The Breeze 10.27.22

The

JMU football fans’ early exits reveal deep-rooted culture

By MADISON HRICIK & GRANT JOHNSON The Breeze

Erika Shaffer, a freshman at JMU, couldn’t sit down if she wanted to. Fellow students stood both “where your feet are supposed to go … but then also where your butt goes,” she said. Brandon Walsh, another freshman, watched from the stairs because there wasn’t space anywhere else.

Before all 26,159 fans found their seats, or lack thereof, inside Bridgeforth Stadium’s highest attended game in JMU program history Saturday for the Homecoming game versus Marshall, senior Sophia Abramson described the scene outside the stadium’s gates as “mayhem.” She saw a woman fall among the big herd trying to get in, which resembled more of a large clump of people rather than an organized line, she said.

Two hours later, the stands dissipated.

It’s not new: JMU students — and other JMU fans — have frequently hit the exits at halftime when games against FCS foes quickly became lopsided in the Dukes’ favor as well as in the previous three home games this year, which the Dukes have led by an average of 25 points at halftime.

This go-around, JMU led just 12-9 heading into the locker room. Unlike earlier home games in 2022, the weather didn’t disappoint: It was sunny and over 65 degrees. It was the first game in Bridgeforth versus a Sun Belt Conference opponent from the east division, part of a new cohort of seven teams that conference commissioner Keith Gill built on regional rivalries.

But the stands emptied as floods of people exited around the third quarter.

In front of a half-full Bridgeforth, Marshall scored 17 unanswered second-half points to hand the Dukes their second consecutive loss, 26-12.

JMU officials and alumni who spoke to The Breeze and Breeze TV painted similar pictures: JMU’s record turnout Saturday is a step in the right direction, and keeping fans in seats will happen over time as more well-known brands like Marshall play in Bridgeforth.

For many students, though, their JMU experience simply doesn’t revolve around sports. And for the ones invested in the game, the product on the field Saturday didn’t suffice.

Students’ gameday gripes

Out of 21 students who spoke to The Breeze and Breeze TV on Tuesday, 10 attended JMU’s Homecoming football game. Of those 10, each left before the clock hit triple zeros, citing reasons as casual as their friends or ride home leaving, or being tired after tailgating all day.

Amid alcohol, safety concerns students prepare for Halloweekend

By JANE MCCONVILLE contributing writer

October 2021 saw multiple alcohol-related incidents between Oct. 28 to Oct. 31, the days leading up to Halloween, according to the JMU crime log. Many of these incidents were filed through the Office of Residence Life (ORL) for disorderly conduct while intoxicated or for medical assistance while intoxicated.

Halloweekend is the all-encompassing term for not only the days leading up to Halloween but the events, gatherings, parties and preparations for the holiday. JMU is bustling on non-holiday weekends already, but Halloweekend draws in even more students from across the state and from other universities, adding to the partakers in the festivities.

This means there’s more room for risk and harm to students. With an influx of people and parties to attend, it’s common for

alcohol consumption to increase, leading to unsafe situations. According to The Recovery Village, a study found that college students, on average, drink 1.4 more alcoholic drinks on Halloween than on any other night, with 9.3% of men and 6.6% of women saying they’ve blacked out on Halloween, according to another study.

Three gun-related incidents have occured in the JMU area within the last two weeks — the Oct. 10 armed robbery on campus, the Oct. 16 off-campus shooting on Devon Lane and the Oct. 24 Community Street shooting that killed one person. An email outlining safety tips was sent to the JMU community from University Communications following the Devon Lane shooting. The email advised students to be aware of their surroundings, lock their doors, know who’s being let into living spaces and report any and all suspicious people and behavior.

JMU Police Department Chief of Police Anthony Matos said it’s important for students to have a “buddy” they can check

in with throughout the night and to let other friends know their planned travel route beforehand and what time they plan on arriving at events. Matos said students should also know some details about the parties and events they’re attending, like who’s hosting the party and other people that’ll be there.

Additionally, Matos said students should be cautious and smart with alcohol.

“Never accept an open bottle or container from anybody,” Matos said.

Tim Miller, vice president for student affairs, said that during Halloweekend, students have a different type of “letting loose” — wearing a costume that makes them feel like they have more freedom — and are around a lot more people who they don’t know and can’t trust.

Bridgeforth Stadium saw a record-high attendance at the start of JMU’s Homecoming game versus Marshall on Saturday, but the student section thinned after the second half. Top photo courtesy of Michael Evangelista. Bottom photo by Joshua Dixon / The Breeze

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Emma Connelly

The Breeze

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Daria Ausen

The Breeze

Stay safe

Halloween doesn’t have to be scary: Tips for the safest holiday weekend

from HALLOWEEKEND, page 1

Miller said he believes the decision making shifts for students during Halloweekend.

“I really want our students to be thoughtful,” Miller said. “A lot of friends from lots of other schools come here on Halloweekend and I need us to be more careful, not less careful.”

He also highlighted the use of Uber, Lyft and SafeRides for students who are drinking, instead of other, less known ride sharing pages. Uber, Lyft and SafeRides “exist for a reason,” he said.

“We had an incident with someone just using one of the other ride GroupMe’s or ride pages that turned out really dangerously for that student,” Miller said. “Use the things you know.”

Miller also pointed out that students don’t have to go out every night of Halloweekend.

“Halloweekend doesn’t have to start Wednesday and end Sunday,” Miller said. “Halloween’s not even til Monday.

Miller said he hopes JMU students are safe this weekend and to look out for each other.

“I worry about [Halloweekend] every year,” Miller said. “I worry about the decisions students make. I’m worried about students’ lives every weekend. I worry about having to call a parent and tell them their kid’s in the hospital every weekend — every day to

be honest. But I worry about it more [on] Halloween weekend.”

The Breeze also spoke with students about their plans for Halloweekend and precautions they’re taking to safely enjoy the weekend.

Sophomores N’Deye Sock and Emily Fuller said they were shaken up by the recent news of increased crime in the area, but it hasn’t deeply impacted their Halloweekend plans, they said.

“I think that I would be more on edge about the situation if it hadn’t been resolved when it was,” Sock said regarding the Devon Lane shooting.

Fuller said students should plan on having someone who they can count on to pick them

up or drop them off at parties and events.

“Always try and have a friend that can be a DD [designated driver],” Fuller said. “SafeRides and sober drivers aren’t always easy to count on and you don’t know the availability.”

Sophomore Rachel Wilkinson, who transferred to JMU this year, said she’s excited for her first JMU Halloween this coming weekend.

“I already have my costumes picked out, just not my plan of where to go,” Wilkinson said.

She said students should travel in groups and stick together throughout the night.

“It seems like an easy tip to remember,

but it’s not only about arriving in a group,” Wilkinson said. “You need to make sure that your group is good throughout the night, checking in to see if they feel OK.”

Sophomore Tommy Edwards agreed.

“It can be good to buddy up or pair up within the group if there are enough people,” Edwards said. “Make sure nobody is left out, though. Groups of three can work out too, that way you can branch out while you are there and can come back together and decide where to go and what to do next depending on how the group is feeling.”

Fifth-year Nick Caporaletti said he’s had his fair share of JMU Halloweekends, including one in the thralls of the pandemic. Caporaletti said Halloween should be about having fun and stepping away from the seriousness of classes and exams. He also emphasized the importance of celebrating the JMU community.

“We have many different perspectives and groups here at JMU, many with different interests,” Caporaletti said. “Halloweekend is an opportunity for all of those varying beliefs to find themselves running in a similar circle.”

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

Cause for concern

Virginia abortion clinics experience influx of out-of-state patients following overturn of Roe v. Wade

By AVERY GOODSTINE The Breeze

Whole Woman’s Health of Charlottesville, a women’s health and abortion clinic, has seen a major spike in the amount of out-of-town patients asking for abortions since September 2021 after Senate Bill 8 was passed in Texas — a bill that banned abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy — according to Shaelin Nauta, the clinic manager of Whole Woman’s Health of Charlottesville.

Nauta said that before the Texas abortion restrictions, the center rarely saw patients from Texas. Now, she said, they see at least two patients a week, a number that has only continued to increase.

The Charlottesville center has also seen an influx of patients from other surrounding states, like West Virginia, that now have restrictions placed on abortions, Nauta said.

“One day [abortion] was legal in West Virginia, and the next day it wasn’t,” Nauta said, referring to a law that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer. “And that next day, we actually were seeing patients and we had about two or three patients who were coming from West Virginia that had appointments scheduled in [West Virginia] and weren’t able to go to their appointments anymore.”

With the surge of patients the center’s seeing, Nauta said staff have faced new difficulties with a lack of supplies — particularly the anesthetic lidocaine — in addition to lasting supply issues from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been a really big shuffling game of figuring out how we can use our resources in ways that matter the most,” Nauta said.

They’ve been trying to combat this issue by working with other Whole Woman’s Health center’ around the country to provide overnight shipments of supplies they’re lacking, Nauta said. The center’s also going through “session day drills,” she said, to provide the best possible care while seeing as many patients as they can.

Currently, in Virginia, abortion is legal during the first and

second trimesters of pregnancy and in the third trimester if the patient’s health is in danger, according to the Guttmacher Institute. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, the legality of abortions fell on state legislatures.

As Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has openly stated his anti-abortion views and said he would sign “any bill … to protect life” in a June 29 article from The Washington Post, some have wondered how abortion restrictions may affect the JMU and Harrisonburg communities.

Advocates for Reproductive Choices (ARC) is a group on JMU’s campus that focuses on providing students with accurate information on reproductive healthcare in the Harrisonburg area as well as raising awareness for pregnancy crisis centers, which are considered “fake clinics,” according to Planned Parenthood.

“I think that having a Republican governor is a little bit scary,” Emma Llewellyn, sophomore student organizer of ARC, said. “I think he’s already pushing for some bans and restrictions and things like that.”

After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Youngkin stated he’s in favor of a state abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, however that hasn’t been implemented since he originally made that claim in July.

Llewellyn said while the possibility of any abortion bans or restrictions is unsettling, it’s important to remember there will always be a resource; it may just be less accessible.

Becca Howes-Mischel, associate professor of anthropology, said Harrisonburg is already lacking in terms of access to abortion services, so locals are already having to drive to Charlottesville to the nearest Planned Parenthood and Whole Woman’s Health clinic.

“[A 15-week abortion ban] would mean that … if you were someone in Harrisonburg who was seeking a later term abortion, you’d have to go further to, there’s some clinics that are about two, three hours away that do later term abortions,” Howes-Mischel said.

Nauta said because there isn’t a Whole Woman’s Health clinic in Harrisonburg, the surge of patients from other states

is taking up a majority of the slots that would usually be taken by Harrisonburg residents.

Nauta also mentioned the impact this has had on the refugee and immigrant population in the city.

“Harrisonburg has a huge population of people who are not from this country who weren’t born here and who may be undocumented here,” Nauta said. “So they rely on us to get their healthcare needs because we can take insurance, but we also have affordable prices without insurance. And because we’re having this huge surge of people who are coming in from other states, they have to wait even longer to get the healthcare that they need.”

Howes-Mischel said “anything that’s hard is going to get harder” for the refugee population in Harrisonburg in terms of getting access to reproductive healthcare. She stressed the importance of having available resources provided in multiple languages as well as making sure they have access to public transportation to get to any clinics.

In terms of how any abortion laws may affect the JMU community, the University Health Center (UHC) declined to comment, but Llewellyn said she thinks because JMU offers many other health resources, a student should be able to get help from the Health Center if they reach out.

“I’m not saying that I think JMU should provide [abortions],” Llewellyn said, but she did say JMU should be able to refer people to other places to provide students with good off-campus resources, which they currently don’t do.

JMU does not currently provide prescriptions for medicated abortion, commonly known as the abortion pill, and HowesMischel said she doesn’t see that happening at JMU in the future.

“I understand JMU’s not able to, like, take a stance or if they even would want to, but I think that there are definitely some things that need some fixing,” Llewellyn said.

CONTACT Avery Goodstine 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.

Shaelin Nauta of Whole Woman’s Health of Charlottesville said because there isn’t a Whole Woman’s Health clinic in Harrisonburg, the increase of out-of-town patients is taking up a majority of the slots that would usually be taken by Harrisonburg residents. Abi Middleton / The Breeze

This week’s big 3 from city council

By SARAH ECCLESTON The Breeze

Council names new city manager

Mayor Deanna Reed announced Ande Banks as the new Harrisonburg city manager at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Banks was previously the interim city manager since Jan. 1 following the resignation of Eric Campbell. Additionally, Banks served as the city’s deputy city manager since 2017, the assistant to the city manager from 2016-17 and the city’s director of special projects and grants management from 2009-2016. Banks was also the district representative to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001-09.

Reed and other city council members shared their excitement for Banks to begin his new role.

“You are exactly what we need at this time for this city,” Reed said.

After the announcement, Banks shared hugs with each member of city council. Councilmember Chris Jones said the council could never compensate Banks enough for his work, and councilmember Laura Dent said Banks has the “backbone to stand up to” city council when necessary.

“I pledge everyday I will recommit myself to the city of Harrisonburg,” Banks said.

Council fears rise in crime

Councilmember Sal Romero and Mayor Deanna R. Reed said they were worried about crime in Harrisonburg. Reed echoed that sentiment and highlighted that crime in the city has risen in the past two weeks, following the Oct. 16 shooting on Devon Lane and the Oct. 24 shooting on Community Street.

Reed said she’s spoken to other leaders in Charlottesville and Roanoke and that they’ve also noticed the rise in crime.

Romero said he worries that the city isn’t as safe as it used to be. Reed and Romero both wanted to see statistics and data on crime in Harrisonburg, but it wasn’t available to them during the meeting.

“We’re concerned about our community,” Reed said.

Council hears allegations of unfair treatment of neighborhood

During the public comment period, Karen Thomas of the Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA) went before the council to advocate for the beautification and upkeep of the historically Black and brown neighborhood. Thomas said she believes the Northeast Neighborhood has been “neglected.” According to the NENA website, part of the Northeast

Neighborhood was built by former slaves after the Civil War.

Thomas called for the Harrisonburg City Council to address the needs of “all nationalities” in the community.

Thomas said the cemetery in the neighborhood is prone to flooding and nothing’s been done to stop it. Thomas said another concern is the lack of trees and sidewalks — which she’s noticed are in other neighborhoods in Harrisonburg. Thomas said the roads in the Northeast neighborhood haven’t been redone, but other streets in nearby neighborhoods recently have.

Thomas said she feels there are historical wrongs in the neighborhood and collected signatures from the community to support her argument.

Jones said these allegations were causing competition for the council’s attention, which he said wasn’t productive because Harrisonburg residents should work together as a community, not pit their interests against each other.

Reed said she’s currently working on a project to get funding for a $7 million project to revamp the Northeast Neighborhood, which she said would address many of Thomas’ concerns.

CONTACT Sarah Eccleston at ecclessk@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

Ande Banks (left) was named the new Harrisonburg city manager and members of city council dicussed the recent rise in crime in Harrisonburg at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

Photos by Sarah Eccleston / The Breeze

Key takeaways from this week’s SGA Senate

By ASHLEE THOMPSON contributing writer

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate passed the JMU Anime Club’s request for contingency funds, denied the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s request for contingency funds and passed a Bill of Opinion for American Sign Language (ASL) to be included in JMU’s curriculum during Tuesday’s meeting.

Senate votes on contingency funds

The Senate voted to deny InterVarsity Christian Fellowship — a Christian organization on campus — a $3,000 contingency fund for the organization’s annual Chapter Camp — an annual event put on by Virginia InterVarsity that trains recruiters, executive teams and members.

Senior Cory Longenecker, president of InterVarsity, said InterVarsity’s mission statement is to “positively impact the world around them.” The organization has no dues, he said, and has around 400 members who attend the meetings regularly.

According to a presentation by Longenecker, InterVarsity fundraises throughout the year, including T-shirt sales, mission auctions and winter and spring formals. Longenecker said the money from the T-shirt sales and formals goes directly into subsidizing the organization’s freshmen, leadership and executive retreats, while the mission auction money goes into the organization’s spring break trips.

Longenecker said since 2019 — with the exception of 2020 due to event cancellation during the pandemic — InterVarsity’s requests for funds have always been approved.

The debate began with members of the Senate discussing the success of the organization, but junior Matt Haynicz, an SGA representative, objected.

“Where this money is going directly — that’s where I have a problem,” Haynicz said. “It is subjectively being given out by their discretion to those who need it. Usually that would be OK, but the leadership positions are based on a declaration of faith that limits that position from being open to any JMU student.”

Haynicz said if there were more of a “framework” of exactly where the money would go, he’d feel more comfortable approving the request.

Sophomore Mahek Shroff, finance liaison, agreed with Haynicz that if she knew more about where the money would go, she would be more willing to approve the request

Junior Parker Boggs, SGA senator, noted that InterVarsity has received contingency funds for this camp before.

“They are a well-respected organization on campus,” Boggs said. “Since [the Chapter Camp funds] have been approved in the past, I think this is something we can pass since there has not been any wrongdoings that we know of.”

Shroff said this year, the SGA Senate has been giving out money at a faster rate than last year, but junior Marlena Kozlowski, university services chair, said the Senate can’t compare this year’s spending to last year’s due to events are bigger now because of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.

“It’s important to realize that coming back to in-person [learning] means that things are going to be more expensive,” Kozlowski said.

Haynicz clarified to the Senate that he’s not “criticizing” InterVarsity for how it selects its leadership but rather that he takes issue with the leaders choosing who gets the money. Haynicz said if the organization created a list of people who needed the money before requesting funds, he’d be more willing to approve the request.

Senior Hill Yauger, secretary of communications, said he understands the

hesitancy a declaration of faith as a qualifier for leadership can bring but that this is standard for religious organizations like InterVarsity.

The 20-minute debate came to a close with the denial of InterVarsity’s request — 18 senators voted against approval of the funds, while 13 members voted in favor of the motion. Snowden told Wilcox and Longenecker to “rework” their presentation before reconnecting with SGA’s finance committee.

On the other hand, the Senate voted unanimously to grant the Anime Club — an organization on campus whose mission is to bring fans of Japanese animation together — a $2,100 contingency fund.

Contingency funds come from a pool of up to $3,000 per student organizations to be used for conferences and events.

The funds will go toward Katsucon, an annual three-day convention held in National Harbor, Maryland, that celebrates Japanese culture through anime and cosplay.

Senior Peder Schroeder, treasurer of the Anime Cub; junior Reilly Vance, secretary; and junior Benny Kicks, vice president, presented to the Senate on behalf of the club. According to the presentation, the Anime Club currently has 43 members. The total cost for the Anime Club to attend Katsucon will be $3,300 — $2,100 in conference fees and $1,200 in hotel fees. Schroeder said the organization can cover the $1,200 in hotel fees itself due to its successful fundraising over the years but needed funds to supplement the rest of the costs.

“I think this is a great opportunity to learn more about the Anime Club,” junior membership chair Abigail Canella said during the debate.

After a motion for unanimous consent, junior Tara Snowden, SGA parliamentarian, passed the Anime Club’s request.

Senate passes American Sign Language Bill of Opinion

The Senate unanimously approved the American Sign Language (ASL) Bill of Opinion, which pushes to expand the ASL curriculum at JMU, allowing it to count as a foreign language credit for a Bachelor of Arts degree in an “effort to work toward a more inclusive and culturally diverse campus that effectively supports the Deaf community and Deaf individuals.”

The Bill of Opinion was written by multiple members of the Senate and “demands the expansion and inclusion” of ASL at JMU.

The bill mentions that other colleges, including the University of Virginia and George Mason University offer ASL as a minor, and that the University of Mary Washington, Old Dominion University and Radford University offer “significantly more ASL courses than JMU.”

Senior Zachary Flemming, academic affairs chair, said that last semester, SGA had over 1,600 student signatures and nearly 30 faculty signatures for the bill. Because it’s a new academic year, the petition for the bill had to be restarted.

“I really want to push to get this bill passed this year now that we have a full year [to work on it],” Flemming said.

Flemming said the petition for the bill has only been open for one week and has over 300 signatures.

CONTACT Ashlee Thompson at thomp6ab@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

CHICKEN SANDWICH™

Graphic by Anna Leone / The Breeze

Day in court

Bridgewater College shooting trial set for Nov.

By SHIRIN ZIA FAQIRI The Breeze

Nine months after the shooting at Bridgewater College that killed two Bridgewater campus police officers on Feb. 1, Alexander Wyatt Campbell’s hearing was finalized Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Harrisonburg/Rockingham general district court, certifying the case as presentable for a grand jury.

Campbell is currently facing charges of aggravated murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated murder of multiple persons, murder in the first degree and use of a firearm in felony first offense.

Judge John Stanley Hart Jr. declared probable cause on all matters and for the case to go to the Rockingham County circuit court on Nov. 21.

Five witnesses were called to testify at Wednesday’s hearing: One, Ryan Cunningham, was a student at Bridgewater College, and the other four witnesses were law enforcement officers.

Cunningham recounted the day of the shooting where he’d walked out from Memorial Hall on campus and saw campus police officer John Painter and campus safety officer J.J. Jefferson

walk toward Campbell, who was struggling with a large black duffel bag toward Flory Hall.

“Please stop, we need to speak with you,” Cunningham said he remembers one of the officers saying as they approached Campbell.

Campbell then put down his duffel bag and reached into his jacket pocket when the officers asked for his ID, according to Cunningham. That’s when he saw Campbell pull out a handgun.

“I kinda do a double take … I see him raise it [the handgun] up … I heard pop, then pop pop, then pop pop again,” Cunningham said. “I saw Officer Painter collapse on the ground … I see him [Campbell] standing over Painter with his gun still raised.”

Cunningham said he saw Jefferson on the ground but didn’t see him fall and that the shots were fired before Jefferson fell. That’s when he ran.

“I just start screaming frantically for people to get inside,” Cunningham said.

Detective Brooke Wetherell of the Harrisonburg Police Department also gave a statement during the hearing.

Wetherell said she’d heard on the radio that Campbell was spotted near North River and had crossed the shallow water to the island in the middle. She said a group of 10 officers, including

herself, moved forward with cover, eventually arresting Campbell. Wetherell recounted that Campbell had blood coming from his forearm.

Wetherell said she remembers Campbell saying, “I did everything I could to make this right.”

Campbell had asked Wetherell if he could know the names of the officers he killed so he could apologize to their families.

“I bet they’d want to know your f***ing name too,” Wetherell recalled responding.

The Rockingham County commonwealth attorney, Marsha Garst, asked Wetherell if Campbell was responding clearly, to which Wetherell said yes, he was.

Campbell’s court-ordered defense attorney, Gene Hart, raised mental health issues and possible undiagnosed schizophrenia at Campbell’s Feb. 16 hearing.

Special Agent Arthur Justin Wouters from the Virginia State Police (VSP) said Campbell’s duffel bag and blue coat were recovered on the south side of the river. A handgun and a lock pick kit were in the blue jacket. In the duffel bag was an electric doorstop, a magazine with 14 rounds still in it, a shotgun with five shotgun shells and another shotgun, along with an air rifle with a hole in the stock. Wouters also said bullet fragments

were found in the bag along with a single shotgun shell.

Special Agent Heather Marshall, also from the VSP, said VSP investigated a room in the basement of Memorial Hall where an electric doorstop was set up so that an alarm could go off, along with the doorknob gone.

Inside the room, Marshall said, there were three hanging bags with food, laundry and ammunition. A calendar was also found hanging, believed to have belonged to Campbell, detailing a daily journal of paths of where he’d went on campus, which halls he did his laundry on campus in and more.

Garst said in her closing statement that Campbell was gathering intel before Painter and Jefferson interacted with him.

“When you’re shooting someone in the face, that is intent … Those are lethal, lethal wounds,” Garst said. “He is smart and tactical … These are kill shots … He shot a man in the back.”

Hart had no closing arguments and denied comment after the hearing.

CONTACT Shirin Zia Faqiri at breezepress@gmail. com. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter at @ BreezeNewsJMU.

Campbell's defense attorney brought up mental health issues at the Feb. 16 hearing. Shirin Zia Faqiri / The Breeze

Wild and free

Wild and free

Wildlife Center of Virginia leads animal rehabilitation and public education

By HALEY THOMAS The Breeze

A bald eagle was hit by a car and left with an injured left wing. An Eastern ratsnake writhed his head through an air vent and got the rest of his body stuck. An opossum fell from a set of stairs on the side of a building.

These are just three of the almost 90,000 total patients — more than 200 various species — the Wildlife Center of Virginia has brought in to rehabilitate.

The Center, founded in 1982 and located in Waynesboro, Virginia, operates as a veterinary hospital for native wildlife. Bill Sykes, who began volunteering for the Center in 2011, said the Center’s mission is far greater than “fixing broken animals.” While that’s important, the true mission, Sykes said, “is to teach the world to care about and to care for wildlife and the environment.”

Sykes used the example of throwing an apple core out of the window of a moving car to explain how people may be harming wildlife without realizing it.

“People think, ‘An apple core is biodegradable, who cares?’” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

But the apple core attracts a mouse, which is seen by a hawk perched on telephone wires on the opposite side of the road, and the hawk instinctively dives down to capture the mouse and —

“BAM!” Sykes yelled. “The hawk gets hit by a car.”

Sykes said in many cases there’s a human component to how wildlife gets injured. That’s why the Center’s outreach staff works to educate the public about native wildlife and their needs.

Karra Pierce, director of veterinary services, said staff members rely on the public to get injured animals to the Center as quickly as possible, if it’s safe to do so. She said she encourages rescuers to call the Center before they intervene so staff members can talk them through necessary steps.

Once the rescuer delivers an animal to the Center, veterinarians perform a physical exam to determine how to help the critter.

There are two categories of animals at the Center. First are the patients, who are brought

into the Center after being rescued by members of the public. Second are the non-releasable education ambassadors. These animals were once patients but are now non-releasable because they are no longer able to survive in the wild.

Outreach Coordinator Connor Gillespie said normally, an animal is humanely euthanized if it has severe injuries or wouldn’t adjust to captivity.

“We certainly don’t want to make an animal live a lifetime of stress [if they can’t adapt] to human care,” Gillespie said.

But every once in a while, Gillespie said, a non-releasable patient meets the criteria for becoming an education ambassador; they’ve shown they might adapt well to a setting like the Center, which has the space and habitat for species and the staff has the knowledge to care for them.

Gillespie said the Center houses about two dozen non-releasable education ambassadors, deemed non-releasable for circumstances like blindness, head trauma and reliance on human care. Their purpose is to educate the public, Gillespie said.

One past education ambassador, Sykes said, was a great horned owl. He was found trapped in a chimney and named Briscoe after the chimney sweeping company that saved his life. Despite making a full recovery at the Center, injuries on both of his wings made him unable to fly silently — a necessity for the stealth-bomber. Deemed non-releasable, Briscoe was kept at the Center as an education ambassador.

Sykes said working with these non-releasable birds of prey is his favorite aspect of volunteering at the Center, but training to handle the birds is no easy feat. Volunteers who want to work with birds of prey must demonstrate safely getting a bird out of its enclosure, handling a bird perched on one’s glove and using a jess — a thin strap used to tether an animal and prevent it from taking flight — to maintain control over a bird. Sykes passed all the tests and was able to begin working with the birds of prey.

While getting to know the birds has been the “apex” of his volunteering, Sykes said, there was a point when he thought his time alongside them would end. He was leading an educational program with Misty, a barred owl that was

almost completely blind. Misty was perched on a metal hoop and secured with a jess — “or so I thought,” Sykes said.

After he showed her off to the audience, he turned around to continue the program. When he turned back, he said, Misty was flapping her wings, soaring above the crowd.

He was one hour into a four-hour program and panicked but told himself “the show must go on.” He finished the presentation while the Center’s staff searched for Misty, but she was never found and would likely never return due to her blindness.

Sykes said he felt guilty and terrified the Center would never let him work with the birds again but was grateful to find out the incident was merely an equipment malfunction that he had no part in.

Even so, he equated is to “the worst day of my life.”

While the Center’s not a zoo, it holds additional in-person and virtual opportunities for the public to interact with the animals and holds programs for local schools. Some in-person events include Staunton’s Earth Day celebration and Eagle Fest in Lorton, Virginia, where the public can get an up-close look at three of the education ambassadors.

For those who prefer to meet wildlife virtually, the Critter Cam livestreams from three different habitats within the Center on its website with a staff-moderated discussion for questions. The Center will hold its 40-year anniversary celebration online on Nov. 9.

“One family postponed their vacation because [their student] was so excited to see an animal live on cam,” Gillespie said.

The education ambassadors’ personalities are hard not to adore, Gillespie said. He said his favorite recent interaction with the education ambassadors has been between two barred owls named Gus and Athena. He said every time he walks outside, he hears the two calling back and forth to each other from their flight pens.

While education animals get names, patients get numbers. The ultimate goal is to release patients back into the wild, Sykes said, so they remain nameless in an effort to keep the staff from becoming too attached.

Pierce said a typical day for the hospital side of the Center involves patient treatments

like giving medication, taking X-rays, creating a daily overview of care plans for each patient and performing physical examinations, and diagnostics for newly admitted patients.

One of the most severe injuries Pierce said she’s seen in her patients is lead poisoning. Hunters often hunt with lead ammunition and leave the animals’ carcasses behind, attracting other hungry animals. These animals then ingest tiny pieces of lead but can make a miraculous recovery with the right treatment. This was the survival story of an opossum last October that, after five courses of chelation therapy, was released the following month in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

Pierce said outdoor cats are also a detriment to wildlife. Their hunting instinct makes them one of the leading causes of injured animals at the Center.

Along with saving wildlife, training veterinary and rehabilitation interns and externs is also a primary focus of the Center, Pierce said.

“I really love the people I work with and the students I get to teach,” Pierce said. “I work with a team of people who all have the same goal as me, which is returning a wild animal back into the wild.”

Once patients have made a full recovery and have undergone testing to ensure they’d survive in the wild, if possible, the person who originally brought the animal into the Center is contacted to return the animal to its natural habitat. Those who find a sick or injured wild animal can call the Wildlife Center for advice on the best way to help. Gillespie said this is the Center’s way of repaying those who took the time to get the animal proper care.

The National Wildlife Federation recognized the Wildlife Center of Virginia as the Conservation Organization of the Year in 2007, a title Sykes said was much deserved.

“They described the Wildlife Center as the world’s leading teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine,” Sykes said. “I’m just honored to be a part of it all.”

CONTACT Haley Thomas at thoma3hn@ 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.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as the Conservation Organization of the Year in 2007. Avery Goodstine / The Breeze

SPOOKY SPOTS

Harrisonburg homes spread fear and haunts for the Halloween season

By EVAN MOODY contributing writer

As pumpkin-flavored cold brews fly out of coffee shops and temperatures drop each night, it appears fall has settled into the Shenandoah Valley. Around Harrisonburg, houses are already decked out in webs, ghosts and spiders to spread the spirit of Halloween.

However, is there one house that’s distinct in its own theatrical display of the upcoming holiday? Could one property be worthy of the “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” theme music or a place in a thrilling blockbuster film? I sought out the most bone-chilling corners of Harrisonburg to solve this mystery and determine the spookiest house in town.

were in perfect unison with the house’s original design and maximized the home’s old brick and columns.

Franklin Street contended exceptionally well when placed against other houses. Having two haunted properties conveniently close together added to each home’s own spirit.

There are two houses, however, closer in proximity and more abundant in Halloween magic.

Franklin Street Fright - 4th Place

As I made my way to Franklin Street, I could tell the Halloween spirit was plentiful on this block. To my left and right were displays of spookiness that could be noticed from houses away. When venturing down the sidewalk, I came upon the beautiful older home that first grabbed my attention with tombstones displaying “Frank ‘N Stein” and “I told you I was sick!”

To the side of the humorous tombstones were a nestle of ghosts displayed in the front yard’s tree. Though the yard decorations were subtle, they fulfilled the spirit of the holiday to the highest degree while exhibiting the turn of the season. Though it included a porch pumpkin and spiderweb running alongside the entryway columns, the home itself didn’t provide as many decorations. The property’s minimal festivities, however, did contribute well to the overall aesthetic view of the front yard and brought life to the older neighborhood.

Magic on Martin Luther King Jr. Way - 2nd Place

It would be difficult to speak on spookiness in Harrisonburg without mentioning the two haunting houses on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. These homes themselves inspired this list to come to fruition and provide Halloween enthusiasts with all their spirited needs. In fact, the homes are owned by a pair of sisters who attempt to outdo each other with decorations every year.

On the left house, webs like those mentioned before are sprawled throughout the yard to present another arachnid theme. Multitudes of spiders — both inflatable and not — occupy these webs that encase the yard. An inflatable skeleton also looms over a tree.

The complete use of space is highly evident in the left house, as well as the house on the right. As festivities are shared throughout the yards, the connection between both properties is clear.

By AVERY GOODSTINE The Breeze

Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album, “Midnights,” was released Oct. 21, and it’s already breaking well-deserved Spotify records and continuing to demonstrate the artist’s musical genius.

Considering Swift left fans speechless when her last two albums, “folklore” and “evermore,” both dropped in 2020, it was a complete surprise — to me at least — when Blondie announced another album, especially after hearing its inspiration stems from what keeps her up late at night.

I was excited to see whether Swift was going to bring us back to her roots with a country sound, or if she’d continue with the stripped-back storytelling of “evermore” and “folklore,” or if she was going to reinstate her edgy “Reputation” era.

After going in completely blind, I was extremely pleased with the poppy, drum-heavy, techy sound Swift brought with “Midnights.” This album stands out compared to all her previous ones because of the ultra-produced quality it seems to carry.

The high-techy sound that’s prevalent throughout all the “Midnights” tracks is beautifully contrasted by Swift’s soft yet cutting vocals. One of the songs that exemplifies this the most is “Midnight Rain.” We’re immediately struck with a robotic sound that definitely doesn’t sound like Swift contrasted with lyrics that are clearly from the songwriter.

“Anti-Hero,” the lead single, was arguably the most anticipated song from the album, and it didn’t disappoint. “Anti-Hero” provides one of the things Swifties love the most about the artist: her ability to write upbeat, catchy songs with poignant lyrics that tug on our heartstrings.

Mystery on Martin Luther King Jr. Way - 1st Place

Next door at the house on the right is a mix of skeletons, inflatables and an ivy bush with googly eyes — my personal favorite. Setting this house apart is the use of animatronics that beckon passersby on their way to and from campus. On the porch was a plethora of inflatables with caution tape from one column to the next.

Fear on Franklin Street - 3rd Place

After leaving behind the frightfulness of the first Franklin Street property, I began moving upward toward the summit of the block on the hill and to the second haunting display. Immediately, I was enthralled by the home’s use of webbing. From the very top of the porch to the front yard was stretchedout white string and an inflatable black widow spider ready to climb onto the street. Across the home were more webs and spiders ready to crawl across the property.

Though simplistic in design, this house managed to display its spookiness from across the entire block. Upon viewing, it was difficult not to succumb to the Halloween spirit and JMU pride displayed by a Duke Dog flag. The decorations

Also alongside the windows and wrapped among trees were festive lights. There was hardly a single space upon the house that wasn’t displaying spookiness, and the homes along the way set a prime example for other Harrisonburg houses attempting to spread the spirit.

As Halloween continues to creep closer, spookiness is afoot in our community. The homes listed, and those left off, are sure to add to the excitement of the season. Halloween enthusiasts should take time to find their own spooky houses across town.

CONTACT Evan Moody at moodyte@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.

Without a doubt, “Vigilante Shit” is the song for those still in their “Reputation” era. As the only self-written track on the album — excluding the bonus 3 a.m. tacks — this song says a lot about Swift’s past feuds with men, but it’s unsure who exactly she’s singing about. Regardless, the song’s certainly a powerful one and has underlying feminist tones, something that hardly comes as a shock from Swift. “Ladies always rise above … The ladies are simply enough,” she sings.

“Labyrinth” takes the cake. While I’m still unsure whether the song’s about falling in love with the same person during a relationship, or finding love again after the relationship you thought was “the one,” its meaning is just as compelling.

“Midnights” is truly an awe-inspiring album as Swift manages to put into words not only her own deepest and purest thoughts from the early hours of the night but also the feelings of so many others. Swift is truly a mastermind — if you know, you know.

Read the full review at breezejmu.org.

Review | Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ proves she’s still the queen of pop

Anna Leone / The Breeze

Ghosts take to the trees at “Franklin Street Fright.” Photos by Emma Connelly / The Breeze

A variety of frightful creatures are ready to spook trick-or -treaters at “Mystery on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.”

Spiders and skeletons combine to loom over “Magic on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.”

Menacing spiders have overrun “Fear on Franklin Street” with their webbing.

Climate change advocacy

Biology professor fights climate change through restoration research

By EVAN MOODY contributing writer

When traveling across the picturesque countryside of the historic southern Appalachian region of Virginia, there’s a serenity and disconnect from everyday issues. It’s this environment, however, that beckons for consciousness and the preservation of habitats across the world.

“Climate change is the current biggest environmental crisis of our current area,” Heather Griscom, a professor and associate unit head of JMU’s biology department, said.

Griscom has sought to combat climate change in the Shenandoah Valley with the help of cattle farms. The cattle farms of the region have provided both a workspace for reforestation research and climate mitigation. Griscom said she conducts research at 30 different farms around the Valley.

“The more restoration we see in this area, the more hope there is for [the] climate,” Griscom said. “The incorporation of more trees back into the landscape, but without compromising the production of these landscapes.”

One of the farms where Griscom conducts research is a few minutes outside Harrisonburg town lines. Owned by Ilse Ackerman, there are more than 25 diverse, native tree sproutings. The trees were placed in rows apart from the cattle area near a stream. Restoration projects are also taking place in Panama, where cattle farms are similar in design with large, open pastures for reforestation.

Griscom’s academic background is in tropical ecology research. Though she focused her studies on the temperate forests of southern Appalachia, Griscom offers a tropical field ecology course in which students can conduct in-field research in Panama over spring break.

“We basically apply the same methodology in both Panama and Virginia,” Griscom said when comparing the two environments. “Even though you have a temperate region in Virginia, there’s still a fair amount of similarities.”

Lisa Jagannathan, a senior biology and French double major, is involved with both the Panama and Virginia projects. Since being a part of the research, Jagannathan said she developed an understanding of the importance of connecting with landowners.

“Getting to know the landowners is one of the coolest parts of the projects,” Jagannathan said. “My favorite memory in Panama was trekking through the forest with one of the landowners and him just telling us all about the land.”

Griscom said the intention of the reforestation project on the Ackerman farm, local to Rockingham County, is to provide hope through carbon dioxide reduction. Ackerman also intends to develop more restoration areas on her farm within the coming years to integrate cattle, Griscom added.

Bela Starinchak, a second-year graduate student in the masters biology program, further supported the importance of relationships between landowners and students.

“If we’re hoping to reforest these pasture lands … they’re the ones who are going to make that decision,” Starinchak said.

Part of the landowner-student cooperation is the dispersion of information back to cattle farms. Starinchak said researchers must be approachable in their work for all sides to benefit from the information.

“It’s also about interacting with the community and letting the community around us — whether it’s Virginia or Panama — know what we’re up to and giving those results back to the community,” Griscom said.

JMU biology professor Heather Griscom has been working with local cattle famers to aid with reforestation research and climate change mitigation. Courtesy of Heather Griscom

While traversing across the rows of tree sproutings, the close connections between students involved in Griscom’s research is evident. Jagannathan said the inclusiveness of the research group is a rarity across campus.

“The masters and the undergrads are a lot more together than other labs,” Jagannathan said.

Griscom further commented on the close mixture of years within her research, stating that mentoring is common between graduate and undergrad students.

Starinchak said she was able to find her place within the collective without the weight of seniority.

“It doesn’t make it a rank system,” Starinchak said. “Everyone is contributing, and everybody wants to talk to everyone.”

Cooperation’s key between students attempting to mitigate climate change, especially on the reforestation front, which Griscom described as “10% of the costeffective solution to combat climate change.”

“I love it because I definitely feel like I’m actively doing something to [combat] climate change,” Starinchak said.

While effective, cattle farm research can also simplify the ever-changing, comprehensive issue of climate change. Griscom said the responsibility to mitigate the problem has fallen into the hands of the current student population.

“Your generation is even more stressed about this than, maybe, our generation,” Griscom said. “[Our generation] has the guilt of having been responsible for causing a lot of what we’re seeing.”

Despite advocacy spiking across the globe for climate change recognition, optimism when comprehending and working against climate change is highly encouraged within

both the Virginia and Panama programs.

Starinchak described the importance of not dwelling too much on the issue and contributing to the cause when one’s able to.

“I think people our age tend to feel, like, doomsday about it,” Starinchak said. “Be aware about it and do what you can.”

There are multiple methods of fighting the climate crisis, Starinchak said, like getting involved in “anything environmentalist.”

She added that for those on the lookout for opportunities, “you can find them” easily.

For Griscom, contributing to the effort of combating climate change through reforestation is highly accessible to students in the Appalachian region.

“It’s important to move forward with a sense of hope,” Griscom said. “The hope is in trees, because the trees are really part of the solution.”

Demonstrations of climate optimism can also be seen throughout the Shenandoah Valley at multiple levels.

“At my kid’s school, they’re planting 500 trees,” Griscom said. “It was sponsored by the city of Harrisonburg, like, ‘Go city of Harrisonburg.’”

As measures of saplings continue to be taken at the Ackerman farm, the preservation of the southern Appalachian region is furthered, providing more optimism for the issue of climate change.

“It’s a message of hope,” Griscom said. “This is the age of restoration.”

CONTACT Haley Thomas at thoma3hn@ 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.

Close connections between the students working on Griscom’s projects is evident at a level that’s rarely seen across campus, Lisa Jagannathan said. Evan Moody / The Breeze

“I think people our age tend to feel, like, doomsday about it. Be aware about it and do what you can.”

Bela Starnichak

student

‘The 12th man’

from FANS, page 1

The swaths of departing fans left many JMU alumni frustrated on social media during and after the game. Some defended the students. Others ridiculed the product JMU put on the field — the Dukes punted 12 times with redshirt freshman quarterback Billy Atkins starting in place of graduate transfer Todd Centeio and scored zero points in the second half.

Some students’ decision to leave directly correlated with the quarterback situation. Atkins went 13-for-35 for 164 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions on Saturday. Centeio led the Dukes to a 5-1 record this year while accumulating over 2,000 total yards and 22 touchdowns on a 64% completion rate before a strained oblique kept him on the sidelines versus Marshall.

Freshman Logan Stein said he would’ve “100%” stayed had Centeio played. He left at halftime after he found out Centeio wasn’t playing, he said, because Centeio’s fun to watch and JMU was winning at halftime.

Max Foster, a junior, said he tried to stick it out but left after Marshall’s touchdown with 13:17 remaining in the third quarter that gave the Thundering Herd a 16-12 lead because he “could tell where the game was going.” He said he was yelling “we need Centeio” and he’d love to stay an entire game to watch Centeio’s mobility go up against top Sun Belt competition.

Without Centeio, and without his friends who left, he started to get bored.

“The atmosphere is great, especially when JMU’s winning, doggin’ on teams, running up the score — everybody gets super excited, yelling, ‘Go Dukes,’ but obviously that atmosphere diminishes a little bit once we start losing,” Foster said. “But, that’s just part of the growing pains of going from the FCS to the FBS.”

When JMU’s up big, it also turns some students off from the atmosphere, like Walsh said happened at the Middle Tennessee game and the 63-7 win over Norfolk State on Sept. 10, during which he said he left in the third quarter.

JMU head coach Curt Cignetti said Monday he didn’t notice the fans leaving during Saturday’s game because his attention is on the field, but that they do make a difference. During the spring 2021 FCS Quarterfinals 3421 win versus North Dakota, Cignetti recalled, his players told him fans returning with the increasing capacity during COVID-19 “really pumped them up” because of how loud they were.

For Saturday specifically though, he pointed inward for fans’ decisions to leave.

“The crowd’s the 12th man, and we need him from the beginning to end,” Cignetti said, “but we got to do enough things to make it exciting for them to stay, too.”

Some students told The Breeze they’d contribute to the 12th-man atmosphere if they’d gotten tickets, but they sold out too quickly. JMUMarshall student tickets sold out within 45 minutes, according to an Oct. 10 press release.

For those who got tickets in time, non-football factors also contributed to early departures. Shaffer, on top of being disappointed with the offense, said she started to get cold as the sun went down after the second quarter. Shaffer said she stayed for the entire Middle Tennessee game — JMU’s home opener, which it won, 44-7.

Erica Roland, a senior, said she left at halftime because she was hot and tired after tailgating since 11 a.m. “The day starts in the morning,” she said. Abramson said he was hungry and “needed to go home.”

Many students told The Breeze the line to get in spanned from 20-30 minutes, which they said is longer than usual. Walsh said, though, “it wasn’t much longer than the Chick-Fil-A line” at D-Hall.

Some students said they didn’t go to the game, and didn’t try, either. Sophomore Senec Greber said he “is a football person,” but Saturdays are his homework days. He uses Sundays to rest.

For the Marching Royal Dukes (MRDs), JMU’s marching band, they have to stay the whole game because of the nature of their roles, which includes a post-game performance. Junior Katie Cozzens, a trumpet player in the MRDs, said she’s used to seeing students leave football games early. So much so, she likes to turn around after halftime and see how many students remain.

Cozzens said there were more students at the game than normal toward the end Saturday. She wished more stayed, though, with JMU tangled in a close game.

“It was kind of sad,” Cozzens said. “I don’t know — I wanted to be surprised, but I wasn’t. It was just like, ‘Yeah, that’s how it is. They’re gone; there they go.’ And yeah, I would say I was kind of disappointed.’”

Had she not been an MRD, she said she would’ve left the game early, too. She took a cool-down walk to the bathroom during the game after getting frustrated with JMU’s on-field play.

It’s a culture

Lawrence Olds Jr. traces it back to “Uncle Ron.”

Olds Jr. came to JMU in 1983 as a running back on the football team for one season before suffering a careerending injury. He attended JMU during Ronald Carrier’s university presidency, when, Olds Jr. said, Carrier began trying to keep students at JMU on weekends instead of hopping over to U.Va. and other state schools for parties — but not necessarily to watch the Saturday football game.

According to Olds Jr., Carrier hosted keg parties on Saturdays during JMU football games. Students referred to Carrier as “Uncle Ron,” Olds Jr. said, because “you can have a good time with your uncle that you couldn’t have with your dad.”

Before the aluminum student section presided over the north endzone, Olds Jr. said students gathered by the train tracks to watch the game and drink. The drinking age was 18 years old until 1984, so sure, there were a number of intoxicated students at the time, JMU alumnus Dan Caprio (’84) recalled.

“That’s where the culture started,” Olds Jr. said, “and so that culture, it’s deep. And it’s just going to take time. If you talk to someone else in my age bracket, they’ll tell you the same thing.”

Caprio said he remembers watching the JMU football team struggle his first two years of college. The Dukes weren’t great and had recently been nearly shut out against U.Va.

But that all changed after the 21-17 win over the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Virginia.

But one game doesn’t solve everyone’s problems.

“I appreciate what’s going on, and I think that the big word to center on is ‘culture,’” Olds Jr. said. “I just think that it takes time for people to change their behavior.”

Before kickoff, fans are out getting ready for the games. And in some cases, they’re tailgating. And in some cases, a fan’s game experience starts and ends in that parking lot.

JMU alumn Michael Evangelista (2008-12) has remained active online since he graduated in 2012. He believes there’s nothing wrong with the tailgateonly mindset because Bridgeforth currently holds just over 26,000 fans and not everyone may want to go to the game.

“There’s not a lot of Michael Evangelistas out there,” Evangelista said. “They’re not gonna want to watch every single second of the game and that’s not really the expectation.”

Fast forward to today, it’s only

been 18 years since JMU won its first national championship and less than a decade since the 2016 FCS National Championship as well. Some fans said the tradition of staying, win or lose, hasn’t fully been ingrained in the general student body yet — the program’s recent successes outpace the established leave-early culture.

“When it comes to, you know, how old our fan base is, we’re basically like a teenager [or] college kid and [older football programs], we’ll call them established professionals,” former MRD Preston Adams said on the Sunday Soundoff on Twitter, a weekly fancast created by Evangelista and alumnus Jonathan McNamara. “We don’t have people that have been going to JMU games since the ’60s or the ’40s.”

Compared to its conference peers, JMU’s football program is one of the youngest in the Sun Belt, established in 1972 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Marshall’s program was established in 1895, Arkansas State in 1909 and App State in 1928.

The Dukes’ quick rise to the top of the FCS made it easy for fans to simply leave once JMU went up three or four scores, knowing they wouldn’t miss anything. And even after the pomp and circumstances of the shift to the Sun Belt and the FBS, that alone isn’t giving everyone a reason to stay all four quarters.

Especially when the first three home games were nearly identical to FCS life.

A growing foundation

So, yes, JMU football’s youth, coupled with a longstanding tailgating history created this culture. That doesn’t mean it’ll always stay this way.

Kevin Warner, JMU assistant athletic director for communications, said the outcry over departing fans, mixed with how quickly tickets have gone, shows

that this culture is moving in the “right direction” because people care.

“The foundation is certainly there,” Warner said. “I do think that there’s reason for optimism. JMU fans and students, they love to be part of something big, they love to be relevant. They love to be part of the cool thing. But then, you know, how do you get to that next hurdle?”

Warner said the season home opener has “by far” the largest student attendance every year with the general excitement a new season brings and the freshmen’s first game. He also said that after the home opener, there’s historically been a dropoff in student attendance for the rest of the season.

That hasn’t been the case this year.

Students sold out both the Oct. 1 Family Weekend versus Texas State and Oct. 22 Homecoming games in less than an hour each time. That home opener crowd is typically the only time JMU sees over 6,500 students at a game during the year, and now both of those games have seen over 8,000 students in stands.

On top of it all, JMU has filled on average 98.3% of its capacity so far this season — third in the Sun Belt — with Appalachian State and Old Dominion producing sell outs for their average ratios.

Warner said he’s still choosing to focus on the positives of student attendance, even with the frustration fans may have of students leaving midway through. And when he sees that fans are frustrated, he said, he views that as part of having a passionate fanbase.

“I think we’ve all known for a long time, the JMU fanbase is a passionate fanbase. It’s a fanbase that cares,” Warner said. “But I think the important part is those setbacks Saturday don’t take away from the upward trajectory we feel like we’re still on.”

JMU students explain why they leave early at football games

JMU students take a selfie with Duke Dog. Savannah Reger / The Breeze

what?

Warner and the JMU Athletics’ fan engagement team have been monitoring fan behavior and experiences at other college football venues. From game experience, to drawing in students, to keeping alumni invested, the department is trying to find ways to enhance the three or four hours inside the stadium.

Some examples have been mascot food races, dance cams and large student giveaways. Although JMU won’t be participating in home playoff games any longer, there used to be substantial rewards for one or two students who stayed in the fourth quarter. Whether it’s worked or not, Warner said JMU still has more evolving to do.

Some of that evolution includes having members of the department experience an away game as a fan, both at JMU games and at Power 5 games.

“It’s fair to say we are going to do everything we can to try to creatively make the event fun and students to be there,” Warner said. “But you know, there are little things our staff is paying attention to. Our staff is traveling. We’ve been to a lot of games, other places and even non-JMU games this fall. So we’re trying, we’re going to keep trying.”

A few fans have also made suggestions for keeping people in the stadium, such as more options to use punches or dining dollars, eliminating some commercial break games and installing faster WiFi.

And while some of these are feasible, others are much more difficult to come by — particularly the WiFi. With the in-stadium internet, Warner said if JMU could pull it off, it’d already be installed. It could happen in the future, but it’s not a financially savvy option with other projects the school has to keep in mind.

At the end of the season, Warner said JMU will start planning next season immediately. Part of that planning will include figuring out what the fan engagement team wants to try in full force. Some smaller elements of the game experience like music and video board elements can be tested out later this season.

But fans are still wondering: How does this affect a potential stadium expansion? Short answer, there isn’t a clear-cut answer yet. It’s still about seeing the “observed need” before putting plans into motion.

“I think staying four quarters is a piece of the puzzle,” Warner said. “The first piece of the puzzle is, how are you filling capacity, and what is the demand to attend the game? I think the second piece is, is there the capacity for fans to demand more tickets and to stay, because it’s not going to do anybody any good to expand the stadium and have an even more dramatic, empty stadium in the second half.”

Warner said he does believe the fan environment and culture will eventually reach a point where Bridgeforth is overflowing with fans from start to finish, even with the cries of frustration or calls to action on social media happening now.

It goes back to developing a new culture, learning how to evolve with the current college student — whatever “current” can be defined as.

And students believe it can get there one day, too.

“We’re there to support [JMU football]. It’s not just about us,” Cozzens said. “I think if the students themselves adapt that mentality that you’re there not only to watch one foot ball game, not only to have fun, but to support the team … win or lose, [we’ll] be there for the whole thing.”

CONTACT Madison Hricik and Grant Johnson at breezesports@gmail.com. For more football coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @

On the up-kick

Women’s soccer works to maximize offensive chances ahead of conference tournament

By KAIDEN BRIDGES contributing writer

As its regular season wraps up, JMU women’s soccer is tying up loose ends before entering the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

The Dukes are 9-3-5 (5-1-3 Sun Belt) in their first Sun Belt season, but there are still opportunities to capitalize on. JMU has dominated through its defensive third and held its opponents to only eight goals allowed through 17 games. From an offensive perspective, JMU has scored 20 goals this season, which ties the team for eighth place in the conference for most goals scored. The Dukes have emphasized a need to continue to take advantage of their chances and put more balls in the back of the net.

“We need to take more risks in the attacking third,” redshirt sophomore Lexi Vanderlinden said.

“Do we have the confidence to take players on 1v1? Can we shoot the ball from long distances to try and challenge the goalie? I think that’s where a lot of our success can come from — it’s just trying to take those opportunities.”

Head coach Joshua Walters Sr. explained a multitude of transitions between this season’s and last season’s playing styles. Because of the conference switch, the Dukes have seen a change in opponents who now work harder to shut down JMU in a more composed and organized manner.

The key this season, Walters Sr. said, is to adjust to these shifts and use what they’re giving the Dukes to their advantage.

“It’s about figuring out how to combine around them or how to use the space that they give us to find opportunities to score,” Walters said. “They’re trying to limit our opportunity; we’re trying to create really high-quality chances. We know we’re not going to get, in those kinds of games, a whole bunch of chances, so we need to create five or six really good chances to score.”

Walters also said the team has been working on dictating the game with its possession and control on the ball, so even if the Dukes don’t receive the outcome they want, at least they have more control of the game itself. He said many of his players didn’t grow up playing this style of soccer, and their development has evolved throughout the season.

As the offensive playing style has advanced, JMU has been more successful in scoring when it gets the chance. Toward the beginning of nonconference and conference play, the Dukes were only averaging about a goal or two per game. But now as the seasons have gone on, they’ve had quite a few wins where they’ve scored multiple goals a match. So far in conference play, JMU has had multi-

on the field, it all comes down to chemistry. Attanasi, Vanderlinden, senior forward Lidia Nduka and other offensive weapons stressed keeping their close-knit relationships strong while on the pitch, saying it improves the offensive play overall.

“I think we have a pretty good relationship,” Vanderlinden said. “The chemistry is there. Amanda and I really connect on the ball and off the ball. I think that a lot of our success has come from either me playing the through ball to Lidia or Amanda, and I think that there’s a strong chemistry. I know that they’re already running when I get the ball.”

Vanderlinden has helped apply the team chemistry into play this season. She currently has one goal and six assists under her belt, with three of those assists coming in the Dukes’ 3-1 win over Texas State on Oct. 6. She was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after this match. Vanderlinden is also tied for first overall in assists in the Sun Belt.

“Lexi, she’s kind of like the motor of our offense,” Attanasi said.

goal wins over both Texas State, 3-1, and Georgia State, 4-1.

Sophomore forward Amanda Attanasi has been a catalyst in the Dukes’ offense so far this season, with six goals and three assists under her belt so far this fall. Attanasi made the CAA All-Rookie and All-CAA Third Team last fall as a freshman. This year, she helped bring the Dukes their third conference win after scoring the late lone goal in JMU’s match against Old Dominion on Sept. 22.

“[Attanasi] is an absolute warrior. She is just willing to compete and fight,” Walters said. “She’s uber-competitive, and she just wants to win. I think she hates losing more than she actually likes winning. In a forward, you like to have players that want to take the responsibility of scoring goals on their shoulders. Every time down the field, she wants the ball if she can get it.”

But no matter which players and skills are

“She gets us started, she knows when to slow down things and when to speed up things, and I think that we have pretty good chemistry. She knows what runs I need to make, where the ball needs to be played, and I feel like that has become a dangerous point for us this year.”

JMU is working to continue building off that chemistry and finish its conference play strong before diving head first into its inagural Sun Belt tournament. Attanasi said it’s important that the team capitalizes on its offensive opportunities with confidence.

“Just be you in front of the goal,” Attanasi said. “We were all recruited to be a part of this team for a reason. So just in front of the goal, to be calm, composed and yourself.”

CONTACT Kaiden Bridges at bridg4ke@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more women’s soccer coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

“It’s about figuring out how to combine around them or how to use the space that they give us to find opportunities to score.”

Joshua Walters Sr.

JMU women’s soccer head coach

JMU redshirt sophomore midfielder Lexi Vanderlinden has facilitated JMU’s offense this year though her team-leading six assists. Savannah Reger / The Breeze

Seeing red

JMU volleyball names final five points for motivation in Sun Belt play

in securing those wins. In the first set of that sweep against Old Dominion, JMU found itself down 23-22 in the final points before rallying with a 3-0 run to secure the win, 25-23.

In the first set in its five-set victory over Texas State, JMU blew a late 22-15 lead by surrendering a 9-1 run that put the Bobcats up 24-23. But another late 3-0 run prevented Texas State from completing the comeback, giving the Dukes a 26-24 win.

By JACKSON HEPHNER The Breeze

In an average volleyball set, each team has only two goals — score 25 points, and win by two.

There’s no time limit, no periods and no innings. All a team has to do is reach 25 points — or 15 if it’s the fifth set — and be up by two when they do so. It’s easier said than done. With a well-timed momentum swing, a team can close even the furthest of gaps in the final points, forcing extras or even finishing off their opponents within 25 points.

The Dukes know this. JMU has focused so much on the end of sets in its practices that junior outside hitter Miette Veldman gave the final five points of a set a name.

“We call it [the] ‘Red Zone,’” Veldman said, “so when we get to that 20th point, it’s

like, ‘Now turn everything on, we need to finish,’ because that’s what matters.”

Senior setter Caroline Dozier said it’s a situation that the team regularly simulates during practice.

“We talked about that a lot this week, actually, coming back from Texas State is that, ‘Well there are good teams all around in the Sun Belt,’” Dozier said after JMU’s first sweep of Old Dominion. “So we really practiced and practiced having sets where we were down by a few points when we’re playing each other and really just working to push every point and not really worry about the score.”

This emphasis has helped JMU launch a strong start in conference play. Across their first 10 matches, the Dukes have lost just eight sets and currently sit atop the Sun Belt Conference East Division standings with a conference record of 9-1.

The “Red Zone” has been a major factor

JMU has also shown it’s more than capable of preventing comebacks. In the first set of the second match against Coastal Carolina, the Dukes entered the last five points with a 20-17 lead and won the set 25-19. They then entered the Red Zone of the second set with a 20-16 lead and won 25-18.

JMU’s ability to secure momentum in a set late in the game can in part be credited to the team’s simple strategy in the Red Zone: Don’t look at the score.

“We try not to look at the score too much,” senior middle blocker Sophie Davis said. “Just ’cause obviously you don’t want it to impact your game and you want to finish strong. So I think just mentally staying in and everybody doing their job and staying locked in, I think that’s what helps us win.”

Dozier echoed Davis’ sentiment, saying the key to JMU’s success late in sets is forgetting the score and keeping the pressure on the other team.

That pressure has been paying off. Just a month before the Sun Belt Tournament, JMU has the top conference record in the Sun Belt. The Dukes ride a six-match win streak heading into their most recent road trip this weekend and remain 9-0 at home. However, there are still challenges before the team will head to the postseason. The Dukes will be away from home for the next two weeks, facing Georgia Southern and Marshall before heading back to Godwin Hall for their last matchup of the regular season against South Alabama, the defending Sun Belt champions.

All three should prove formidable challenges in their own way, but with its increased focus on staying locked in no matter the score, it’s hard to count JMU out no matter the circumstances.

Senior outside hitter Danielle Nathan said the team’s success in the final points comes down to “just absolute grit,” stemming from the bond the team shares.

“There’s so much trust and support that when it gets down to it in that nitty gritty of down three points you need to get to win,” Nathan said, “we all know we’re there for each other so we’re not afraid to give it everything we got and know that people behind and the people in front of us are going to do the exact same thing.”

CONTACT Jackson Hephner at hephnejt@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more volleyball coverage, follow the sports desk on twitter @TheBreezeSports.

JMU volleyball is first in the East Division with a 9-1 record. Daria Ausen / The Breeze

Royal rivals

JMU and ODU Athletics rivalry winner to be given annual trophy

JMU and Old Dominion (ODU) Athletics announced The TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge on Wednesday, according to a press release. The challenge is an effort to formalize both schools’ decades-long rivalry.

“The chance to have a strong in-state rival again is one of the best things about joining the Sun Belt Conference,” ODU athletic director Wood Selig said in the press release. “Now that we will play every year, we rekindle a spirited sports rivalry that brings together students and alumni from across the Commonwealth.”

The rivalry is a point system for all athletics programs, where each school earns a point for every head-to-head matchup their teams win throughout the regular season and postseason, or for finishing better in a mutual conference championship event where head-to-head matchups don’t occur. Half points are rewarded in the event of a tie or draw.

At the end of the academic year, the team with the most points earns the Royal Rivalry trophy, currently under design by JMU and ODU art students. The schools are

considering including points for academic achievements and competitions, according to the release, but that has yet to be determined.

The announcement comes after both schools joined the Sun Belt Conference in July 2022. The two schools previously shared a conference as members of the CAA, where they competed against each other regularly in multiple sports, until 2012 when ODU moved to Conference-USA the next year.

“Competitions against Old Dominion have been a key part of our history, and we’re excited that they will be an important component of our future,” JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said. “Nearly every JMU sports program has memorable moments against the Monarchs, and the Royal Rivalry will heighten interest in new moments to be made. We’re excited for this partnership and for our shared future with Old Dominion in the Sun Belt.”

The points have been calculated for the matchups between the Dukes and Monarchs that already happened. JMU currently leads the rivalry, 4.5-1.5.

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

Peyton King / The Breeze

Valerie Chenualt / The Breeze

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breezejmu.org.

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BeReal Fake

BeReal is just as curated as other social media platforms

ANGELINA JALALI contributing columnist

Every day, individuals around the world send in a photo of themselves and their surroundings to an app called BeReal. No filters. No editing. Two minutes. Once a day, at a random time.

eventful. It defeats the purpose of having an “authentic and real social media app” that Alexis Barreyat, creator of BeReal, said it tries to bring to life.

expected time.

small over the

four years and

From an outgoing department head who is off to his next professional

BeReal’s popularity’s increased since its launch in 2020. According to OnlineOptomism.com, as of the beginning of October 2022, BeReal’s been installed 53 million times worldwide. It’s safe to say that BeReal is a successful social media app.

Another issue is, it can be hard for people to snap a photo within the twominute period due to their schedule or not having the time at that moment.

“Sometimes if I know I have something fun later, I’ll wait,” Mancini said. “I like to look back on my old BeReals and remember my days so it’s something unique for that specific day.”

A “watch-it-bub”

The purpose of this app is to focus on authenticity. It randomly sends a notification every day at different times that says, “Time to BeReal. 2 min left to capture a BeReal and see what your friends are up to!”, and users take a photo of what they’re doing in real time.

JMU sophomore Carole French uses the app by “posting [on BeReal] when I get the notification or within an hour of it being sent because I feel like if I post anytime after that, I would feel fake,” French said.

To the eyes of friends, Mancini is seen as having a fun and eventful life all the time, which may depict her image on social media as different from what's actually going on in her life.

BeReal, while from a birds-eye view is a great idea, is no different from any other social media app. Instagram is a perfect example — people post what they want others to believe is their life all the time. In comparison, BeReal and Instagram are pretty much the same

the

that accidentally ran over a Starship.

From a concerned citizen and even

It sounds like a nice concept, but the problem is some users aren’t following what the app is made for, instead using the app when they're doing something

Some people also have started to post late, and not because of an inability to do so on time. In the beginning they would follow the rules that BeReal had, but now it could be hours later before people post more fun and exciting events rather than their usual picture of them watching television or doing homework.

Freshman Cate Mancini explained why she takes her BeReal photos later than the

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

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Hate on Taylor Swift is unwarrented Support Swift

ABBY MELLO contributing columnist

Why is Taylor Swift constantly receiving hate?

This is something my friends and I often ask ourselves. Taylor Swift was a pivotal part of our experience growing up and yet, she’s unfairly scrutinized by the media.

In 2009, Swift won Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, but her speech was cut short when Kanye West interrupted her on stage to say Beyonce, who lost in the category, had one of the best videos of all time. Later in 2016, #taylorswiftiscancelled trended and it seemed as if the whole industry and world in general were calling her a snake.

Swift went on hiatus for a year after this incident and came back stronger than ever. One thing everyone can learn from Swift is how to overcome challenges that seem impossible to come back from.

Swift won Billboard’s Woman of the Decade in 2019. She addressed the Kanye situation and thanked those, especially her fans, who supported her. More importantly, she highlighted the unfair standards women in the industry have to live up to. In her speech she said “we shouldn’t let obstacles like criticism slow down the creative forces that drive us.”

Swift inspired many through her music and has become one of the strongest voices

of the generation. Since 2006, she’s released 10 original studio albums, won eleven Grammys, and was named Woman of the Decade. She's an amazing artist but an even better role model.

“[Taylor] uses her voice for really great reasons and she clearly knows the power she has,” Cambria Lee, president of JMU’s Taylor Swift Society and a former photo editor for The Breeze, said, “and it’s really great to see her encouraging people to vote.”

Swift's inspiration is so strong that JMU has its own club dedicated to her. In fall 2021, Lee and her friends created the Taylor Swift Society. Over the last year, it's grown to over 500 members.

Letters

Graphic by Evan Weaver / The Breeze

Universal firearm training

Everyone should receive gun =training to avoid accidental loss of life

ETHAN JARDINES contributing columnist

In January, a 2-year-old boy in Charlottesville, Virginia, accidentally shot himself in the head when left unattended with a firearm by his mother. Miraculously, the boy survived the initial injury and was treated for his wounds by the U.Va. Medical Center as reported by CBS 19 News, Diamond Owens, the mother of the child, was charged with felony child neglect and allowing access to firearms by children.

This story is heartbreaking, but even more heartbreaking are the hundreds of Americans that die each year in unintentional shootings. The first step toward lowering this number is firearm safety education, and yet neither political party agrees on what this should look like, so the issue gets swept under the rug.

In 2020, there were 535 “unintentional” firearm related deaths in the United States, according to the CDC. In reality, it isn’t fair to call these deaths unintentional, because they are completely preventable. A better term would be negligent ”— all accidental firearm deaths are a result of negligent storage or handling. Often, as is in the case of Diamond Owens, a firearm is left out for a child to discover, and the rest is self-evident.

“No matter where it is, anything with guns is going to be the source of an issue,” freshman Kenan Seremet said.

As to what Seremet thought could be done, “both letting the child know [firearms are] dangerous and letting the adult know to keep it locked away” are necessary.

Safe storage of firearms isn’t only important for parents, but for all firearm owners. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reports that a total of 2,936 firearms were stolen in 2021. Keep in mind that some of the items included in this list, such as silencers and receivers/frames, are not actually firearms, but that still leaves thousands of firearms taken from houses and cars each year due to improper storage.

It’s essential to store firearms in a theftdeterrent and child-safe manner, especially for those in areas where burglaries are common.

The JMU Police Department provides safe storage of firearms for hunting purposes, but they doesn’t provide any firearm safety education for college students.

Domestic Defense Team, a virtual shooting range within walking distance of campus, offers numerous courses covering firearm safety without utilizing live ammunition according to

their website.

Safe handling of firearms is just as important as safe storage. As it turns out, firearm safety is fairly simple; always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot, always keep the firearm unloaded until ready to fire and always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.

Of course, there’s more involved than just these three basic rules, but it’s more than what is being taught to children in classrooms.

Both parties have educational programs focused around firearm safety; the two most prominent being Straight Talk About Risks and the National Rifle Association’s Eddie Eagle.

Where Democrats and Republicans disagree is the implementation of firearm education, a problem for decades. Back in 2000, ABC News reported that while both parties agreed that firearm safety should be taught, each party had a problem with the other’s educational content, claiming that each was trying to vilify the other; not much has changed since.

In 2020, the Virginia Senate introduced Senate

Bill 129 which established a firearm safety education program, designed by the Virginia’s Board of Education in consultation with the Department of Criminal Justice Services to last at least two hours of instruction. The bill was struck down by the Public Education Subcommittee. As it stands, local school boards in Virginia may provide firearm safety education, but there’s no state or federal law mandating it.

Beyond children, everybody should be familiar with the safe handling of a firearm. Firearms don’t care who is handling them and are therefore just as dangerous in the hands of a geriatric as a pediatric. Safety education doesn’t require actual handling of a firearm, and there are plenty of online courses available that teach the safe handling. Though people might not plan to be in possession of a firearm, it’s not inconceivable someone may come across a firearm at some point.

It’s never too late to get educated on firearm safety; it may save someone’s life one day. Most accidental firearm death victims have no such education or are too young to know any better. Every negligent firearm death is preventable, and people should push legislatures to take that first step toward preventing these deaths

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

Give us a break

Students should get more holidays off and mental health breaks

MARY MABRY contributing columnist

There’s less than a month until Thanksgiving break. This may seem like a long time, but without another break in sight, this is what students are

looking forward to.

Students need more days off from class. JMU should recognize more holidays and add student well-being days to the academic calendar.

“There’s so much variety and diversity in her music that a lot of people can enjoy it and there’s a lot to pick from,” Lee said.

Beyond music, Swift is more active in politics and standing up for underserved communities. In her documentary, “Miss Americana,” Swift’s involvement in the 2018 Tennessee midterm elections and its effect on the LGBTQ community is just one example on how she’s used her platform to promote change. Though the election didn’t end up in the way she hoped, it did find a way into her music.

In her seventh studio album, “Lover,” Swift released “ME!” with Brendan Urie along with a music video. It centered on embracing and being proud of who someone is.

Swift released her tenth studio album Midnights date. According to Spotify, “Midnights became Spotify's moststreamed album in a single day, and Swift

broke the record for the most-streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history.”

Breaking a record like this on a major streaming platform is an incredible accomplishment, but it’s not surprising.

Swift is known for her connection with her fans. She often leaves easter eggs, or hidden messages, in her posts and songs for her fans to figure out what’s next.

Swift takes charge of her own life and doesn’t let others slow her down. She challenges gender roles, speaks on important political issues and encourages her fans to be themselves. Swift is an icon and by listening to her music or following her endeavors, there will always be an important lesson to learn

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

Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album “Midnights” released Oct. 21.

Courtesy of Tribune News Service

JMU doesn’t provide mental health days like other universities. Photo illustration by Abi Middleton / The Breeze

Breeze file graphic

from BREAKS , page 19

Some holidays, such as Labor Day, Veterans Day, Presidents Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, were created to recognize and honor certain individuals. Carrying on with normal classes doesn’t respect the reason these holidays were created.

With an open weekday, JMU and student organizations can hold events that honor these holidays and educate students on important subjects. This allows students to take a break and to understand the purpose of certain holidays.

Canceling classes on Election Day would encourage voting. With busy class schedules and extracurriculars, it’s hard for students to set aside the time to vote. If there were no classes, students would have plenty of time to vote. Additionally, they might feel more encouraged to do so if the university offered them an accessible opportunity.

Halloween is different from the holidays previously mentioned, but students should still have this day off. It’s a time students look forward to, especially after midterms. Students value this time to have fun and be together with one another.

JMU senior, Brenna Mcgonigle, said students should have recognized holidays off — such as Labor Day and Election Day — because most people do. The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University have some of these recognized holidays off, according to their Offices of the Registrar. It shouldn’t be different for JMU.

There also need to be days of the school year set aside specifically for students to rest. Some universities, like the University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), have student well-being days.

According to the UNC Office of the Registrar, students have two well-being days this semester, and three next semester. These days are meant to support student mental health.

This shouldn’t be the only university initiative to support student mental health, but these days provide a much appreciated break for students.

GBH News offers a critique of well-being days, stating that students use the extra time off to do work. Because this isn’t a genuine break, it doesn’t help their mental health. Additionally, there are many other ways universities can support student mental health that would be more impactful.

Some other ways to support student mental health have been implemented at JMU, such as providing the counseling resource Timely Care.

Student well-being days may not always be helpful but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be implemented at all.

Mcgonigle thinks well-being days are beneficial for students.

“This week, for me, was really hard and I could’ve used one,” Mcgonigle said, “and it definitely gives people a day to catch up too, whether it be mentally or on work.”

Students appreciate these days, and this is just one way that students can feel a little relief from their college workload.

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.

This week in JMU history...

On Dec. 2, 1922, The Breeze was born. Since then, it’s been the indispensable source of news for the JMU and Harrisonburg communities for almost 100 years. The Breeze will celebrate its centennial this December, so we’re traveling back in time.

Each week, The Breeze takes a look back on historic moments in JMU and Breeze history by publishing the cover from the same publication day, just years in the past.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

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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.

Career Opportunity - Police Records Specialist

CITY OF HARRISONBURG JOBS JOBS COMMUNITY

Part-Time Job OpportunityCustomer Care Representative

Do you want to utilize your customer service skills/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 part-time position may be the right job for you! Find out more/apply online: https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.employment. EOE.

Job Opportunity - Office Assistant (Treasurer’s Office)

Do you want to utilize your administrative and customer service skills in a teamwork office environment that is deadline-oriented? If so, the Treasurer’s Office’s Office Assistant position may be the right fit for you! Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Sign Graphics Designer & Fabricator

Do you want a career that allows you to utilize your technical/creative skills and experience to design/manufacture a variety of signs for traffic control/City facilities? If so, the City’s Public Works Department’s Sign Graphics Designer & Fabricator role may be the right position for you! Find out more/apply: https://www.harrisonburgva. gov/employment. EOE.

Part-Time Job OpportunityRecreation Aide (Athletics)

Do you want to utilize your organizational skills, customer service skills, and passion for sports in a youth athletics league setting? If so, the City of Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation Department’s Recreation Aide - Athletics may be the right job for you! Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Do you want to utilize your administrative and customer service skills in a teamwork office environment while making an impact within the local community? If so, consider applying to the City of Harrisonburg Police Department’s Police Records Specialist position. Find out more/apply online: https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Paid Part-Time Project Coordinator/ Assistant Job Opportunity for Faces 4 Change Harrisonburg Drug Free Community Coalition

Post your ad at BreezeJMU.org/

Career Opportunity - Deputy Building Official

Are you searching for your next career move with an organization that will support you through your professional growth?

If so, the City’s Deputy Building Official position may be the right opportunity for you if you have prior experience in codes enforcement or inspections work! Find out more/apply: https://www.harrisonburgva. gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Technician

I - Athletic Field Maintenance

Are you seeking an opportunity that allows you to work in a mix of indoor/outdoor facilities while utilizing your knowledge/ skills/abilities related to athletic field maintenance? If so, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department’s Technician I-Athletic Field Maintenance position may be the right career for you! Find out more/apply: https://www.harrisonburgva. gov/employment. EOE.

Seasonal Job Opportunity - Golf Course Maintenance Laborer

Are you looking for a seasonal position in a friendly golf course environment while working on a variety of fall and winter projects at the course? If so, consider applying for the City of Harrisonburg’s seasonal Golf Course Maintenance Laborer position! Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Victim Services Liaison Unit (VSLU) Coordinator

The City of Harrisonburg Police Department is seeking a qualified applicant who has skill in interpersonal relationship-building and excellent communication to coordinate a new unit - the Victim Services Liaison Unit (VSLU). If that’s you, consider applying today to this part-time opportunity!

Interested in coordinating efforts to maintain drug-free communities and positive youth engagement? This is for you! Proficiency with Google/Microsoft Platforms, Zoom, and good communication skills. For more details, email us: faces4changeharrisonburg@gmail. com (faces4change.org). Upper classman/ grad/professor.

Housing

Water Service Technician (Full-Time)

Do you want a career that helps provide a meaningful service to the community through in-field customer response? If so, the Public Utilities Department’s Water Service Technician may be the right job for you! Find out more/apply online: https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

911 Emergency Communicators

Do you want to be a First Responder? Do you want to have a direct impact in saving lives and serving our community? Have you ever thought about becoming a 911 Emergency Communicator? Consider applying with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC). Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Several downtown four bedroom and two six bedroom houses for lease the 20232024 academic year. Pets welcome with no pet fees. Landlord eferences available. Contact:(540)-9080-650 or janicehamilton54@gmail.com

Parking

Looking for a parking space? I have spaces available on our farm. We’re located 1520 minutes north of JMU. Shuttle service available. For more information call Dennis @540-820-3838 .

Job Opportunity - Office Assistant (Registrar’s Office)

Part time Home Health Aide

Part-Time Home Health Aide needed for myself near JMU campus! I am wheelchair bound due to Parkinson’s and need another part time nursing assistant to fill in during the week! Contact me at 540 271 0439 with serious inquiries only!

Are you seeking a rewarding administrative job that allows you to make a difference in the local community? If so, consider applying to the City of Harrisonburg’s Office Assistant position within the Registrar’s Office! Find out more/apply online: https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment.