This year marks the fourth annual Apple Harvest Festival held by locally-owned cidery, Sage Bird. The event, which took place Saturday, attracted community members with its family-friendly events, traditional cider press and showcase of local vendors.
K. Mauser & Libby Addison
By ISABELLA DUNN
The Breeze
As high emotions from the recent election begin to settle, interim Executive Director of the Madison Center for Civic Engagement Kara Dillard asked: “What now?”
Dillard and Monica McEnerny, interim associate director for the Madison Center for Civic Engagement, both said they recalled “strong” student reactions during the buildup to Election Day and after results were released.
McEnerny said students weren’t completely shocked when the presidential candidate was announced. The Madison Center held a small survey written on a whiteboard outside its office before the election asking all students, “Who do you think will win?” The “common” answer was Trump, McEnerny said.
Nonetheless, student attitudes toward the results weren’t entirely positive. In a Breeze Instagram poll, which asked if
students were happy with the results of this year’s presidential election, 79% of 179 respondents said no, and only 38% said yes.
“Some people feel very confident about the future,” McEnerny said. “Some people are just unsure.”
The idea to create on-campus election cooldown events and dialogue programs came from a need for community as well as a place to provide unbiased answers to election-related questions that the Madison Center saw after the last presidential and general elections, Dillard said.
“It was really important that we give students an opportunity after the election to come together,” Dillard said.
The dialogue programs and cool-down events are held in public spaces such as The Union patio and Taylor Down Under rather than in closed-off areas, McEnerny said, to prevent events from being “behind closed doors.”
The first event after the election was “Debrief with Dogs” at Warner Commons
on Wednesday, where “faculty election experts” from the psychology and political science departments among other faculty members answered students’ questions about the election.
Common questions included the timeline of events leading up to the presidential inauguration in January, Dillard said, with another being when students’ ballots would be counted.
For students who voted early or mailed in their ballots, QR codes were set up so students could scan and ensure their vote was recorded regardless of their state or hometown, Dillard said.
“We wanted to make sure that students felt comfortable and confident,” Dillard said.
For its second event, the Madison Center partnered with UPB for “Crafternoon” on Thursday, where students were able to decompress after the election by crafting. McEnerny recalled students coloring and making friendship bracelets despite these “deeply polarizing times.”
“Students were able to come together and have a shared experience that was positive,” Dillard said.
The goal was for students to exchange tokens of appreciation with one another — regardless of political affiliation — in a relaxed, comfortable environment.
The third event is an ongoing studentled program focused on discussing how to move forward as a community. “We are Madison’s Legacy” is held in Taylor Down Under and uses a “trained facilitator” to lead conversation and reflection on voting in small groups, Dillard said.
“‘We are Madison’s Legacy’ continues that theme of relationship building, but also in charting a shared future together,” Dillard said. see COOLDOWN EVENTS, page 8
By EMMA NOTARNICOLA
The Breeze
The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate heard from a panel of 10 JMU faculty and staff representatives who answered questions about topics ranging from adding a new Chick-fil-A in Festival to potential tuition increases.
During the panel, Campus Executive Chef Fred German and Dietitian and Health and Wellness Manager Hanna Serrano presented on behalf of JMU Dining, with Director of Student Engagement Jenna Gray and Vice President for Administration and Finance Towana Moore also on the panel.
The first major topic of discussion centered around renovations to Festival Food Court that are set to begin during the spring semester.
Many Senate members asked why renovations would be taking place over both the spring and summer rather than just summer, to which Moore said the renovations would take more than just a few months.
“The Chick-fil-A we are adding over the summer is going to take a bit longer,” Moore said. “We need a little bit more time.”
When asked about potential impacts on students who rely on Festival, Gray said JMU Dining “still will have options available at Festival.” Namely, Gray added that East Side Subs, Just Baked and Burgers+Fries will remain open as well as Tenders, Love & Chicken, which will have extended hours during renovations.
The next question focused on the reasons behind meal plan changes from the previous year. Gray said these changes were enforced to remedy previous plans’ issues, as many students had a “need for more block plans” and didn’t want meal plans to go unused.
Gray said JMU Dining created the new meal plans after a “considerable amount of research” factoring in usage statistics and student feedback.
This academic year, Gray said these two new plans have been “extremely successful,” especially with voluntary student meal
programs. These dining plans and limited daily punches were enacted to guarantee that students are able to “make healthy decisions” and prevent them from feeling “isolated,” Gray said.
Currently, Gray added there are “no plans” to change meal plans for the spring semester.
For students who are dissatisfied or simply want to comment on the current dining plans, Gray said they should contact JMU Dining through social media, the JMU Dining website or the dining style survey. Gray said students could also contact her directly to share their thoughts.
General Education Program to “interact with student initiatives”
Senior Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Curriculum Meg Mulrooney and Faculty Administrator Elizabeth Brown
presented potential changes to the General Education Program.
The Division of Academic Affairs started a broad program that’s “related to general education reform and renewal,” Mulrooney said. Mulrooney added that this program would create a “pretty substantial set of curricular changes.” She said there are many potential benefits to these changes, including more courses and the opportunity to add new ideas like sustainability into the Gen Ed curriculum. These new changes should help reinforce “the role of student governance and community programs” and find a more developed way for interacting with student initiatives, Brown said.
Mulrooney added that these changes may add more choices in courses and more flexibility regarding times and locations of Gen Ed courses on campus. She said the changes won’t affect many topics or the rigor of the program, however.
Mulrooney said the purpose of these courses is to “develop your competencies for good citizenship” and to “make you better humans in general.”
As for rigor, Brown said these courses are intended to be a “more welcoming” introduction to the subject.
“Not every Virginia high school gives every Virginian high school student the same preparations,” Mulrooney said, adding that the new Gen Ed Program will help “to meet people where they are.”
Though there may be significant changes, Mulrooney said an increase in net required credits is “highly unlikely.” She added that if there are credit issues for students worried about these new changes, “the division will work through and make sure we can meet any requirements that are needed.”
These changes are still in the introductory phase, but around fall 2025, there will be opportunities “to share with students for them to contribute and weigh in,” Mulrooney said. She added that changes shouldn’t be expected to be implemented until 2027.
Finally, Mulrooney addressed issues with class enrollment by acknowledging students’ frustrations but added that since the university has experienced “several years of record enrollment,” there are a few departments “struggling to meet demand.” However, she said this week is only the first, and there will be students adding, dropping and changing classes to make room for those struggling to enroll in certain classes.
McCleary asked a second question, requesting they distinguish what “affiliated” versus “un-affiliated” persons in the policy document exactly are, as she’s “concerned” that people affiliated with JMU “may have fewer rights than unaffiliated.”
Miller responded that affiliated persons “are not supposed to have less rights,” and he “doesn’t know what that will end up looking like” but acknowledged that her feedback is received.
By GENEVIEVE BAVISOTTO The Breeze
JMU’s Board of Visitors (BoV) met Friday to receive updates on admissions. The Office of Admissions will now prioritize out-of-state applicants, specifically students from the southern United States — as well as standardized testing and legislative priorities, such as the new Fast Flex nursing program and campus construction.
Out-of-state applicants will be prioritized due to enrollment cliff
Vice President of Enrollment Management Melinda Wood said during her presentation to the BoV that in roughly 18 years, JMU will see the impact of enrollment cliffs — a predicted decline in enrollment in higher education, according to Forbes. Wood said the cliff is directly related to lower birth rates during the 2009 recession.
JMU will be impacted by this, Wood said. She predicts JMU’s demographic makeup will change, and high schools nationwide will see “fewer white students graduating over the years” as well as “a growth in students identifying as two or more races graduating.”
Because of this, Wood said JMU looks to increase its out-ofstate enrollment to 25% of each freshman class to be met over six years, which she said will help maintain JMU’s number of accepted freshmen applications each year.
Specifically, Wood said the Office of Admissions will work to increase its number of enrolled students from the South due to a comparatively smaller number of enrolled Dukes from those areas. To achieve this, Wood said JMU is putting more resources and money into Southern recruitment.
“Just by changing our recruitment strategies in the Northeast, we’ve seen an improved enrollment growth from there … which means I am starting to spend resources and more time in the South,” Wood said.
JMU has been a test-optional school for applying freshmen since 2021. Wood said this policy was adopted due to high school students’ increasing dislike for standardized tests and added that JMU intends to remain a test-optional school going forward, despite conversations at the last BoV meeting to reinstate mandatory standardized testing for all applicants.
The university takes a holistic approach when looking at applications rather than just focusing on grades and test scores, Wood said.
The uses a system of checks and balances, such as an “annual review of advanced studies diploma requirements” as well as “high school curriculum changes” for prospective applicants., she said.
This
Wood said JMU “will not compromise on the math readiness for incoming students,” adding that in 2015 and 2024, JMU admitted 89% of applicants with a 3.5 GPA and above.
“You — it wasn't that long ago that JMU did have some challenges meeting our out-of-state enrollment goals,” Wood said. “We learned valuable lessons from that, and we have taken that information with the admissions team, pivoted and are moving us forward. And you can see those successes.”
During he discussed JMU’s nursing program, construction plans — including introducing renovation projects — and congratulated field hockey and women’s soccer on recent successes.
Since across all Virginia universities, King said he hopes to soon instate the Fast Flex nursing program, which allows nursing students to do their clinicals at night and on weekends while obtaining their degree on weekdays.
Before day, King said, adding that this program will ensure students can maintain outside jobs while balancing clinicals.
King academic building for psychology graduate students on Main Campus, which he said lacks air conditioning.
Spotswood because it’s only 87 feet from Johnston Hall, combining the renovations will save JMU millions of dollars. The joint project can be done in two years instead of four under the same contractor, as they’re closely located, King said.
JMU’s said, and JMU is well into said plan, King said JMU will bring in a parking expert to analyze campus parking and see if students or faculty need any more space was arranged due to students parking, he said.
Women’s
JMU teams this season, King said. Women 3-5 overall and 8-0-2 in the Sun Belt Conference as the 2024 regular-season champions. These two sports have received both coach and player of the year awards.
Regarding in less than an hour, with the exception of the upcoming Marshall game.
from SGA , page 5
Civic Center invites speakers for discourse series
Director of Student Life Jen Leopard and interim Executive Director for the Madison Center for Civic Engagement Kara Dillard alongside Moore presented at Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the future of student life and engagement at JMU.
Leopard began by debunking the myth that renovations to The Union would be made in the near future.
“Right now, it is not on the campus plan,” Leopard said, adding that although she wants to complete this project, JMU doesn’t currently “have the funding” to complete it.
Dillard answered questions about the future of the Madison Center
“Civic engagement is more than just voting,” said Dillard, adding that the Madison Center is focused on “teaching and giving
opportunities for students to learn dialogue and deliberation skills.”
Currently, the Madison Center has invited two “notable Virginia elected officials” to talk during its Common Good in the Commonwealth series, Dillard said. The Center hopes to create an educated, deliberative environment where students can discuss issues such as climate change, artificial intelligence and election reform, she added.
Tuition to potentially increase, parking discussed
Moore also touched upon on-campus parking and potential tuition increases.
“There has never been a situation where there is never any parking on campus,” Moore said. “The problem is [parking is] not always convenient to where you want it to be.”
Moore added that even with record enrollment, JMU hasn’t “approached any point in time where there hasn’t been parking spaces on campus.”
Regarding increased tuition, Moore said she didn’t yet know what next year’s tuition will look like. She added that tuition could possibly rise to fund “a pay increase for faculty and staff” of 3%.
“The Commonwealth funds only half of it,” Moore said about faculty and staff salaries, adding that with this proposed change, the university has to come up with “millions of dollars.” She added that the potential 3% pay increase of the following year might act as a catalyst for tuition changes.
University Health Center Director Anne Brenneman said the Health Center has “added some programming this year related to nutrition,” some of which focus on irritable bowel syndrome and food allergies.
To increase accessibility to health resources, Brenneman said the Health Center added health vending machines that serve
over-the-counter wellness items at a price “similar to what we sell in the pharmacy.”
Students can also get free STI testing through the Health Center, Brenneman said.
Brenneman also encouraged Dukes to consider virtual TimelyCare visits and individual in-person counseling appointments at the Counseling Center.
“Be open to your choices in person,” said Brennaman, adding that the Counseling Center offers group therapy, which is “just as effective as individual therapy” in addressing mild to moderate depression and anxiety.
“I think there are quite a few options for in-person availability,” Brenneman said, “and I would just encourage students to listen to what those options are.”
CONTACT Emma Notarnicola at notarnef@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
from COOLDOWN EVENTS, page 8
Despite the “strong” reactions from both sides of the political aisle, Dillard recalls a student in one of her classes saying, “We all have to own the next four years, and we all have a responsibility to make the next four years the best we can.”
The election sparked a conviction in students, Dillard said.
“Students would go home to vote and wouldn’t think their vote in this election mattered, but on Election Day, they realized that it did,” Dillard said.
Dillard said in 2020, more than 90% of JMU students were registered to vote and
According to Dillard’s records, the JMU precinct had around 400 registered voters. Of those, 200 voted on Election Day, and 700 to 800 more turned out.
Not all votes from the same-day registration voters have processed yet, but there was still a “huge turnout,” Dillard said.
Dillard attributes this success to the “excitement of students” and the reduced barriers to voting from the Commonwealth — such as same-day voter registration and no-questions-asked absentee ballot requests.
While Dillard reminds students to make these next four years “the best we can,” the Madison Center will continue
EDITORS EMAIL
Abby Camp & Sixuan Wu
By ISABEL LEWIS The Breeze
Down the street, past yellow and orange autumn leaves, you can find the locally owned cidery, Sage Bird Ciderworks.
The small business opened its doors in 2020 and has since used its space to host events that support other small businesses, such as the annual Apple Harvest Festival. Full of autumn goodies and local charm, this year’s festival took place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sage Bird has hosted this event annually for four years. It invites vendors and shares cider with community members. Plenty of family-friendly activities were included, from windchime decorating and pressing apples to make cider using a traditional cider press. Attendees enjoyed talking with artisans and sitting in the cozy cidery while sipping on handcrafted cider and biting into apple-flavored donuts.
“We like opening up our space as much as we can, using what we have to help other people,” said Amberlee Carlson, Sage Bird co-owner.
Community members of all ages gathered to enjoy a crisp fall evening in the cozy cidery. Music and chattering voices hummed through the air. Many attendees brought their families and dogs to the event. After wandering through each of the vendors’ stalls, participants relaxed with their hot cider in hand on the inside couches or at the outdoor tables.
One feature that attracted an audience of onlookers was the traditional cider press. Wesley Engelbrecht, an assistant cider maker at Sage Bird, explained how the press works to spectators. The apples are placed into the top of the press, and, after they are pressed and crushed, they fall into the bucket placed below. The juice is then drained out of that bucket into a separate container.
Though this way of making cider is fascinating, it doesn’t make enough cider fast enough for Sage Bird. Instead of using the vintage cider press, the cidery gets its juice sent to them; it then ferments it and leaves it in storage for a few months. After that, Sage Bird blends the cider and packages it to serve in the taproom.
Carlson said her background as an artist and vendor influenced how she runs her business — uplifting other small businesses in a way that also elevates her own. She does this by inviting fellow artists and vendors who she met during her time as a vendor to use her space. These invites extend to local businesses, which in turn foster community friendships.
Plenty of vendors were present: woodworkers, cutlery jewelry makers, potters, candle makers and various fallthemed treat vendors. The Apple Harvest Festival allowed small business owners to show off their creative works and connect face-to-face with their customers.
Miranda Long, owner of Small Town Clay, does business both online and in person. She said in-person events such as the festival are an incredibly valuable way to place her business in a more public sphere.
“I just feel like people need to see the person that makes the things and be able to talk to them,” Long said. “Anything to do with the community and involvement is huge for my business. It makes a big difference.”
Rhett Miles, co-owner of Rocktown Urban Wood, a handcrafted custom furniture business, said vendor events like this allow businesses to build more name recognition. Whether or not they make many sales at an event, it’s still a PR opportunity for these small businesses, he said.
“It gets people to see products that we don’t normally make,” Miles said. “We primarily do contract work, but we love to do pre-made, small items that we don’t usually get to
show to the public, except for at events like this.”
Community events not only allow vendors to get recognition, but also provide platforms for artists and creators to display their unique work.
Some such products offered at this event were Wuby’s Wings’ spoon rings. Owned by Ruby Starcher, this vendor offers unique jewelry and other hand-crafted items made from repurposed cutlery.
“I make everything out of vintage flatware,” Starcher said. “[The practice] started in the 17th century. So people would steal flatware, shape it into a ring, and then propose with the ring.”
She added that this jewelry style is also recycled and creating spoon rings is like “a constant cycle of giving things a new life.”
Balancing the life of an entrepreneur can instill challenges, as many small businesses are often a one-man show, or the person running the business working another job separate from their business.
“I wear all the hats, so I’m not only the maker; I’m the Marketing Director, I’m the salesperson, I’m the shipping person,” Long said. “I can’t just make my pots and put them on a table and expect people to come and buy them. I have to market myself, put myself out there, talk to people and go to events.”
Sage Bird will be hosting another annual event, a holiday market, including many of the same vendors Nov. 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Getting people to know that other people in their community make this kind of stuff helps give them pride,” Miles said.
CONTACT Isabel Lewis at lewisik@dukes.jmu.edu For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
By KAYLA KATOUNAS contributing writer
At the Asian Student Union’s (ASU) 2024 Culture Show, titled “Spirit of the Self,” emotions were at the forefront as it followed the journey of a college student finding her place at a new school.
The show, held Saturday in the Wilson Hall auditorium, was inspired by the Pixar movie “Inside Out 2,” released earlier this year, which follows personified emotions inside a teenage girl’s head. The Culture Show featured performances from several student organizations — including Lambda Phi Epsilon and dance groups Moongcrew, Fate, Mozaic and Kinetix — and ASU members, strung together by a skit featuring characters reminiscent of the aforementioned animated film.
The skit followed Yuki, a transfer student arriving at a new university and struggling to fit in. Six personified emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Envy, Stress and Dishonor — narrated her inner monologue throughout the show as she encountered unique groups and performers.
“Having these shows teaches so much about different cultures and how you can learn [from] them, and I think that’s just so important to have wherever you are,” said freshman international affairs and finance double major Annisa Siyit, who played Yuki.
The event was entirely student-run, with ASU members arranging everything from booking the performance space to writing the script, junior studio art major and ASU Culture Chair Anna Harnish said. As culture chair, Harnish was responsible for overseeing the show’s planning, she said.
“It’s basically just to highlight the different cultures and different orgs here on campus, just so that everyone gets to see them, even if they are a smaller org,” Harnish said, “just [to] highlight the Asian American experience.”
Each performance was integrated into the skit, with Yuki running into members of the groups at Student Org Night, club meetings or in flashbacks. First, she met a member of Kinetix Breakdance Crew, which led to a performance from the group.
“Any opportunity where we get to do stuff on stage or be in front of people — we want to take that,” said Brandt Gates, junior media arts and design major and Kinetix president.
Gates said Kinetix prepared this performance — which he choreographed and performed in — for about three weeks, rehearsing several times per week.
“Everything coming in and having everything start to be put together was very interesting. It was very beautiful at the same time,” said Jesse Yao, senior computer science and math double major and Kinetix vice president.
As Yuki explored her school during the skit, she encountered two other dance performances from Mozaic Dance Team and Lambda Phi Epsilon. Throughout the show, the rest of the performers were introduced in various ways, such as showing the groups as flashbacks for the characters or as a video the characters watch online.
The rest of the performances included a lion dance, K-pop dance groups Moongcrew and Fate K-Club, modern and traditional fashion shows, two solo dancers, a fan dance, a co-ed modern dance performance and Tinikling, a traditional Filipino dance involving dancers stepping between bamboo poles as people on either end of them beat
the poles on the floor rhythmically.
“JMU is already known as a big party school, but there’s always small communities inside of it that have all these different showcases and show them who they are, what they like to do and all the special interests, like issues and individuality and history,” Yao said.
Harnish said that many of the performers had about a month of rehearsal before going out in front of an audience. Siyit had never acted on stage or done Tinikling before and had to learn both skills in this limited time, she said.
“It was honestly on a time crunch, but it was super fun working with the people in ASU,” Siyit said. “This was definitely out of my comfort zone, but everyone at exec was super sweet to bring me out.”
Harnish said the event brought together many ASU members. They began with an
interest meeting to introduce the event to new members and created options for interested members who were more comfortable offstage, allowing them to help backstage instead, she said.
“We do have a lot of members who are super active or who are on the quieter side that decided to help out with the Culture Show, so it helps bring us all closer and get to know more members when we normally wouldn’t see them at other events,” Harnish said. “It’s just nice to see new faces.”
Harnish said that the event’s goal was to show ASU is a community there for anybody.
“Especially being in a PWI [predominantly white institution], feeling like you don’t have a lot of people who look like you or who have the same background as you,” Harnish said, “I think it’s really nice to see that these people are
all here, and they’re all welcoming you to join [and] participate.”
To further expand the event’s reach, ASU hopes to make the Culture Show a Wellness Passport Event, meaning it can be used to fulfill a required assignment in Personal Wellness (HTH 100), a Gen Ed class taken by many freshmen.
“It’ll be really good to highlight the culture,” Harnish said, “showing minorities on campus, bringing them to the front and just celebrating that we are here.”
CONTACT Kayla Katounas at katounkm@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
By ASHLEE THOMPSON The Breeze
I had just returned home for fall break. I’d barely been in my house for an hour when I checked my email and saw it — the subject line read, “SNL Reservations.” I won the “Saturday Night Live (SNL)” lottery and was invited to the Nov. 2 show featuring host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan with surprise appearances by Vice President Kamala Harris and comedian Pete Davidson.
What is “SNL”?
“SNL” is a live late-night sketch comedy show created in 1975 by Lorne Michaels. The show celebrated its 50th season this year on Sept. 28, making it one of America’s longest-running television programs.
The Emmy-winning show is watched by millions every Saturday night, airing live on both NBC and its streaming service, Peacock. For those who missed the live show — or simply want to rewatch — the monologue, sketches, performances and more are uploaded to all of “SNL”’s social media platforms, where they get millions more views.
“SNL” is filmed every week in front of a live studio audience. There are a few ways to get tickets for this, but it’s not an easy feat. You either have to be the friend or relative of someone involved with the show, wait outside the studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza overnight for the chance to get a standby ticket or, perhaps the easiest way, win the annual “SNL” lottery.
Requesting standby tickets takes a lot of work. At 10 a.m. the Thursday before the show, ticket-seekers must book their reservation for either the dress rehearsal or the live show. If there are enough slots, you’ll receive an email confirmation with a reservation number. After checking in to the standby line on Friday between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., you’ll remain in your
numerically assigned place in line until midnight Saturday, when standby cards are handed out. Receiving a standby card doesn’t guarantee admission until you’re seated in the studio.
While arguably the easiest admission, the lottery requires lots of luck and good timing. During the entirety of August, hopeful audience members send an email to SNLTICKETS@NBCUNI. COM explaining why they should be chosen to attend the show. You can’t request specific dates in your email, so flexibility and accessibility to New York City is a must for winners. Two tickets are given to lottery winners.
This is what happened to me. The email came two weeks before my show date. I wasn’t able to choose my show, but ever
since “SNL” announced the first part of its season lineup, I knew the Mulaney-Roan episode would be my favorite; I even mentioned Mulaney in my lottery request email! I had no idea I would end up watching it in person.
If via the lottery, you’re guaranteed a seat — unlike standby tickets. After I confirmed my reservation, I asked my friend who lives in the city to come with me.
“Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
The show itself went by very quickly. We watched sets being built and then taken down in record time. The stages never looked the same; the “SNL” crew was constantly running around the stages pushing pre-built sets about, changing actors’ costumes and making sure each camera and microphone was in place during the few short commercial breaks. Lorne Michaels, “SNL” creator, paced back and forth to the side of the stage, making sure his show ran as smoothly as possible.
Since this was the episode before the presidential election, the cold open was one for the books. The nine-minute sketch featured cameos and impressions by Maya Rudolph, Andy Samberg, Dana Carvey, Jim Gaffigan and James Austin Johnson as Kamala Harris, Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, President Joe Biden, Governor Tim Walz and President-elect Donald Trump, respectively.
The most memorable cameo was by far Harris, who joined Rudolph on stage to hype herself up about the election. We had heard rumors about Harris appearing on the broadcast, but watching her walk on stage and act with Rudolph was something the crowd and I will never forget.
see “SNL, ” page 13
from “SNL , ” page 12
Other cameos included Va. Sen. Tim Kaine in a “What’s That Name?” game show sketch that centered around no one knowing the senator and former vice presidential candidate. “SNL” alumnus and comedian Pete Davidson also surprised us with an appearance in a musical sketch set in a Duane Reade, an N.Y. pharmacy and convenience store chain.
The studio, while full of cameras, microphones and other equipment, had television screens surrounding the seats so we could view what everyone at home was seeing. This was helpful when certain parts of a sketch were out of the audience’s vision. The television screens also showed the prerecorded sketches and the photo bumpers, photographs of the host and musical guest that aired between commercials.
The show was full of other memorable sketches like “Little Richard,” a humorous bit about a ’90s sitcom guest star that stayed on the show a little too long, and cast members Marcello Hernandez and Jane Wickline’s appearance on Weekend Update as “The Couple You Can’t Believe Are Together.”
My personal favorite sketch was the previously mentioned musical number titled “Port Authority - Duane Reade.” Every time Mulaney hosts “SNL” — this marked his sixth time — he indulges in a psychedelic musical number in some sort of store or restaurant where food and animals come to life and sing.
This sketch featured Timothée Chalamet lookalikes, a singing bear carcass, a milk cartoon brought to life and a creepy bus driver — all of whom sang short parodies of various Broadway hits.
I watched the crew pull the Duane Reade set forward and prepare during the short commercial break. Once I saw the costumes backstage, as an avid Mulaney fan, I knew I was about to be in for a wild musical ride.
Chappell Roan made her “SNL” debut on this episode, playing two songs, with the first being her 2020 sleeper-hit “Pink Pony Club,” when she pointed the microphone to the audience and had us sing the words back to her — something that doesn’t normally happen on SNL and must’ve felt like a satisfying full-circle moment for the singer.
Roan surprised the world with the live debut of a brand new lesbian country song, “The Giver.” The entire audience was captivated by her performance, especially since we all knew we were witnessing the start of a brand-new Roan era. During the bridge of “The Giver,” Roan sang a line that made the audience gasp and cheer:
“All you country boys saying you know how to treat a woman right? / Well, only a woman knows how to treat a woman right!”
Before the broadcast went live again for Mulaney to introduce Roan for the second time, he looked over at her and gave her a thumbs up — to which she saluted back.
Going to a taping of “SNL” has been on my bucket list since forever. This show is something I watched every week growing up, and I’ve fallen in love with all of the cast members. Seeing how the show works behind the scenes and being able to watch my favorite funny people do their jobs right in front of me was something I’ll never forget.
I hope that everyone who wants to attend an “SNL” taping is able to, as it’s one of those unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
CONTACT Ashlee Thompson at thomp6ab@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
EDITORS Hayden Hundley & Preston Comer
By ZACH MENDENHALL The Breeze
Every season since head coach Christy Morgan’s return in 2014, JMU field hockey has had at least two Dutch players. This past season, the Dukes had three — they combined for 18 goals and seven assists.
“When you can get a player that has played since they were five, you know, they just have a different sense about the game of field hockey, and they go on automatic,” Morgan said. “The Netherlands, they’re the best in the world. They won the gold medal [last year], they win the gold medal just about every year.”
The Netherlands has the most women’s field hockey gold medals of any country with five. The country’s top field hockey division is called Hoofdklasse, which junior attacker Alice Roeper said is the best field hockey league in the world.
The 2024 MAC Offensive Player of the Year has set her sights on the league, and if she does play in it one day, she will follow in the footsteps of JMU Belgian alumna Loes Stijntjes (201215) and Dutch alumna Lisa Lejeune (2016-17).
The Dutch way
To Morgan, the Dutch field hockey style is more crafty and “fundamentally sound.” There are good field hockey players everywhere, Morgan said, but in the Netherlands, they begin playing so young that players don’t just know the game — they feel it.
“It’s a family sport, they’re playing all the time, and they just get good when you’re so committed and almost obsessed with anything,” Morgan said. “My players right now are extraordinary players because they started so young, they instinctively understand the game.”
The sport’s influence isn’t only present at JMU but at colleges nationwide.
One school with a large Netherlands representation is Syracuse, with a roster of seven Dutch players. Two of the teams the Dukes lost to this season, California and Old Dominion, both have at least four Dutch players.
With many players from the Netherlands in the NCAA, there’s always a challenge, freshman forward Madelief Molier said.
“I feel like in the Netherlands, just a lot of people are really good at it, so you’re challenged every practice, every game, which makes you better as well,” Molier said.
Sophomore defender Azul Covarrubias described the Dutch style as “controlled and smart.” Back home, everyone on her team knew what to do and didn’t make the game difficult to understand.
Covarrubias has been playing field hockey for 15 years and competed in gymnastics when she was little, but other sports didn’t stick like field hockey did.
Since “day one,” she has loved field hockey, she said.
“I remember my first week at the club, and I was really upset that my mom wouldn’t let me wear the jersey to school, but I was so happy with that sport,” Covarrubias said. “Ever since, I’ve been really competitive and wanted to get better at it every single day, so that was, for me, the reason.”
Passing techniques like a “sweep” are so ingrained in Covarrubias that she said she
doesn’t even remember learning it. Coming to the United States, she found it interesting that nobody knew what the pass was. The reason for this is that the fields in the U.S. are too thick, with the astroturf not watered as often, she said.
Roeper’s mom would always tell her she was “born with a stick in her hand,” she said, as her whole family played field hockey, too. Before joining a club at 5 or 6 years old, she said she always played with her sisters and practiced on her own because she loved it so much.
She said she’s always been a very technical player, bringing her knowledge and good ball control skills to the table. With her technical experience, teammates often ask Roeper for tips on small adjustments and shooting, as Roeper’s stick skills are something the whole team looks up to, Covarrubias said.
“I was just born into it, and I loved it from the start,” Roeper said. “I think I’ve just always loved it, it wasn’t a hard decision to pick field hockey or anything for me, it’s always been there.”
Molier began playing at 5 — the same age as her nephew who just picked up the stick. Like Roeper, Molier tried other sports like soccer and tennis, but she said she most enjoyed field hockey.
“You could already tell I was so eager to score, eager to get the ball like you can already tell, even when you’re 5 years old, that it’s just the right sport for you,” Molier said. “I think it’s such a fast game, too, which I really like, compared to soccer and stuff like that, because the field is so fast, that’s also a part which I really liked.”
After first stepping on the field in U.S., Covarrubias saw “chaos,” because it wasn’t the structure she was used to growing up with. She said finding common ground between the U.S. and the Netherlands helped her eventually find a structure in her play.
“When you find out how it actually works, you just think it’s just different, it isn’t better or worse, it’s just a different style of field hockey,” Covarrubias said. “I think that I struggled a little bit with that in the beginning, because everything is so structured in the Netherlands.”
Roeper said field hockey in the U.S. is more physical with less emphasis on the technical style preached in the Netherlands.
“Here, because people start playing later, they might not have as much technique and as much stick skills, but, basically, they’re a lot stronger, a lot more fit, and they just ‘go, go, go’ the whole game,” Roeper said.
Before coming to JMU, none of the Dutch players had ever professionally weight lifted before. Echoing Roeper, Molier said Americans’ physicality is far above what they’re used to.
“I just remember being like, ‘Wow, these girls are running so much, and they’re so eager to get the ball, so eager to play,’ and that’s what I really liked,” Molier said.
During a European tour last year, the Rutgers field hockey team traveled to the Netherlands to face HV Victoria, the club Molier played for starting at age 6. She remembers the game’s physicality and Rutgers’ physical playstyle as part of the reason she wanted to play field hockey in the U.S.
Over the summer, Molier said she worked on her conditioning, since it’s such a crucial
component for competing in the U.S. During her first weightlift with the team, Molier said she was surrounded by teammates lifting bars that carried far more weight than hers.
After being greeted by Roeper and Covarrubias, Molier felt less pressure to immediately achieve the same level as everyone around her. Molier said her weightlifting has been getting better and better ever since.
Despite it taking her a while to adjust to a new style of hockey, Roeper feels she’s great at it now. During Roeper’s freshman year, Dutch alumnae Diede Remijnse (2019-22) and Eveline Zwager (2019-22) helped her adjust, aiding her on the field and helping her to feel like family.
“You’re 17 or 18 years old. You’re coming from your own country. You’re leaving your whole family behind, everything that you’ve known all your life, a new language, new culture,” Roeper said. “It’s a lot, but I think every single person on our team helped us individually, helped us adjust and made us feel welcomed here.”
One rule the three make sure they follow is to never speak Dutch when Americans are around. It remains a team rule, passed down over time.
“I think it’s a really good rule, even on the field, because we have different kinds of words,” Molier said. “I kept jamming Dutch terms, but now you’re so into American hockey that you even start speaking English on the field as your first reaction when something happens, which is really cool.”
Covarrubias struggled with her English at first, especially on the field, but has adjusted with time.
“My teammates would tell me what to do, and I had no idea what they’re talking about, or after the game, when the coach is speaking, I just shake my head, but I have no idea what she meant,” Covarrubias said. “Eventually you talk it so much that you learn the new words.”
When recruiting international players, Morgan said she looks for not only great players, but also great people.
“You bring somebody in hastily, just because they’re a great player, they can wreck a culture, and I’ve had that happen before,” Morgan said. “You’re not just recruiting a number, you’re recruiting a person. You get the right person and it’s heaven.”
Morgan said the Dutch and American players learn from each other, as everyone on the team wants to be as great as they can.
“I think when you can bring different people from different cultures, from different places, you learn so much,” Morgan said. “I don’t care where they’re from. I don’t care what they are, I don’t care about their culture. What I care about is bringing in the right people who are on the same mission we’re on.”
CONTACT Zach Mendenhall at mendenzl@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more field hockey coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
By MADI PERINI contributing writer
There’s an overwhelming energy when you enter a football stadium. Whether you’re a die-hard fan, casual enjoyer or don’t know what a first down is, there’s an undeniable feeling when you enter on game day. While walking into Bridgeforth is something Dukes know all too well, they also know something about being on the road.
Since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2022, attention on JMU football has skyrocketed. With more eyes on JMU Athletics, the university has transformed from an Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program tucked in the Shenandoah Valley to a household name in college football.
The Dukes transitioned from the FCS to FBS at the start of the 2022-23 season. In their first year in the Sun Belt Conference, they went 8-3, with a 6-2 record during conference play. JMU continued to make a name for itself in 2023, going 10-1 and playing the program’s first bowl game — the Armed Forces Bowl.
Throughout nine games this season, JMU is 7-2, with both losses to conference teams — ULM and Georgia Southern.
Whether it’s a season of broken records or one where onlookers hold their breath during the postseason, there’s one thing that remains consistent: JMU’s fans. They famously show up and show out; when College GameDay visited campus last year, the Dukes drew a record-breaking crowd.
However, this unwavering support from fans isn’t restricted to Harrisonburg. Fans travel near and far from the Valley to watch JMU play, and the dedication is consistent. Not only do these fans commit, but they’re always ready to talk about what it means to be a traveling Duke.
Earlier this season, JMU traveled to Chapel Hill to play UNC. The Tar Heels are the only autonomy conference opponent the Dukes face this regular season. After JMU’s historic 53-point first half, UNC’s student section had almost cleared, but who stayed?
The loud section of spectators dressed in purple. Former JMU cheerleader Kristina Mohler (2004-09) has traveled to the Dukes’ away games since 2017 when JMU opened its season with a 34-14 road win over ECU.
Mohler recalls seeing other fans on the road — not just at ECU, but on the drive there.
“We had both noticed each other traveling down I-95 in Virginia with JMU adorned on our cars and wondered if we were both heading to Greenville,” Mohler said. “Sure enough, we connected at the Duke Club event.”
Once fans make it to the away game, their presence isn’t limited to the stadium. Traveling Dukes find each other on the road.
“I love seeing fellow Dukes in the airport, hotel elevator or a restaurant near the game,” former Marching Royal Duke Kristin Black (2002-06) said.
JMU Vice President for Student Affairs Tim Miller has traveled to away games since taking on his role in 2018, and it’s one of his favorite parts of the position.
“App State was pretty epic … From all their fans leaving to ours still being there, it was such a turnaround for us,” Miller said, referring to JMU’s first Sun Belt game in 2022. “A bunch of us said, ‘We have now arrived, this is real and this was not a mistake.’”
When JMU traveled across the country to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State in 2023, JMU fans still made their presence known, despite being over 2,000 miles from the ’Burg.
Mohler recalled getting texts from friends and family throughout the game saying they could hear JMU fans cheering through the television speakers.
“[This] made us feel great and encouraged us to cheer even louder,” Mohler said.
Black had a similar feeling — “[We] all come together to join our Dukes away from home and show our spirit, not just for the football program, but the university as a whole.”
Some fans have been doing this for as long as they can remember, including Sydney Mago and her family, who’ve been season ticket holders for the past 21 years.
Sydney’s husband, Vijay Mago, graduated from JMU in 1993. Sydney and Vijay have been attending games together since 1997. In their time traveling with the Dukes, the Mago family has kept a fourth-quarter tradition of watching the game on the field.
Sydney and Vijay’s dedication is as strong as it gets. They’ve traveled to every game JMU has played in Texas since 2015, and Vijay has traveled to North Dakota State twice.
In 2004, JMU won its first of two Division I-AA National Championships. Just a few weeks before the championship, their son Thomas was born — who’s now a JMU sophomore. The Magos weren’t able to make it to the championship, but Vijay went to the semifinals at William & Mary.
“[The players] will come up and hug us after a win and thank us for being there,” Sydney said. “You can see it on their faces when they come over to the visitors section and we sing the fight song together. So many away games feel like we are right at home by the end of them.”
CONTACT Madi Perini at perinimr@dukes.jmu.edu. For more football coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
By HAYDEN HUNDLEY
The Breeze
Director of Athletics Matt Roan said JMU is currently engaged in talks to potentially expand Bridgeforth Stadium.
“The first step of that process is what we’re engaged in right now, and that’s the master plan,” Roan said on Friday. “And I think a university typically updates its master plan every 10 or so years, and we were coming upon that.”
As part of said plan, Roan said he’s had meetings with architecture planning groups Sasaki, Populous and Moseley Architects. Populous was involved with the construction of the Atlantic Union Bank Center (AUBC)— which multiple
universities have toured, including Alabama, a JMU spokesperson told The Breeze.
“We have met with Populous to really start to look at the stadium, specifically,” Roan said. “So you really start to dream up and start to conceptualize, ‘What could that become?’”
Roan has worked alongside interim President Charlie King and said King’s “fingerprints are all over this campus.” King played a large role in East Campus’ development and construction while he was the senior vice president for administration and finance — a position he retired from in 2021.
Roan said once JMU lands on a concept, the next step is to determine the cost, and then find donors before ultimately landing state approval.
“I think there’s kind of multi-layers, but right now, we’re in
that master plan,” Roan said. “We’re having those conversations with those people who can help us design what’s possible.”
Roan said the addition of an indoor practice facility for the football team would be a “priority” alongside the expansion.
“Not just that, there’s … Veterans Memorial Park,” Roan said. “How do we look at our tennis programs and the facilities that are available to them? How do we make our facilities, whether it’s football operations or others, just like we’ve done with AUBC and [the Convocation Center]?”
CONTACT Hayden Hundley at breezesports@gmail.com For more football coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
EDITOR EMAIL breezeopinion@gmail.com
Maya Skurski
Want to praise someone or get something off your chest? Darts & Pats is the place to do it. Submit your own at breezejmu.org.
A “perfect-example” pat to the student who held the door open for me, then followed me to open the second door, even though she wasn’t going in the same building.
From staff headed to a meeting, struggling to open the door with hands full of notes and coffee.
An “answer-your-emails” dart to professors for not answering students in need.
From a stressed, burnt out, tired junior who just needs a little bit of help, please.
A “beauty-is-pain” dart to the seats in the cycling classes at UREC.
From someone who can’t sit down, thanks.
A “urine-trouble” dart to the one always out-of-order stall in the studio center girls bathroom.
From someone who wants you to get it together so they can pee.
ANNABELLE BERRY Annabelle’s angle
In the United States, millions of citizens are prohibited from voting because of felony convictions. These individuals have blundered — some major, some minor crimes — but in turn for serving their time, they shouldn’t be indelibly restrained from one of their most rudimentary rights: the ability to vote.
Denying this group the ability to vote isn’t only unjust, but also subverts the very principles of democracy.
There’s no defending every crime, as there are certainly serious offenses with more damaging consequences. Yet, it’s of interest to realize that not all felonies reflect malicious, irresponsible people incapable of contributing to society. By definition, a felony is a crime punishable by imprisonment for at least one year. Many of those convicted felons are ordinary people who made mistakes under difficult circumstances. Think: Do you have an incarcerated friend or family member? Have you ever been in trouble with the law?
Why does the government believe that someone who has committed a crime, served their sentence and is working to rehabilitate into society shouldn’t be given the power to vote? If a person is deemed fit enough to re-enter society after serving their time, why should they be treated as second-class citizens, lacking a voice in shaping the laws that govern or imprison them? The argument that felons are excluded from voting as a form of punishment doesn't stand up to scrutiny — especially since they’ve paid their debt to society already, as ordered.
The Department of Correction (DOC) is entrusted with addressing an individual’s behavior through rehabilitation or punishment, depending on the circumstances. If a felony conviction were truly only about correcting behavior, there would be no need for me to continue writing. There would be no need for recidivism. However, the story doesn’t end there.
Once the sentence is completed and a person is released, the argument that imprisonment alone made the community safer has lost validity. A felony conviction
often extends beyond the prison term, as it marks people with a permanent label — many of which have little or nothing to do with public safety. A convicted felon may lose fundamental civil rights, including the right to vote — a core principle this nation was founded upon. Therefore, the felony conviction functions not just as a penalty for a crime, but as a means to strip individuals of rights and categorize them in a way that limits their opportunities and freedoms long after they’ve paid their debt. So the question stands, how does a person with a past felony charge exercising their right to vote make citizens feel unsafe?
“It’s not a safety hazard; If you’ve realized what you did is wrong, you should have a fair share in society and shouldn’t be defined for it,” freshman psychology major Brielle Carluccio said.
Unlike restrictions on gun ownership, there’s justification that people with criminal histories may exhibit danger if given access to firearms. What about voting? What rationalizes how casting a ballot — one of the most fundamental ways to partake in a democracy — poses a threat to others?
“There’s a lot of wiggle room in establishing proper legislation, but for nonviolent crimes where you’re allowed to re-enter society by law, I don’t find it threatening for those people to vote for someone in power,” sophomore international affairs major Will Tally said.
Moral of the story: banning felons from voting doesn’t assist communities or support justice; it instead excludes an entire group of people from the democratic process. There’s no logical or moral reason to permanently ostracize someone who has repented for their actions.
Aren’t you wondering, if felons had the right to vote, would the outcome of the presidential elections be different? In a country where elections are unyielding by small margins, the collective voice of felons could undoubtedly hold weight on the political landscape.
Take a moment to think about how often we encounter felony offenses in day-today life. College students, for instance, are frequently caught up in actions that can lead to felony convictions: using a friend’s ID to
buy alcohol, possessing marijuana amounts that exceed legal limits and shoplifting — all of which carry felony charges in certain situations. These aren’t barbarous stunts; they’re often acts of youthful indiscretion or poor decision-making. Yet, under the current system, even if they’ve made amends and turned their lives around, people still have basic rights stripped from underneath them.
Let’s be honest: underage drinking and using friends’ IDs are widespread tendencies among college students, yet the penalties aren’t always the same for everyone. Some students get caught; others don’t. Some face felony charges; others face a slap on the wrist. The thought that lingers is whether that stupid, regrettable mistake should be the cause of someone losing their liberty, shaping the laws of the judicial system.
“They’ve done their time so they should be able to vote,” freshman Vincent Lamendola said. Then you hear the conversation that people lost their right to vote because they gave up that right by disobeying the law. Does that mean voting is only a privilege reserved for those who never made a mistake? What about those who did something felony worthy but have never been caught? They’re still voting. Someone who’s fulfilled their legal obligations should be allowed to participate fully in society once again, including through voting.
If authority and the law judged these “criminals” fit to return to society, why are they still neglected of their rights as citizens?
Denying them the right to vote not only limits their ability to reintegrate; it also stirs up feelings of alienation and resentment. These are the same people who, after serving their time, should be encouraged to join their communities.
It’s utterly insane that in a representative government, anyone could be forbidden from voting, particularly people who’ve already completed their term. We live in a country that prides itself on second chances and the ability to start over — yet lacks full second chances for felons?
If someone who’s arrested for possession of drugs can be barred from voting, yet can still run for president of the U.S., doesn’t that seem backward? How does it make sense that someone can be the leader of the country but not have a say in who holds that position? It’s a sensible contradiction that cannot be ignored.
“It’s unfair that it’s set up this way,” Lamendola said.
“I find it very corrupt that a felon can run for president, yet a felon can’t vote,” Tally said.
CONTACT Annabelle Berry at berry3aj@dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
With college students having their first taste of freedom, can we necessarily blame them for testing their limits and exploring alcohol?
The newest generation of young adults drinks less than the last generation. It raises the question: are students finding other ways of expression, or do they know more about the risks associated with drinking?
JMU requires all first-year, transfer and graduate students to participate in online alcohol and drug prevention courses through Kognito. Even before students set foot on campus, they’re required to have knowledge of the risks as well as the short and long-term effects of alcohol and drug use. Yet, for students who drink before college education, the topic of substance abuse falls to their school system and household to educate them.
While JMU attempts to increase students awareness and resources through substance abuse courses, they don’t seem to prevent — but rather educate. “[The courses] kind of helped me to understand cup portions, but it did not stop me from drinking too much,” an anonymous Duke said.
With college stereotypically being a place for self-discovery, booze typically plays a pivotal factor in socializing and relationships, clubs, sports and stress relief.
“Drinking is not pivotal to socializing,” said an anonymous JMU student. “But I also think that depends who you’re friends with and what clubs you are in.”
Individuals always have the choice to go to parties and drink; it’s truly left to the student to decide what’s best for them and to determine their limits. JMU offers students helpful resources like voluntary wellness coaching through Well Dukes.
“We really encourage students to think about what their priorities are, ‘What are your specific and unique goals? What are you passionate about?’” JMU Assistant Director for Personal Well-Being Paige Hawkins said. “And in answering those questions correctly, and in creating some self-awareness about our values, we support and consult with departments across campus because, certainly, well-being is a university commitment. It is not something that one department has responsibility for.”
Not only does the Well Duke program help students through alcohol use, but also drugs, relationships, sleep, stress and digital competence. This program is used to teach students about the concept of wellness and empower students to live the life they want to.
“It’s a puzzle. Education is a piece of it, but we know that it needs to be an approach to empowering well-being that needs to be much more comprehensive,” Hawkins said.
“Opportunities for one-on-one coaching is a part of it. It ’s a part of it. Enforcement of those policies and accountability is a part of it. The environment, opportunities for engagement all of those things influence well-being, and they are all equally important.”
As students use college to grow and understand themselves — more importantly, understand their limits — they should be more aware of free access to these programs. While alcohol use in Gen Z is decreasing, coping and experimenting in unhealthy ways in the name of selfdiscovery will never truly decrease. The line between balance and reckless behavior of not only alcohol, but any vices in general, lies within effects on the individual.
EMMA FLYNN contributing columnist
JMU’s nursing program is hefty, requiring intensive classes that prepare students for the struggles they will face as nurses.
Students may take one to three credit hours of clinicals on top of their core nursing classes — and for other major or minor requirements. While clinicals may count as credit hours as students work handson in hospitals, they’re required to be at their clinical one hour before it actually starts.
Here’s the problem — though nursing students arrive at 6 a.m. for clinicals, they aren’t receiving credits for the first hour they’re in the hospital.
You may have had an intense reaction to hearing how rigorous the nursing program
is, because I know I did. If you’ve taken a one-credit class before, you know that most of the time, you aren’t spending one hour a week in that class. Instead, these classes meet for three or more hours a week and only provide students one credit per semester.
Nursing clinicals can start as early as 6 a.m., but most count for two credits. Even though the credit hours are low, students don’t have enough time in their schedules to take more classes, as the clinical takes up a full day.
Clinicals are also located at Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital and Augusta Health, meaning that if it isn’t at a local hospital, students need to wake up between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. to arrive on time.
“For my third semester, we usually have once a week for our med[ical] surg[ery] rotation, and they always start at 6 a.m.,” senior nursing student Haley Priftis said. “Last semester, I had a clinical from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. ... but this semester, I have a clinical starting at 6 a.m., and I leave around 2:45 p.m.”
Clinicals provide students with amazing opportunities to shadow and deal with live patients and scenarios they may encounter in the future. These hours are extremely beneficial; they can be listed on resumes or logged as real clinical or shadowing hours.
to experience negative consequences and expect something different, but we continue to experience the negative consequences, I think those are all the signs that a plan to do something differently may benefit,” Hawkins said.
Making mistakes and having bad experiences are a key part of learning. It’s the individual’s responsibility to be accountable for their actions — and change if they need — which is why college is the most common place for this with newly granted independence for most students. With that being said, if not now, when?
“If there is regret, if behaviors and choices are interfering with relationships, if they’re interfering with our sense of self, if they’re interfering with our academic success, if we continue
With the drinking age set at 21 in the U.S., it makes drinking something to be coveted for high schoolers, college students and young adults. Alternatively, in other countries with lower drinking ages — where young adults are taught to drink while they still live at home — people are able to seek advice and find their limits in a safe space they’re comfortable in, with people who care about them. In that way, college-age students are set up for failure; they’re independent for the first time, trying to fit in socially and are surrounded by an environment of alcohol.
While students have the training, support from the school and legal consequences, they aren’t at fault for trying to explore their limits or mirroring the drinking habits of those around them.
CONTACT Caroline McKeown at mckeowcf@dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
Most career options for students with a nursing degree require applicants to have a certain number of clinical hours.
Along with jobs, having many hours is helpful when applying to graduate programs. Medical school applicants try to gain as many hours as possible, making their applications more likely to be reviewed and accepted.
“At 6:15 [a.m.], we start our morning planning, and then we start on the floor, technically, at 7 [a.m.],” Priftis said. “In the hour before, we basically look at our assignments, our preceptor tells us who our nurse is, who our patients are and we do something called the morning minutes, [where] we have this little worksheet that we fill out on one of our patients by breaking down their diagnosis.”
The extra hour spent in hospitals is beneficial, as it’s crucial to set up for the day and know about the patients students
encounter. Students aren’t particularly bothered by this, but more so how these hours aren’t technically clinical hours and can’t be logged as such.
Nursing clinicals are crucial in preparing undergraduate students for future employment, but all hours spent in the hospital should be counted. Whether you’re trying to apply for a job or trying to get into medical school, these hours add up in the end, and an hour or two more could make students stand out against other applicants, making every hour count in their future.
CONTACT Emma Flynn at flynn3en@dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
KATIE RUNKLE Breeze columnist
Most college students think the options are dating to marry or not dating at all. This leads to a large population remaining perpetually in what’s known as “hook-up culture.”
So what about the art of dating? Yes, you read that right. I said art. Watch “Sex and the City’’; those four women go on more dates in one single episode than most do in their lives, but there’s something glamorous about it — something important. After every Friday night full of suitors, the ladies come together for breakfast. The conversations always start about the person they went out with, but it always — sometimes swiftly and sometimes slowly — comes around to discussing what they truly want, who they are and how these things either reconcile or don’t.
So my hypothesis is this: With each date, you learn more about yourself, you learn more about what you want — or very much don’t want — and you exercise interpersonal skills valuable to relationship building, networking, interviewing and even just feeling more equipped at that friend of a friend’s birthday party you’ve been dragged along to on a Saturday night.
To put yourself in front of someone else, to read them, to explore the contours of who they are and to let them do the same to you, is where we discover the beauty — or lack thereof — in humanity. A date can function as a different type of mirror.
That being said, there are two big snags … But maybe for the first one, “hook up” is the more apt name.
Most college students aren’t looking for a long-term relationship in the first place. We live in a gluttonous world of having people when we want them, how we want them and then discarding them. We may be reforming our single-use plastic goods, but with it seems the increase of single-use human interactions. We skirt sacrifice and commitment; I’m the first to admit guilt here. But even for those few romantics left on college campuses, they probably aren’t going around asking their desired partner on a proper date. That’s something you do after you’re “officially dating,” right? Why expend the resources?
The cost-benefit analysis in the average college student’s mind probably goes something like, “There’s the chance it’ll go well, but there’s a bigger chance it won’t go well. Then I’ll be out of the $40-ish I spent on the date, and the hour or two I spent with them.”
I actually had a conversation with an unnamed sophomore male, who said to me, “I’ve never thought about asking a girl on a date if we weren’t already in a relationship. Wow.” I said, “Wow,” right back to him.
My rebuttal to this circles back to the above sections. Wasn’t there something to be gained on the bad date as well? At least a few brush strokes are added to the portrait of what you don’t want? The opportunity to engage with another human being? Grow your conversational skills? At the very least, a story for your friends?
So these people, either unwilling to spend the resources or oblivious to the option, check their toolbox for how to capture the heart of their beloved. The options they wield are as follows: mutual friend recommendations, happening upon them at the same party, inviting them over for a movie, texting them inane, bland messages, and maybe even offering Kline’s ice cream and sitting in the front seat of a car. Separate checks, obviously.
I’m not sure what reality would allow a longterm, serious, fruitful relationship that begins this way, which leads to the next hitch. Maybe it doesn’t need to. This feels revolutionary; maybe dating in the short-term casual way is the way to date in this phase of life. “Dating to marry” when we live in a college bubble that accounts for 5% of our lives — and almost 100% of our bad decisions — feels like a cruel trick of nature.
I overheard someone — another sophomore male — at a social event say to his friends, “I’m not going to meet my wife at this mixer, am I?” He looked so defeated. But that’s the truth of it — you probably won’t meet your spouse in a backyard with red solo
cups and cheap string lights strewn about, and that’s probably a good thing.
Krystal Laryea, University of Memphis associate professor of sociology and Notre Dame Research fellow, chose to stay single in her undergraduate years at N.C. State and only casually dated in her first two years in the workforce. She met her husband around the time she began her Ph.D. at Stanford.
“I would’ve chosen someone really different in college,” Laryea said. “By waiting, I was really thankful for the way that my path turned out, in terms of finding someone who has been a really good fit for me and who has emphasized parts of me — particularly my vocational potential and calling — that I think most people wouldn’t have noticed.”
We change so much as individuals. It’s unlikely the person you meet at 20 encapsulates all that you’ll want for yourself or your life at 30. But that shouldn’t be a reason to not date. The third space is open and ready for you!
Laryea’s “dating model” is as follows: “I went on dates in college, I didn’t date anyone seriously in college, I focused on friendship.” I urge you to consider this when you think the options are simply “I do” or not to do it at all.
CONTACT Katie Runkle at runklekr@dukes.jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @ TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
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(11/7/2024): A previous version of the “What you missed: City Council and HCPS wins, local election reactions” article in print contained an incorrect subheading naming the Rockingham County School Board when the article was referring to the Harrisonburg City School Board.
(11/8/2024) : A previous version of the “JMU in ‘master plan’ stage of Bridgeforth Stadium expansion” article online contained a misquote of AD Matt Roan saying King’s “finger prints” were all over the plan when he was referring to campus as a whole.
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For Sale - White Chair Covers
150 White (polyester) Chair Covers for Sale for folding chairs will cover 2” cushions. Used once/washed. Good condition. Call (540) 433-9859. Please leave a message with name and phone #.https://www.songsforvalley.org/
The Breeze, JMU’s award-winning student media organization, seeks a student graphic designer for print and online advertising. Job requirements include creating ads fro clients, collaboration with Advertising coordinator, page layout and design. Must be deadline oriented. Knowledge of Adobe software and previous design experience. EOE. Apply at jobs.jmu.edu
Skye Peterson - ALL THE DIFFERENCE TOUR with Graham Jones
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Josh Garrels in Concert with Taylor Leonardt 7 PM Friday November 15 - Harrisonburg https://www.songsforvalley.org/
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Start gaining experience in your desired career field or simply earn some extra cash for the school year!
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Fear Forest of Harrisonburg is currently seeking a SFX makeup artist. Pay is $50 per night. Negotiable rate based on experience. Airbrush equipment and makeup is supplied. Interested candidates must be able to provide pictures or portfolios to showcase skill. Please email info@fearforest.net for additional information.
Employment OpportunityCommunity Paramedic
The City of Harrisonburg Fire Department is seeking to fill full-time and/or part-time Community Paramedic positions. If you’re searching for a way to utilize your paramedic, healthcare clinician, or pre-hospital experience directly in the local community working with vulnerable populations, consider applying today! Find out more/apply online: https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/ employment. EOE.
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Join the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC) as the Software Portfolio Specialist (IT) and play a vital role in supporting the systems that help the HRECC team bridge distress to safety, supporting the link between our community and the emergency services they rely on. For More Information: https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/ employment. EOE.
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CommonWealth One is JMU’s trusted, full-service credit union, and student banking is better here. We’re conveniently located on campus and offer everything you might need financially as a student. What we don’t have? Excessive and unnecessary fees.
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