The Breeze 10.12.23

The Breeze JMU’s award-winning newspaper since 1922

October 12, 2023 VOL. 102 NO.9 BREEZEJMU.ORG

ADMIT NONE high demand in tickets unexpected fees lack of competition purchasing complications Ticketmaster blasted ahead of Swift movie Culture | 12

Fans mixed over football’s many early games Sports | 14

Latin Americans’ identity is their choice Opinion | 18

OFF-CAMPUS LIFE SPECIAL EDITION INSIDE

2 2

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org Thursday, September 21, 2023 | breezejmu.org

Vol. 102, No. 9 Vol. 102, No. 6

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

Vol. 102, No. 9

On the cover

This week's front page highlights the struggles that JMU students had securing tickets for popular summer concerts, including Taylor Swift's “The Eras Tour,” Beyoncé's “Renaissance World Tour” and Olivia Rodrigo's “GUTS” Tour.

For some JMU students like Grace Lastova, a junior media arts and design major, the Ticketmaster issues are especially concerning because she wants to pursue music after graduating.

“With how difficult it has recently become to even access concert tickets in the first place, I am worried with how live access has already become inaccessable to the average person,” she said.

However, Swift's “Eras Tour” movie premieres Thursday, giving some Dukes a second chance to see the performance they originally missed out on.

3

What's inside...

RIGHT: Religious preachers have often shown up on campus to share their spiritual beliefs and have been seen handing out pocket-sized Bibles to passersby. Students occasionally gather around these preachers while they're speaking. However, there's mixed opinions on their intentions, with some students, like Breeze columnist Patrick Hanover, saying this kind of rhetoric has negative implications. Others, like Breeze columnist Mary Mabry, say the preachers show Christianity in a bad light.

Ryan Sauer / The Breeze For the full double-take, see page 18

Editorial Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF GRANT JOHNSON

EXECUTIVE EDITOR MICHAEL RUSSO

breezeeditor@gmail.com

breezepress@gmail.com

NEWS EDITORS ELEANOR SHAW & LIZZIE STONE

CULTURE EDITORS MORGAN BLAIR & EVAN MOODY

breezenews@gmail.com

thebreezeculture@gmail.com

OPINION EDITOR EVAN WEAVER

COPY EDITORS EMMA JOHNSON & WILLIAM MORAN

breezeopinion@gmail.com

breezecopy@gmail.com

Advertising Staff

AD DESIGNERS

COVER BY: BEN MOULSE / THE BREEZE

PHONE: (540) 568-6127 FAX: (540) 568-7889

thebreezeweb@gmail.com

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.

SPORTS EDITORS KAIDEN BRIDGES & JACKSON HEPHNER breezesports@gmail.com

breezephotography@gmail.com

TRISTAN GAONA & MEGAN GOLINSKY

Comm One

JMU’S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1922 1598 S. Main St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801

MANAGING EDITOR AVERY GOODSTINE

PHOTO EDITORS ABI MIDDLETON & RYAN SAUER

The Breeze

ART DIRECTOR BEN MOULSE

thebreezeartdirector@gmail.com

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 Grant Johnson, editor.

NEWS

EDITORS Eleanor Shaw & Lizzie Stone

4

EMAIL breezenews@gmail.com

@BreezeNewsJMU

Harrisonburg Urban Forestry Program leaps forward with fall tree planting

By SIXUAN WU contributing writer

With shovels, rakes and buckets in hand, nearly 300 students at Keister Elementary School (KES) dig down deep to plant trees in collaboration with Harrisonburg’s Urban Forestry Program on Friday.

The program, which started in 2018 after the removal of a significant amount of infected ash trees in Harrisonburg, mainly aims to increase greenery for the city, as well as to improve air quality, reduce urban noise, control stormwater runoff and enhance the beauty of urban landscapes.

Harrisonburg partnered with the Climate Adaptation Planning + Analytics (CAPA) Heat Watch Program in 2021 and was granted $10,000, part of which the city has used to purchase over 100 trees so far, said Jeremy Harold Harrisonburg Green Space Manager.

“We had three different tree plantings with that, so the students got to come out and learn how to plant trees,” Harold said. “We have plantings this fall, and then we will probably plant the remaining $10,000 worth of trees in the spring.”

As part of the partnership with the Heat Watch Program, the city organizes tree plantings in different locations every year. Thirty trees were

planted on the fields behind KES and along the street on Friday, and 150 trees will be planted by the end of the school year, said Brooke Imber, KES outdoor learning committee leader and planting organizer.

Another city-sponsored planting with Harrisonburg High School students will take place on Monday, when students will be planting 24 trees on Reservoir Street.

“Fall is a great time to plant trees because it’s cooling down and the trees are going dormant,” Harold said. “They will be in the ground all winter, and then they are ready to go in the spring.”

The city also organizes tree planting in the spring either with JMU students or local volunteers, putting trees in the ground through April and adding other pollinator-friendly plants in May, Harold said.

As of now, the Urban Forestry Program staff plants about 300 trees a year with the help of volunteers. Challenges for planting more trees involve having enough staff to maintain, Harold said.

Harold encourages residents to plant trees in their yards through the Harrisonburg Conservation Assistance Program (HCAP), which offers up to $3,500 worth of free trees.

Homeowners and organizations will be connected with local arborists following a site

Harrisonburg has a 10-year urban forestry plan intended to increase greenery and outdoor beauty, improve air quality and decrease urban noise and runnoff. JMU’s Campus Tree Advisory Committee collaborates with the city on forestry projects. Grace Sawyer / The Breeze

visit from the Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District.

“Our goal now is to plant as many trees as we can to get that tree canopy back up, and then to encourage homeowners to do it in their yard too,” Harold said. “We can plant trees in parks but it’s not making a difference citywide, so we need everybody to plant trees.”

Since 2017, JMU has been part of the Tree Campus USA Program, for which colleges are required to meet five core standards of tree care and community engagement each year, including having a campus tree committee, observing Arbor Day on the last Friday of April and organizing service-learning projects.

JMU’s Campus Tree Advisory Committee collaborates with the city’s forestry initiatives through various projects, such as the Campus Tree Inventory Map, which documents the type, health and statistics of every tree on campus, and the Edible Forest Garden (EFG) Project, which aims to elevate environmental sustainability on campus and provide local produce to the community, said Ali Sloop, JMU stormwater compliance specialist and member of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee.

“Trees offer a lot of benefits to us as far as carbon storage, air pollution removal, stormwater mitigation, things like that,” Sloop said. “[They] are the only assets that gain value

with age. It’s just something I’m passionate about, trying to preserve the trees and appreciating them for what they offer us.”

Mikaela Schmitt-Harsh, director of the EFG Project and member of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, said the forest garden is a great way for students to be involved in forestryrelated initiatives on campus. The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum also offers volunteering and opportunities to learn more about trees.

“JMU as a whole is doing some really great tree-related projects,” Schmitt-Harsh said.

“There are a lot of cool initiatives on campus that are moving forward.”

The city is now halfway through its 10-year urban forestry management plan and has accomplished the planned planting of a 50% diverse selection of trees to enhance Harrisonburg’s tree canopy, according to the Urban Forestry Program website.

“There will constantly be trees coming down, and we need to be prepared for new pests,” Harold said. “That’s why we plant a diverse selection of trees. It’s a work in progress, and I think there will never be an end to planting trees.”

CONTACT Sixuan Wu at wu3sx@dukes. jmu.edu For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @BreezeNewsJMU.

TOP: New pollinator-friendly plants in the greenhouse will be planted in the spring as part of Harrisonburg’s urban forestry programs. BOTTOM: Students at Keister Elementary School planted a total of 30 trees around campus on Friday. Sixuan Wu / The Breeze

NEWS

5

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

After JMU upgraded its Apogee internet service system, students living on campus have reported inconsistent connection to the Wi-Fi. Photo illustration by Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

Apogee internet services experience continuous technical issues in on-campus housing

By BRIANNA THWEATT The Breeze

JMU resident Wi-Fi, or MyResNet, has taken on an upgraded system to introduce features such as 5G networking to on-campus housing, however the new developments have led to difficulties as students report ongoing internet connectivity issues.

Over the summer, JMU upgraded its internet services to Apogee, said Robin Bryan, associate president and CIO for JMU Information Technology. The partnership between MyResNet and Apogee to bring internet services and support to residence halls was first established back in 2015, but due to the pandemic, the university was “in need of an equipment refresh,” Bryan said. After the initial upgrade during the summer, an “additional upgrade” was then conducted over the past month, she said, to improve wireless across residence halls.

Created back in 1999, Apogee is a technology service provider that specializes in bringing networking systems to the higher education system at college campuses like JMU, according to their website. In working with various other universities, its one goal is to maintain the “college experience” through technology services delivery.

In an Oct. 9 email to The Breeze, Bryan said although there’s new increased “capacity and functionality” internet in on-campus housing, it simultaneously altered the process of setting

up Wi-Fi in residence halls this year. Students have their own internet accounts and are given pre-coded Wi-Fi passwords that can be used to register numerous devices.

Students reported difficulty in setting up their Apogee accounts because of differences between this year’s and last year’s systems. Furthermore, students have also accounted various internet outages and unstable internet connections.

“The residence hall’s Wi-Fi this year has been horrible in my experience,” said sophomore Jaiden Lorton, a resident hall advisor (RA) in Garber Hall.

After going to JMU’s Help Desk for assistance on “computing support needs” and directly contacting Apogee, Lorton said it’s still “one problem after another” having to connect to the internet within her room.

Lorton said Wi-Fi difficulties are now making it difficult to complete assignments within the building, and she said she’s had to wake up early and move elsewhere on campus to finish work.

“It was frustrating to not be able to get work done when and where I needed to,” Lorton said.

“The residence’s Wi-Fi is unreliable.”

Converse Hall resident and junior Alexis Archiopoli said she has consistently seen emails in her inbox — sometimes multiple a week — about maintenance being done to the internet and it being turned off for “a couple hours.”

The most recent Apogee email sent out on Sept. 18 detailed a service check that would take place on Sept. 20 between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Those using the internet during this time would experience an “interruption in network service for about 10 minutes” before internet would return to normal.

In addition to the Sept. 18 email about the internet outage, similar emails have also been sent out on Aug. 30, Sept. 5, Sept. 8 and Sept. 12.

Similar to Lorton, Archiopoli said it’s “annoying” when she’s finished her work and wants to scroll on her phone or watch a movie but can’t.

Last year, both Lorton and Archiopoli said they had little to no issues with the internet.

Archiopoli recalled an internet outage, but it had resolved within a day or two. For Lorton, with the exception of occasional internet connectivity issues with her phone, she said she did not have as many problems this year compared to last.

“I had no idea the Wi-Fi services had changed this year,” Lorton said. “But it makes sense.”

Both recalled other students complaining about Apogee. Archiopoli said she’s seen those nearby communicate about the issue via a resident hall group chat, asking “if anyone else is experiencing this.”

“As an RA, I have had a lot of residents reach out to me with connection issues,” Lorton said. “It’s frustrating that I am unable to really help them.”

Since changing the internet service and their newly announced collaboration with Apogee or MyResNet, JMU ResLife has provided numerous resources on their website, as well

as a specific person to contact concerning internet issues — Allison Oram, the MyResNet field services coordinator.

However, despite the resources given to students, some living on campus report confusion and dissatisfaction.

“Students are at JMU to get an education, and with most everything being online, it is hard to study when the internet is down,” Lorton said.

Aware of the fact that students have been complaining about connectivity issues, JMU Information Technology has “taken those complaints seriously,” Bryan said. Finding more complaints had come from before the equipment refresh, Apogee and JMU made sure that installing new equipment for students became a priority, Bryan said. Since the new installation had taken place, the number of complaints reported that were being monitored has “greatly reduced,” she said.

“It is important for students to report issues they experience directly to Apogee so they can respond,” Bryan said in his email.

“We monitor closely the number of issues and work with Apogee to ensure students have a good experience.”

CONTACT BriAnna Thweatt at thweatbf@ dukes.jmu.edu For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @BreezeNewsJMU.

6

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

NEWS

Queer Teach-In demonstrates need for queer studies minor

By K. MAUSER The Breeze

JMU faculty, students, volunteers and community members came together in The Union on Oct. 4 to celebrate queer identity at JMU’s first Queer Teach-In. The daylong event featured 14 speakers and performers such as JMU Rocky Horror, which performs local shows of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the Friendly City Safe Space, an organization dedicated to providing a safe space for LGBTQ+ people. They each presented information on different aspects of LBGTQ+ life such as JMU’s queer campus history and inclusive language practices around the world.

One of these presentations by senior Alex Moskal titled “Disabled Queer Perspective: Intersectional Impact of Normativities” highlighted the importance of acknowledging the disabled queer community and the unique struggles of intersecting, marginalized identities.

Kristen Kelley, multilingual student services coordinator and organizer of the Queer TeachIn, said the protest of conservative speaker Liz Wheeler in April made her realize the university lacks “formal nuanced LGBTQ content in our curriculum at JMU.” JMU professors Kelley, Mary Thompson and Dawn Goode have been developing a queer

JMU professors Kristen Kelley, Mary Thompson and Dawn Goode began developing the queer studies minor in 2016. JMU has yet to officially approve the minor. Abi Middleton / The Breeze

studies minor since 2016; however, they have only been able to implement a singular course on sexuality housed in the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies minor at this time and not a full queer studies minor.

Kelley said she was listening to students, faculty and friends when she realized how important it is to offer that “missing” curriculum.

Kelley said she had plans to deliver the final, signed document for the minor proposal Sept.

26, which she said is “really exciting.”

The Queer Teach-In is not intended to be an annual event, Kelley said. Instead, she said it’s meant to provide a glimpse into what a queer studies minor would be if implemented at JMU. Presentations ran from 9:05 a.m. until 7:20 p.m., and students attended whichever lectures and workshops they could in between classes.

Junior Marcos Seaberg said all of his professors canceled class so he and his classmates could attend the Queer Teach-In. “There’s so many people here that have so

many different experiences and can talk on them,” Seaberg said, adding that he found it “awesome” to see people making an effort to attend and form a sense of community.

S e n i o r p s y c h o l o g y m a j o r Ta n n e r Sykhammountry said they thought it was “important and beautiful” for the community to have an opportunity to express themselves, but also said they would be “even happier” if this LBGTQ+ content was more embedded in JMU courses.

Sykhammountry said JMU could do this by either having events similar to the Queer TeachIn on a more regular basis or by implementing a queer studies major/minor.

Sykhammountry said they’ve been searching for a course solely about LBGTQ+ history and experience at JMU, but they’ve only encountered courses with a small unit about these topics.

“We’re not just learning about the past, we’re also preparing for the future,” Sykhammountry said. “I think this sort of event is something that we really need right now.”

Avery Goodstine contributed to this report CONTACT K. Mauser at mauserkk@dukes. jmu.edu For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @BreezeNewsJMU.

EVERENCE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Get more.

Give back.

Everence® Federal Credit Union members get more through: • low fees.

• great rates.

• shared branching.

• ITIN lending.

Members give back to: • the environment.

• the community and local charities.

Join a caring Everence community.

Visit us at 841 Mount Clinton Pike, Harrisonburg or call 540-437-0672 to learn more. everence.com/virginia

Federally insured by NCUA. Equal housing lender.

Vol. 102, No. 9

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

7

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

8

NEWS

Dukes Debate covers inflation, abortion, economics and more

By ABBY CHAMOT & DRAKE MILLER The Breeze

JMU’s Dukes Debate, an annual event that highlights major candidates for the Virginia Senate’s 2nd District through student discourse, took place on Tuesday night.

The incumbent Republican of nearly 20 years, Sen. Mark Obenshain, was represented

by JMU Young Republicans’ freshman Wesley Bednarczyk. The challenging Democrat, Kathy Beery, was represented by JMU College Democrats’ junior Daniel Green.

Senior Marcus Rand and senior Roujeen Ara Nowzari, who is also the assistant news director of Breeze TV, moderated the debate.

“[Obenshain] believes that people deserve to keep their own money in their own pockets,” Bednarczyk said.

Green said Beery understands the burden student debt is, and she emphasizes students should spend money on tuition themselves rather than the government to “make our schools more elite in the sense that our education is on a higher standard.”

Bednarczyk said Obenshain believes in looking into what individuals are spending rather than blindly bailing them out.

Green responded by citing the historic reasons college tuition has become higher, beginning with integration, which he said led

to a higher tuition rate in an attempt to filter out black scholars.

Mental health

The two representatives were specifically asked what their candidate’s approach to fixing staffing issues for mental health professionals in Virginia schools would look like.

Green said Beery understood the scale of the crisis and emphasized support for LGBTQ+ students in Virginia.

Bednarczyk agreed that mental health is a serious issue in Virginia schools but emphasized a different approach that focuses on mental health as a result of school shootings and drug

Inflation

Green said inflation is a failure of trickledown economics because it does not generate income from the rich but rather from income earners in the state.

“It is generating tax revenue for public programs but only from income earners, not the wealthy,” Green said.

Bednarczyk said Obenshain believes families pay too much in taxes that go to government programs that do not work. In response, Green cited the incumbent’s failure to repeal a grocery tax, a policy which he promised to repeal if he is reelected.

College debt

Bednarczyk said debt is not the government nor the taxpayer’s issue.

Virginia Senate’s District 2 representative candidates Kathy Beery (D) and Mark Obenshain (R) were represented by JMU College Democrats’ junior Daniel Green and JMU Young Republicans’ freshman Wesley Bednarczyk, respectively, on Tuesday. Kayla Brown / The Breeze

use, among other topics.

Green said there was a connection between Obenshain’s policies and an increase of suicide rates for transgender students.

“Last time I checked, all men are created equal,” Green said. “That includes trans students.”

In response, Bednarczyk said Obenshain believes things like pronouns should not be pushed onto transgender students.

Abortion

Representatives were asked if their candidate would oppose the current Virginia policy of abortion access until 26 weeks.

Bednarczyk said Obenshain believes abortion up to 15 weeks is the woman’s choice, and the government should have little influence — although rare cases such as rape and incest should be allowed past that time frame.

Green said Beery emphasizes the necessity for a constitutional amendment to allow abortion, especially after the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. He said a livable wage and access to family planning would reduce abortion even while protecting a woman’s right to choose.

Bednarczyk said women’s reproductive health is “very important” to Obenshain.

In response, Green said there is a lack of family planning and sex education-related policies from Obenshain.

When asked about the basis of their candidate’s decision on the earliest plan for abortion, Green said less than 1% of abortions occur after 21 weeks, and the majority of those are due to major health concerns.

Don't let one night stands ruin your plans.

Low Cost Morning After Pill STI Testing & Treatment Free Pregnancy Testing Birth Control Clinical Abortion Care Abortion Pills By Mail

Celebrating Over 20 Years of Reproductive Healthcare

2321 Commonwealth Drive, Charlottesville, VA (434) 973-4888 wholewomanshealth.com

Bednarczyk said a complete ban would be “just as abhorrent as any,” and until 15 weeks, the government should have little intervention on abortion. Beyond that, Bednarczyk said, only the most rare cases for medical intervention should be allowed.

Safety on college campuses

Representatives were asked about dangers relevant to college students, starting with crime and safety relating to gun violence.

Bednarczyk said banning guns is not the way to go about the issue, citing cities such as Baltimore and Los Angeles, both of which have strict gun laws yet are among cities with the highest gun violence rates.

Green said Beer y understands the constitutional right to bear arms but also the right to public safety. He said the solution is in the support of gun-free zones at schools and in public areas.

Diversity, equity and inclusion in classrooms

Bednarczyk said diversity and inclusion have been made far too important in the university environment.

“Race is important, but more should be looked into what they’re doing, not what they are,” Bednarczyk said.

Green said Beery emphasizes DEI teachings and the idea that diversity is strength.

“The white, normative college experience is not what reflects the American people,” Green said. “We lift people up to promote equity, not just equality.”

Bednarczyk said identity politics should not have a place on campus, and uncontrollable factors such as race should not play a role in college admissions. Instead, controllable factors such as grades and standardized test scores should be of utmost importance.

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org In response, Green called for the removal of legacy status in college admissions — an issue facing higher education institutions across the country including JMU, he said; a JMU spokesperson told The Breeze in August it does not practice legacy admissions.

“Education is the great equalizer,” Green said.

CONTACT Abby Chamot at chamotar@ dukes.jmu.edu and Drake Miller at mille8dl@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @BreezeNewsJMU.

What are the candidates’ thoughts on the increasing number of workers’ strikes?

Green said Beery doesn’t believe in a “right to work.”

He said denial of a union lowers everyone’s standards of living, and everyone deserves union benefits.

Bednarczyk said in this age, unions are a political toy for Democrats to get policies across. They can be good while monitored but can become uncontrollable without government observance, he said.

What are the most important issues being addressed by your candidate?

Both party representatives said their candidates believe in supporting free speech entirely, as it is our First Amendment right.

Bednarczyk said the economy is the most pertinent topic for most Americans, and it should be at the forefront of politicians motives.

Green said abortion is the most important issue being addressed by Beery because women make up such a large part of the population, and their rights are being taken away. He said abortion relates to the economy, and there are economic impacts on women when they cannot work while pregnant or while taking care of children.

In response, Bednarczyk said abortion is a social issue, and the economy and war affect all of us. Green then emphasized the importance of voting, especially as it relates to the topic of abortion.

"Voting is a principle way of making your voice heard," Green said.

SGA nominates liaison to the Faculty Senate

By HANNAH KENNEDY The Breeze

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate unanimously appointed junior Ai Vy Le to the position of liaison to the Faculty Senate at their Tuesday meeting.

According to the SGA’s resolution, Le will act as a representative for the SGA and the student body during all Faculty Senate meetings and report information back to the SGA, as well as communicate the “academic climate” and “direction” of both institutions.

Junior Faith Forman, student body vice president, spoke to Le’s character and abilities prior to the vote.

“She is an exceptional leader on campus and has demonstrated drive in wanting to get more involved in SGA,” Forman said. “I think she’d be the perfect candidate, she also has shown that she can manage this with her other time ABOVE: Junior Ai Vy Le's SGA colleagues said commitments, so it’d be a great opportunity.”

CONTACT Hannah Kennedy at kennedhj@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @BreezeNewsJMU.

9

Audience questions

she is the "perfect candidate" to represent the JMU student body. Courtesy of Ai Vy Le BELOW: Sargeant-at-arms, finance liaison and elections commissioner are among other positions the SGA has recently appointed.

Daria Ausen / The Breeze

CentralValleyHabitat.org/ReStore

NEWS

What are the candidates’ plans for increasing housing affordability in a financial crisis?

Bednarczyk said the government has not done what they are supposed to do.

“Where is the money going, and why are people not being helped?” Bednarczyk asked.

Green said Beery believes in categorical grants that present a more prosperous living situation.

You don’t have to lift a hammer to help build and preserve affordable housing in the Central Shenandoah Valley. SHOP, VOLUNTEER or DONATE at the ReStore and help families realize their dreams of homeownership.

All proceeds help to fund housing provided by Central Valley Habitat for Humanity.

SHOP. DONATE. VOLUNTEER.

CULTURE

EDITORS Morgan Blair & Evan Moody

EMAIL thebreezeculture@gmail.com

Is live music becoming inaccessible? JMU professor and students discuss their thoughts on Ticketmaster monopoly

By ASHLEE THOMPSON The Breeze

10

@Breeze_Culture

Ticketmaster has recently introduced service fees to maximize its profits, making it difficult for people to afford tickets. Photos from Tribune News Service

address and phone number. Although this system is supposed to weed out the bots from real humans, that didn’t stop bots from scooping up a large majority of the tickets.

For some who were unable to get tickets to the tour itself, Swift’s concert movie “Taylor As concerts come back full swing in a post-COVID-19 world, live music lovers have noticed Swift: The Eras Tour” — which comes to theaters Oct. 13 — allows fans to still see the film a pattern: Tickets are now virtually impossible to get. Between groundbreakingly high ticket even without getting tickets to the original shows. The film also offers a chance to experience prices, lofty and unexpected fees, and an overwhelming demand for nearly every artist, some part of the show at a lower price with tickets for the two-hour and forty-eight minute music fans are questioning Ticketmaster’s tactics and wondering if live music is becoming being $20.88 at the Regal Cinemas in Harrisonburg. an inaccessible luxury for the average person.

In a statement released by Ticketmaster last fall, the compamy revealed that it had 3.5 billion Ticketmaster, which has been owned by parent company Live Nation Entertainment since system requests during Swift’s presale and only sold 2 million tickets. The unprecedented high 2010, has been under fire after last years’ ticket-buying fiasco for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.” volume and traffic caused the site to crash and the queue to freeze, which led to Ticketmaster Swift’s presale, which took place last November, used Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fan,” a lottery- canceling its planned general sale. style system that require buyers to register for sales using their Ticketmaster account, email Swift’s massive ticket-selling debacle opened up a world of legal issues for Ticketmaster, including lawsuits from Swift fans — known as “Swifties” — and Senate judiciary hearings about Ticketmaster’s monopoly.

“In a world where the promoter and the venue are not affiliated with each other, we can trust that the promoter will look to get the best deal from the venue,” singer-songwriter Clyde Lawrence said during the January Senate judiciary. “However, in this case, the promoter and the venue are part of the same corporate entity, so the line items are essentially Live Nation negotiating to pay itself.”

Live Nation and Ticketmaster control 70% of the ticketing and live-venue market, which means the company has hardly any competition or incentive to change the way they handle ticket sales. The same issues with Swift’s presale have been seen this year with Noah Kahan, Zach Bryan, Olivia Rodrigo and countless other musicians.

Katherine Dee, a sophomore musical theater major, recently had a poor experience trying to buy tickets to see Noah Kahan at Fenway Park for his 2024 “We’ll All Be Here Forever” tour. Dee logged into the Ticketmaster queue early and battled thousands of Kahan’s fans for tickets priced at a minimum of $359, a number she found ridiculous. After adding the tickets to her Ticketmaster cart, the site glitched and did not accept her card, which she said also happened when she tried and failed to buy Taylor Swift tickets last November.

After losing the Kahan tickets on Ticketmaster, Dee checked Fenway Park’s official website and found tickets the same show for $100, but they sold out when she went to purchase them.

“I think there has to be a better way than what the process is now,” Dee said. “I don’t understand how the same issues that were happening for ‘The Eras Tour’ are happening now.”

Dee compared the issue to buying tickets for “Hamilton” when it opened on Broadway in 2015. Face value Hamilton tickets started from around $85 to $300 but were being sold for nearly $1,000 or more because of high demand.

“The average American couldn’t see ‘Hamilton,’” Dee said. “This is just the beginning of the issues of accessibility in our society. I think access to live performance is integral to our society, and measures should be taken to allow more opportunity for people to experience live art.”

JMU music industry instructor, Mikael Glago, JMU described the effect Ticketmaster has had on the industry after the organization’s start in the ’70s. Since being the only service at the time to regulate live music ticketing, they could build the company up and absorb similar companies throughout Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ was among the shows that did its tickets through ticketmaster that customers the years. had trouble securing tickets for.

CULTURE Since the introduction of the internet, ticket selling, box office fees, service and parking fees began to gain prevalence on Ticketmaster. As of more recently, service fees are being introduced to maximize profits for Ticketmaster and leave fans questioning the production’s value.

This can also cause fans to feel like they’ve lost control in the ticket purchasing process, Glago said. He added, however, that resellers have always marked up the face value of tickets, causing a dissonance from vendor and customer.

Increases in unfair ticket practices such as fraudulent tickets and bots have sparked change more recently. Unless attendees put their foot down to the unfairness and high fees, ticket reselling will become less beneficial to them, Glago said.

President Joe Biden has called out ticketing giants for hiding “junk fees” from consumers, which has recently caused Live Nation Entertainment to introduce an “allin pricing experience” that will show fees upfront to allow prospective ticket buyers see the full picture.

“Fans typically know tickets will include service fees, but seeing the total cost from the start makes buying tickets easier and consistent with other retail shopping experiences,” Live Nation Entertainment said in a press release in June.

Setting fees aside, ticket prices also increase or decrease because of demand. While venues and clients will set the face value ticket price, Ticketmaster’s supply-and-demand system, known as dynamic pricing, allows the company to change a ticket price based on the demand of the show. If a concert sale has lots of site traffic, the prices can increase on the spot. On the other hand, a slow-selling show’s ticket prices can decrease to try to sell more.

Dynamic pricing, which was introduced in 2011, was created to combat resellers listing tickets for way more than they are worth on secondary ticketing sites such as StubHub,

11

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org providing more revenue for artists and venues. Artists can control whether or not they want dynamic pricing turned on during their sales.

Grace Lastova, a junior media arts and design major (SMAD), is worried about the future of live music, especially as someone who wants to pursue a musical artist career after graduation.

With five independently released singles under her belt, Lastova said the community she’s built at JMU has been instrumental toward setting up her music career. Performing in multiple gigs around Harrisonburg with her a cappella group, JMU BluesTones, Lastova wonders what live music will look like in the next few years.

“With how difficult it has recently become to even access concert tickets in the first place, I am worried with how live access has already become inaccessible to the average person,” Lastova said. “As hopeful as I am that competitive pricing will no longer be an issue for popular concerts, evidence such as Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” and Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS World Tour’ are examples of how Ticketmaster might not be able to return to how it was.”

Lastova herself has had difficult experiences with Ticketmaster, expressing her struggle and ultimate failure in purchasing Swift tickets after waiting in the hours-long queue just to see there were no tickets left. She said she believes Ticketmaster did not accommodate fans well enough for the amount of demand the tour had and needs to do better for future tours.

CONTACT Ashlee Thompson at thomp6ab@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS World Tour’ is an example of unfair antics by Ticketmaster.

At UPB’s Late Night Breakfast, rapper Yung Gravy was announced as 2023’s Homecoming artist. Tribune News Service

UPB explains logistics

behind Yung Gravy selection for Homecoming concert

By LILLYANNE DAY & EVAN MOODY The Breeze

“Never take an L no more.” As rapper Yung Gravy says in the song “Betty (Get Money),” the JMU student body continues to grab Ws, not just on the football field, but with the announcement of him being the special performance during JMU’s Homecoming concert.

Students who attended the Homecoming artist reveal at Late Night Breakfast on Oct. 5 guessed artists such as Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, Zach Bryan or even Pitbull as the headline performer for the concert, but JMU’s University Program Board (UPB) selected Yung Gravy for the coveted spot.

Junior Jackson Sawyer, who started working with UPB over the summer and is studying music business at JMU, provided insight on what the entertainment selection process looked like for Homecoming.

Sawyer said that once an artist is selected, UPB will send an offer to the artist and wait for their response. Fortunately this year, Yung Gravy responded very quickly and allowed UPB to lock down the performer before the fall semester even began, Sawyer said.

Freshman and musician Ryan Rifer, who attended the announcement, hoped that Tyler Childers — an American singer/songwriter who performs a mix of neotraditional country, bluegrass, and folk music — would be selected for the performance. He said he’d rather have a good performer over one that plays only “trendy songs.”

“That would be cooler to me than seeing some DJ out there,” Rifer said. After learning who the past two performers for Homecoming were, Rifer then guessed Pitbull.

“We put out a poll last semester of who JMU wanted to see,” Sawyer said. “This artist specifically had one of the most hits. People want Taylor Swift or like Harry Styles, but unfortunately, even if we had the budget, they would not want to do a college show because of the stigma.”

Sawyer said that UPB works with an entertainment group called Bapco Entertainment who provides a list of potential artists that UPB will then sort through and narrow down which person or group they reach out to depending on availability and pricing.

Yung Gravy was at the top of Sawyer’s list for

artists to reach out to, so when he got assigned to work the Homecoming concert, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

Before he was Yung Gravy, Matthew Hauri grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, and later graduated from the University of WisconsinMadison with a degree in Marketing.

UW-Madison is where Gravy discovered his passion for music and rapping and even missed a significant number of his classes due to traveling across the country to negotiate with music labels for a record deal, according to the UW-Madison’s alumni magazine, OnWisconsin.

Yung Gravy established his place in entertainment with his first release “Karen,” which sparked online buzz in 2016. Later that year, Gravy released his first EP, “Mr. Clean.”

The title song, “Mr. Clean,” is Gravy’s highest performing record with over 240 million streams on Spotify.

In July 2022, Gravy charted on the Billboard Top 100 list with “Betty (Get Money),” which samples Rick Astley’s tune, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Throughout the week leading up to the announcement, UPB’s social media released hints for students to try and decipher that led to the performing artist.

“It was really tough to make the hints not too obvious,” Sawyer said. “We had to find a middle ground there. There were students that came up to us and would say who the artist was, and we had to straight up lie to their face.”

Sawyer said most students were able to figure out who the artists would be thanks to the hints dropped by UPB. Sawyer also talked about the impact of having a live announcement at Late Night Breakfast compared to simply announcing the artist online.

“There’s nothing like an in-person announcement that gets everyone hyped and ready for the big concert,” Sawyer said.

“It’s going to be a great night, since it falls on Homecoming and Halloweekend.”

CONTACT LillyAnne Day at daymillm@dukes. jmu.edu and Evan Moody at thebreezeculture@ gmail.com. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

12

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

English professor’s memoir to encompass nature, healing

CULTURE

“Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by English professor Greg Wrenn details his “extraterrestial realm” experience in the Great Barrier Reef. Courtesy of Greg Wrenn

Wrenn had been studying poetry at Stanford and struggling with mental health during his 2013 underwater adventure. Landon Schackelford / The Breeze

By LUCE SAMPSON contributing writer

very, kind of, experimental and avant-garde in a way, and very cerebral, and what was missing from those early drafts was my heart and my pain — my pain and my past,” Wrenn said.

Sophomore computer science major Joey Linneman, who is in Wrenn’s general education course, ENG 221: Environmental Literature of Wonder and Crisis, said the professor is someone who deeply cares about his students.

“He wants to make sure that we come out of his class with a new outlook on nature and on life in general,” Linneman said.

Bragg also spoke admiringly of her classes with Wrenn, who she said was both motivating and understanding. Connecting with students is important to Wrenn, he said, as is relating to a wider audience through “Mothership.”

“I know that a lot of people are hurting, and maybe the roadmap that worked for me, it could somehow inspire other people to heal wounds that they thought couldn’t be healed,” Wrenn said.

Wrenn said his students are his legacy, and he feels responsible for preparing them to face

In the summer of 2013, JMU English professor Greg Wrenn traveled to the Great Barrier Reef. Ten years later, he is still in awe of the experience diving and snorkeling in the world’s largest coral reef system, located off the coast of east Australia.

Wrenn had been studying poetry at Stanford and struggling with mental health at the time of his reef adventure. Exploring the reef ecosystem, visible from space, helped him cope with his trauma, he said.

“It was a truly life-changing experience,” Wrenn said. “As I felt healing from the reefs, something else awakened in me, which was the desire … the need for us to heal the planet.”

And so, “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis,” was born. It’s titled as such because of Wrenn’s of the reef as an “extraterrestrial realm” that enabled him to feel more at home, he said. The memoir also touches on his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, and

his other travels and experiences in nature that significantly improved his mental health, Wrenn said.

In “Mothership,” which comes out in March 2024 and is available to preorder now on Amazon, Wrenn describes personal trauma and the worldwide environmental crisis, but also the potential for change — or rather, our agency in creating said change, Wrenn said.

Senior English major Keagan Bragg has been Wrenn’s research assistant for two semesters. She’s helped edit “Mothership,” and advertised and researched for it. One concept she looked into was “solastalgia,” which describes the feelings that arise from negative environmental change.

When he first conceptualized the book, Wrenn planned for it to be about the beauty of the environment and the importance of preserving it — he said he didn’t initially plan to also write about the deeply personal elements included in the book.

“Something always felt like it was missing from the book as I was working on it … it was

the world, in which the environment, human connection to it and mental health are all tremendous challenges for society.

“When you have experienced nature healing, you — just as you would if anyone helped you when you were hurting — you would be grateful for them,” Wrenn said. “So, it’s only natural that from that gratitude, I want to heal nature, I want us to heal nature … it’s a reciprocal healing.”

Bragg said she has read “Mothership” front to back and back to front.

“It’s inspiring and it’s a wake-up call for the environment, but he also emphasizes ... that it’s also about hope and having wonder,” Bragg said.

“He’s really pinpointing what our world needs right now.”

CONTACT Luce Sampson at sampsoll@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

CULTURE

Local farm prepares for festival Pumpkin-themed desserts, games featured

By ABBY CAMP contributing writer

Fall festivities continue through the month with Back Home on the Farm’s annual Virginia Pumpkin Festival. Coming to Harrisonburg this weekend and next, the festival will feature pumpkin desserts, themed games, activities and more.

Gary and Lynne Hess own Back Home on the Farm. The farmland, which is about a 10-minute drive away from Main Campus, has been in Gary’s family since the 1950s, and the company has continued to grow, allowing the Hess family to host an abundance of activities yearround.

“It’s kind of all things pumpkin,” Lynne said. “We have a lot of pumpkin products here — there’s pumpkin fudge, pumpkin whoopie-pies, there’s

13

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

all kinds of bakery pumpkin stuff … so the food is covered.”

Along with all kinds of pumpkin treats, Back Home on the Farm is also partnering with Marco’s Pizza and Sage Bird Ciderworks, both of which will have purchasable products during the festival.

Another attraction is the arrival of the Pumpkin Princess, who can be found on her throne during both weekends. Guests who come in costume can also participating in the costume parade at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

College students are also welcome to dress up for the parade and can receive a picture with the Pumpkin Princess.

After going down the 60-foot underground slide and enjoying a pumpkin-themed meal, guests can take in the farm’s scenery by

venturing into the Reba McEntire-themed corn maze. Created to honor McEntire’s book, “Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots,” this fiveacre maze features birds-eye view shapes of a cowboy hat, music notes, horseshoes and more.

Tickets can be purchased via the Back Home on the Farm website, or on the day of the festival at the gate of the farm.

The festival is an opportunity for JMU students to immerse themselves in the Harrisonburg community along with getting into the autumn mood. Furthermore, nonprofit groups like sororities, fraternities or student clubs can receive group pricing for the event, as long as they preregister.

“It’s just a fun place to come and enjoy being outside and be big kids, if you will,” Lynne said.

CONTACT Abby Camp at campad@dukes. jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

Guests who come in costume to the festival can participate in the costume parade. Photos courtesy of Back Home on the Farm

e z e e r B The IN

SW E K U D

The Breeze

JMU’s Award-Winning Newspaper Since 1922

Online 24/7 at BreezeJMU.org In print on Thursdays TheBreezeJMU @TheBreezeJMU

BreezeVideo

breezejmu

SPORTS EDITORS Kaiden Bridges & Jackson Hephner

14

EMAIL breezesports@gmail.com

@TheBreezeSports

So far this season, JMU football has had five out of its first seven games elevated to ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2 or the NFL Network. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

JMU is preparing for its third noon kickoff time in six games. It’s beneficial for TV, but fans are mixed

By KAIDEN BRIDGES The Breeze Twelve seems to be JMU football’s mixed number so far this season.

Out of the six games the Dukes have played, three of them have kicked off at noon. There has been plenty of emotions sparked from the timing of the midday games, both good and bad. While some are appreciative because they can travel home when the sun’s out, others are not happy because having such early kickoff times takes away from tailgating — and some just prefer football under the lights after dark. Despite preferences from fans though, Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Strategic Initiatives Kevin Warner said JMU is just glad to get the exposure on television.

But from a TV standpoint, why noon?

“At the end of the day, we are happy to get the TV exposure on a Saturday,” Warner said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to showcase the game, JMU’s campus and environment on a national TV platform, regardless of the time.”

Every Monday, there is a scheduling process for all of college football as ESPN decides when and where to air each game that are usually 12 days out —or two Saturdays away. Each week, though, there are limited spots available on each station for football, so obviously not every game will be aired on ESPN, ABC and CBS. Warner said the bigger games from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences take precedent over conferences like the Sun Belt Conference when it comes to scheduling. So when Monday rolls around each week, those games will be the first to be scheduled on air.

“I think it’s just a matter of what the schedule is that weekend,” Warner said. “Who do they want, and what slot? So they’re going to start with prime time ABC. That might be their A slot, and they’ll almost always look to put good SEC games on at 3:30 p.m. So it’s just a matter of what’s left and what’s available.”

Alongside three noon kickoff games, five — U.Va., Troy, South Alabama, Georgia Southern and Marshall — out of JMU’s first seven games have been elevated to ESPNU, ESPN2, NFL Network or ESPN. “There’s a technique, there’s a pecking order of interest,” Warner said. “Ultimately, they’re trying to put the best ratings in the best lot.”

An alternative to playing noon games on Saturday is playing midweek night games like the MAC and Conference USA do, but Warner said the Dukes have no interest in this.

“Something that we appreciate from the Sun Belt is that we would much rather play at noon on a Saturday than seven o’clock midweek to be able to preserve that Saturday college football environment on campus,” Warner said.

CONTACT Kaiden Bridges at breezesports@gmail.com. For more football coverage, follow the sports desk on X @TheBreezeSports.

Every Monday, there’s a selection process to determine what time every team kicks off. Avery Goodstine / The Breeze

SPORTS

15

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

The Breeze posted in the Facebook group JMU Nation to ask about opinions on noon JMU football kickoffs, and the responses were mixed.

“A noon start time completely ruins the tailgate experience. One game a year at noon is acceptable, but come on ESPN, give us a break.”

- Hadley Whitlock

on for us to get the best shot r JMU to get e ar es m ga “Noon ld) want fo We all (shou as possible. And if national T V. re u os p tting into ional ex as much nat have to focus more on ge en that’s a th e that means w rlier instead of tailgating ea Bridgeforth ould all be okay with. out on sh e w e ic ts us talked ab eday if sacr am re is what ge u G os ge p le ex ol al C n Natio e odds of increases th about by guys like the ESPN shows, ed lk ta s u gets st sports coming back, tor on one of the bigge ionally to ta nat PFT Commen which gets us known of sfers from ll A an tr s. d platform recruits an t es b e th t be able to ge ntr y. u get the 3:30 around the co e’ll get to where we can en we need w th Eventually ot, but until V. 8 p.m. CBS sp we get that puts us on T ESPN or the ot sl d y ea an st t in ou t, ab ge to be excited SPN2 that more people people to E ire Especially on FL Network which requ N or t.”

U ge N to SP s E ge of ribe to packa usually subsc d -Justin Rei

“Noon has traditionally been the standard kickoff time. Before JMU had frequent TV opportunities, most games were at noon (JMU class of ‘93). “ - Chuck Lionberger

“As someone who wants to bring their kids to the game and travel back to Northern Virginia after, I love the noon games.

Can’t do 7:00 p.m. at all in person.”

- Kevin Michael

l o ca l t as a ts u b . .. r t s spo nion r o p i l o ca l ki d ou r l ea s a l u s p i h o t e i p 3 n w e t i m re d t o be u lder “May ticket ho ., 12n gams compa for JMU le all ya .m on seas turday a speciall . We are the peop of e s a d s ; n S a u e e o n t i e m t s o . op ma k of ite ti te in favor and 6 p.m n games te spot la support 2 n . a 1 p.m ss, but ur tailg e early i e r o s u c c u l l i n t o t a re t h e p t hat e o p l e t ha ttle g a li nd ons n the p r i I t a s ie .” i lg h e r ha J M U i l a r y D av es ta m a k n t h e o t i n g f ro m t i -H d O m . an ck c o ne h yab l e et a the o less enjo p and ba w e do g n O “ u e .” d p y e n r s o ed a futu a. H n ea r u s h k e s f o r a / o r No v s i n t h e e d i t ma o n d a n at e r ga m n m l a h r m c o t i r .

R p.m ean Ha 3 w fe ily D - Em

d ay . les the “ T V r u 2 d ay s o u t et 1 s to s be s a l w ay c t i v e g a m e l l i w s a r e t t m a i t t ia G a m e re t h e m o s G e o rg u it y of ouple s r e v i t o e n s a s t. past c h e Un c b ro a d l d e s t i s a t t a i n t f o r t h e i g h t g a m e s o n l p y e M the com hom e r b ig t h e la ck o f te d t h e m i n h d n a n s a a w w ys io rs of yea e CB S alwa n d Oh s ga n , a s ha l l i u a h c c i e b d s, s o a m a, M . m.

3 : 3 0 p o r g i a, A l a b o t h e T V g o t e If G o b ow h av e t St at e ay JMU we.” ael Br ge for get u h s i - Mi c h re, N2 n ESP tailgate mo . We o e m i nt t to ame “A noo If folks wan after the g exposure e ll. at na l f f o o t b a a r l y o r t a i lg e g e t nat i o h e t e a m o f a t w e e s e e t v r e a m e g i h th o y yt y . It a l s ce the l ay a n w i l l p a re h a p p y i t h re s t s i n n T h u r s d a o e w l l w r a e d h n n s r o a eet so ay Ma their f eek and pl w shor t ff night.” U Sound O ait all a n ’ t w t u rd a y c I - JM . f f e Sa i cko 2 : 0 0 k i t ma ke s t h 1 e h t d “ I l ov e e g a m e a n r th o f y a d e.” oy a b l s o e n j Sp i e r s b - Ro

“Resident of ATL here. It’s been great to see the Dukes on ESPN following Gameday twice this year. Not great for attendees, but great exposure in this talent-rich state.”

- Tom Rogers

“I prefer a night game, better atmosphere.”

- Steven McHone

“It’s awful and needs to stop.”

- Saleem Khan

Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Strategic Initiatives Kevin Warner said SEC and ACC games are scheduled first before conferences like the Sun Belt. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

16

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

SPORTS

‘Monster’ defensive linemen rack up national accolades, recognition

By KAIDEN BRIDGES The Breeze JMU football’s offensive possession ends, and the defense jogs onto the field for its final drive against South Alabama.

Sophomore linebacker Aiden Fisher lines up to try to stop the Jaguars one last time and help secure JMU a second straight 5-0 start as an FBS program. In front of him are who he calls “four monsters in at all times.”

Redshirt sophomore defensive end Mikail Kamara, redshirt junior nose guard James Carpenter, redshirt senior defensive tackle Jamree Kromah and senior defensive end Jalen Green take their places at the line of scrimmage and get into their three-point stances.

On 2nd-and-10, South Alabama senior quarterback Carter Bradley passes to senior running back La’Damian Webb, who is tackled for a loss of seven yards by Fisher.

Immediately after on 3rd-and-17, Green breaks through the line of scrimmage and tackles Bradley for another loss of nine yards. On the Jaguars’ final play of the game, Bradley throws an interception to redshirt senior safety Francis Meehan to seal the win for the Dukes.

After JMU’s 31-23 victory over South Alabama on Sept. 30, Fisher said making plays alongside linemen like Green, Kamara, Carpenter and Kromah is easy.

“That’s really something we take pride in is those four guys in front of us,” Fisher said.

“No matter who’s rotated in, who’s in, who’s out … It’s easy playing linebacker here with those four.”

Fisher’s praise is backed up. JMU leads the nation in sacks per game (4.6) and tackles for loss per game (10.2).

Additionally, the Dukes are only allowing an average of 1.35 yards per carry and 36.8 rushing yards per game, even holding​Troy to -12 in their 16-14 win Sept. 16. While the Dukes’ rush defense leads the nation statistically, Green said these stats are the expectation.

“We know if we stop the run, we can get after a quarterback, especially if we’re up a couple of scores — ­ they have to pass the ball,” Green said.

On Tuesday, Green was named the Midseason College Football Networks’ Defensive Lineman of the Year and Midseason All-American alongside Carpenter. Green has totaled 26 tackles (11 solo and 15 assisted), 6.5 sacks and had a pick-six against the Jaguars.

Carpenter, who was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt First-Team and was named the College Football Network Defensive Player of the Week the day after his performance at

U.Va. on Sept. 9, has 22 tackles — eight solo and 14 assisted — and 2.5 sacks.

Green is tied with Colorado State’s Mohammed Kamara and Old Dominion’s Jason Henderson for the most tackles for loss per game (2.2) and is third in the nation with 1.3 sacks per game.

Green said he enjoys making the bigger plays for the team, especially as he feels his teammates look to him for those performances.

“It feels good. Those are plays that, you know, I expect myself to make,” Green said.

“In those times when my teammates are looking at me to make those plays, I'm like, ‘Ok, let's do it.’”

Kamara received accolades alongside Green on Tuesday. Kamara was named as a Midseason All-American Honorable Mention by the College Football Network after he’s racked up 22 tackles — 13 solo and nine assisted — through five games. He's also tied for fifth in the nation for tackles for loss per game (2.0) and tied in 14th in the nation in sacks per game (0.9).

Through the first five games, Kromah has tallied as many tackles (21) as he had all of last season, his first at JMU after spending four years at Rutgers. As he’s tied for 14th in the nation in tackles for loss (1.5) and 23rd in sacks (0.8), JMU head coach Curt Cignetti said Kromah has filled his larger role well.

“With losing a couple guys from last season, he has the opportunity to be a fulltime starter,” Cignetti said. “He's got a really good work ethic, and he plays really hard.

He’s got good movement, good technique, he can play inside or outside.”

As a starter, Kromah said he strives to be the best version of himself for his teammates and continues to grow as a player with every rep he gets, while paying attention to the smaller details on the field.

“I’ve seen myself grow in a lot of different ways,” Kromah said. “I feel like the more reps as a player, the better I become … I feel like one thing about me is that I want to be the best player I can be, always striving to get better.”

Kromah said as the defensive line continues to perform as one of the nation's best, they’re encouraged by one another to keep working as a complete unit, and their confidence continues to improve through preparation.

“We’re a very strong unit, a unit that isn’t satisfied,” Kromah said. “We just continue to work hard everyday, taking it one day at a time and, you know, turning up things to another level.”

Senior defensive end Jalen Green was named College Football Network's Midseason Defensive Lineman of the Year and Midseason All-American on Tuesday.

CONTACT Kaiden Bridges at breezesports@ gmail.com. For more football coverage, follow the sports desk on X @TheBreezeSports.

Redshirt junior nose guard James Carpenter was named a Midseason All-American by the College Football Network on Tuesday. He was named the network's Defensive Player of the Week the day after his performance at U.Va. on Sept. 9.

Redshirt sophomore defensive end Mikail Kamara was named as a Midseason All-American Honorable Mention by the College Football Network on Tuesday. Photos by Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

Redshirt senior defensive tackle Jamree Kromah has tallied as many tackles (21) as he had all of last season, his first at JMU after spending four years at Rutgers.

SPORTS

17

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

Kaiden Bridges Sports Editor

Jackson Hephner Sports Editor

Colby Reece BTV Sports Director

William Moran Copy Editor

Avery Goodstine Managing Editor

Michael Russo Executive Editor

Grant Johnson Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s record

22-14

18-18

25-11

25-11

23-13

27-9

24-12

Georgia Southern vs. JMU

JMU

JMU

JMU

JMU

JMU

JMU

JMU

Oregon vs. Washington

Oregon

Washington

Washington

Washington

Washington

Oregon

Washington

USC vs. Notre Dame

USC

Notre Dame

USC

USC

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Miami vs. UNC

UNC

UNC

Miami

UNC

UNC

UNC

UNC

UCLA vs. Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

NC State vs. Duke

Duke

Duke

Duke

Duke

Duke

Duke

Duke

Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

OPINION

EMAIL breezeopinion@gmail.com

@Breeze_Opinion

es ed ar

B he \T

ze ree

Ab iga il

P

EDITOR Evan Weaver

18

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-keepingus-old-grads-up-todate” pat to The Breeze staff.

People should use discretion when referring to a Latin American person From 1969 JMU alumna who thoroughly enjoys reading The Breeze.

An “imposter” dart to the person who picked up my Starbucks order.

From someone who ordered the same coffee before them.

A “you're-a-saint” pat to my professor for not having class the week of fall break.

From someone who has one less thing to worry about.

A “move-your-car” dart to the person who has been parked in two spots at my apartment for the past two days.

From someone who just wants to park close to their building at night.

Editorial Policies The Breeze 1598 S. Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801

To respect a Latin American person's identity, ask what term they prefer MAYA WINDER | contributing columnist

Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Sunday, has brought to light the linguistic debate of which term is best to describe people of Latin heritage in America. Throughout the years, Latin Americans have been referred to as Hispanics, Latinos and most recently Latinx, but which one of these labels best describes all of us? The best course of action is to ask your fellow Latin American what they prefer to be identified as, but there’s no denying that the label will change with every generation.

You might be thinking, “Why does it matter?”

Well, it’s all about self-identification. Words have power, so it’s important to consider what someone wishes to identify as because it’s a reflection of themselves as a person.

Throughout the years, the term to describe Latin Americans in the U.S. has morphed and changed. When did we become labeled? From my experience, people who live in these Latin countries don’t refer to themselves by one umbrella term. It’s mostly from America where these categorizing terms came up.

Before the 1970s, the U.S. census didn’t have an option for Latin Americans; they were categorized as white, according to Facing History, a history education website. The very first coined term was “Hispanics,” the result of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) lobbying the federal government to include its group as an ethnic choice in the census.

When the group succeeded, a law was passed in 1976 mandating the use of “Hispanics,” which was defined by the law as “Americans

who identify themselves as being of Spanishspeaking background and trace their origin or descent from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and other Spanishspeaking countries.”

A decade later, in the 1990s, criticisms of the term “Hispanics” began to rise because of the inclusion of Spain in its definition. According to Facing History, there was concern of the term’s inclusion of Spaniards because of the implications of colonization, and that the term “Hispanic” recognized Spain was a colonial power.

Some in the Latino community argued that an immigrant from Spain would have a different American experience than an immigrant from Mexico because of differing historical events as well as imperialism and racism following colonization, since Mexico and other countries were colonized by Spain. This argument gave birth to the term “Latino/Latina,” which became widespread to identify people of Latin American heritage who spoke Spanish after being colonized.

The most recent transformation of the term was “Latinx.” According to Facing History, there are two main arguments surrounding the use of Latinx. Some are against it because the term doesn’t make any grammatical sense in the Spanish language. Others are supporting the word, which they see as a gender-inclusive term.

One of the main considerations for this debate is the grammatical background of the language.

Spanish, like some other foreign languages, is gendered either masculine or feminine. This poses a problem for those who identify as non-binary. In the early 2000s, “Latin@” was

used as well as “Latinx” to describe those who don’t identify as masculine or feminine and has become the gender-neutral form of the term.

The two terms that have the most difference in meaning are “Hispanic” and “Latino/a/x” because “Hispanic” includes Spain while “Latino” doesn’t, therefore, a Hispanic person can be considered Latino but not the other way around.

The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in December 2019 what age groups were using the term Latinx more. According to the nationally representative, bilingual pool of the U.S. Hispanic adults, 76% of Latin Americans have never heard of the term Latinx, and of those who have heard of it, only 3% actively use the term.

There are also differing opinions in JMU’s latino community about the term.

“How we express our identity is unique to all of us,” said senior Anayesica Lopez president of JMU’s Latinx Student Alliance (LSA). “Simply put, there is not a singular definition of our experiences or our identities.”

Latin Americans have gone through many changes throughout time, and I suspect the terms may change again. Words have meaning, and in this day and age when there are more meanings and words to describe people, we should respect others by asking what they prefer to be identified as. There isn’t one word that can describe us all, but we all must be there for each other against all odds.

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.

The Breeze reserves the right to edit submissions for length, grammar and if material is libelous, factually inaccurate or unclear.

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.

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.

CONTACT Maya Winder at windermm@

dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on Instagram and X @ Breeze_Opinion.

OPINION

19

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

DOUBLE Are religious proselytizers

TAKE

on campus good for students?

Religion is more than what proselytizers make it out to be MARY MABRY | Breeze columnist

Campus proselytizers aren’t good representations of Christians.

Condemning a passerby college student using fear-mongering tactics isn’t an effective way to share a religion, but it is what students are often met with.

This is why a proselytizer can differ from an evangelist. Per Merriam-Webster, a proselytizer is historically someone who tries to persuade others to convert to their religion — relying on argumentation, their own reasoning and knowledge to do so. An evangelist, ideally, is someone who shares the Gospel, which is the basis of the Christian faith.

There are a few reasons that proselytization is not effective on campus. First, it enforces a standard of religion that any given college student may not live by or understand. Second, it typically stereotypes students, assuming the sins they may commit. Third, and most importantly, the words and actions used by proselytizers don’t draw on the foundation of Christian beliefs.

If believers lead with “you’re a sinner, and you’re going to hell,” they’re sharing their faith from the perspective of sin, which does not show an understanding of the true core of Christianity.

The core

What these voices on campus don’t often make clear is that Christianity is all about forgiveness and redemption.

Christians believe that humans are imperfect beings, and that justice should be served for the wrongdoings they do on this Earth. But Christians also believe that God

is merciful, and they’re protected from his justice because God sent his son, Jesus, to die the death that humans deserve.

The story of Jesus and its implications for our lives is called the Gospel or “the good news.”

It accounts that Jesus was the son of God in flesh, who lived a sinless life on Earth and was crucified by Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor.

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and now dwells with God in heaven.

So, although the price of sin is death, Jesus’s death paid that price and offers us eternal life.

A letter in the New Testament, written by the apostle Paul to the church in Rome, states that if you “declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,” you will live eternally with God — also known as being “saved.”

When a proselytizer doesn’t rely on the redemption of the gospel to share their faith, and only declares that their audience consists of sinners destined for hell, people will understandably turn away from Christianity.

The lifestyle

Some might think of the “Christian lifestyle” as the soul of Christianity because that’s the most visible part. However, this lifestyle is misunderstood and can only be understood after considering the Gospel.

The lifestyle that Christians live in is a response to what Jesus did.

Because Jesus lived a sinless life, those who believe in him strive to model their lives after him — in a way that represents him well. Traits of Jesus include compassion, humility and patience, among many others. see MISUNDERSTOOD, page 20

Proselytizers spread irrational and potentially harmful messages PATRICK HANOVER | Breeze columnist College is reaching the midpoint of the semester, and with college life comes, well, everything college students do. With the sun still out into the early evening, many students are active and roaming about campus, sitting outside on the Quad to do their homework, hosting events or just hanging out with their friends.

With all these students outside comes another opportunity, at least as some see it: the saving of souls.

I ran into some of these Christian proselytizers last spring during my freshman year. Many of these religious people had positive, uplifting messages of spirituality, which was probably just their method of trying to give students a spiritual guide to better their lives and find happiness in both the infinite and finite worlds.

However, many of them also went along the very dire line of “You are a sinner, for no man is pure. Repent of all your sins and turn away from them and live a new life in Jesus Christ.”

Why? Let’s be real, they know what some college students do on the weekends, and they simply believe we are on a path to hell.

To be clear, I recognize that they could just be trying to uplift souls to their God, but I don’t think it's any secret what college life is like, and it makes sense why they would target college students. Another theory is that they realize we are young and impressionable.

However, you should, if you haven’t already, picture what spending all of eternity being on fire would be like.

The answer is absolute agony — your entire existence being an inconvenience and unimaginable pain. Why is this relevant?

Well, being a healing religious Christian

Religious proselytizers can often be found on campus engaging with students and discussing their religious beliefs. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

— granted I only was for four weeks — ­ the thought of being in hell for eternity still makes me feel uneasy sometimes.

At one time I found religion to be appealing, so I thought maybe I could adhere to a more pious lifestyle. Some may claim that the ultraconservatives misrepresent Christianity, but the ultra-conservatives are in line with the Bible; therefore, it was impossible for me to not be a heretic to some degree. From the way I see it, most Christians are heretics nowadays, including myself before I declared complete apostasy.

It’s odd that just being a good person and having faith isn’t enough to avoid extreme, infinite torture for these people. Instead, you also have to “put your faith in Jesus,” which seems simple on the surface but can mean living an extremely modest, restrictive and just all around boring lifestyle. Anyone who claims they can easily follow through with this is probably lying. To go further, in some cases priests have been caught committing criminal sexual acts, such as crimes against minors, a crime that people in their right mind would never commit, regardless of their stance on what a sin is. At the same time, many within the conservative sectors of Christianity are known to decry things that are perfectly fine, such as premarital and homosexual sex.

I’m not saying there is not some sort of god that exists. I’m not even saying Christianity is false. But the concept of spiritual warfare really ruined Christianity for me. Too much anxiety.

This isn’t just anecdotal evidence. Religion in general can really throw a monkey wrench into mental health problems. Sometimes it can result in issues that dwarf the mere anxiety I speak of by leading to and further complicating psychosis. see PROBLEMATIC, page 20

20

Thursday, Ocober 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org from MISUNDERSTOOD, page 19

Additionally, because God sacrificed his only son, Christians desire to act in a way that God calls them to through the Bible. The act of abiding

by God’s word is a way of loving and glorifying him because of what he did for humanity.

Sin also separates humans from God, which is another reason why Christians turn away from it. But, because Jesus restored the connection between humans and God through his death, sin is forgiven.

This leads to another misconception: that Christians don’t sin.

Christians do sin. They have trouble avoiding it and are no better than those they share their faith with.

All humans fall short, and all humans have the opportunity to have a relationship with God. In terms of sin, what matters most is how someone responds to it.

Because Jesus restored the relationship between God and humans, all people have to do is ask for forgiveness and turn away from their sin — a concept known as repentance. This doesn’t mean they will never commit that sin again, but it’s a heart posture that actively tries to not sin.

Some believe this lifestyle is boring or restrictive.

Although it can be hard sometimes, Christians delight in the law of the Lord, as Psalms 1 states, because they believe that God wants the best for every individual; his “laws” are made to protect and care for his people. from PROBLEMATIC, page 19

According to a Breeze Instagram poll of 74 people, less than one-third of students spoke to evangelists. Additionally, 41 out of 64 students say they do perhaps experience some sort of anxiety from the presence of evangelists. Keep in mind the reason for anxiety may vary and probably does not have much to do with the religious beliefs themselves for most people.

When asked to describe their experiences with evangelists on campus, one respondent from the poll reported that “usually they just yell slurs and crude names at me & my friends.” Another person said, “I have been nervous on what they might think of me but ive met some really sweet people.”

This sort of nervousness could stem from many different feelings, one perhaps the idea that another person might think you will experience eternal excruciating pain when you die, which can be anxiety-inducing.

Another respondent said “some of them are genuinely cool but most are trying to elicit negative reactions from people.” Another respondent described their experience as being “very ‘different’ kinda forceful but just overall felt like a literal feverdream.”

Many who subscribe to the conservative doctrine of Christianity argue that the punishment of hell is very real and just.

Jacob Bryant, a Christian evangelist who was on campus Sept. 14, discussed his view on conservative interpretations of Christianity.

“I have definitely considered the whole fireand-brimstone version of hell and whether it is entirely biblical, but I believe in God and I trust his judgment, his justice, and I think there will be a final judgment,” Bryant said. “I think for the sake of justice that it is necessary.”

Most people agree that punishment for wrongdoing is just, even if there is a disagreement on what constitutes wrongdoing.

The concept of a punishment delivered by the divine for evil is also considered adequate, according to Socrates in “Gorgias.”

The real question are, what exactly constitutes bad? What exactly is the punishment? Does it make sense to impose an infinite punishment for a finite crime? An eternal punishment for any finite crime could

OPINION For example, the drinking age in the U.S. is 21, so young people are protected from the negative effects that alcohol can have on young bodies.

God’s advised way of life can be viewed similarly.

The Bible, however, is a complex book that’s interpreted in many different ways by many different denominations, so some topics of sin and lifestyle choices are more complex to address than others. But, the Christian lifestyle isn’t just about what humans shouldn’t do — it’s also what humans should do and are able to do through their relationship with God. This includes loving and showing compassion to others as Jesus did during his time on Earth, as well as following his main commandment, which is to love God, others and yourself.

Following Jesus results in the fruits of his spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Love and redemption are the center of Christianity and should be the main focus when introducing anyone to the religion. From this faith comes a lifestyle response that only truly makes sense once the Gospel is understood.

Campus proselytizers and evangelicals should use this Gospel-centered approach when sharing their faith with students. This topic can be anxietyinducing if presented in a fire-and-brimstone, fear -mongering way that creates misconceptions.

CONTACT Mary Mabry at mabrymm@dukes.

jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on Instagram and X @Breeze_Opinion.

be warranted and vary based on the severity.

Perhaps the worst of crimes would warrant infinite punishment for a finite crime if it caused eternal punishment on a person or their culture, such as genocide.

But when it comes to premarital sex, identifying as LGBTQ+, drinking or smoking, come on, none of those are tantamount to brutally slaughtering an entire civilization!

Yeah, gods forbid people are actually accepted for who they are and are able to be themselves without fear of discrimination or persecution.

Under Christian doctrine, it’s true that what is considered wrong is expanded to include anything that God says is wrong.

The preconceived notion is that if it’s sin, it’s wrong, — period. This is reinforced by the belief that we aren’t only tempted into these evils but also tricked into normalizing them.

Bryant addressed the subject of spiritual warfare: “I think it is people’s own sin and the lust in their hearts. There’s a lot of things that can be wrong, and people need the courage to pray against it, fight against it, in a way that is spiritual.”

The key concept here is lust, which is considered to be deplorable in Christianity because it leads to sexual sin. In reality, though, if sex is consensual, what makes engaging in it wrong? The idea behind the nature of sin is all based on cultural understanding, which in our case is influenced by puritanical standards.

I would rather hear someone call me a degenerate and tell me I belong in a reeducation camp than hear someone tell me that I need to be saved. Sounds backwards?

The former is a finite concept, and the latter is an infinite concept. Spit all the finite hate at me you want — I will just laugh. However, when you cross your intolerance into divine judgment, that is where I draw the line.

Honestly, calling something sin doesn't affect the way I think of it. Any god that authorizes excruciating physical pain for premarital sex, homosexual sex, drinking, smoking, etc. seems like an irrational god.

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

MULTIMEDIA

21

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

Downtown Harrisonburg Renaissance hosted the 2023 Skeleton Festival on Saturday. The event included activities such as trick-or-treating, costumes contests, a “sip and stroll,” and more.

Photos by Landon Shackelford / The Breeze

THIS Week on BREEZE TV TOP STORIES Hispanic Heritage Month: Some of the ’Burg’s Hispanic-owned restaurants What to expect from the solar eclipse during Saturday’s football game

For more photos of Downtown Harriosnburg’s Skeleton Festival, view the full gallery online at breezejmu.org/multimedia.

Live from Festival lawn for Phi Mu's Battle of the Bands Weekend weather forecast

Tune in to Breeze TV LIVE from the Alison B. Parker Studio every Friday at 3:30 p.m.

CONTACT Landon Shackelford at shackela@dukes.jmu. edu. For more multimedia content, visit breezejmu.org/ multimedia.

Scan the QR code to view our YouTube livestream.

22

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

Vol. 102, No. 9 FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 9, 2023

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

DOWN 1 __ Vegas 2 “Moonlight” actor Mahershala 3 Basic foxtrot move

10/9/23

By Amanda Cook & Katie Hale

4 Not fooled by 5 Fishing rod attachment 6 Banana buy 7 Completely lost 8 Invoice word 9 Future MBA’s exam 10 Provides with funds 11 Enjoying a hot streak 12 Ropes at the rodeo 13 Paranormal ability, for short 18 Sunrise direction 22 Twin sister of Apollo 23 “The Hills” airer 24 “Eureka!”

26 Put on clothes 27 Forcibly remove 28 PreCheck org.

30 Alexander Calder sculptures 31 Mix up “their” and “there,” e.g.

34 Pressed music medium 35 2023 World Cup finalists, briefly 38 Each, informally 39 Moody music genre

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

stumpe

find the answers online

d?

ACROSS 1 Physical effort 6 Girl Scout sash addition 11 Flamenco cry 14 Unaccompanied 15 Road one-eighty 16 “Industry Baby” rapper Lil __ X 17 Potential March Madness bracket buster 19 Egyptian viper 20 Comfort 21 Rowboat pair 23 Pilates surface 25 Hair coloring technique with an ombre effect 29 “Gossip Girl” steps location 32 Cooks (up), as grub 33 Gaseous water 34 Flying formations 36 “Frozen” princess 37 Mind-body connector 40 Against 43 JPEG alternatives 44 Prefix with scope or soft 48 Floating basketball hoop, e.g.

50 “Leaving already?”

51 Electrifying industrial facility 54 Whiskey grain 55 1950s sitcom name 56 Absorb, as a significant moment 59 Like most reruns 60 “Black Hole Sun” grunge band 65 Modernist architect who lived to be 102 66 Hebrew prophet 67 Actress Mary Tyler __ 68 ID on an I-9 form 69 Not together 70 Adolescent emotion

www.breezejmu.org/ site/crossword_ answers/

©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

40 Smartphone program 41 Udon and soba 42 Taken to the junkyard 45 Snack on a stick 46 Baseball Hall of Famer Campanella 47 Top Billboard spot 49 Country singer Yearwood

10/9/23

50 Male deer 52 67-Across co-star 53 Greet wordlessly 57 __ Sutra 58 Word with Man or Maiden 59 Mil. missions 61 Alley-__ pass 62 Mex. and Can. neighbor 63 Triage sites, briefly 64 Take-home pay

Vol. 102, No. 9 DUKE DOG AUTO ALLY LOCAL AUTOS FOR SALE

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org JOBS

Immediate Positions Available Urgent! Massanutten Resort Inhouse Marketing Call Center has two immediate part-time positions available!

Saturday-Tuesday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Use of resort amenities.

Hourly pay + commission paid weekly Contact us for more information.

540-289-4006 Ask for Mandy or Debe

23

MADISON MARKETPLACE Madison Marketplace is open for business, and all text-only listings are FREE! Post job listings, announcements, rentals and more using our online placement tool.

Ads run two weeks online and in two print editions.

Part-Time Job Opportunity - Assistant to the Fire Chief Are you seeking a part-time professional opportunity that allows you to utilize your experience in project management/data analytics/capital improvement programs/ contract management in the setting of the fire service? If so, consider applying for the City of Harrisonburg Fire Department’s Assistant to the Fire Chief position! Visit: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Technician I (Green Space) Are you seeking a rewarding career opportunity that allows you to use your experience in landscaping, groundskeeping, maintenance, horticulture, forestry, or greenhouse work? If so, the City of Harrisonburg’s Technician I Green Space position may be the right career for you! Find out more/apply online: https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Customer Care Representative

Career Opportunity - Computer-Aided Do you want to utilize your customer service Dispatch (CAD) and 911 Specialist skills and knowledge to help ensure that citizens and local businesses receive quality (HRECC) Do you want a career that allows you to utilize your IT experience in an industry where your daily work will make a direct impact on public safety? If so, consider applying to the CAD and 911 Specialist position with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC)! Visit https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

water and sewer services? If so, the City of Harrisonburg Public Utilities Department’s Customer Care Representative position may be the right career for you! Visit https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Emergency Communications Shift Supervisor Are you seeking a rewarding career in a CALEA-Accredited agency that allows you the opportunity to use your prior public safety communications experience to work with a variety of public agencies in the Harrisonburg/ Rockingham area? If so, consider applying to the HRECC Shift Supervisor career opportunity!

Visit https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/ employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Customer Care Representative Do you want to utilize your customer service skills and knowledge to help ensure that citizens and local businesses receive quality water and sewer services? If so, the City of Harrisonburg Public Utilities Department’s Customer Care Representative position may be the right career for you! Visit https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Vol. 102, No. 9

Thursday, October 12, 2023 | breezejmu.org

TT BAELUS EA V

JMU

• RENOVATED CLUBHOUSES • • NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS • • UPDATED APARTMENTS •

APPLY FREE ONLINE

THEHILLSJMU

540.432.0600 | LIVE-THEHILLS.COM

24