,” Dillard said. “That we can navigate in a world where we can come together to solve our problems.”

CONTACT Eleanor Shaw at shaweo@dukes. jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

41 people participated in the Freedom of Expression, Public Speech and Speakers event via Zoom to discuss the interaction of free speech and inclusivity. Screen grab of the event’s live stream

Key takeaways from this week’s SGA Senate

By ELEANOR SHAW The Breeze

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate passed an amendment clarifying members’ service requirements and approved a $10,000 program grant request for Relay for Life at Tuesday’s meeting.

SGA adjusts members’ service requirements

The Senate passed an amendment to its constitution specifying service hours. The amendment requires SGA members to be involved in at least two hours of external service and two hours of internal service per semester. Junior Abby Canella, SGA membership chair, was the sole dissent on the amendment.

“I thought that the wording in the amendment was not super clear and that it discourages participation in outside volunteering events,” Canella said in a written statement to The Breeze after the meeting. “We should be encouraging volunteering within the community as much as possible.”

The amendment was proposed by senior Andrea Mariscal-Guzman, SGA’s community engagement (CAGE) chairperson. The amendment was previously read during the Nov. 29 Senate meeting and fulfilled the twoweek waiting period required prior to voting.

Mariscal-Guzman said external service includes community events sponsored by SGA, while internal service includes all events SGA is directly involved in, including SGA elections.

“The whole purpose of this amendment … was to specify exactly what [service hours] involve,” Mariscal-Guzman said. “I just want to make sure everyone gets their hours in. It is really important to the committee and its purpose.”

Outside of external and internal service, the amendment states that each outside volunteer opportunity will be counted as one half-hour of service.

The amendment also adjusts the responsibilities of the CAGE chairperson. The chairperson will determine which internal events will meet service hour requirements

and ensure each SGA member fulfills the service requirement of four hours total.

Previously, Mariscal-Guzman said the SGA constitution lacked specificity on the number of required hours for internal and external service as well as the chairperson’s ability to enforce and enable fulfillment of said requirements. The penalty for members who have failed to reach their service requirements by the end of the spring semester was also adjusted from elimination of membership to being placed on probationary status.

“I’m really excited,” Mariscal-Guzman told The Breeze after the meeting adjourned. “For the first time in the SGA, we have a definite definition of what it means to do your CAGE hours. As a committee chair, I feel it is important for our members to contribute to the community and contribute to the SGA.”

SGA approves Relay for Life program grant request

The Senate unanimously approved a $10,000 program grant for Relay for Life — a communitybased fundraising event for the American Cancer Society — for its main event on April 28. Relay for Life requested the grant to help cover event fees, activities, entertainment and participation incentives.

Senior Brandon Market, who also serves as SGA’s executive treasurer, represented Relay for Life. According to Relay for Life’s presentation, the event unites over 100 JMU clubs and organizations. This year, the event will be co-hosted by the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and Sigma Phi Delta fraternity.

Market said Relay for Life is JMU’s topperforming fundraising event. During last year’s Relay for Life, more than 1,000 people participated, and over $150,000 was raised, Market said.

The $10,000 grant will be supplemented by the group’s own fundraising efforts. Market said $10,000 is the maximum amount of money for an approvable program grant.

Throughout the first semester, $38,600 was raised from other fundraising efforts, which

included events like the Kickoff Event, Back to School Basket Challenge, Breast Week Ever and $48 in 48 Challenge, Market said.

“Not only [is] the legacy of this event… impressive but it is an organization that lets students participate in a community greater

than JMU,” junior Matt Haynicz, SGA representative, said.

CONTACT Eleanor Shaw at shaweo@dukes. jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate voted to approve a $10,000 program grant to Relay for Life. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

Food for thought

from FOOD, page 1

Marketing manager for JMU Dining, Jenna Maroney, said JMU received pushback from students and changed meal plans back to how they’ve been in the past.

She said that during the fall semester, JMU Dining added more options to dining halls across campus, increasing the choices for allergen-friendly, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan food after complaints from students.

For example, Corner Bistro in Memorial Hall reopened with made-to-order food options; The Den’s Beyond burger now accepts punches as a payment option; Lakeside Cafe added grab-and-go menu items; Market 64 features Mediterranean cuisine at the grill; Festival replaced Ever Grains with a salad bar; and E-Hall updated station offerings with new cuisines such as poke, Mediterranean and taco bowls.

While these changes have been made, some students feel as though there still aren’t enough plant-based dining options on campus. Food for Thought (FFT) social media chair and sophomore elementary education major Kaylin Waldron said she personally hasn’t noticed an increase in vegan and vegetarian dining options within the last semester.

“Oftentimes, I find that I have to pay extra or that it isn’t a punch to be able to accommodate my own dietary restrictions,” Waldron said.

Some students, like junior health sciences

major Sarah Blais, have had a positive experience with vegetarian options on campus.

“It’s been super easy for me,” Blais said.

She also said E-Hall and D-Hall are “always reliable” and other locations in Festival and Market 64 have become more accommodating with Beyond meat and vegan chicken options.

Along with the new options, Maroney said she encourages students to visit the on-campus dietician, Gillian Kelly, and to visit the True Balance stations at D-Hall and E-Hall that accommodate dietary restrictions if they’re having trouble finding places to eat on campus.

But even with a large number of dining options, food insecurity is still a harsh reality for many students. Maroney said JMU’s Basic Needs Advisory Board found that in a 2019 study, 40% of JMU students experience moderate to severe food insecurity.

The study also found that food insecurity was the highest among graduate students, students receiving Pell grants, first-generation students and sexual minorities. Results from the study were published in an infographic that was sent out to the public.

JMU Dining has created the Dukes Punch for Dukes campaign where students and the university community can donate extra punches that directly benefit The Pantry. Maroney said 537 punches were donated in November 2022.

These punches are then turned into meal vouchers that are given to The Pantry. Each voucher can be used for entry at D-Hall or

E-Hall or for $13.50 in a retail space.

“We want students to really understand that struggle should not be part of their story,” Hawkins said. “We also want students to understand that you can not be hungry but you can still be food-insecure because nutrition is a big part of food insecurity. The fact that nutrition impacts students’ academic performance is a major part of what we’re trying to teach students.”

Available resources

The Pantry’s tagline is, “We are open to all JMU students, no questions asked,” which Hawkins said aligns with its goal to remove as many barriers to food accessibility as possible. He said sometimes even giving their name can be a barrier for students, so The Pantry aims to make all students feel welcomed by allowing those who use it to remain anonymous.

Right now, The Pantry offers meal vouchers, campus microwaves and a student support hub to help students meet their nutrition needs.

The Dukes Punch for Dukes campaign is available to all students who visit The Pantry. Students are invited to fill out a meal voucher request form in order to receive a voucher that has the value of a punch. But, since there are a limited number of vouchers, each student can only request up to five a month.

While the number of meal vouchers is limited, there are microwaves located at The Kitchen in the lower level of Festival, Taylor Down Under (TDU) and near Bistro 1908 in the

Student Success Center (SSC) for students to use. A program called Students Helping Every Last Fellow Duke (SHELF’D) is also available to students. This student-driven initiative, in partnership with the Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministry, allows anyone to come learn about nutrition and to receive food, no questions asked.

The Pantry also has an app where students can order food online and select curbside pick up or rapid pickup options, and it also features a student support hub, which provides information about on- and off-campus resources for food, financial assistance, housing and other campus resources.

Hawkins said he enjoys helping students through The Pantry and that it’s been surprising to see the community that’s been built around the space. He said there are groups of students who have become really comfortable with The Pantry and, because of this, he wants to create more of a lounge space in the building where students can come and interact with others.

“We’re working on making The Pantry even more inviting because it’s nice to see students getting excited when they find out other students have the same struggles as them,” Hawkins said. “We’re happy we’re able to provide that type of space.”

Adrienne Griggs, co-chair of the Basic Needs Advisory Board, said places like The Pantry are important because students need to be well-fed and not concerned about food in order to do well in their classes.

EDITORS EMAIL Michael Russo & Avery Goodstine thebreezeculture@gmail.com

An in-depth look at on-campus dining reveals limited dietary options, attempts to increase accessibility

Replacing Ever Grains with a salad bar in Festival is one of the changes JMU Dining made during the fall semester in order to provide more options for various restricted diets .

Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

“It’s hard to do well in classes if you’re worried about where your next meal is going to come from,” Griggs said. “Students are juggling jobs and schoolwork, so if they can come into The Pantry and get food, they can potentially do better in school and be able to focus better.”

The Climate Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV), which hosts events related to food accessibility and waste, also provides education and does advocacy work surrounding climate change. The organization regularly has a booth at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market and last year hosted meetings covering topics such as food justice, growing edible gardens and how to lessen the use of single-use plastics.

CAAV chair Andrew Payton said the organization hosts these types of events because food accessibility directly ties into climate advocacy — one of the biggest ways to prevent further climate change is to reduce food waste, he said. “Climate change is going to disrupt the younger generations the most,” Payton said. “The way we currently produce and dispose of food is an incredibly big contributor to the climate crisis. This is something that college students need to be aware of. They should think about ways that they can contribute to a society that wants to address those problems.”

Students reflect on the state of food accessibility on campus

There are several student organizations at JMU that focus on food accessibility, food options and waste, such as the Environmental Management Club (EMC), FFT and JMU Composting Initiative.

FFT focuses on creating an inclusive environment for those who are vegan or vegetarian. The group has weekly meetings and hosts social events throughout the semester, like potlucks, where members can come together and share recipes.

Waldron said the goal of FFT is to have a place where everyone can be included and learn more about what it means to be vegan or vegetarian.

While JMU Dining Services has expanded its options this year, Waldron said it’s still difficult to find vegan or vegetarian options on campus. She said she’s noticed that at many dining locations, it costs more than a punch to substitute something due to a dietary restriction.

Waldron also said she’s seen the rules regarding plantbased meals change. For example, she said she’s gone to Java City in D-Hall and been told they aren’t allowed to make changes to the sandwiches or meals when asking for a certain item to be replaced for a Duke Deal.

“This affects a large community of people here at JMU who follow a plant-based diet because we have fewer options for meals on campus,” Waldron said.

Blais said she’s also noticed vegetarian options cost at least a dollar more than non-vegetarian options.

One way Waldron said she believes JMU could fix this issue is by removing additional costs for ingredient substitutions in order to accommodate dietary restrictions. She said more options for plant-based foods would also help. As of right now, she said, there are vegan options in D-Hall such as True Balance, but that JMU could offer more plant-based options all across campus.

Another change Blais said she’d like to see is places like The Den — in Dukes Dining — and Steak and Shake — in Market 64 — have more than one vegitarian option.

While FFT focuses on plant-based food, JMU’s Composting Initiative focuses on educating others on composting and

A WEALTH OF HEALTH A WEALTH OF HEALTH

how to reduce food waste. Senior social work major Christina Santucci said the group does this because if more people are educated on composting, then they will be more likely to use the composting resources that are available to them at JMU.

The organization was created this fall by a group of senior social work students for their macro social work class. So far, the Composting Initiative has created informational Instagram posts about composting, worked with JMU Dining to get information about the current state of composting at JMU and looked into how JMU Dining will try to reduce food waste through composting.

Through research and working with JMU Dining, Santucci said the Composting Initiative has found out a lot about how JMU has been improving its composting efforts.

Since 2013, JMU has partnered with Black Bear Composting. In this partnership, JMU collects food waste in the dining halls and Black Bear Composting transports the compost to the compost compactors, where it’s then taken to Royal Oak Farm in Elkton, Virginia.

JMU also encourages students to participate in composting through the compost bins that are available in dining halls such as E-Hall, Festival and Gibbons Hall. These containers accept food waste, napkins, paper towels, cups and containers and pizza boxes.

While these compost bins are a great start, Santucci said JMU could do better as the ones in Festival were taken away due to a lack of education and motivation to use them correctly.

But the most ambitious project the group’s pursuing is creating an educational campaign on composting at JMU in partnership with both Dining Services and the Office of Orientation and Transition. Santucci said she hopes this program, once it’s in place, will create a change in how students look at their environmental impact.

Santucci said the main issue right now is that most students aren’t educated on composting and food waste. She believes that if more students are educated about food waste, then there can be some real change on campus in regard to composting and throwing away food.

“JMU, in and outside of classrooms, needs to put a greater emphasis on creating this new normal in order to have students correctly using bins properly and disposing of waste correctly,” Santucci said. “The school can also work on creating their on-campus front-of-house facilities to have more compost-friendly food containers and utensils to ensure that less waste is happening on our campus.”

For Waldron, food accessibility and food waste is all about how it impacts other people. Food waste and accessibility also impact the local and global environment, so she said if students did more things like educate others about the issues or donate punches or food to others who need it, then both issues could be combatted. “I think for food accessibility, students should be aware of it because it affects the people around them, as well as themselves,” Waldron said. “We all want to be able to eat what we choose, but for some, we have such limited options. I think if a larger percentage of students knew how hard it is to find certain foods that follow certain diets, we could come together to make change.”

Avery Goodstine contributed to this report.

CONTACT Morgan Vuknic at vuknic@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

How to alleviate back-to-school stress

By HANNAH LIFRIERI The Breeze

Whether returning from break or missing a few days of class, readjusting back to school can be difficult. At the beginning of the semester, some may feel overwhelmed starting new classes with new professors and a new course load. There may be times in the middle of the semester when classes are missed, but learning how to navigate missed assignments and reaching out for help are crucial steps to getting back on track.

Madison Advising Peers (MAPs)

It’s the time of year to turn the academic brain back on. The beginning of the semester can be intimidating for some, but better preparing yourself for what’s to come reduces the effect of surprises, Elizabeth Kraus, a senior elementary education major and member of the Madison Advising Peers (MAPs), said.

Kraus suggested before students come back to school that “it’s important to be in the right headspace” outside of preparing academically. She said reaching out to friends and spending time with them can reassure you that coming back to school is also a good time to reconnect with those you couldn’t see over break and re-engage in your social life.

Student Learning Initiatives Resource Center (SLI)

If a student knows they’ll be out for a while, the Dean of Students at JMU is a great resource, Kraus added. The dean, Hollie Hall, connects a bridge between the student and their professors and can alert the professors if a student will be missing class. It’s then up to the student to reach out for assistance upon their return. Other than reaching out to professors, there are other resources, like the Student Learning Initiatives Resource Center (SLI), beneficial for their academic success.

The SLI, located in Huffman Hall, is where students can reach out for academic support, such as learning new study skills, recognizing their learning styles, assistance with time management and even setting goals. On the SLI website, students can find a set of listed hours when they can stop by.

While academic success is important, Kraus spoke on how important it is to take care of your mental health. Resources such as the Counseling Center are great for students, especially if you need to speak to someone about your goals and how you’ll accomplish them.

Like Kraus said, it’s equally important to take care of yourself and maintain a positive mindset. Setbacks in college will happen, but don’t be afraid to use resources near you or reach out for help.

Read the full article at breezejmu.org.

The Pantry’s goal is to remove as many barriers to food accessibility as possible. One way they do this is by allowing students who use the pantry to remain anonymous. Photo illustration by Daria Ausen / The Breeze

A ‘key solution’

Local farm pursues environmental justice with world-class practices

By MICHAEL RUSSO The Breeze

A humble shed sits next to the hillside, smoke spewing out of its chimney as rain showers just began to ease on a sodden November morning. Inside, the land’s keepers stay warm next to a fireplace before heading back out to prepare for winter’s looming arrival. While some grassy crops, paths in the hills and small trees might not look like much, the makings of a worldclass farming system have taken root in the Shenandoah Valley.

The Jubilee Climate Farm (JCF) — a program of the New Community Project (NCP), a nonprofit specializing in environmental sustainability and social justice — launched in March 2021 and is located in Mt. Clinton, Virginia, 15 minutes from JMU’s campus.

Its name takes inspiration from celebrating a shift in power and resources. This connects to the farm’s mission of combining modern Western science with Indigenous wisdom and agricultural practices to redistribute carbon emitted into the air by returning it to the ground, said Tom Benevento, the NCP project coordinator who oversees the farm.

“It’s this neat way of being a part of the solution by way of the knowledge of other people around the world, particularly indigenous communities and what they’ve been trying to do,” Benevento said. “Typically, we think about agriculture as an industry, which is a perspective that’s extractive. We’re thinking about agriculture as a relationship, as a culture, which turns it around as a way of … give and take.”

Jubilee Climate Farm, located in Mt. Clinton, specializes in a kind of farming that combines practices of Indigenous peoples from around the world with modern Western science to draw carbon back into the ground. Michael Russo / The Breeze

Case Watkins

JMU environmental justice professor

Even though the farm is just in its second year of operation with “a lot going on that you don’t see” at first glance, Benevento said, its future is promising.

By establishing hyper-focused ecosystems in JCF’s 30 acres that mimic larger ones around the world, Benevento said he and his team will be able to create wildlife habitats that increase biodiversity and foster small-scale farming that benefits the farmer and the planet.

As opposed to a heavily industrial system of agriculture in which chemicals are used in abundance, Benevento said, JCF’s approach of agroforestry and carbon sequestration creates a “much more stable” environment: one that’s more resilient to natural disasters, will produce more nutritious food and become a “key solution to food security globally.”

Part of achieving that solution is a large network of volunteers who help on the farm. Those include Case Watkins, an associate professor of justice studies at JMU, and his students.

Requirements in JMU’s environmental justice course, JUST 357, include 10 hours of volunteer work with Vine & Fig, a sister organization of the NCP, and its affiliated projects, like JCF. This component of the class is all about “fostering healthy relationships between and among people and the planet,” Watkins said. Since JCF opened last year, it’s been an option where students can volunteer, and some have conducted independent studies there, he added.

“For some of the students, they have reported that this has been a life-changing experience,” Watkins said. “It has opened up new directions and new interests and new possibilities for their life when you can connect with the work that’s going on here in the community that … tightly integrates social and environmental justice.”

Part of JCF’s mission is outreach and community engagement, Watkins said, which is why he values the relationship he and his students have built with those at the farm. Just how Benevento said the farm balances a give-and-take model, Watkins said he does the same with his course’s volunteer component. Rather than overwhelming or burdening the organization, he said, his priority is for his students to support it through the community service, which creates a “humbling” and “generative relationship.”

Watkins also spoke to the farm’s pursuit of environmental justice, which intertwines with its other goals and missions, and said he’s fortunate he and his students have the opportunity to work with the people there.

“When we live in healthy relationships with the Earth, this allows us to live in healthy relationships with each other,” Watkins said in an email to The Breeze. “We can understand justice then as a set of ideals that really, hopefully, lead to health and well-being for human communities, and also for the Earth ... All these components—people, places, food, climate, etc.—are all interconnected through relationships. The question then becomes, ‘how can we make these relationships healthier?’ So, the approach at Jubilee, working to heal climates and communities through empowerment and education, is one

that fits seamlessly with what we’re doing and teaching and enacting in our environmental justice class.”

Benevento said he has high aspirations for the farm’s transformation, which includes a pasture on the hillside that will support both sheep and fruit trees. The Shenandoah Valley also serves as an optimal, savanna-like landscape for the farm, with factors like the climate, rainfall and variety of trees, plants and animals all combining to maximize the project’s potential impact.

Winter’s a favorable time to plant trees, Benevento said, and the JCF team will be hard at work tending to a vegetable garden in the spring and summer, as well as a perennial forest of trees that will replenish itself each year.

A member of that team is Samuel Lasiti, an intern who came to Harrisonburg through the International Volunteer Exchange Program and the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) from his home in Kajiado County, Kenya. He said all the skills he’s learning will be valuable, as he ran a farm with a similar model to agroforestry in Kenya.

While discussing his plans for the winter while the farm’s closed, Lasiti said he still has some research and learning so he can expand his knowledge. Additionally, through his placement with the MCC, Lasiti volunteers with tutoring, translating services and work with refugees. Lasiti said he’ll return to Kenya in July and share what he’s learned.

Aside from Lasiti’s involvement on the farm, Benevento said he’s forming alliances with farmers around the world, exchanging ideas that build toward making a larger impact on climate change mitigation. Benevento has worked in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, so his background collaborating with Indigenous populations on sustainability has helped him forge new connections with farmers and authorities in those countries, as well as in Jamaica and Malawi.

The goal, Benevento said, is not just to start farming systems with agroforestry but also to transform existing ones to be better for the environment and produce healthier, cleaner harvests that cut down on chemical use.

If a system like Jubilee Climate Farm’s was implemented around the world, such a change could draw down global climate emissions annually by 25%, Benevento said.

Researchers at Penn State University affirm this. In the meantime, the personal bonds the farm fosters have been impactful, too.

“We can measure [success] in the people who are coming … and leave with a sense of, they have some power to do something and feel like they have hope,” Benevento said.

“That’s probably the most important thing — the relationships that we’re building, and the sense that people have some agency … There’s a lot you can do, so I just recommend people not to be afraid.”

CONTACT Michael Russo at thebreezeculture@gmail.com. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

As part of his work at Jubilee Climate Farm, Tom Benevento (center) creates alliances with farmers around the world to expand the farm’s practices with others, like Samuel Lasiti (right), who’s interning at the farm before returning to Kenya in July. Courtesy of Tom Benevento

“When we live in healthy relationships with the Earth, this allows us to live in healthy relationships with each other.”

from TYLER TALK, page 1

“Once in a while, I do want to run away,” Kym said. “It’s crushing.” But she said she finds strength in the student-athletes she speaks to.

Of the Hilinskis’ estimated 150 Tyler Talks over the last four years, they’ve spoken all over the country, from a 20-person summer league baseball locker room in North Carolina 90 minutes before they played a game, to auditoriums filled with 550 student-athletes at the University of Hawai’i.

During the talks, the Hilinskis paint Tyler as someone not much different than anyone in the audience. Tyler was the average kid, Mark said: a 21-year-old who loved the sport he played, the school he attended and his friends.

“If it can happen to Tyler, it can happen to everyone,” Mark said.

Kym and Mark call the talks their “therapy.” They speak of Tyler in present tense, listen to Tyler talk in videos and say his name aplenty. They know Tyler’s gone, but they say he’s missing instead. The hour goes by fast, Mark said. He can’t describe his son in 60 minutes.

After the Tyler Talks, Kym and Mark make time afterward for athletes who want to confide in them or share their mental health stories.

Mark said he doesn’t tell student-athletes to not grind as hard or to take it easy in their sport. He said he wants student-athletes to treat their mental health as they would a torn ACL or cancer diagnosis: If treatment requires a step back in competition, then do so. It’s more important than the sport, he

Tell Tyler’s story

Parents of athlete who died by suicide speak at JMU, spread mental health awareness

said.

The point isn’t to have an emotional talk, Mark said — it’s just the most transparent way they can tell Tyler’s story.

Mark and Kym have a routine before the talks, but Mark said he can’t practice them out loud: “I would just end up in a heap on the floor.”

“It’s OK to laugh. Laugh or cry, however you react to it — you’re not going to offend us,” Mark said. “You know, losing Tyler’s the hardest thing. Nothing else kind of comes close.”

Kym and Mark aren’t mental health practitioners or public speakers. Admittedly, they don’t take themselves too seriously. They just know they have an important story to tell, one that may save lives — which gives them an obligation to bring their very best to every venue they speak at.

But they’re tired afterward, because the story never changes. There’s no bringing Tyler back.

“I’m pissed, sad and mad at him because I don’t understand it,” Mark said. “What I’ve learned in five years is to say, neither did Tyler.”

The Hilinski parents spoke twice at JMU on Tuesday, once at noon for coaches and administrators — a “modified Tyler Talk,” Kym called it, in which she and Mark prepared them for what they’d tell the students and got feedback on how to address Bernett’s death — and again to a crowd of student-athletes at 7 p.m.

Mark and Kym spoke to The Breeze on Jan. 21 and again Jan. 24 after their Tyler Talk at JMU. The Breeze requested to attend the 7 p.m. Tyler Talk. JMU Athletics denied the request, citing a desire to foster a supportive and sensitive environment for student-athletes to be vulnerable.

As soon as Kym and Mark are done at a school, the Hilinskis carry on. After their second interview with The Breeze, an hour

or so removed from their 7 p.m. talk at JMU, they said they’d be off to Central Michigan University on Wednesday morning for another Tyler Talk.

Mark and Kym don’t normally debrief after talks. They don’t go out afterward. The talks are emotionally draining and difficult enough.

But they still get through each one. Somewhere, one student-athlete may go, “They’re talking to me.” That’s what keeps them going, Mark said.

Kym and Mark said they’d slow down if Tyler Talks were detrimental to their mental health. Mark said they aren’t. And frankly, Mark said, they don’t feel like they’re getting to enough schools.

Tyler Talks hit some groups of studentathletes harder than others. When the Hilinskis visited George Mason in October, Mark told Sports Illustrated some of the school’s softball players were as sad as he’s ever seen a group after a Tyler Talk. Many players knew Bernett from her McDonald, Pennsylvania, hometown and grew up playing softball with her.

The Hilinskis said they didn’t want to make their talk at JMU all about Bernett. But it had to be addressed. They just didn’t initially realize the impact — and the aftermath — of her passing.

‘Feeling in the air’

One hundred and fifty Tyler Talks in four years couldn’t fully prepare Kym and Mark for Tuesday’s rendition at JMU. Mark expected sadness to overwhelm the talk, but he said he’d never experienced it to this extent.

Mark and Kym had never conducted a Tyler Talk at a school this closely removed from a student-athlete’s suicide before — or with those who the athlete was closest with in attendance.

“It was more — it’s a feeling in the air,” Kym said. “I felt it.”

JMU staffers spoke in unfinished sentences and struggled to find words in

some conversations with Mark, he said. In those interactions, Mark said he could only suspect their minds wandered to the day of Bernett’s death, to Bernett’s family, to her team, to Bernett herself.

“It was just different,” Mark said, adding he’d never been as self-aware at a Tyler Talk than he was Tuesday — specifically, about checking where his messages and stories were heading. “It reminds us that time is healing’s best friend and enemy.”

Kym said she worried for the JMU studentathletes, especially those who knew Bernett. She knew everybody listening was thinking of Bernett. But at JMU, and at all Tyler Talks, Mark said, he emphasized that someone doesn’t need a tragedy to ask for help.

Part of the Hilinskis’ message usually revolves around student-athlete mental health awareness, but JMU student-athletes are a group who “needs that the least,” Mark said. They made a point to say JMU has great mental health resources.

Mark said he thought, overall, he and Kym accomplished what they needed to at JMU — which is to share Tyler’s story. No matter how difficult it can be.

“It’s always hard — Tyler died,” Mark said. “It can’t get harder.”

But the Hilinskis can’t always put a measure on the success of their talks right away, they said. Sometimes it comes days, weeks or months after, when a studentathlete reaches out to them. An athlete might say thank you for sharing Tyler’s story.

Another athlete might say thank you for saving their life. For keeping what happened to Tyler from happening to them.

“It’s sort of a gift to believe, or to hope, that we are changing and saving lives,” Kym said. “I mean, that’s an incredible achievement. And if it is truly happening, then it actually helps me more with my sadness.”

Read the full story at breezejmu.org

CONTACT Grant Johnson at breezesports@ gmail.com. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

EDITORS

EMAIL breezesports@gmail.com

Madison Hricik & Grant Johnson

Graphic by Ben Moulse

Across the globe

JMUcoachessharethe highs and lows of internationalrecruiting

By WILL MORAN The Breeze

Yes. It’s an art.

At least, according to JMU men’s soccer head coach Paul Zazenski. He’s been recruiting student-athletes internationally for 13 years in multiple positions at different universities, and over this time, he said, he’s enjoyed his experience doing so.

Each sport has different rules and styles. As such, coaches have to take different steps to recruit players. Each coach has their own twist on recruiting.

A factor consistent across these sports is that players typically want to come to the U.S. in search of a combination of athletics and academics, which Zazenski said isn’t always an option for players from different countries. Zazenski said the athletes are looking for the “next chapter of their life” and are searching for a place where they can progress.

“Most of the players that end up coming to America already have their hearts set on coming and combining education with athletics,” Zazenski said, “which is something that isn’t always done in a lot of other countries around the world.”

The bulk of convincing comes from persuading the player to attend JMU over other institutions in the U.S. that are also recruiting them, Zazenski said. The men’s soccer coach pointed out what a place like JMU can do for these players academically, highlighting the facilities JMU has to help the players progess on the field.

The presence of international recruits helps JMU sports by bringing in new talent that isn’t available in the U.S. and combines different cultures together, leading to an increase in diversity in the program — something that JMU men’s golf head coach Carter Cheves said has been a good experience for him and the team.

“I think we say ‘It’s a small world’ a lot just in our daily lives, and I think when it comes to our sport it’s even more the case,” Cheves said. “It brings culture and diversity to our program, and I think it’s been a good experience.”

Compared to other schools in the state, Old Dominion, U.Va. and Virginia Tech, JMU has the second most out of the four schools with rostered international players at approximately 9%. Old Dominion had the most with approximately 17.8%, and U.Va. and Virginia Tech were third and fourth with 8.29% and 7.69%, respectively.

Of the three JMU head coaches who spoke to The Breeze — Zazenski, men’s golf’s Carter Cheves and field hockey’s Christy Morgan — there are similarities in their approaches to international recruiting, but they each have a unique approach to recruiting the international players onto their respective rosters.

Men’s Soccer

Zazenski said he’s been recruiting

GraphicbyBen Moulse /TheBreeze

throughout his entire 13-year career, using a variety of methods, including watching highlights and full-game footage, with the main method being traveling to see the players live.

“There are showcases where you go over to a specific country through connections and through word of mouth and through relationships you’ve built,” Zazenski said, “and you go over to watch a number of different players play.”

The connections are what are really important to Zazenski and the staff during the recruiting process. Through his time as a coach, he’s built those relationships overseas to aid his recruiting process. Zazenski said a lot of the players he visits are recommended to him by connections he’s made during his career.

Something else that goes into these relationships is making sure they’re strong and honest with what Zazenski calls “showcase handlers”. A handler is basically an advocate for the international players, whose goal is to get the recruits to the U.S. to play college soccer, so naturally, they have a bias toward their international players. Zazenski said it’s important to know what you’re looking for in order to properly sift through everything the handlers’ recommendations and find the real gems.

“What is hard as a coach in Division I, and at every other level for that matter, is knowing exactly what these people are telling you to be truth,” Zazenski said. “They think everybody is the best player they have ever seen because they are trying to help them get to America, so you have to really know the people and trust the people in order to make a good, educated decision on who you decide to recruit.”

However, they don’t always travel strictly for showcases, Zazenski said. Sometimes they travel just to see a certain few players. Zazenski said these recommendations can come from many places: connections made overseas, to

alumni or even current players on

The recruiting process can present many difficulties, namely time and money. Zazenski said while he believes he has a healthy budget, it’s

This, coupled with the fact Zazenski and the staff are so far away, makes it vital for them to use the time in other countries as effectively as possible because they might not ever have another chance to see the prospects in person.

“A player from Virginia, we might be able to watch five or six times play live,” Zazenski said. “Whereas an international player, you really only get one opportunity, maybe two, if you are at a weekend event.”

Beside these, other issues that the program faces are language and cultural differences. Besides the communication barrier that this can present, it also can be difficult for the players with respect to JMU’s academic standards, Zazenski said. Along with this, players from other countries often come over to the U.S. 1-2 years older than a typical 18-year-old U.S. college freshman.

Another thing that comes into play in soccer is the different play styles of each country around the world. Zazenski said that each country has different philosophies and different characteristics to how they approach the sport, and this influences the way they teach young players. Understanding this and adapting to it is where Zazenski says the art comes into play.

Zazenski describes his style of recruiting as an art in that it takes a lot of time, research and knowledge to be successful recruiting on the international stage. Zazenski said the art comes from knowing exactly what style of player you want in each position on your roster, and then knowing what area of the world you need to go to find that player.

“There is a lot of variance country to country, and I think that is where the art comes into international recruiting,” Zazenski said. “Formulating your roster and knowing what each player can bring to the table based on how they were brought up playing.”

Field Hockey

Christy Morgan has coached JMU field hockey for 18 seasons in two stints, from 1991-

99 and 2014-present. Her international recruits excelled this season, namely senior forward Eveline Zwager and senior midfielder Diede Remijnse who received first and second team All-South region honors, respectively.

The 2022 roster featured seven international recruits, all from Europe, including five from the Netherlands, which is a major hub for field hockey, having won four of the last five field hockey World Cups. Morgan said she likes to recruit from Europe because of the experience the players have when they’re ready to come play in the U.S.

“We go international because … they start playing hockey when they’re really, really young,” Morgan said. “When we are thinking about a skill, they are more instinctive.”

Morgan compares this to American players and how the disparity in experience affects them. American players typically begin playing field hockey in late elementary school or middle school, whereas European players begin playing at around 4-6 years old. Since they have less experience, in the same situation Morgan said American players have to “think the skill,” their international teammates “feel the skill.”

There could be a boom in the number of international players on the JMU field hockey roster in the near future. Morgan said the program has a trip planned for this summer to watch a number of European tournaments to identify potential key players and watch them play live.

A change that the international players experience when they come to the U.S. is the rigorous training schedule, Morgan said. While the international players play year-round, they don’t practice every day. So when they come to JMU, which Morgan described as “one of the most competitive programs in the nation,” she said they aren’t used to the intensity of the training.

Morgan’s recruiting process begins by finding the player through a number of different avenues, whether through an agency who recommends the player, their own research or Morgan’s connections.

Morgan played on the U.S. national team and made a multitude of connections during her time as a player from 1982-90. Morgan said some of the great players she competed against now have daughters ,and she’s recruited some of them to come play for the Dukes.

For example, Taryn Mayer. Morgan had a relationship with the Mayer family through Taryn’s sister, Corey (2015-18), who was a player for JMU.

After finding the player, Morgan and her staff check to make sure she’s talented enough to represent JMU on the field — but it doesn’t stop there. Buying into the culture is the most important trait Morgan looks for on the recruiting trail.

THE FINAL BATTLE

JMU swim & dive falls narrowly versus Navy, 151-149, in long-awaited dual meet

By MADISON HRICIK The Breeze

Dane Pedersen quickly ran the numbers on his heat sheet again. He had 10 minutes to figure everything out and talk to his team. He compared his numbers for the Dukes against the numbers he had for Navy.

Music blared across Savage Natatorium. JMU swim and dive was in the middle of a mini dance party as the Dukes' head coach called the team together. They’d been competing since 10 a.m. It’s now almost 1:30 p.m., but no one cared. The meet would be decided by the results of the final two events: the 200-yard individual medley (IM) and the 200-yard freestyle relay.

Three scenarios were possible:

1. JMU needed to win the 200-yard IM and the relay to win the meet.

2. Place second in the IM and finish first and second in the relay to win, otherwise.

3. Navy would take the crown regardless of how JMU finished.

Navy freshman Lauren Walsh just outtouched JMU junior Jess Pryne, and JMU sophomore Grace Bousum finished third. That meant the Dukes had to take first and second to win the meet.

Well, JMU took first and third. Pedersen knew what that meant — JMU lost, 151-149. But he said he was still proud of JMU for making the final race matter against Navy.

“I told [the team], ‘We need to get second here,’” Navy head coach John Morrison said. “JMU was in one-two position to win the meet. And fortunately, our last two legs of the relay were able to make up some ground and pass the JMU second relay.”

It was senior day for JMU swim and dive, the final home meet of the year. Hosting Navy, a former ECAC foe, the Dukes had been waiting to race against the Midshipmen for 11 years.

But thanks to competing at the ECAC Open Championships last season, Pedersen worked with Morrison to get the two programs back in the pool this year. Pederson said he’s been trying to get on Navy’s schedule for five years, but they’re usually booked up.

“We saw them last year at ECAC because they hosted it, and I kind of planted another seed in his brain,” Pederson said. “So I think we got on his radar.”

The Dukes consistently performed well in both the 3- and 1-meter dives, a pattern that JMU has seen all season long. Sophomore diver Alexa Holloway and junior diver Lexi Lehman placed first and second in the 3-meter, with JMU junior Maddie Yager getting knocked from third by Navy freshman Mackenzie Kim in the final two rounds of the event.

Yager turned the tables in the 1-meter, winning the event by over 30 points (279.93). Senior diver Felicity Ryan made a comeback on her senior day, taking second after finishing last in the 3-meter, and senior Lindsey Hammar rounded out the JMU

sweep with a third-place finish.

“I was very happy with my 1-meter performance today,” Ryan said. “And I felt like my dives were really strong and kind of consistent, but there's definitely a feel I could have done better.”

The results were the early shot-in-thearm the Dukes needed to help kickstart the swimming portion of the meet, taking first and third in the 200-yard medley relay. Then, JMU sophomore Abby Maguire took over the 1,000-yard freestyle, winning the event by over 3.2 seconds. The quick start had Navy get creative with who lined up on the blocks, according to Pedersen, but that was the fun of it for the Dukes.

“We really did not think we were gonna be even close to them,” redshirt senior Jordyn Schnell, who took back-to-back first-place finishes in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle, said. “And it was really exciting. I don't think any of us were thinking about the score the whole time. Like we didn't know what it was, we didn't know who was winning, who's losing — we just went for it.”

The strategy started to work. The Midshipmen swept two of the next three events — the 200-yard free and 100-yard backstroke.

The meet continued a pattern 1-and-3 finishes for JMU and 1-and-2 finishes for Navy, deadlocking the two in a back-andforth frenzy. It was exactly what Pedersen wanted the final home dual meet to look like.

“We got a lot of confirmation from this meet about the things we've been working on recently,” Pedersen said. “So from just an X's and O's swimming standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, that's what I really enjoyed seeing.”

Both head coaches said their goals for their respective programs were reached at the dual meet. Pedersen wanted the Dukes to start their races faster, and Morrison wanted the Midshipmen to finish their races stronger.

JMU and Navy both compete in their respective conference championships in a few weeks, JMU with the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association’s (CCSA) Feb. 15-18, and Navy in the Patriot League and the ECAC on Feb. 15-18 and Feb. 24-26, respectively.

Even though the Dukes’ senior day was slightly spoiled by the final relay race, the fact that JMU kept it as close as it did was a big accomplishment and a green flag for the U.Va. Invitational Feb. 3-5.

And a loud, crowded pool deck with echoes of cheering and whistles is just what Pedersen wanted for that last dual meet.

“I think, anytime, it's just good to challenge yourself,” Pedersen said. “I'm really excited, I hope that's a back and forth we can continue because they are consistently a very, very, very good program.”

CONTACT Madison Hricik at breezesports@ gmail.com. For more swim and dive coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports

JMU's final dual meet against Navy came down to the final relay to determine a winner, with Navy earning the victory. Photos by Valerie Chenault / The Breeze

Diver Felicity Ryan was one of seven athletes honored at the meet against Navy.

from ACROSS THE GLOBE, page 13

She digs deeper than just the skill of the player and looks to really understand the international player for who they are off the field, just as much as who they are on it.

And how does she do that? Zoom.

“We make a personal connection,” Morgan said. “We meet the family and we talk about, not just how they play, but about other things they do in their lives, what’s important to them.”

Morgan and the JMU field hockey program look deep into a player’s personality to make sure they’ll be the right fit. Morgan looks for specific traits that fit the culture she’s built at JMU, namely an unselfish player with gratitude who supports “the greatness of their team and not just themselves.”

And when Morgan has players with great personalities who fit together, it contributes to having a connected team, she said — which represents everything that makes her team great.

“We are looking for the best of the best field hockey players who are the best of the best people,” Morgan said. “And the neat thing is that’s what we have right now.”

Men’s Golf

Carter Cheves doesn’t quite have the tenure of Zazenski and Morgan, but he does have experience and success recruiting internationally. Cheves began recruitingmen’s golfers internationally when he came to JMU as an assistant coach in 2013. His first experience was with tournaments taking place in the U.S. over winter break each year.

“There’s a couple of big tournaments over winter break down in Florida where a lot of international players actually come to the U.S. to play and get that experience in front of college coaches,” Cheves said. “So, I took an opportunity to go down there … and watch some international guys.”

In one of those Florida tournaments, Cheves found Jack Floydd (2014-2018) from England, who went on to have a successful career for the Dukes, shooting a career best 6-under-par 66 in the Seminole Intercollegiate his sophomore year, and had a top finish of seventh place at the Terrapin Invitational the same year. Floydd recently competed in the 150th Open Championship, where he shot 10-over-par in two rounds.

Cheves’ process initially began mostly online.

A new home

He said he used a lot of internet searches, sent emails to prospective players and received emails from players who were interested in playing at JMU.

As time went on, he began to travel to other countries — mostly in Europe — namely England, France and Northern Ireland to see potential recruits play in tournaments. Now at this stage of his tenure as JMU’s head coach, he uses a holistic approach to international recruiting.

“Now we have gone with everything, we’re calling, we’re emailing, we’re FaceTiming, we’re doing every avenue we can,” Cheves said.

Something Cheves has at his fingertips that other sports might not have access to are ranking systems. These rankings show the top players in different age groups and allow coaches to see how these young players from different countries are performing. Cheves said this is a great stepping stone to begin recruiting these players.

“The European golf rankings, we can go and we can look up who is doing what from every country,” Cheves said. “The world amateur golf rankings gives us a good starting point for what everyone is doing, really, across the world … We can go and see their results in one place and determine if this is someone that is playing at a level that we feel like fits within our program.”

Another feature of the internet that Cheves and many other coaches use to their advantage is social media. Cheves sometimes DMs athletes on Instagram and Twitter to try to get a line of communication going — “we’ll use essentially every resource at our disposal,” he said.

An additional tool at Cheves’ disposal is each country’s junior national teams. Cheves said over time he’s built relationships with coaches of a few of these teams and they tell him about players that are playing well so the program can further scout them as they develop.

“We have gotten to know some of those coaches, so we can ask them who is going to be on the team this year and who is coming up,” Cheves said. “And then we can track those guys and reach out to them as they come of age.”

In the end, while language and cultural differences make things more difficult on the international recruiting trail as opposed to in the U.S., Cheves said mutual interest between himself and a recruit makes things simpler.

“I wouldn’t call it a big adjustment, we all have the one thing in common, and that’s golf,”

Cheves said. “We kind of rally around that common interest and goal and so it makes it a lot easier.”

All the aforementioned sports are different and each coach has their own nuances to recruiting. Over time, JMU has built a strong winning tradition, something Morgan believes players must buy into.

“Our culture is so extraordinary,” Morgan said. “If you get the wrong person, even if they have the right skill, it destroys the culture.”

CONTACT Will Moran at moranwp@dukes. jmu.edu. For more soccer, golf and field hockey coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

JMU student-athletes from different countries were honored at halftime of JMU men’s basketgall’s game against Hampton on Nov. 9. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

EDITOR EMAIL Evan Weaver breezeopinion@gmail.com

Want to praise someone or get something off your chest? Darts & Pats is the place to do it. Submit your own at breezejmu.org.

A “thanks-for-pushingour-limits” pat to UREC group exercise instructors.

From an appreciative UREC user who nevertheless wonders why you play music at such high-decibel, unhealthy levels.

A “wrong-side-of-thetracks” dart to the trains that cross South Main Street.

From someone who was late to class because of one.

Recommend you attend

With attendance declining, students should go to more basketball games

MARY MABRY

The JMU basketball student section is bare.

Both JMU men’s and women’s basketball game attendance is down from last year, according to a Jan. 12 article by Shane Mettlen from the Daily NewsRecord. The women’s team averaged 2,510 crowd members last year and are down to 1,957 so far this season, according to the article. The men’s team brought in 4,353 fans on average last year and are now averaging 3,465.

Students need to show more support for JMU basketball players, and there are many reasons to do so.

Basketball games take place in the Atlantic Union Bank Center (AUBC), which debuted Nov. l, 2020. The facilities are impressive and make a fantastic place for up to 8,500 people to watch a basketball game.

As reported by Mettlen, Appalachian State men’s basketball head coach Dustin Kerns said postgame Jan. 7 that the AUBC is “about as nice of a facility as I’ve ever been in.”

“I’ve been in the ACC, SEC, Gonzaga,” Kerns said. “This place is spectacular. Kudos to James Madison and their staff for this place.”

The top five places in the AUBC, in a 2020 Breeze story, are the team video room, band seating, practice court, Academic Success Center and Clubs and Suites. Students are missing out if they don’t take advantage of having such a nice facility to cheer on the Dukes.

Not only is the AUBC a great place to be, but it’s easy for students to get to. Students can reserve tickets for free online. Tickets for guests are also available to students for $16.

A “welcome-back” pat to the Italian herb and cheese bread at Subway.

From someone who eats there at least twice a week.

A “watch-whereyou're-going” dart to the ultimate frisbee club team for repeatedly hitting my charger with their chairs.

From someone who just wanted to study in peace.

The AUBC is on East Campus, so it’s an easy walk for students who live on campus. For students who live off campus, parking is available for free at the Ballard Parking Deck, which is right next to the AUBC.

Basketball games are also part of the college experience; they're a chance for students to

contributing columnist

show their school spirit and cheer on their college team in a community setting. This can help a student feel more connected to the university and have more pride in their school.

Not only can students go to basketball games to watch the team, but they can also hear the JMU Pep Band play, see the JMU cheerleaders and Dukettes perform and participate in fun competitions if chosen by the emcee.

According to a 2015 News-Press article, the number of students attending college sporting events such as basketball and football games is decreasing. Reasons include “cost, time constraints, endless other entertainment options” and the “widespread availability of sports broadcasts on TV and online.” But, this doesn’t mean that sporting events aren’t worth a student’s time.

Arguably, though, the most important reason for students to attend basketball games is the impact it has on the athletes.

Having an enthusiastic audience has a positive impact on team performance. According to an article published in the Journal of Sports Economics, “a supportive crowd causes the home team to be more likely to win.” Additionally, athletes will likely feel more encouraged knowing that fellow Dukes are there to support them.

The JMU basketball teams are doing well this season. According to ESPN, the women are dominating their conference and recently came off a 13-game win streak. The men are also performing well, currently ranking seventh in the Sun Belt Conference.

Don’t miss out on all the action — consider going to a JMU basketball game.

CONTACT Mary Mabry at mabrymm@dukes.jmu. edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on Instagram and Twitter @Breeze_Opinion.

Strange sleep schedules

TikTok use can be addictive and cause users to not get enough rest

AVA MENONI contributing columnist

Social media, specifically TikTok, has a negative impact on college students’ sleep. College students are known to have bad sleeping habits due to their overwhelming academics, excessive social lives and tight schedules. According to the Centers for

Editorial Policies

The Breeze welcomes and encourages readers to voice their opinions through letters and guest columns. Letters must be no longer than 250 words. Guest columns must be no more than 650 words.

Disease Control, at least 60% of college students have poor-quality sleep, failing to complete the nine hours recommended by Johns Hopkins Medicine. Recently, there’s been a new factor adding to the decline of sleep in college-aged people: social media’s top dog, TikTok.

TikTok is a popular social media app that’s changed the way people view entertainment.

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The Breeze assumes the rights to any published work. Opinions expressed in this page, with the exception of editorials, are not necessarily those of The Breeze or its staff.

The main function of this app is TikTok’s “For You Page” which compiles content tailored to the viewer. The app collects data such as which videos people have liked and shared and creates a customized page of media to consume. The “For You Page” content consists of short videos people can scroll on for hours and hours. It sends the brain of the viewer into a mindless loop and they can’t look away.

Letters and guest columns should be submitted in print or via e-mail and must include name, phone number, major/year if author is a current student (or year of graduation), professional title (if applicable) and place of residence if author is not a JMU student.

Both JMU men and women's basketball game attendance is down from last year's average. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

TikTok has benefits. One of the platform’s taglines is “find your community,” which is fitting because many people have found a community on the app. Each community has its own hashtag added to the caption of the videos that has “Tok” at the end to signify that it’s a TikTok video. From MomTok to SkaterTok and WitchTok to FinanceTok, there’s something for everyone. It’s created jobs and hired thousands of U.S. employers since 2020 according to Forbes. Its addictive nature is affecting viewers more than they think, specifically in the sleep department.

TikTok’s addictiveness comes from its design. The two most concerning aspects of the formatting are the limited number of buttons and the length of the videos. The limited number of buttons is convenient, yet it gives the app control over how much time you spend on it. Short videos can be especially addictive for children and teenagers because of their short attention spans.

Many TikTok users experience a distorted sense of time. They scroll on TikTok for hours

and don’t realize how much time has passed. It’s almost like they’re in a hypnotic state. Another reason why students are losing sleep over TikTok is the blue light emitted from the screens. According to Harvard Medical School, exposure to light suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that influences circadian rhythms. Exposure to blue light during the day can be beneficial because it mimics sunlight. However, exposure during the nighttime can keep viewers awake.

Since its creation in September 2016, TikTok has quickly gained popularity, especially among young people. A survey by Pew Research Center found that 67% of teens have used TikTok, and it’s more popular than both Instagram and Snapchat.

The Breeze polled Instagram users about TikTok usage. The results indicated that 80% of the 20 respondents use TikTok before bed. In response to the question, “Does TikTok negatively impact your sleep schedule,” 82% of students responded affirmatively

expressing how the app affects their sleep. One Instagram user, @halfbakedcrazy, responded “Yes absolutely so much negative impact.”

It’s important to recognize the dangers of TikTok. Its impact on students’ sleep can be catastrophic. Short-term problems associated with regular sleep loss include lack of alertness, excessive daytime sleepiness and impaired memory. Impaired memory is especially threatening because college students cannot retain the information given to them in class, which can affect classroom performance. Students can prevent TikTok from ruining their sleep schedule by setting time limits on their phones or deciding not to go on TikTok an hour before bed.

CONTACT Ava Menoni at menoniap@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on Instagram and Twitter @Breeze_Opinion.

Beginning a new semester can be exciting and a bit stressful for all of us, whether we’re coming back from a challenging fall term or beginning our journey.

For many of us in the JMU community, academic stress has been the least of our worries. The past two years have been filled with grief, loss, perpetual fear and anger for disabled people as a disproportionate number of us have lost our lives, livelihoods, ability to access care and safely inhabit public spaces in the limited ways we were afforded before the pandemic began. Disability is the only minority group that any one of us on any given day can join and intersect with all identity groups and in all communities in every corner of the globe.

This fact in itself should bring us together in solidarity and transformative direct action. Truth is, unless you are disabled and have to live in a world not meant for you, you may not realize how drastically different our experiences can be. There are many ways ableism can be defined, Lydia X.Z. Brown (they/them/theirs/themself or no pronouns) provides a salient articulation in “Ableism/Language” on their blog, Autistic Hoya: “Ableism is not a list of bad words. Language is *one* tool of an oppressive system. Being aware of language -- for those of us who have the privilege of being able to change our language -- can help us understand how pervasive ableism is. Ableism is systematic, institutional devaluing of bodies and minds deemed deviant, abnormal, defective, subhuman, less than. Ableism is *violence.*”

You might be asking yourself if ableism is really as bad as all that. You wouldn’t be alone in this skepticism and in itself does not make you a bad person; it just means you do not confront and navigate ableist systems in the same way and on a daily basis as disabled people do. Disabled people who benefit from other forms of privilege do not experience ableism in the same way as those in our community who experience the effects of compounded oppression. In truth, ableism is so entrenched in our daily lives you do not even have to be disabled to experience ableism and you don’t have to be able bodied/minded to hold ableist beliefs. It might even seem natural and inevitable that a disproportionate number of disabled people experience poverty, lower health outcomes, early/ high mortality, low employment, high rates of incarceration and institutionalization … but it wasn’t always like this and it is neither natural or inevitable for any group.

By tracing this lineage of discrimination back to its origins, we start to see how history informs the present. In understanding these origin stories and how they have been replicated, reproduced and upheld throughout the years we are one step closer to correcting these injustices and repairing the harm done. One of the best ways of course correction is including disabled voices from all marginalized backgrounds in research.

When COVID-19 swept the globe in 2020, the disability community was hit harder than most, yet not equally throughout. The segregation of disabled

people with higher support needs into state care facilities and other communal living situations that disabled people inhabit, made social distancing and other practices of mitigating the spread inaccessible.

For example, a 2020 research paper “People With Disabilities in COVID-19: Fixing Our Priorities in the American Journal of Bioethics,” found that in New York State alone, those with intellectual/ developmental disabilities (IDD) had a death rate of 9.5% as opposed to the overall death rate of 4% in the general population. To date, they write, nearly half of reported deaths of people with disabilities list the disability itself as the cause of death and “beyond the illogic of identifying a disability, as opposed to an illness or disease, as a causal health event leading to death, this practice makes it difficult for public health researchers to understand mortality risks” for the disability community.

This should be shocking, however it’s so

open to hearing the ways in which our society (is) set it up have disadvantaged not only ourselves … but … disadvantaged (people based on) group member status … because they are Indigenous, or they are Black, or Hispanic, or an Immigrant, or they are Queer. In a “historical way we have advantaged some people and disadvantaged others.”

Just as important is addressing the immediate need and material conditions of those who experience exclusion, oppression and inequality. In an interview with JMU assistant health science professor Tony Jehi, he underscored the need to work with and understand the community you are serving to effectively facilitate preventative measures and highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations and connections in research. In his work with the “Full Plate Diet,” Jehi and fellow research facilitators “focused on accessibility both geographical and economical”

serves as a cultural institution and valued source of information that is generally accepted to be reliable, verified, and objective in informing our opinions and beliefs. For the disability community, this is not the rule but the exception.

There is a wealth of evidence that speaks to the way individuals and communities that must navigate oppressive systems are better positioned to understand these systems than those who benefit from them, so why aren’t disabled people and other marginalized groups consulted in and leading research that is about them and for them? A big reason is the legacy of co-constitutive and co-creative scientific and medical ableism, racism, cis-hetero-sexism, etc. that legitimates prejudice in scientific and medical study and skews our understanding of natural human diversity. As bell hooks has emphasized in her book “Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom,”“western men who established their own ways of knowing … (are) … failing to realize that they’re also just cultural products, while rationalizing them as more valid, more correct, and methodologically stronger than others.” What would happen if we took Audre Lorde’s wisdom to heart, when she said in her essay by the same name, “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” and applied it to the way we collectively conduct and fund research?

shockingly common, normalized, moralized and rationalized that many do not appreciate the gravity of these realities and their violence until someone points it out.

During the pandemic, the rationing of care and resource guidelines that healthcare workers were given justified the denial of life-saving treatments of disabled people and combined with racism in deadly ways. As Sabatello highlighted “the prevalence of disability and associated poorer health outcomes are higher among Blacks/African Americans, Latinx, and American Indians/Alaska Natives communities with disproportionately high rates of COVID-19 infection and mortality.” In an interview with Dr. Merrell, a JMU health sciences professor and researcher, she pointed to a paper her and colleagues published in 2021, “Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities: Covid-19 Exposure & Mortality Among African American People in the United States,” which looked at how COVID disproportionately impacted marginalized groups.

In individualistic societies like the U.S., we often assign blame to the person who is sick but are “not

that looked to address health disparities with preventative, educational projects that focus on the unique needs of the community.

LTE|Why We Need a Diversity of Disabled Voices in Research Sincerely,

Though quantitative research reveals the who and the what, without the context of why and how that qualitative research provides, the “hard” facts can be misleading and misused. In an interview with a sociology professor at JMU Kerry Dobransky, he noted how “the history of research and policy language … is in many ways a story of quantification” and sees the potential of incorporating community driven research within sociological and more broadly in qualitative studies to challenge and explode myths that address the positionality of the researcher as outsider and blindspots and biases that may exist.

In our academic studies, we are starting to see how research is something we have come to rely on to understand ourselves, the living, physical world which we inhabit, and the social realities and institutions which we mutually construct. Research has a direct and substantial impact on policy and funding priorities, it provides a framework for what is generally accepted as true and real. Research also

As the UN’s press release, “New Eugenics: UN Disability Expert Warns against ‘Ableism’ in Medical Practice,” emphasized, ableism is a causal factor for the realities the disability community face during the COVID pandemic if “the life experiences of people with disabilities continue to be undervalued, no progress will be made” concluding that “what we need is a profound cultural transformation on the way society relates to the difference. That is a commitment to embrace disability as a positive aspect of human diversity (and that) states must combat all forms of discrimination based on disability.” A key way of achieving this equity is a diversity of disabled voices from all intersectional experiences in research. The solutions are out there, we just have to educate ourselves, become critical consumers of research, do our inner work and come together in solidarity and action.

Ben Moulse / The Breeze

Robyn Weintraub

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