About two years after three JMU students died in a car crash, the Henrico County Circuit Court received three civil lawsuits against the fraternity Pi Beta Chi (PBX), its founder, and 28 of its current and former brothers are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars each in damages.
By K. MAUSER
The Breeze
Just short of two years after three JMU students died in a fatal car wreck, the Henrico County Circuit Court received three civil lawsuits against the fraternity Pi Beta Chi (PBX), its owner and 28 of its current and former brothers — seeking hundreds of millions of dollars each in damages.
John Fergusson, Jessica Troutman and Howard Mardis — parents of the late PBX members John “Luke” Fergusson and Nicholas Troutman, as well as rushee Joshua Mardis — filed the wrongful death lawsuit, alleging the fraternity and its affiliates participated in dangerous hazing practices that ultimately resulted in the students’ deaths.
The Breeze obtained a copy of each plaintiff’s civil lawsuit. Here’s the breakdown:
In 2014, former JMU student and Delta Chi President John C. Marshall began creating the first-ever PBX chapter — also known as the Cross Keys Society — in Harrisonburg, according to the lawsuits, just three years after the JMU Delta Chi fraternity lost its recognition due to hazing. The new fraternity, PBX, was formally established in January 2016.
“In 2013, the named organization lost recognition with the university as a result of founded allegations of hazing,” university Spokesperson Mary-Hope Vass said, adding that JMU will not provide further comment on matters involving pending litigation.
Although PBX wasn’t affiliated with Delta Chi, the lawsuit said it included the same members as the recently unrecognized Delta Chi, even writing in the caption of a 2015 Instagram post, “Ain’t sh*t change [except] the address.” The post, mentioned in the lawsuits, was since deleted.
Delta Chi’s participation in “dangerous and illegal activities” and “severe hazing” before its eventual split from JMU — including forced calisthenics and underage consumption of alcohol, according to an investigation initiated by JMU and cited in the lawsuit — has continued “and escalated” with the establishment of PBX, Fergusson’s lawsuit said, specifically through its “dangerous” alcoholand drug-fueled traditions and misconduct.
Through establishing PBX as a fraternity deliberately free from JMU’s oversight, Troutman’s lawsuit claims, members were able to operate “underground” and therefore not be subject to any legal and university regulations, such as those that pertain to student safety.
“[B]y Defendant Marshall’s design, the Fraternity has … been able to engage in those dangerous traditions and activities without university oversight, reasonable restraint, or consequence,” Fergusson’s lawsuit reads.
Marshall was also able to profit off PBX members, too, for many years to come by creating PBX Property Management, LLC just nine months after formally establishing the fraternity, according to Troutman’s lawsuit.
Members of PBX who were also living in the fraternity’s house would pay rent to PBX Property Management,
which Troutman’s lawsuit said Marshall used as a “vehicle to promote and perpetuate the Fraternity” while also generating revenue from the JMU chapter and its members.
According to the lawsuits, Marshall’s alleged negligent and reckless acts contributed to the damages members of the fraternity suffered — specifically, through the deaths of Luke, Nicholas and Joshua on Feb. 2, 2023.
PBX members, rushee die in fatal crash
At its Feb. 2, 2023 rush event, PBX fraternity brothers required rushees to “be ready with the cars outside” at 8 p.m. to drive brothers and new members to and from Paradise City Strip Club in Hardy County, W.Va. per annual tradition, Mardis’ lawsuit read, with the promise that at least 12 designated drivers would safely drive each member and rushee home.
At least 11 of these drivers — former and current JMU students Logan Leigh-Manuel, Matthew Faircloth, Luke Michaels, Xavier Jankowski, Brady Johnson, Patrick Burhop, Jacob Maust, Marc Macomson, Cole Farmer, Chase Robinson and Josh Hess — made it to and from Harrisonburg safely. Each of these members are named as liable in all three lawsuits.
Designated driver and JMU student Campbell Fortune — the last to leave the strip club — accelerated into a tree at 95 miles per hour, killing Luke, Nicholas and Joshua. Fortune and fellow student Baird Weisleder, a passenger in the car, were both injured. Although Fortune isn’t named in the lawsuit, he is currently facing criminal charges.
According to Fergusson’s lawsuit, emergency responders and law enforcement found a whippet charger and dispenser — a type of inhalant drug made from nitrous oxide — on the driver’s seat floorboard as well as a whippet charger “in an otherwise empty box of 50 chargers on the driver’s side of the dashboard.” There were also approximately 15 canisters of whippets recovered from in and around the club’s parking lot.
“[B]y Defendant Marshall’s design, the Fraternity has … been able to engage in those dangerous traditions and activities without university oversight, reasonable restraint, or consequence.”
Lawsuit filed by John Fergusson
The families are suing PBX, Marshall and 28 fraternity members for wrongful-death negligence — each lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages — and are suing only PBX for violating the Virginia Consumer Protection Act in misrepresenting the fraternity’s standards and quality, especially when recruiting new members.
Howard is also suing 28 fraternity members and PBX for negligence through a civil claim for hazing — seeking another $150 million collectively — and is suing just the 28 fraternity members for civil conspiracy, seeking a final $150 million collectively.
“The fraternity’s credo, ‘[the] relentless and unwavering pursuit of Freedom — the right to act, speak, think, and organize as one wants without hindrance or restraint from tyranny,’ reflected Marshall’s and PBX’s values against subjugating the fraternity, its members and their traditions to outside review,” Fergusson’s lawsuit read, “including the legal and university regulations enacted to keep JMU students safe from foreseeable fraternity misconduct that has hurt and killed countless students and others in Virginia and across the country for decades.”
Eleanor Shaw contributed to this report.
CONTACT K. Mauser at breezenews@gmail.com. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
By ELEANOR SHAW
The Breeze
The final time Howard Mardis spoke to his son, Joshua Mardis, was during a phone call in which the freshman excitedly told his father he would be inducted into the Pi Beta Chi (PBX) Alpha Chapter of the Harrisonburg fraternity. Hours later, Joshua died in a car wreck alongside fraternity brothers and sophomores John “Luke” Fergusson and Nicholas Troutman.
The students were 19 and 20 years old.
Now, two years after the Feb. 2, 2023 incident, the dead students’ family members — including Howard Mardis, John Fergusson and Jessica Troutman — have filed three civil lawsuits against PBX, associated organizations, leadership and members.
The wrongful-death lawsuits seek hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for each student’s death.
Court filings in the lawsuits give the most detailed account of the night the JMU students died. The lawsuits paint a picture of an alcoholand drug-fueled recruitment event at a strip club that ended when the student trio’s car slammed head-on into a tree at over 90 miles per hour.
The lead-up to the crash
JMU has never recognized PBX as a fraternity.
PBX was formed in 2013 by former brothers of fraternity Delta Chi, which became disaffiliated with the university due to hazing incidents. The lawsuits allege former JMU student and Delta Chi President John C. Marshall formed the Cross Keys Society, otherwise known as PBX. Marshall still leads PBX, according to the lawsuits.
Assistant Vice President of Communications and University Spokesperson Mary-Hope Vass wrote in an emailed statement to The Breeze that JMU doesn’t plan to recognize PBX in the foreseeable future. Because PBX is unaffiliated, it doesn't need to adhere to JMU’s anti-hazing regulations enforced by the Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices (OSARP).
The lawsuits allege PBX concludes each rush season with a trip to an 18+, bring-your-ownalcohol strip club in West Virginia — Paradise City Gentleman’s Club. At the night’s end, PBX brothers would decide which rushees it would offer bids to. In spring 2023, this trip took place Thursday, Feb. 2.
According to the suit filed by Mardis’ family, Joshua Mardis was only told to “report to the Fraternity’s house … at a specific time in a sports coat and tie and with identification.”
Joshua believed the invitation meant he “would be getting a bid to pledge and join the Fraternity,” according to the lawsuit, adding that Joshua “had reason to believe that the JMU Standards of Conduct & Policies would be adhered to.”
During a phone call with his father, Joshua confirmed he had enough money to purchase the formal attire the fraternity told rushees to wear. Around the same time, PBX brothers were allegedly doing their own shopping.
The fraternity brothers bought one handle of alcohol — 1.75 liters worth — per rushee, paid for by PBX’s spring semester dues, which were sent to a Venmo account named “JMU Club Laser Tag,” according to the lawsuits. Other purchases detailed in the lawsuits include drugs such as marijuana and “whippets” — an inhalant form of nitrous oxide.
GroupMe messages sent in PBX’s group chat and cited in the lawsuits allege the fraternity planned to begin transporting its members to Paradise City shortly before 8 p.m. However, the
designated drivers struggled to find cars to use, delaying the original departure plan.
Not all drivers — who were initiated in fall 2022 and nicknamed “nibs,” short for “newly initiated brothers” — had access to a car that evening, according to the three lawsuits.
“Can I borrow someone’s car for [tonight]?” one message quoted in the three lawsuits reads. “The persons car I was going to originally drive isn’t going anymore.”
After this scramble was resolved, PBX members and rushees departed to West Virginia around 8:20 p.m., making the roughly 45-minute drive from the fraternity house on South Main Street to Paradise City.
Luke and Nicholas — both PBX members — weren't “nibs,” and therefore, weren’t designated drivers that evening. However, the lawsuits filed by their families allege when it was Luke and Nicholas’ turn to drive during a previous year’s event, they remained sober — something the lawsuits allege did not happen at the deadly event in 2023.
After the fraternity arrived at Paradise City, the lawsuits allege, several members — including some who were supposed to be designated drivers — began consuming the drugs and alcohol purchased earlier that day. Campbell Fortune, who drove Joshua, Luke and Nicholas, was specifically named in these allegations. Fortune, 19 at the time of the crash, faces criminal charges in West Virginia for his role in the wreck. He has pleaded not guilty.
The families’ lawsuits allege Fortune was seen smoking marijuana and inhaling whippets by multiple other attendees throughout the evening. However, in a July 3 article published by CBS 6, Fortune’s attorney said a toxicology screening performed at the hospital was negative. The test was reportedly conducted after “deputies learned toxicology testing was not performed on [Fortune]” at the scene of the crash, the article said.
The Mardis lawsuit alleges that PBX brothers proceeded to “compel, coerce, force, and pressure Josh and the other rushees to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol” using the handles purchased earlier that day.
That lawsuit says Joshua “was rendered unconscious and had to be carried out” of Paradise City due to alcohol overconsumption. Fraternity members “mocked him and his condition with demeaning and racist slurs in their GroupMe chat.” These alleged messages say PBX had no intention of giving Joshua a bid because he passed out.
Joshua, still unconscious, was carried into Fortune’s vehicle and left unbuckled in the back seat as he was driven away alongside Luke, Nicholas and fellow student Baird Weisleder — the crash’s only other survivor besides Fortune. The lawsuit filed by John Fergusson alleges Luke and the four other passengers were the last to leave Paradise City and noted the car traveled through “a remote area with no cell service.” No approximate departure time was given in any of the three lawsuits.
“Minutes into the drive,” the lawsuits read, “the car, traveling at 83 miles per hour, crossed the center line, accelerated to 95 miles per hour, plowed through a fence, and slammed into a tree less than a half mile from the Virginia border.”
The car crashed in Hardy County, W.Va. Joshua, Luke and Nicholas were “trapped,” according to the lawsuits, and died in the wreckage.
The Mardis lawsuit alleges Joshua’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was 278 mg/dL at the time of his autopsy — landing him in the second-to-most severe BAC category, according to the European Journal of Internal Medicine.
Fallout of students’ deaths
According to a press release from the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department, two deputies discovered the wreckage around 10:30 p.m.
“The road condition at the time was dry and atmospheric conditions clear,” a Hardy County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to WKTR published June 5. “[There] were no signs of skid or yaw marks noted on the roadway surface indicating any type of evasive actions and no indications of an animal being struck.”
The vehicle’s contents, according to the Mardis lawsuit, were as follows: “open containers of alcohol at the crash site, a punctured and empty whippet charger in a whippet dispenser on the driver’s seat floorboard, another whippet charger next to it, and a whippet charger in an otherwise empty box of 50 chargers on the driver’s side of the dashboard.”
These allegations are consistent with information CBS 6 gathered from the Hardy County Sheriff’s Department. While the lawsuits filed on Luke and Nicholas’ behalf are consistent with descriptions of whippet-related paraphernalia in the car, there's no mention of alcohol containers.
At Paradise City, “nearly 30 canisters of whippets” were removed from the parking lot, according to the Mardis lawsuit. However, the two other lawsuits allege “Approximately 15 canisters of whippets” were found in Paradise City’s parking lot — not 30.
The Hardy County Sheriff’s office offered no comment at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
In the aftermath of the crash, the civil lawsuits allege, PBX members tried to prevent information about the wreck from being made public. According to the lawsuits, one PBX member encouraged brothers to “seek an agreement with [the driver, Fortune] where you won’t testify against him if he won’t testify against you” via GroupMe, in case Fortune’s criminal case evolved into a civil one — which it has.
The Mardis lawsuit reads: “While PBX and its members have been conspiring to bury the truth about the causes, circumstances, and their roles in the crash and Josh’s death, they have continued to operate, recruit, and grow their fraternity with students from JMU, apparently undeterred by the death of Josh, two fraternity members who were passengers in the car, and the permanent harm, grief, and damage they caused.”
K. Mauser contributed to this report.
CONTACT Eleanor Shaw at breezeeditor@ gmail.com. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
By EMMA NOTARNICOLA The Breeze
TikTok was banned and unbanned from Jan. 18 to 19, leaving many users — and Dukes — curious about the future of TikTok and national security, as well as the future of their right to free speech.
According to The New York Times, after the passage of a bipartisan bill titled “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” and the Supreme Court’s ruling in TikTok Inc. v. Garland, TikTok shut down its servers in the United States until President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90 day negotiation period. These events caused a whirlwind of conversations regarding freedom of speech and the power of the media.
Media Arts & Design Professor Roger Soenksen said Congress passed this bill because it viewed TikTok as a “risk to national security.”
“Congress has done an analysis, and there’s always competing values, there’s freedom of speech, there’s national security,” Soenksen said.
According to Ohio University, the brief TikTok ban also raised many discussions of what this means for the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech. Soenksen said the government occasionally has to decide between national security and First Amendment rights. In this instance, Congress and the Supreme Court prioritized protecting national security.
“The Supreme Court looked at the bill passed and said that it’s constitutional,” Soenksen said. “The national security issues were real.”
According to CBS, Congress viewed the potential of leaks of Americans’ information to China through TikTok as a significant risk to national security to ban the app.
“This government [foreign advisory] might get access to all that particular data and put us in a vulnerable position,” Soenksen said, adding that countries could use this information to “manipulate” users.
This is less of an issue of Freedom of Speech, Soenksen said, and rather an “ownership issue” of who owns TikTok and thus who has access to the user data it collects. He said Congress and the Supreme Court mandated TikTok could be in the United States under a different owner.
“The court says that we can force them [TikTok’s owners] to sell it because we’re not saying it can’t be here,” Soenksen said — so the matter is mainly about who owns TikTok rather than limiting voices.
However, many Dukes consider the TikTok ban to be a violation of their rights, including sophomore finance major Aarav Shah, who said TikTok enables everybody around the world — “or especially in the USA” — to unite and connect, adding, “I think by violating that [by banning the app] it’s a big thing.”
reactions
Some students were skeptical of whether TikTok actually imposed a risk to national security.
Freshman Gianna Janiga said she thinks “using any social media app is kind of a risk,” adding that the information leaks may affect the United States, but she doesn’t think they would affect her personally on a significant level.
Students such as freshman Jack Friedman have also been questioning the ban’s validity, drawing attention to how fast the app returned after its servers went down and how this seems planned.
“I think it’s kind of a bad thing that [TikTok] came back so quickly and they were like, ‘Oh, Trump fixed it,’” Friedman said. “Did he, though?”
Soenksen said Trump’s authority to unban TikTok is a “gray area.”
“The legislation says the president can extend the lifespan of TikTok in the United States by 90 days if an agreement is within reason,” Soenksen said, adding that there won’t be anyone who would claim Trump is incorrectly interpreting the law due to the majorityRepublican Congress.
Janiga said she thinks the ban and un-ban were an “elaborate scheme” on Trump’s part.
“I think a lot of people didn’t like him,” Janiga said, “so he’s trying to get people on his side.”
Although TikTok has returned to the U.S., the future of the app is unknown.
Soenksen said TikTok has two main options regarding its presence in the U.S. going forward: sell to a new company, or keep the app and lose the United States base. He added that if students want to see a change in the law, they should go to the polls as well as vote in the midterm and presidential elections to show representatives they care about this issue.
Some students, such as Janiga, have already made the transition to new short-form video apps such as Instagram after already deleting TikTok.
“I transitioned over to Instagram, and it’s basically the same thing,” Janiga said.
Shah said, “TikTok was overall the number-one platform; there’s really nothing you can go to now.”
Other students take a more neutral ground, like freshman Peyton Denkers, who said TikTok and Instagram were
“basically the same thing.”
“We’re in a little bit of technological chaos,” Soenksen said. “It’s only going to be more interesting as time goes on.”
Although the TikTok banning has caused an uproar among users and U.S. citizens, some students like Shah don’t see it as a major problem.
“In a way, it’s good,” said Shah. “I’m not on TikTok [as] much, and I have more time for things.”
Others looked more at the bigger picture, such as Denkers, who said there are “bigger issues to be concerned about” presently.
“It’s just an app,” Janiga said. “We need to stray away from being on social media all the time, and maybe this is a push in the right direction.”
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.
By EDISON VRANIAN The Breeze
Following the spring semester’s start, the pizzeria formerly known as Oath — rebranded to Heirloom Pizza — held its grand opening Thursday.
At the event, students had the opportunity to spin a wheel for a small prize, sample different pizza flavors and vote on their favorite for the restaurant’s debut limitedtime pizza offer, have a chance to win a prize pizza blanket and enjoy lunch.
“After learning that Oath Pizza, a fast-casual pizza chain, had suddenly closed its business, JMU Dining acted promptly to find an alternative,” JMU Dining Director of Student Engagement Jenna Gray wrote in an emailed statement to The Breeze.
According to Restaurant Business, the pizza chain filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after struggling with declining sales, making a profit, and having legal disputes between investors and potential customers.
Due to the bankruptcy, JMU Dining needed to find an alternative, Gray wrote.
“Like Oath, we wanted to feature fresh ingredients, while enhancing the options and overall dining experience,” she wrote. “Creating a JMU Dining pizza concept allows us the flexibility to dive into new and unexpected flavors. Unique combinations, like our new BBQ Chicken Pizza, excite taste buds in new ways.”
Gray wrote Heirloom Pizza uses a “new and improved pizza dough,” and added that JMU Dining tested several options and decided on a thicker crust compared to the original Oath option. However, she believes the toppings will bring the flavor to the pizza.
Freshman Lily Evans is from the Empire State, and after trying Heirloom Pizza, she rated the pizza a seven out of 10.
“I’m from New York, so personally New York pizza is better than Virginia,” Evans said, “but it’s good for Virginia pizza.”
At the event, there were opportunities for the attendees to sample three pizza flavors: pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, chicken alfredo and veggie. The participants voted for which of the three was their favorite. The flavor with the most votes will be added to the first limited-time edition menu during
different new options. So I think it is something that could bring more students here.”
Evans tasted the samples and said her favorite was the chicken alfredo because of its uniqueness.
Gray direct messaged The Breeze on Instagram and said the pesto and dried tomato pizza won the vote.
In addition to some of the other menu changes like the limited-edition pizza, the Bella Pizza is returning to the menu by popular demand and is here to stay, becoming a staple for Heirloom Pizza.
“We Heard You!” Gray wrote. “Back by popular demand, the Bella Pizza has returned. It’s now a staple on the Heirloom menu.”
According to JMU Campus Dish, Heirloom Pizza is open on the second floor of Dukes Dining from Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For a Duke Deal, Gray wrote that students can purchase a cheese, pepperoni or sausage pizza. A customer can choose a whole or a half pizza pie with a side of Greek or Caesar salad. Both Duke Deals come with a 22-ounce fountain drink.
Evans said she thinks Oath Pizza and Heirloom Pizza don’t
“I feel like the vibe is better, it looks nicer, the aesthetic looks really nice and I’m excited to try all the options
For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, TheBreezeJMU and on
By MEGAN CULLINS contributing writer
Harrisonburg is facing a housing crisis due to the local housing market lacking availability and affordability, said Michael Wong, executive director of the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
Student housing makes up a large part of the Harrisonburg housing market, since 68% of students attending JMU — Harrisonburg’s largest college — live off campus, according to data sourced from U.S. News.
Because of the large student population, Wong said housing being developed in Harrisonburg throughout the past couple of years has been tailored to this market.
Many units are defined as student-only housing by the layout of a unit, Wong said, since students are more likely to rent houses and apartments with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms which tend to be smaller and designed for roommates to live in the unit together.
Not all units built to be student-only housing remain student-only housing, and vice versa, Harrisonburg City Housing Coordinator Liz Webb said. She also said there’s a clear demographic living in each housing complex around the city.
A 2021 housing study showed that due to a lack of houses available, Harrisonburg families were buying below their income level.
Cost for both renters and homeowners has been on a steady incline for the past decade, raising affordability concerns, Wong said.
“In many cases, owners are having to raise their rents in order to keep up with the cost of operating the asset when it comes to real estate taxes, insurance, and other operating expenses,” Matchbox Real Estate Development Manager Weston Bayes wrote in an emailed statement to The Breeze. “In the City of Harrisonburg, the real estate tax rate has increased from $.86 per $100 assessed value in 2020 to now $1.01 per $100 assessed value.”
Bayes wrote that many of Matchbox’s properties have experienced a 40 to 50% increase in real estate taxes since 2020. This increase in interest is also a problem when it comes to building property on land people already owned, Webb said, since higher prices mean it will take longer for the owner to make a profit — especially if the unit is a rental.
The eventual profits of building new units aren’t seen to be worth the immediate debt, Webb added.
In a city’s housing market, Webb said a typical healthy rate of housing availability is about 5%, but in Harrisonburg, the availability rate is about two to 3%.
There are approximately 20,000 housing units, and about one-third of those units are detached single-family homes, Webb said.
Organizations in Harrisonburg that help people find housing, such as The Harrisonburg Redistribution and Housing Authority, are also affected. Wong said this organization helps people who make less than half of the average median income find a place to live, Wong said,
and added the increase in rental prices has affected this organization’s ability to maintain units. In fact, Wong said the authority has seen almost a 10% increase in rental prices with some of the properties it works with.
“Due to those increases in rental prices, it reduces the number of families that we could serve because we pay more for housing assistance,” Wong said. “We had to close the waitlist.”
Wong said this increase in interest rates and overall cost is a trend likely to continue.
Ultimately, Harrisonburg’s goal is “to make sure that anyone who wants to live here finds a place that is safe, that they can afford, and gives access to all the things we need to thrive,” Webb said.
CONTACT Megan Cullins at cullinmx@dukes. jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @ BreezeJMU.
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Abby Camp & Sixuan Wu
By ASHLEE THOMPSON The Breeze
Whenever something in life is hard to do, we often compare it to “rocket science” — a seemingly foreign and difficult concept to comprehend for the average human.
But for these eight engineering students, rocket science has become their entire life.
JMU was one of 71 schools chosen to compete in the 2025 NASA Student Launch Challenge, a nine-month-long competition encouraging students to focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to build a successful, high-powered rocket — mimicking the process of how NASA constructs its rockets. The final launch will be in May at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Up against aerospace engineering programs like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Notre Dame, the JMU Rocketry Team is excited for the competition ahead. Senior engineering majors Lily Debruycker, Katelyn Marshall, Grant Whitlow, Matthew Smith, Thomas Vancil, Owen Bailey, Josiah Walker and Ethan Specht comprise this year’s team. These students chose this specific program for their engineering capstone graduation requirement and for the unique learning experience of building a rocket — one they call Project VULCAN I.
The team just finished building and testlaunching its subscale rocket, a demo twothirds the size of its full-scale rocket that will be completed in less than two months. Building a subscale rocket is important to the project so engineers can test design functionality before the final launch, payload lead Walker said.
Payload refers to the load the rocket is carrying, such as valuable spacecraft, people and equipment, including satellites and astronauts. As payload lead, Walker guides the team in the design, development, construction and documentation of the payload, ensuring it meets NASA’s requirements.
The rockets are built on campus in the Engineering Geosciences Building and are test-launched in Monterey, Virginia — a town roughly 60 miles west of Harrisonburg.
As project manager, Marshall leads the team through the design, manufacturing and technical writing process, including tracking work hours for the team. At this point, the challenge is only halfway complete, but the eight-person team has racked up 1,400 team hours working on the rocket and reports. Some teams competing in the challenge have upwards of 50 people on their rocket-building crew, making this initially seem “daunting” for the JMU Rocketry Team, Marshall said.
“As difficult as it is, when you have a team as dedicated as ours, it gets a little bit easier,” Marshall said of having a smaller team. “We
did a lot of work on this over winter break and no one let off the gas for that. It works for us specifically.”
To be accepted into the challenge, teams must first create a detailed proposal that outlines their rocket construction plan as well as demonstrate their capability to take on the intensive task.
Much to the JMU team’s surprise, after submitting its proposal back in August, they received an email from John Eckhart, the NASA Student Launch Technical Coordinator.
“I rarely comment on proposals,” Eckhart wrote. “But seeing how much work you put into that section … that is one of the better vehicle sections I have seen in years.”
With this huge confidence boost for the team, it continued to its next phases: the preliminary design review (PDR) and, the stage they’re currently on, the critical design review (CDR). The PDR is a report that proves the team can do what it promised in its proposal. In the CDR, they must conduct a successful subscale flight.
An interesting part of the competition is that each team gets to call its own shots — literally.
JMU Rocketry’s final goal is to construct a rocket that launches 4,300 feet into the air, and it’s graded by NASA on how close it is to that self-set goal. When the team tested its subscale rocket in December, it launched 2,000 feet into the air. This rocket was created
with a similar shape and drag as what the full-scale rocket will be in order to have the best and most accurate estimates, said Bailey, the structural sub-team lead.
The subscale launch goal was 2,195 feet, meaning the team was off by a few hundred feet, but this hasn’t lowered anyone’s spirits.
“The construction techniques were modeled well in software and for launch day conditions,” said Whitlow, the team lead. “The actual results proved that those theoretical models were good, so that gives us confidence for the full-scale launch.”
Each year of the competition, NASA gives teams a payload challenge to center the project around. This year’s payload mission takes inspiration from NASA’s Artemis mission, which seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon next year, according to NASA’s website. Teams will collect data meant to predict human survivability on their rockets.
To do this, the JMU Rocketry Team has LEGO figurines representing real astronauts — or STEMnauts, as NASA calls them. The LEGOs are placed in a space capsule to monitor forces, temperatures and pressures that the STEMnauts are exposed to during the flight, Walker said.
By ISABEL LEWIS
The Breeze
While sitting in the colorful Clementine Cafe crowned by its warmly lit stage, one immediately understands why its motto is “Food. Music. Art.”
The menu has an array of options, and the dishes that traverse the hands of servers are beautifully presented.
The walls are decked with an explosion of bright yellow, red and teal, complemented by an entire gallery wall of art. Above the bar, three-dimensional art pieces are displayed, and beside the bar, there hang realistic paintings depicting farm animals and nature scenes.
In addition to this feast of food and colors, your ears also savor a live band playing — sometimes rock, sometimes jazz and sometimes even trivia. Couples gather side by side, swaying to the music.
Julian Carta (’09), a former Breeze columnist, plays for the cover band Stiff Peaks, which performed at Clementine on Friday.
“It’s a beautiful space. I think Harrisonburg is really lucky to have this place,” Carta said.
Clementine works with JMU Jazz — a club that performs at the restaurant on Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. Additionally, the cafe hosts weekly karaoke and trivia nights, alongside occasional concerts. It’s expecting two concerts in February — on the 21st and 28th.
Executive Chef and General Manager Matt Clancey said the idea to have a space that supported local music and art was a part of the original owner’s, Clay Clark’s, vision. Clark died in 2019, and ownership passed onto his wife, Margaret, who upholds his original aspirations for the restaurant.
When Clementine hosts a musician, the cover charge goes entirely to them. This rule came from Clark’s vision of Clementine as a method to support musicians, and it has remained this way ever since.
“It’s a place where you can come and feel comfortable,” Clancey said.
The venue has hosted hundreds of concerts and some artists over the years, front-of-house Manager Kearstin Kimm said.
“If you go downstairs in the back hallway, you’ll see a bunch of music posters on the wall,” Kimm said. “Those are all shows that have been held here since 2008, and then there’s a bunch that were painted over as well.”
Some artists who have played at Clementine have moved on to be locally famous or beloved, including Lucy Dacus, Lake Street Dive, Dan Layus from Augustana and James McMurtry.
Alongside the countless concerts offered at Clementine, the menu offers a diverse range of food. From Duck Ramen to Scallops Provençal, the restaurant delivers notes of French and Asian influences, alongside others.
This isn’t unusual in Harrisonburg, as many neighboring eateries downtown have offered a similarly diverse palate. Mashita, Magpie and Golden Pony are just a few restaurants that have followed suit.
“When I first started working here, there was definitely more of a Southern influence, and some different Asian influences,” Clancey said. Clancey’s training is in classical French and fine dining, and he still uses some of those techniques on the dishes at Clementine.
“It’s the staff here that makes Clementine work. It’s always been the key,” Clancey said — a sentiment both Kimm and Carta echoed.
Clementine Cafe has a vibe specific to downtown Harrisonburg — a venue for the town’s rich music and rock scene, a functioning gallery and a culinary location.
“We have a really good work culture, it has all of the perks of a small business and all the benefits of a chain,” Kimm 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.
from ROCKET, page 10
Once the payload lands, the survivability will be relayed via 2-meter radio back to NASA — just like its engineers do.
The team plans to paint the LEGO figurines as mini Dukes to keep the school spirit with them when they travel to Alabama for the final launch in the spring. They also want to paint their final 10-foot tall rocket mainly white with the nose cone being the iconic JMU purple. Debruycker, the outreach head, said the light color would help keep the rocket as cooled down as possible, leading to a better and safer launch.
The competition has plenty of categories that teams will be scored in, including awards in
safety, project review, altitude, social media and — the one the team wants most — the overall first place team.
Associate Professor of Engineering Stephen Woodruff is the team’s adviser, and he meets with the students weekly to help them stay within the guidelines of the project, offer assistance and help them determine their goals. This is Woodruff’s first time mentoring a capstone team since starting his job at JMU two years ago.
“The team has truly stepped up and taken control of this project in an admirable way,” Woodruff said. “For many of the students on the team, this project is their first experience working with rockets and following a strict
competition structure. I don’t think many of the students knew how involved this project would be, but they have all risen to the occasion and have put in their best efforts.”
Working on the project nonstop since the summer, JMU Rocketry has learned much about science, themselves and teamwork throughout the process.
“This project is so high stakes and high reward,” Whitlow said. “That was the appeal [of the program] to me. I’ve learned a lot.”
The team still has a few months of hard work ahead to construct a high-functioning fullscale rocket, but they’re all excited about the challenge and the honor of representing their school in front of NASA officials.
“The fact that we are coming from a relatively unknown school in engineering and aerospace and are competing against these schools, potentially doing well and being able to get a foot in the door,” Walker said. “If we do well, that’s recognition from NASA .”
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 JACKSON HEPHNER
The Breeze
It took 10 games for JMU men’s basketball (15-9, 8-4 Sun Belt) to finally put together a winning streak, one that only lasted two games. It took JMU six road games before it finally got a win during the seventh. The Dukes’ conference opener was also their worst loss of the season — a 77-49 defeat to South Alabama.
It suffices to say it’s been a bumpy road for the Dukes this year, but despite it all, they now sit fourth in the Sun Belt, with an identical 8-4 conference record to No. 2 South Alabama, No. 5 App State and No. 3 Troy.
While JMU’s rise in the rankings has been impressive, head coach Preston Spradlin maintained on Monday that his staff and players try not to focus too much on the standings throughout the season.
“We don’t want to run from the bigger picture things,” Spradlin said, “but at the same time, we don’t want to draw any more attention to them, either, and that’s a challenge of coaching this time of year and playing this time of year is just being very focused on today.”
But the bigger picture becomes clearer as the regular season enters its final month. Given the new tournament format as well, with every two seeds after the second receiving an extra bye, the Dukes are becoming consistent at the perfect time.
What’s made the difference these past two weeks?
Spradlin said it’s the Dukes’ confidence, which has come from a better understanding of the process.
“I think [the staff is] really understanding, ‘Hey, this is who we are offensively, and this is how we have to apply it to this particular team, and the processes, the kind of systems we have in place as a staff to get those guys prepared to do those things for each and every game,’” Spradlin said. “I think the guys are really selling out to that. It’s making sense to them.”
Spradlin also contributed to his players’ increase in understanding of his staff by simplifying their systems.
Conference play has also provided reference points for the Dukes, with some teams running similar schemes to JMU’s previous opponents.
The players themselves have changed part of their process, with Spradlin saying they’ve taken more of a “business approach.” As an example, he shared how a practice on the previous Tuesday had taken just an hour and 35 minutes when it usually took two hours before.
“That’s been encouraging to see,” he said, “because you do have to be efficient as you get down to the last month of the season. You can’t afford to be out there practicing for two hours, going over things over and over and over. Your film work has to be able to carry over to the court.”
The Dukes snapped Troy’s four-game win streak on Wednesday with a 64-61 victory.
“They can test you at the rim, they generate skills, they get a lot of offense off of their defense,” Spradlin said. “So that’s why I talk about how good they are defensively. And so we’ve got to do a good job in terms of how we attack and take care of the basketball.”
After that, the Dukes will head to Toledo (13-8, 7-2 MAC) for Round 2 of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The Rockets currently sit third in the conference standings.
Spradlin said the matchup was predicted by Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk when the two briefly interacted during the Broadwalk Battle in November. Kowalczyk ended the interaction with, “Well, I’ll see you in February.” Sure enough, the two coaches will meet again on Saturday at 2 p.m. CONTACT Jackson Hephner at hephnejt@dukes.jmu.edu. For more men’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
By MAEGHAN STOCKLI The Breeze
Redshirt senior center Kseniia Kozlova hasn’t been able to visit most of her family in Russia in half a decade due to COVID. But despite not having the support of her family in person, Kozlova built an All-Sun Belt career at JMU.
She took her first visit to Russia in five years last summer, which has motivated her even more.
“I think they were less worried than I was… They were positive all the time,” Kozlova said.
While Kozlova’s mom lives in Florida and can come to games, she saw her grandma, dad and aunt when she visited them in Russia. Kozlova discussed the many different reasons she had never been able to travel home in so long, including COVID, Visa risks and wanting to ensure she finishes her undergraduate degree.
“[It] was definitely mentally was so so hard but when I got home everything was the same,” Kozlova said.
While being away for so long, Kozlova and her family stay connected throughout the years no matter the distance between them.
“There is no possibility of constant visual, tactile and verbal contact,” her dad, Vadim Kozlov, said. “This can disrupt the emotional connection between people and mutual understanding. However, family ties overcome all these obstacles.”
After returning from a refreshing visit home, Kozlova started to think about what life would look like after JMU. She emphasized this was almost an eye-opening time for her to receive some closure after being away for so long.
“It’s funny because, on the other side, I’m super ready for my next step,” Kozlova said. “To go start my professional career and start my personal life.”
Kozlova has her sights set on playing professionally in Europe after her final year of collegiate basketball and has an agent to help her achieve this.
Kozlova transferred to JMU after spending one season at Middle Tennessee in 2020-21. She sat out her first season with JMU due to the NCAA’s transfer rules. Kozlova started the 2022-23 season coming off the bench but earned a starting spot and averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Last season, she finished with the second-most efficient season from the field in program history, shooting 129-for218 (59.2%).
During her time at JMU, Kozlova has accumulated 926 career points. This season, she earned a nod to the Preseason
Second Team All-Sun Belt. In a Jan. 2 win over Louisiana, Kozlova scored a season-high 24 points.
“I think she’s gotten better and better each year and expanded her game this summer,” head coach Sean O’Regan said.
Kozlova’s family has always known she’s a hard-working individual. Vadim Kozlov emphasizes the qualities in his daughter that he has always known.
“Since childhood, Ksyusha has possessed such qualities as persistence and hard work,” Vadim said. “This was evident in everything she did as a child — dancing, tennis, fencing, swimming, playing the flute, drawing, studying. Seeing her realize her dreams is natural for me. I didn’t expect anything else.”
When she decided to commit to Middle Tennessee, Kozlova knew she wouldn’t be able to see her family often, but once she transferred to JMU, she found a new family there.
O’Regan even said he’s had more meals with Kozlova than any other player.
He continues to hone in on the importance of creating that family environment for every player on the team. With Kozlova’s circumstances, it was even more of a priority for him.
Even though Kozlova has been one of JMU’s most consistent scorers and rebounders, her presence alone draws enough attention to open up the floor for the rest of the team.
“The amount of points she helped others get because of her presence … and I think she’s really understood that in this process,” O’Regan said.
This season, Kozlova has been able to mentor and find friendship with Slovakian freshman guard Laura Molnárová.
“[Kozlova] is a really, really nice person and one of the best players on the team,” Molnárová said. “I can learn a lot from her basketball-wise and study-wise too.”
Molnárová also talked about how Kozlova reached out to her once she had committed to JMU. They related to each other, as Molnárová said the pair understood what it was like joining a new environment and a completely different play style here in the States.
“She told me to be fearless and chase your dreams, overcome adversity,” Molnárová said. “She told me to always deal with the challenge and keep improving to be a better version of myself every day.”
CONTACT Maeghan Stockli at stocklma@dukes.jmu. edue For more women’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on X and Instagram @TheBreezeSports.
By SARABETH ELLIS The Breeze
JMU women’s basketball’s rigorous non-conference schedule was the topic of many conversations during the 2024-25 preseason, and even head coach Sean O’Regan joked that he should get his “head examined” after scheduling matchups against three top-10 teams.
Now 23 games into the season, the Dukes’ competitive non-conference schedule is paying off. JMU is undefeated (11-0) in the Sun Belt and riding an 11-game win streak — exactly why O’Regan crafted the schedule in the first place. He noted they frequently discuss their prior nonconference hurdles.
“We’ve referenced that a lot this year,” O’Regan said. “We’ve referenced the wars we have been in. I think we were more battle-tested than anybody else in our league and we call upon that.”
The Dukes are 19-4 overall with all their losses coming in non-conference play — No. 3 Notre Dame, Northern Arizona, No. 4 Texas and No. 14 NC State.
O’Regan said competing against those top-ranked teams has made the Dukes more dominant in the Sun Belt and served as useful experience when placed in challenging situations. He compared JMU’s fourth quarter comeback on Thursday against Coastal Carolina to its comeback against Villanova in December.
“It’s what you can revert back to when there are tough times, when you’re down in the fourth quarter, it’s like, ‘Hey, you did this at Villanova, you didn’t do this against such-and-such team,’” O’Regan said. “I think it can give you confidence that you have tried to guard Madison Booker from Texas. You have guarded Hannah Hidalgo from Notre Dame. You’ve seen that. You know that speed.”
see BASKETBALL, page 17
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from BASKETBALL, page 16
The Dukes placed first in the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll and are now a game ahead of second-placed Arkansas State at the No. 1 spot in the conference. JMU is the only undefeated team — men’s or women’s — left in the Sun Belt.
The Dukes have seven games remaining in conference play — taking on South Alabama, ODU and ULM once, and App State and Georgia State twice. App State is tied for third in the Sun Belt — the highest ranking out of the five teams the Dukes have remaining in the conference.
O’Regan said the Dukes’ wins and even the losses they faced in out-of-conference play helped them believe in themselves when battling conference foes.
“I think those successes and even those failures have given us more confidence now,” O’Regan said.
The Dukes defeated ODU 85-62 for the first time Feb. 1, as senior forward Ashanti Barnes led JMU with 24 points. Barnes has led the Dukes in points in three out of the last four games and was named Sun Belt Player of the Week on Feb. 4.
“If [Barnes] can continue to grow the way she is growing now, I just think we are really tough to beat with that aspect,” O’Regan said.
Two other JMU players have also earned Sun Belt Player of the Week — redshirt junior guard Peyton McDaniel three times and graduate guard Ro Scott once.
McDaniel is leading the Dukes in points, rebounds, free throw percentage, three-point percentage, steals and blocks.
O’Regan credits McDaniel’s recent success to her confidence and her relaxed on-court nature.
“What I love right now about Peyton is that there is an unconscious confidence,” O’Regan said. “There’s just an, ‘I’m just playing basketball. I am just taking it as it comes.’”
O’Regan believes the Dukes still have unfinished business but are on the right track for their quest to a second Sun Belt Conference Championship title.
“This is not the peak of our mountain here but we are progressing the way you’d want to,” O’Regan said.
CONTACT Sarabeth Ellis at ellis2sp@dukes.jmu.edu. For more women’s basketball 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 “proud-parent” pat to my little for getting all her homework done for the week.
From a big who is very excited to finally spend more time with her child.
A “slip-n-slide” dart to the hallways for being squeaky and slick.
From someone hoping not to do the splits on the way to the office, a.k.a. the toilet.
An “always-sleighing” pat to those who continue to keep our campus paths and streets clear of snow.
From someone who knows, even though the weather is picking up, it won’t last long, and y’all are still appreciated.
A “timeless-champions” pat to JMU men’s basketball for beating ODU last Saturday.
From a very happy student section who remembers rushing the court when this happened three years ago.
MAYA SKURSKI Opinion Editor
“Frozen,” like it or not, was a movie that left a mark. But it wasn’t just catchy song lyrics that became stuck in our heads. It was a conversation about a queen who didn’t need a man to save her. While everyone discussed and celebrated how Elsa exemplified feminine independence and strength, others became curious about the impacts of movies that didn’t teach lessons of female empowerment — what did watching those movies teach? A majority of children’s films with female leads hinge on a man saving the day or providing fulfillment. It’s too late for the “Frozen” empowerment to undo an overall narrative already drilled into impressionable minds. The dialogue and storylines told in early 2000s children’s films taught young women they’re incomplete and unimportant without a male romantic interest in their lives, and Gen Z is now reaping the consequences.
It seems as though this current generation is filled with women with narrow views of their personalities — ones that believe their self-worth relies on romantic relationships — women who could never pass the Bechdel test, and if you don’t know what that is, you’re the target audience for this editorial.
Growing up told by the film industry that a woman’s value is tied to her connection with a man, it’s no wonder so many women nowadays feel “boy crazy.” The Disney princesses aren’t the only example; every TV show marketed towards children — Jessie, Dog With A Blog, Good Luck Charlie, Kim Possible — all had female leads with some sort of romantic interests whose presence was needed to further the plot, and this is just
in children’s films. Imagine if we looked at media for all ages.
Maybe it’s the industry’s fault other women and I feel this way; maybe it’s society telling us we need to; but it raises a poignant question: What does this perpetuation that women’s worths are contingent upon relationships do to a young mind in the future? It’s no new conversation that the media clearly has unrealistic expectations for women, yet the conversations tend to ignore the expectations set in the media for women while their brains are still developing. If we address and unpack children's films first, we can build a generation of women who never rely on a man to save the day.
This begins with altering your own already developed and maybe manipulated brain. I’m serious; please decenter your lives from men. This doesn’t mean hating men, swearing off marriage for life or vowing yourself to the sisterhood — no, let’s think about Aristotle’s mean: there’s a middle ground between boy crazy and nun status. I just mean focus on you, focus on your growth as a woman and know your self-worth isn’t determined by how many or how deeply men are interested in you.
We also need more female voices in the film industry, especially in children’s media. Content creators need to focus on creating female leads who thrive without male validation and teach girls how to be powerful on their own. Society needs to create a community that supports the female individual’s journey towards self-love and independence without a romantic interest, in all spaces — both in the media and corporeal. Only then will the media start changing its value of women, and hopefully that will also change how society views women.
With more and more reliance on film and media, it’s extremely important than ever to ensure the right messages are shared — even the subliminal ones. Media impacts society; more so, it impacts the way people see themselves in the world around them. If we continue to have female leads who rely on their romantic relationships for happiness, it continues to teach generations of women to do the same. Men don't have to be there to further the storyline, and we shouldn't be teaching otherwise.
Creating more movies like “Frozen” not only shows girls a different side but also encourages people to talk about how strong female leads change the societal mindset of women.
It’s crucial we examine the way media and technology when we were kids has shaped our generation’s social psychology. The world isn’t the same. The way we think isn’t the same. The way we treat each other platonically or romantically stems from the relationships we saw on television growing up. It’s important no girl ever sits down again and feels less of herself for not being what she sees online — not just scrolling on social media, but from the second her eyes are first opened to a screen.
CONTACT Maya Skurski at breezeopinion@gmail.com. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
CALI GILMER contributing columnist
For many Dukes, the words “nutrition” and “health” create images of a healthy relationship with food, lifestyle factors that affect health and physical activity’s impact on nutritional needs. But for some, these words instill fear, because most introductory health classes assign food logs. These assignments are a slippery slope toward unhealthy eating habits and mental distress, and JMU should eliminate them.
“It’s just so much work,” said Danielle Labrozzi, a sophomore Health Sciences major at JMU. “Between classes, clinicals and trying to have a social life, the last
thing I want to do is record every single thing I put in my mouth.”
Labrozzi isn’t alone in her frustration. Many students find tracking their food intake tedious, time-consuming and triggering.
Various methods exist for assigning food logs in these courses, but the danger remains the same. Logging food can create an unhealthy atmosphere — one with an obligation to follow a specific diet and guilt if someone is unable to do so. This leads to personal torment and shame, which is the opposite of what a learning environment should provide.
While many students are aware of personal triggers when it comes to logging their food intake, others are new to this realm of nutritional planning. Assignments like this can force students into an unknown area of discomfort, which can be difficult to discuss with a professor if they want to look into different options. This problematic process can easily be avoided by not requiring food logs in these courses.
The struggle with food logging goes beyond simply writing things down. The challenges of accurately estimating
portion sizes and remembering every single snack or drink consumed throughout the day can take a toll on a person’s mental health. Did that handful of chips really count as one serving? Was that soda a 12-ounce can or a 16-ounce bottle? It’s impossible to be 100% accurate, and it’s easy for students to feel as if they aren’t being honest in their logs. A study on PubMed Central called “Barriers and Negative Nudges: Exploring Challenges in Food Journaling” found that self-monitoring of diets, while sometimes recommended for weight loss, can be associated with increased psychological distress and disordered eating behaviors — particularly in vulnerable individuals.
“I get why it’s supposed to be helpful,” Labrozzi said, “but it feels like an invasion of privacy.”
JMU students shouldn’t feel obligated to change their eating habits out of humiliation in a class. This can easily lead to students changing their eating habits in an unhealthy way — or avoiding eating altogether.
It cannot be negated that food logs have the potential to be beneficial to certain people who are unaffected by the dangers of these practices.
“Some people will benefit from and are unaffected by logging their intake, and with an analysis, it can give a valuable hands-on experience,” Kinesiology Professor Chelsea Duncan said.
from FOOD LOGS, page 19
These aren’t practices that should be forgotten or never discussed in class, but they shouldn’t be a primary assignment that students have to work around. While most health professors offer alternate assignments, students have to take extra steps to communicate their personal hesitation toward food logs with their professors. Food logs shouldn’t be an assignment students have to deviate from, but rather one with many options to choose from that don’t require students to discuss private matters.
While there can be learning value in the assignment, there should be alternative ways to learn about nutrition without the stress and potential negative consequences of food logging. Instead of presenting these options as alternatives that require students to opt out of food logs, instructors should proactively offer a diverse range of learning activities, such as analyzing different aspects of physical health, tracking general eating habits without the pressure of constant recording, and engaging in interactive lessons and discussions about portion sizes and nutritional content. By initially providing all of these options together, this approach ensures all students have access to effective and engaging learning experiences while minimizing the potential for negative impacts associated with food logging.
‘‘Between classes, clinicals and trying to have a social life, the last thing I want to do is record every single thing I put in my mouth.’’
Danielle Labrozzi
Sophomore
Food logs may seem like a simple assignment, but they can trigger unhealthy behavior and mental distress. JMU should consider the negative impact of food logs and implement alternative methods for teaching nutrition.
CONTACT Cali Gilmer at gilmersc@dukes.jmu.edu For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on X @TheBreezeJMU and on Instagram @BreezeJMU.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eleanor Shaw breezeeditor@gmail.com
NEWS EDITORS
K. Mauser & Drake Miller breezenews@gmail.com
COPY EDITORS Mallory Evans & Joelle McKenzie breezecopy@gmail.com
PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Morgan Blair breezepress@gmail.com
CULTURE EDITORS Abby Camp & Sixuan Wu thebreezeculture@gmail.com
PHOTO EDITORS Kailey Garner & Landon Shackelford breezephotography@gmail.com
ONLINE MANAGING
Kasey Thompson thebreezeweb@gmail.com
SPORTS EDITORS Hayden Hundley & Preston Comer breezesports@gmail.com
AUDIENCE EDITORS Madalyn Cornwell & Madeline Buynak thebreezesocials@gmail.com
(01/30/2025): The story online has been updated to accurately reflect Traci Zimmerman’s former position as the associate dean of CAL.
OPINION
Maya Skurski breezeopinion@gmail.com
ART
TV
RELEASE FEBRUARY 3, 2025
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by
Patti Varol
ACROSS
Prohibited by social custom
Collect over time
Dennings
Hawaiian greeting
“It’s not just you”
Oral health org.
*Vintage spot for a bubble bath
in 1997
Picnic spot
“You really __ us down”
*Undertaking that could have a good or bad outcome
Festive night, often
Big name in sneakers
Tear conduits 37 Three __ salad: picnic staple with legumes
Works hard
“Pygmalion” playwright George Bernard __
“Star Wars” prequel series starring Diego Luna 45 Many a blackclad teen
__Clean: laundry brand
*House pet that oinks, familiarly
Expanse for clear sailing
Pt. of TGIF
Glass piece
Ruffle
Stately shade trees 63 List-shortening abbreviation 64 The “surf” of surf and turf, often, or what the first word of the answer to each starred clue can be
Outdoor gear co-op
With sincerity
By Janice Luttrell
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