The Breeze 2.9.23

Thousands of Dukes come together at candlelight vigil to remember lives lost

By CHARLOTTE MATHERLY & MICHAEL RUSSO The Breeze

John “Luke” Fergusson loved the Washington Commanders and hitting the griddy.

Joshua Mardis picked a random roommate when he came to JMU, even though he already had friends on campus.

Nicholas Troutman had a list of inside jokes with his best friend, who he met at seventh-grade football tryouts.

Around 2,000 JMU community members gathered on the Quad on Sunday night to mourn and honor the three students who died in a car accident Thursday night. Two other students, Campbell Fortune and Baird Weisleder, were seriously injured in the crash. At the vigil, JMU President Jonathan Alger announced Fortune was recently released from the hospital.

The night was quiet, save for the soft piano music playing over the speakers and the sniffles that emerged from the silent crowd, heads lowered and candles lit.

Alger started the ceremony by asking the community to “share light in the darkness” and to be there for one another.

“I ask that each of us, in our own way, lift up the families and friends of the students in our thoughts, prayers and actions,” Alger said. “We can’t bring back the lives that have been lost, but we can honor them by sharing love, compassion and kindness with one another. No one is alone here.”

Matt Winters, a pastor at Harrisonburg Baptist Church, said people gathered at the church across the street from the Pi Beta Chi chapter house following the announcement of Fergusson’s, Mardis’ and Troutman’s deaths Friday.

“We just had some time to be together, and we heard the stories of how, just abruptly, life was taken, and our hearts were heavy,” Winters said. “And the grief just filled the room and we felt like these words, we couldn’t sing anymore. Everything was just ripped away from us, and our lives turned upside down.”

see VIGIL, page 4

Softball pitchers enter new season with confidence, trust

By SAVANNAH REGER

The Breeze

Whiff. Smack. Again.

Whiff. Smack.

JMU softball stood on its field, surrounded by the new $2,852,000 renovations to Veteran’s Memorial Park. JMU head coach Loren LaPorte spoke to the team as another practice drew to a close and the team broke a huddle, shouting “grit.”

Friends, colleagues, students remember Tatiana Benjamin

By KASEY TRAPUZZANO The Breeze

A friend, a scholar, a colleague, a professor, a mentor.

That’s how members of the JMU community remember Tatiana Benjamin, an assistant professor of justice studies and minor co-coordinator of African, African American and Diaspora (AAAD) Studies, who died Dec. 19, 2022. She was 34 years old.

Before coming to JMU in fall 2021, Benjamin worked in higher education at the City University of New York, Miami University and the University of Maryland College Park. She’s survived by her father and brothers, a niece and other family members, according to a GoFundMe page organized by a loved one.

Graciela Perez, assistant professor of justice studies, said she and Benjamin came into JMU and the justice studies department together in 2021 and have been close friends and colleagues ever since. Perez described Benjamin as a “beloved and trusted friend.”

Often, colleagues in the department would grab dinner and go out together after work, Perez said. During these outings, Perez said she and Benjamin would have meaningful conversations about their journeys and genuine fun in the moment.

Perez said one of her favorite memories with Benjamin was a “spontaneous afternoon” in the fall after one of those outings last semester. She drove Benjamin home — the pair chatting the whole way — and once they arrived at Benjamin’s house, they didn’t want the conversation to end. Perez said they set up a blanket outside in the yard under a tree and talked for hours as the sun set.

see BENJAMIN, page 6

Faculty push for inclusion, accessibility for disabled students

But still: whiff, smack.

The sound continued through LaPorte’s first-ever press conference-style interview and even as players approached the microphone.

Whiff. Smack.

It was junior pitcher Alissa Humphrey. She was putting in reps, sending pitches down the bullpen. The pitchers themselves had a date with the weight room. But even so, Humphrey was the last one off the field.

see PITCHERS, page 20

By K. MAUSER contributing writer

Laura Desportes Bowman, a professor in JMU’s College of Education, said she’s been trying to “shame the university for seven years, at least,” perceiving a lack of diversity and inclusion services for special education students at JMU.

“I’ve always thought that this was the last population of systematically, institutionally marginalized people, and it doesn’t make sense,” Desportes Bowman said, “I’ve never understood how people have to fight to be recognized as

members of our community.”

In 2014, Desportes Bowman said, she was approached by the parent of a young adult with Down syndrome who was interested in helping her child pursue a higher level of education after graduating high school. At the time, Desportes Bowman said there were only a few of these programs in Virginia, such as at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University. These programs all held one common issue for special education students: commuting to and from universities.

see INCLUSION, page 12

JMU students and community members join each other in prayer, giving a moment of silence for those lost. Abi Middleton / The Breeze

What's inside...

CULTURE

14

ALUMNA GOES VIRAL FOR TOMBSTONE RECIPE VIDEOS

FROM GRAVE TO KITCHEN 23

RETURN TO THE EAGLES 24 CLUMSY KIOSKS

MARK BYINGTON HEADS TO GEORGIA SOUTHERN FOR SUN BELT MATCH UP

SELF-SERVICE STATIONS IN DINING HALLS ARE INCONVENIENT

CORRECTION: A sports article about ticketing for football ("Reseating gives fans more ticket options for 2023," Feb. 2) incorrectly spelled Jeff Bourne's name as Jeff Ford. The online version has been updated.

Editorial Staff

CHARLOTTE MATHERLY breezeeditor@gmail.com

NEWS EDITOR KASEY TRAPUZZANO breezenews@gmail.com

COPY EDITORS EMMA JOHNSON & HALEY THOMAS breezecopy@gmail.com

EXECUTIVE EDITOR SHIRIN ZIA FAQIRI breezepress@gmail.com

SPORTS EDITORS MADISON HRICIK & GRANT JOHNSON breezesports@gmail.com

AUDIENCE EDITOR ALI MCCALEB thebreezesocials@gmail.com

ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR SAVANNAH REGER thebreezeweb@gmail.com

CULTURE EDITORS MICHAEL RUSSO & AVERY GOODSTINE thebreezeculture@gmail.com

PHOTO EDITORS ABI MIDDLETON & RYAN SAUER breezephotography@gmail.com

The Breeze

COVER PHOTO BY: ABI MIDDLETON / THE BREEZE

PRINT MANAGING EDITOR ASHLYN CAMPBELL breezeinvestigations@gmail.com

OPINION EDITOR EVAN WEAVER breezeopinion@gmail.com

ART DIRECTOR BEN MOULSE thebreezeartdirector@gmail.com

JMU’S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1922

Christian Wright / The Breeze

Savannah Reger / The Breeze Courtesy of Rosie Grant

Heavy hearts

JMU community holds candlelight vigil, mourns loss of 3 students

from VIGIL, page 1

After Winters, Rabbi Mordy Leimdorfer at the JMU Chabad House and Jewish student center told the crowd he didn’t come prepared because he wanted his message to be from the heart — “words that come from the heart enter the heart,” he said.

Leimdorfer said in grief, we often ask ourselves how we can remember those we love. For him, the best we can give to those we’ve lost is “goodness” and finding “true peace.”

Students followed the rabbi, a small group taking the microphone to remember each of their friends.

John “Luke” Fergusson: funny, loyal, the “glue guy” of the friend group

Speaking on behalf of Fergusson, or “Ferg,” as his friends call him, was Rob Hancock. Fergusson was his best friend through middle school, high school and JMU. Their families were close, and Hancock said they used to joke that Fergusson was Hancock’s dad’s favorite son — he’d greet him by saying, “Luke, I am your father.” Laughter rippled over the crowd.

Hancock urged people to enjoy those around them.

“Please take advantage of the time you have with your friends,” he said, “because you never know when it’ll be for the last time.”

Ryan Cataldo said Fergusson was one of the “funniest, goofiest” people he’d ever met. He’d hit you with one-liners

out of the blue that would make you start “crying and wheezing, laughing.”

But even more special than Fergusson’s humor, Cataldo said, was his loyalty — particularly to the Washington Commanders, who have rarely made it to the playoffs.

“If your team somehow lost to the Commanders, the very first person to let you know how garbage you were, was always Ferg,” Cataldo said.

Another time, Cataldo said he and his friends were delivering valentines to sorority houses and tried to make fun of Fergusson by saying he was “nice with the griddy.” But when the girls wanted proof, Cataldo said, “of course he delivered.”

“Any time he saw fit, he was a clown,” Cataldo said. “His seemingly serious and quiet demeanor was nothing more than a cover-up. He could light up a room in seconds.”

Cataldo remembers Fergusson as a kind, genuine soul who was personable and connected with everyone.

“To Luke, I love you. I know that you’re watching over us as we all chug along in these hard times,” Cataldo said. His voice broke as he continued. “You’ve never failed, and will never fail, to put a smile on my face.”

Charlie Polk, a student at Virginia Tech, said he’s known Fergusson since kindergarten. He shared a letter he wrote Sunday for Fergusson, in which he remembers hours spent arguing over who’s better, Michael Jordan or LeBron James — “I’ll submit that LeBron is the GOAT for you,” he said. He remembers how Fergusson was “the glue guy” in the friend group, bringing people together.

“I can talk for days on end about the way you touched all our hearts and how much you meant to everyone because you truly were a great man,” Polk said. “I love you so much. You will forever be in our hearts. Thank you for the memories you gave to everyone. Rest easy, my brother.”

Joshua Mardis: “sweet, kind, caring,” lived life to the fullest

Speaking on behalf of Mardis were his friends Quinton Robinson and Ryan Muncy. Robinson is the “random kid” from Colorado Springs who Mardis picked as his roommate, a choice he said was reflective of his friend’s character. Robinson recalled Mardis as someone who radiated with excitement, even for moments that may seem small, like trips to D-Hall or going out with friends. When the two moved into their freshman dorm, Robinson said, he met Mardis’ parents, Kirk and Yvette, and could see where Mardis’ “sweet, kind, caring” personality came from.

“Josh would always cherish the little things in life,” Robinson said. “He would live day by day, always just wanting to have fun, always with a smile on his face, always laughing. You really don’t know when it’s going to be your last day.”

Mardis called Robinson late Monday night asking if he wanted to go to Cookout. Robinson said they could go later in the week, but the opportunity never came. It was then when Robinson said to “live like Josh” — to “be kind, reach out to each other.”

Friends of John “Luke” Fergusson, Joshua Mardis and Nicholas Troutman spoke at the vigil, sharing memories of their friends to the JMU community. Abi Middleton / The Breeze

The Duke Dog Statue has become a memorial for the three students who lost their lives in the car accident. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

Muncy followed, saying he hadn’t planned to speak but was inspired by Leimdorfer’s message of words coming from the heart. Like Robinson, Mardis was also the first person Muncy met at JMU, and they immediately struck up a conversation upon moving in.

“He was, as everybody said, the kindest person you’ll ever meet,” Muncy said. “The definition of someone who will give you the shirt off his back, no questions asked.”

Muncy said he was able to meet Mardis’ parents as well and wanted to remind them that he was loved and supported by his friends, and that he’ll be remembered. One memory that’s stuck with Muncy the past few days was a picture Mardis sent of himself to Robinson with a brief message.

“All it said was, ‘Hope you’re doing well. Keep living life to the fullest,’” Muncy said, “and I think that’s what Josh would want us to keep doing.”

Nicholas Troutman: “a jokester and a goofball,” the “voice of reason”

Trip Fishburne met Troutman at seventh-grade football tryouts.

“We both kinda sucked,” Fishburne said, met with laughter from the crowd, “so we became friends.”

Fishburne remembers Troutman as funny and energetic, someone who could lift the mood in a room in a matter of seconds. Troutman was there for him through his highs and lows, Fishburne said, and he left a positive impact — everyone who knew him, loved him. Although Fishburne and Troutman pursued different fraternities in college, they didn’t let that get between them.

“He didn’t care what Greek letters you were wearing, he just wanted to be your friend and to brighten your day,” Fishburne said.

Fishburne said he and Troutman knew each other well enough to become “quite the comedic duo,” amassing a list of inside jokes. And while Troutman was a “jokester and a goofball,” he also took care of his friends.

Losing his friend has been the hardest thing he’s ever gone through, Fishburne said, but he looks at it this way: “What would Nick want me to do?” So instead of moping, he said, he’s going to go out and live his life.

“There’s no sugarcoating this situation — it absolutely sucks. It’s my worst nightmare, and I’m certainly never gonna be the same person,” Fishburne said. “But what I will do is try my absolute best to live every day for the rest of my life to the fullest, because that’s what Nick would want me to do.”

‘Deeply loved’

After the friends of Fergusson, Mardis and Troutman shared their respective stories, Tim Miller, vice president for student affairs, shared messages from each of the three students’ families.

Miller began with a letter from Mardis’ parents, Kirk and Yvette, and his sister Haley (’21) that recognized the qualities his friends highlighted earlier in the night.

“Most of his friends towered over him in height, but his fearlessness and courage lifted him higher than the very tallest among him,” Miller read. “His humor, his sensitivity, gentle manner and kindness are his legacy, and a brilliant beacon that will continue to shine in the lives of countless people.”

Next was a statement from Fergusson’s family, who said the support from the Pi Beta Chi and JMU communities has “been a tremendous comfort.”

“Luke was proud to be a Duke and loved his brothers in Pi Beta Chi. We miss his loving, gentle spirit, wise soul, infectious sense of humor and sick dance skills,” Miller read as members of the crowd chuckled. “We are comforted in [the] knowledge that he spent his last few years in this great community and departed this world among good friends.”

Troutman’s family said the JMU community has helped “sustain” them as well.

“Nick chose JMU, not just because of its outstanding academics, but because this university distinguished itself to him as being exceptionally friendly, welcoming and supportive,” Miller read.

“In the wake of this tragedy, the characteristics that most defined your school to Nick now help to sustain our family. We are immensely grateful for the thoughtful care and support of your entire university community.”

Miller finished the Troutmans’ statement, which acknowledged the impact of the messages and tributes they’ve received in recent days.

“So many Dukes have reached out to us to describe the influence Nick had on your lives,” Miller read. “Nick was so lucky to live, laugh and learn among you.”

Miller ended the ceremony by asking the crowd to hold on to one another in a moment of silence. A hand on a shoulder, or linked arm in arm. He read out the names of the five students, both those who are recovering and those who passed.

“Travis Baird Weisleder.

Campbell Fortune.

John ‘Luke’ Fergusson.

Nick Troutman.

Joshua Mardis.”

The Breeze is working on stories to honor and remember the lives of John “Luke” Fergusson, Nicholas Troutman and Joshua Mardis. If you knew them and would like to share your memories, we invite you to email Editor-in-Chief Charlotte Matherly at breezeeditor@gmail.com.

CONTACT Charlotte Matherly at breezeeditor@gmail.com and Michael Russo at thebreezeculture@gmail.com. For more JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter and Instagram @BreezeNewsJMU.

Roughly 2,000 JMU community members gathered on the Quad for a vigil in remembrance of Fergusson, Mardis and Troutman on Sunday night. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

At the vigil, President Alger announced that Campbell Fortune, who was injured in the accident, was released from the hospital. Abi Middleton / The Breeze

Members of the JMU community have left notes and flowers at the Duke Dog Statue in honor of Fergusson, Mardis and Troutman. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

‘A beautiful human’

JMU community remembers life and impact of Tatiana Benjamin

from BENJAMIN, page 1

“We just talked about everything — about family, about love, about school,” Perez said. “And to this moment, it remains my favorite memory with her because there was just so much peace around us. There weren’t any distractions of deadlines or cell phones or anything that we had to do in that moment. We were just sitting there under the big tree, just listening to each other with so much care.”

Perez said she misses Benjamin’s “infectious and full laughter” the most — the type of laugh where you have to grab your knees or lean back — and her greeting of “hello, beautiful humans” that she gave to everyone she talked to.

During Benjamin’s residency in the justice studies department, Perez said she had a major impact on the students, faculty and curriculum.

She offered a “very critical analysis to the study of justice through her use of black feminism to interrogate the legacy of racism in the United States,” Perez said.

She said she learned a lot from Benjamin, who would take any opportunity to clarify and teach about inequalities in society within any conversation she was having. The two would also have daily chats in each other’s offices to share new ideas, talk about work and offer advice.

“She’s really missed,” Perez said. “It was hard for me to return to the building knowing that my friend was gone. The start of [this semester] was really challenging.”

The moment this semester that really hit Perez, though, was during the department’s first faculty meeting back in January. Perez said she and Benjamin would always sit next to each other during these meetings and would look at each other, communicating through the look in their eyes or laughing at each other, much like you would with a friend in class.

“[The department] got together in the same room that she

and I had our first faculty meeting in the department,” Perez said. “But this time around, the seat next to me was empty and that’s when it really hit me, to not have my friend with me here in the department.”

Peggy Plass, professor and academic unit head of the justice studies department, said Benjamin was a “beautiful human” and agreed with Perez: one of her favorite things about Benjamin was how she began all her classes with “hello, beautiful humans.”

“It was just very typical of who she was,” Plass said. “She was very caring for everyone, but especially for her students.”

Plass said Benjamin was a “real joy to be around” and an “extremely joyful human” who would often stop by her office just to say hi, talk about what they were both reading, or what was going on in their classes — all kinds of non-work-related things, she said.

“I’m the department head, so people stopped by my office all the time,” Plass said. “But not always just to say hi, so I loved those visits. It was always really sweet.”

Plass said her favorite memory of Benjamin was the first day of classes during the fall 2021 semester — Benjamin’s first day of teaching at JMU and Plass’ first day being the new department head of justice studies — when she, Benjamin and Perez all took first-day-of-school pictures in the hallway together, each of them excited and “sort of scared” for the new semester ahead, she said.

“It was just so special to see these two beautiful, young scholars who were here and so excited to be with us,” Plass said.

Case Watkins, associate professor of justice studies, was on the search committee that hired Benjamin and said in an interview with The Breeze that from the start, the department thought she was “absolutely incredible.” Watkins described Benjamin as sharp, fierce, generous, engaging, graceful, caring, powerful and, above all, he said, unruly.

“This was her self-described persona,” Watkins said in an

email. “And if you knew her, you came to know what unruly meant. It meant autonomy. It meant unconquerable. It meant uncontrolled by the unjust structures of modern life that seek to repress and restrict.”

Watkins said Benjamin’s biggest impact and legacy on JMU was her ability to bring so many groups together across campus in different interdisciplinary studies, including Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Sisters in Session; the Center for Multicultural Student Services; and African, African American, and Diaspora Studies. Watkins said Benjamin was a true leader on campus and that JMU was fortunate to have her for the year and a half that it did.

“She wasted no time. She had friends, collaborators, mentees, and admirers all over campus, all over the Caribbean, in New York, Maryland, and in places we’ll never know,” Watkins said in an email. “Her work was urgent, wise, loving, fierce, benevolent, inclusive and unruly. She stood up and challenged white supremacy and social injustice everywhere she found it. I and so many others will continue to be inspired by her, every day.”

Watkins said while he and many others in the justice department mentored Benjamin and showed her the ropes, they learned so much more from her than she learned from them.

His favorite memory of Benjamin was at a bonfire that took place at his house last fall. He said faculty members within the department would often come over to his family’s house for bonfires, and on one of these days, Benjamin — who’s originally from Brooklyn, New York — decided she wanted to chop wood.

“Within a couple of minutes, she’s out there with a very heavy wood chopping ax, just slamming wood, chopping wood and stacking it up,” Watkins said. “We always just had a chuckle that she really embraced, kind of, country living … She really embraced the Shenandoah Valley and nothing says that more than her out there chopping firewood in the middle of the night.”

Delores Phillips, director of AAAD, said Tatiana Benjamin always had a smile on her face. Photos courtesy of Graciela Perez

Senior Jay Norton was involved in Benjamin’s hiring process and was in her first-ever teaching demo at JMU on race and Blackness as a AAAD minor. Norton said after the demo, he was instantly intrigued by Benjamin and once she was officially hired at JMU, he knew he wanted to take more of her classes. In Benjamin’s three semesters at JMU, Norton took a class with her for two of them.

He said it was evident Benjamin was passionate about the work she did. In Benjamin’s Global Migration class in spring 2022, Norton said, she took an intersectional approach to each subject matter, including race, Black migration, Indigenous migration and women and discussed how each subject intertwined. The following semester, in fall 2022, Norton took Benjamin’s Justice in American Society class.

“Even that class again, she was on fire,” Norton said. “We talked about so many different issues … She was enlightening so many minds about what it means to be critical thinkers and to think about issues like race and think about issues like gender and sexuality, but she did it in a way that people were receptive to it.”

Norton said Benjamin was a “phenomenal woman” who “walked the walk” and “talked the talk” when it came to being committed to a more equitable society and advocating for oppressed groups.

Not only was Benjamin a great professor, he said, but a great friend. Benjamin would always check in on him — both in-person and via email, he said — and that he could always go to her office whenever he just needed to talk. Nothing was ever off-limits, he said.

Norton said last semester, Benjamin was planning a study abroad trip to Ireland on civil rights and social justice and personally asked him to go. Norton said he couldn’t afford the trip, so Benjamin got money from the Center for Global Engagement and he only had to pay out-ofpocket for his plane ticket. The trip took place in January after Benjamin’s death, but Norton said he and the group painted “Be Bold” on a rock in Ireland to keep her memory alive on the trip.

“I’d never been off the east coast,” Norton said. “I’d never traveled internationally, so it was my first time and she was the reason. I’ll forever be grateful and remember her for that.”

Delores Phillips, director of AAAD, only worked with Benjamin for the fall 2022 semester but said she had an impact on AAAD and was “so necessary” to the department. Phillips said she can “only imagine how lost” AAAD students feel right now — Benjamin was the main adviser within AAAD, so she was the one interacting with students, helping them through their course

requirements, answering their questions and “shepherding” them through the minor.

Phillips began as director of AAAD in fall 2022 and said her first semester in the role wasn’t easy. It was a big transition and a lot to get her head around, she said, but Benjamin always made her feel calm, like “we got this,” she said.

“When I was with her, I always felt like, ‘Yeah, I can do this and she’s here to help me do this,’” Phillips said. “I never felt lonely as an incoming administrative/faculty member. I never felt like I was by myself.”

Phillips said Benjamin always had a smile on her face and described her as very kind, very generous, very collegial and very professional.

“She knew what she was here for,” Phillips said.

On Feb. 3, JMU held a memorial service for Benjamin. Sunlight shined through the windows of the Taylor Hall chapel in Madison Union, illuminating the room full of mourners. Benjamin’s photo — framed by floral arrangements — stood at the front of the room.

Some wept while others remained silent, all grieving a tremendous loss and celebrating the multi-faceted life she led. Benjamin’s friends, family, coworkers and students attended.

The service was led by Benjamin’s friend and coworker Deborwah Faulk, an assistant professor of sociology at JMU. Speakers took turns reminiscing their time with Benjamin through anecdotes, stories and poetry. They painted a portrait of someone who advocated on behalf of the Black community, women and other marginalized groups.

“Tatiana was an unruly woman who believed that radical love disrupted systems,” DeAndrae Powell, assistant director of the Intercultural Greek Council and multicultural programs, said. “She believed in the power of community and demonstrated that in the way she lived her life.”

Many words were used to describe Benjamin — scholar, teacher, sister, daughter, auntie, friend, optimistic and, most importantly, unruly.

“To honor her, to remember her [we have to] do the following: to take up space, to speak truth to power and to be unruly,” Augustus Hallmon, assistant professor at the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management, said.

Remarks from friends, family, coworkers and students echoed the service’s theme on the program: “In loving memory of the unruly.”

Eleanor Shaw contributed to this report.

CONTACT Kasey Trapuzzano at breezenews@ gmail.com. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter

Benjamin and Perez, who came into JMU and the justice studies department together, took pictures together on their first day of classes at JMU in fall 2021.

JMU hosted a memorial service in honor of Benjamin on Feb. 3, where students, colleagues and loved ones shared anecdotes, stories and poetry in her honor. Eleanor Shaw / The Breeze

Peggy Plass said she remembered how excited Benjamin was on her first day of classes at JMU.

Dedication to recreation Eric Nickel wins Dolley Madison Award

By JASMINE MOORE contributing writer

Eric Nickel, the director of university recreation, won the Dolley Madison Award, which recognizes a member of the Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management for their time, talent and treasure.

“I don’t put too much value on the award itself,” Nickel said. “It’s a recognition of the past, and it encourages you to do more of that. In this case, it’s helping students in the Hart School.”

Nickel has been at JMU for 28 years since April 1995, where he began teaching in sport and recreation management. After a few years at JMU, the hotel and restaurant management program merged with the sport and recreation management program to form the School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management in 2010. In March 2015, alumnus G.J. Hart (’84) and his wife Heather donated $3 million to JMU and the school was renamed in their honor, according to JMU’s website.

In 1998, Nickel became the university recreation director, where he’s served ever since. In this role, part of his job entails going to other universities to evaluate their recreation centers to help them improve, just as he has done for the University Recreation Center (UREC) at JMU.

“I think I just finished my 37th consulting job at another university,” Nickel said, “where I go in and conduct a bunch of interviews and spend around three days on the campus, and then write a report on the findings and recommendations to help them improve their college recreation center.”

Nickel said he’s been at JMU since UREC was “born,” when it was just a small fitness center with a capacity of 60 people. Nickel said he helped turn UREC into what it is today — he hired all the staff, bought all the equipment, and set a new

vision of what UREC would be on the college campus.

“The reason I’m still here after 28 years is the presence of leadership and value the rec center could have on a college campus,” Nickel said.

Nickel also currently serves on the advisory board of the Hart School, where he brings the perspective of students that want to go into collegiate recreation, he said. Additionally, Nickel said he speaks at the Hart School at least twice a semester and has taught graduate facilities and leadership classes and undergraduate facilities classes.

“When you've worked with folks that had a good relationship, you know, you like to feel like you've made a difference,” Nickel

said. “And I think awards are kind of a recognition of that … I don't have a big trophy case or anything that's important to me, but it's just a kind of recognition by your peers.”

Stephanie West, director of the Hart School, said to receive the Dolley Madison Award, a faculty member has to be nominated, and those nominations go through an advisory board. The board then chooses who’s done the most to qualify for the award, including exceptional professional achievements, contributions or service. The board then compares this to the listed award criteria, West said.

Nickel said he found out he won the award after he was invited to attend Gourmet in November 2022 — an annual fundraising event in Northern Virginia for the Hart School with silent auctions that help raise money for scholarships for students or other school needs — to receive the award in-person at the event.

West first met Nickel in 1995 when they were both working at the campus recreation school and have since been close colleagues. West said Nickel was instrumental in getting the campus recreation concentration in the sport and recreation leadership program — the only one in the country that focuses on campus recreation, she said.

“The Dolley Madison Award recognizes Eric Nickel’s continuous support and dedication to JMU and Hart School,” West said.

Nickel said he’s proud of his career at JMU, and he plans on staying to teach at the Hart School to help students learn and succeed.

CONTACT Jasmine Moore at moore5ja@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news desk on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.

Eric Nickel, director of university recreation, has been at JMU for 28 years and helped turn UREC into what it is today. Courtesy of JMU

Tech on the rise

JMU faculty prepare for ChatGPT’s arrival

By JAMES CROWLEY contributing writer

There’s a new internet tool that’s taken the academic world by storm by assisting students in cheating their way to good grades: ChatGPT, a revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) language model.

According to Open AI, the company that owns the language model, ChatGPT interacts in a conversational way in which it can answer follow-up questions, recognize its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises and reject inappropriate requests.

ChatGPT is a “sibling model” to InstructGPT, which is trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response that was introduced in February 2022, according to Open AI.

Based on a user’s first hand experience, ChatGPT is capable of providing someone with the answer to absolutely any question they ask.

Conor Daly, a junior finance major at JMU, demonstrated to The Breeze an experience he had with the language model. He asked ChatGPT to describe the meaning behind the painting “The Old Guitarist” by Pablo Picasso. Seconds later, it provided a 209-word, three-paragraph essay that described the themes and meanings the painting incorporates.

When someone needs to solve a multiplication or division equation, they can get a calculator, type in the numbers and have an answer in less than a second. Now, when someone needs to write an analysis of a novel, they can ask ChatGPT to write an analysis of the story and it’ll give them one in seconds. ChatGPT is basically like a calculator for writing.

If students need to complete a writing assignment on a topic they have no interest in, ChatGPT can get it done quickly.

JMU English professor Becky Childs said it seems there’s a variety of opinions amongst JMU English and writing professors on ChatGPT. Some seem to be very concerned about the effects it’ll have on the future curriculum, she said, while others are interested in what it may offer. Childs said that either way, writing professors have become aware of the new language model and are beginning to prepare for the emergence of it in their classrooms.

On Feb. 1, JMU’s Center for Faculty Innovation hosted a Zoom event for faculty members to come discuss the “promises and pitfalls of artificial intelligence in higher education,” according to the events description.

Andreas Broscheid, a political science professor and the assistant director for career planning at the Center for Faculty Innovation and Dayna Henry, an associate professor of health sciences and the interim assistant director of the Scholarship Area at the Center for Faculty Innovation, hosted the event. About 20 faculty members attended, all from different areas and departments of the university.

During the discussion, several professors focused on how they can use the language model to their advantage.

“The JMU faculty has constantly had to adjust for new

technology with the pandemic, and they never strayed away from moving forward then so we should be able to do the same with this new AI model,” Henry said.

Professors have had to adjust their way of teaching over the past few years with a primarily online teaching format on Canvas and Zoom. Now, this language model could be just as large of a transition for their teaching styles.

said the purpose of the event wasn’t only a discussion focused on the negative impact and fear of cheating associated with the new AI, but also the consideration of possible benefits.

“I’ve thought about asking my students to use ChatGPT to ask it to answer test questions and analyze its response,” Henry said.

Henry and Broscheid said professors will need to rely on their creativity and willingness to see what can be done with this breakthrough new software.

They also said that as of right now, what seems most important to the university’s educators is an overwhelming amount of concern for students’ actual ability to learn. Writing is one of the most important skills that young people need to develop and enhance while in college but with ChatGPT readily available to any age. The professors in attendance of the Zoom it may take away from teenagers learning the ins and outs of English and hinder the development of critical thinking skills they said.

Alongside the concerns for student learning, there’s the obvious worry of cheating, they said. It was unanimously agreed upon during the Zoom that if use of ChatGPT for a writing assignment is detected, it’ll be considered cheating, therefore breaking the JMU Honor Code.

For now, those who participated in the Zoom said that they’re still very new to AI and ChatGPT and can’t implement it in their classrooms quite yet — its sudden appearance in November left them with little to no time to adjust for it. This leaves some with great concerns that students will use ChatGPT for cheating purposes this semester, they said.

As for next semester, the professors said they’re expecting themselves and JMU to be more prepared for ChatGPT’s prevalence, along with possibly using it to their advantage in the classroom.

Following the Zoom, Henry and Broscheid gave The Breeze insight on how faculty at JMU are feeling about ChatGPT. They

Broscheid and Henry also reported discussions on what role this software will play in the corporate world and the risk of this new technology replacing humans in the fields where writers have been essential, such as journalism, which led to the third major concern of JMU faculty: how students will handle AI becoming a possible replacement in the workforce.

“It takes our creativity and willingness to see what we can do with it,” Henry said.

“It takes our creativity and willingness to see what we can do with it.”

Dayna Henry JMU health sciences professor

Graphic by Ben Moulse / The Breeze

This week’s key takeaways from SGA Senate

By ELEANOR SHAW The Breeze

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate passed a statement commemorating the late Tatiana Benjamin, welcomed presentations from JMU Dining and the Muslim Student Association and allotted money to Chabad Jewish Student Group and The Madison Project during Tuesday’s meeting.

The meeting began with a moment of silence for the students who passed away in Friday’s car accident: John “Luke” Fergusson, Nicholas Troutman and Joshua Mardis.

SGA passes statement in memory of Tatiana Benjamin

The Senate read and unanimously passed a statement honoring the life and death of Tatiana Benjamin, an assistant professor of justice studies at JMU.

“She was a bright light to the many that knew her and her light will shine forever and the influence she had on the university will never be forgotten,” the statement reads. “We honor and carry her forever in our hearts.”

The statement was submitted by senior Andrea MariscalGuzman, SGA’s community engagement (CAGE) chairperson.

“She really did impact so many students and faculty members here at JMU,” Mariscal-Guzman said. “We want to show our support to the students who have been impacted by this.”

SGA hears from JMU Dining and Muslim Student Association

JMU Dining and the Muslim Student Association (MSA) presented to the SGA Senate to raise awareness and promote future collaboration with SGA.

JMU Dining was represented by Jenna Gray, director of student engagement, and Gillian Kelly, health and wellness manager. The pair said more punch options have been introduced to Freshens locations and The Den and discussed events occurring at dining halls throughout the next month, including Steak Night on Feb. 14, Seafood Dinner on Feb. 15, Mardi Gras Dinner on Feb. 21 and the International Food Festival on Feb. 28.

Gray said JMU Dining is in the process of planning a student roundtable called Impactful Innovations Around Meaningful Conversations that’ll tentatively take place on March 8 in the Hall of Presidents in D-Hall. The roundtable’s objective is to encourage greater student participation in JMU’s dining program.

Prior to the meeting, members of the Senate submitted their questions to JMU Dining through the attendance form.

Questions involved allergy and vegan-friendly food, Starbucks during the Carrier library renovation, dining hall music and salad and fruit options on campus.

Gray and Kelly reassured students that when Carrier closes, the Starbucks truck will be available around campus. Kelly said JMU’s partnership with Merge Coffee also hopes to alleviate students’ need for coffee.

Kelly said JMU Dining has a music service that it utilizes, so song requests from students aren’t an option. In terms of food options, Kelly encouraged students to reach out to JMU Dining — preferably through social media — to make the program aware of students’ needs.

“We are always looking for feedback,” Kelly said. “We do take requests … we always want to know what to do for you because it is your program.”

MSA was represented by senior Nabiha Akber, MSA president, and sophomore Elena Ogbe, treasurer.

The organization’s goal is to unite Muslim students across Harrisonburg, Akber said, and to create a greater sense of belonging among the community.

“We not only try to have an impact on our community here at JMU but our community here in Harrisonburg,” Akber said.

Ogbe said the group conducts bi-weekly meetings and socials, weekly Jumah prayers, collaborations with other organizations and banquets.

Ogbe introduced a poll sent to MSA members before the meeting asking what they want from SGA. The students said they want a welcoming environment, more Halal food options on campus, prayer rooms and more funding.

Ogbe and Akber emphasized the importance of year-long prayer room availability, including months outside Ramadan. Ogbe said Taylor Hall’s interfaith chapel in Madison Union is insufficient due to its size, lack of gender separation and business. The group encouraged SGA to raise awareness and pass resolutions to combat these issues.

“It’s more than just helping a club. It is accommodating the whole JMU community,” Ogbe said.

SGA approves funds for The Madison Project and Chabad Jewish Student Group

SGA unanimously approved contingency funds for The Madison Project and a program grant for the Chabad Jewish Student Group.

The Madison Project, an acappella group, celebrated the release of its EP “All At Once” on Dec. 2 with a concert and requested $2,087.12 of contingency funds for costs associated with the event. The group was represented by its president, senior Logan Blatt.

Blatt said the majority of the costs of the event were covered through sponsorships, GoFundMe projects, funds raised during

A Cappella Thon and other performances. However, Blatt said most of this money went toward the costs associated with The Madison Project’s EP’s creation and release.

Blatt specified that funds requested from SGA would finance the live sound production and engineering required for the show.

Junior Abby Canella, SGA membership chair, asked why The Madison Project hadn’t approached SGA about the concert’s outstanding costs prior to the event. Junior Mahek Shroff, SGA’s finance liaison, clarified that the group had approached SGA before the concert, but due to miscommunication, their request had been delayed.

“The Madison Project really put a lot of effort into this performance,” Shroff said. “From what I hear, it was a really good event.”

The Chabad Jewish Student Group — an on-campus group for Jewish students of JMU that, according to Guberek, aims to unite Jewish students on campus — requested a $5,000 program grant to finance its banquet, MEGA Shabbat, that’ll take place Feb. 17. The group was represented by its president, senior Arman Saadat, and student board member and freshman Tamar Guberek.

Guberek said the event will aim to unite JMU’s Jewish community in an accessible way. Prior to COVID-19, MEGA Shabbat was an annual event. This year’s MEGA Shabbat would mark the banquet’s return, Guberek said.

Saadat said the banquet’s objective is an extension of the club’s mission.

“What Chabad aims to do is provide to JMU students,” Saadat said. “Since the community is so small, Jews on campus may feel underrepresented or isolated.”

Saadat said the event would primarily be financed by donations made by private donors to JMJews Chabad, an offcampus organization. Other methods of fundraising include the sale of sweatshirts and buttons and the solicitation of table sponsors.

Saadat said the event’s largest expense would be kosher food with other costs including tablecloths, centerpieces, advertisements and photography. The funds from SGA would bridge the gap between the group’s previously accumulated funds and the event’s estimated cost of $9,000.

“Regardless of faith … it is our responsibility to help all members of the JMU community feel accepted,” SGA senator and junior Nate Hazen said.

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

The Student Government Associaton (SGA) Senate approved

contingency fund for The Madison Project. Daria Ausen / The Breeze

Michael Russo & Avery Goodstine

Fight for inclusion

JMU professors work toward equal education opportunities for people with disabilities

from INCLUSION, page 1

“If you’re not close enough [to] pick your loved one up on Friday and return your loved one Sunday night or Monday morning, [these programs] won’t work,” Desportes Bowman said. “And for most people, it’s probably expensive because it’s about close to $60,000 a year to include tuition and residential support and all of that stuff.”

Only about 65% of individuals with disabilities drive a motor vehicle, and about 23% of individuals with disabilities need some sort of assistance or equipment to travel outside the home, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

“This is a population of learners that gets overlooked,” Desportes Bowman said.

Following the 2014 conversation, Desportes Bowman said, she started to research many of these post-secondary programs for people with developmental disabilities. In total, she said there are about 270 of them. This is in comparison to the more than 4,000 higher education universities across the U.S., according to AdmissionSight.

The current inclusivity of students with disabilities

Desportes Bowman currently organizes a class alongside colleague Nancy Barbour, a recently retired former department head in the College of Education. The class is EXED 309: Supporting Community Access for Young

Adults with Disabilities. This program integrates JMU undergraduate students, typically exceptional education (EXED) minors, with community members and students from local high schools. These groups have a wide range of students with disabilities and contribute to JMU students’ learning experience in education classes, serving as an opportunity to work alongside people with disabilities.

In the class, Desportes Bowman said there are 15 undergraduate JMU students, as well as special education high school students from the high school transition program. She said the high school students are between the ages of 18 and 22.

The JMU students in this class are responsible for planning socially and developmentally appropriate activities for the participants with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDDs), Barbour said. The JMU students plan games for them to play, such as four corners and Go Fish!, which help the participants practice interacting among their peers.

Barber said the JMU students are offered three credit hours for this course. The community members and high school students are offered no credit. Because these high school students are on non-diploma tracks — an option to complete high school without completing all official graduation requirements — the creditless class doesn’t negatively effect their progress to graduation.

They do different activities on campus each week, Barbour said. Once a month, JMU provides vouchers for the students to have

lunch at one of the dining halls, she added. However, the EXED minor, commonly known as the “Special Education” minor, has been discontinued by JMU and will graduate its last students in 2025. Dannette “Dani” Bronaugh, the academic unit head of the EXED department, said JMU will continue to offer the same courses as electives without having the minor as an option for any JMU students.

“If they aren’t required to take a minor, then there’s not that drive to have it,” Bronaugh said.

Bronaugh said the minor courses such as EXED 309 will continue to be offered, but they may not be offered every semester. She said she thinks there’s still a desire from students to learn the information that comes from those courses.

Desportes Bowman said she fears for the loss of this class and experience with the discontinuation of the minor.

“We don’t have enough faculty to teach courses within the majors,” Desportes Bowman said. “So despite how wonderful the courses are and the experiences that people get in the EXED minor, we just don’t have the [financial and logistical] resources to staff it. That’s my understanding.”

Bronaugh also said the EXED department is considering implementing a residential program at JMU — a smaller community on campus targeted toward students with IDDs — and she’s identified people to have “bigger conversations” with about the university being more inclusive.

“I don’t want to say [the special education high school students] are treated differently,

because I think that’s really counter to who we are,” Bronaugh said. “I think it’s just not been a model that JMU has really delved into … We’re hoping to see forward movement with that. I think JMU could be on the map for the community.”

Barbour said a residential program for special education students would help them get an authentic college experience.

“Programs that are day programs or [programs where] the students are there during the week and go home on the weekends … [do] not really create a true college experience,” she said. Barbour also said Vanderbilt University is an example of a great residential program.

“Certainly that’s something we’ve been lobbying for,” Barbour said about incorporating a residential program, “And a number of our students from the high school programs would love to be part of that.”

Branching out to other departments

Zachary Bortolot, a professor in the geography department, said he plans to create his own program with help from Desportes Bowman to implement the same level of inclusivity in the geography department. His proposed program would focus on “high-achieving” students — those who are able to make it through a regular program with only some additional supports — on the autism spectrum who are interested in earning geography degrees.

EDITORS

JMU’s special education minor currently offers a course that allows JMU students to work with people with disabilities from the local community. However, the special education minor is being discontinued, which some faculty say adds to existing concerns over the inclusion of people with disabilities at JMU. Photos by Christian Wright / The Breeze

Bortolot said he plans to have a small group, made up exclusively of students with autism, start school in the summer to adjust to university life. They would then begin a set of regular classes where they’d receive additional support, such as mandatory teacher’s assistant (TA) and office hours, he added.

Bortolot’s inspiration for this program lies in his family.

“I have a son who’s on the autism spectrum,” Bortolot said. “So, I’m really hoping it might be something that he might eventually tap into.”

Although Bortolot said he’s hopeful to gain support for his proposal based on some interest by faculty, Desportes Bowman said nobody “does anything” with their words of support to help their cause.

“We’ve been all working together behind the scenes for years now trying to get the right people to listen,” Desportes Bowman said when referencing her post-secondary program. “We’re hoping that we’re slowly, after all this time, gaining some momentum and getting the right people to pay attention.”

When rating JMU’s current level of accessibility, Desportes Bowman said it was only a three out of 10. She said this was because the buildings and pathways around campus need to be more accessible.

“[JMU] needs to really think about what that experience is like for people and how marginalizing that feels,” Desportes Bowman said about the accessibility of the buildings and pathways around campus. “You’re an afterthought.”

Barbour holds concerns about certain parts of the campus. She said the Union isn’t particularly accessible because of how many steps there are, and it’s difficult to get to an elevator. She also said the planetarium isn’t easy to get to, and the University Recreation Center (UREC) can be a little complex.

Tim Miller, vice president for student affairs, said as the villiage begins to be be rebuilt over the summer, JMU is making efforts to make the buildings more inclusive.

“The other thing we’re looking at is across campus what classrooms have door openers and what doors don’t,” Miller said. “One thing we find, especially with students in wheelchairs, is they need a different level of access, like you would have a door opener on the outside of the building, we need to install those on a lot of exterior classroom doors as well, as well as bathrooms.”

Miller also said the accessibilty community came up with 15 different ideas to increase accessibility on campus. He continued to say the Office of Disability Services (ODS) has been working to provide students with different forms of media such as 3-D printed models for students with visual impairments.

Bortolot, who said ODS at JMU has been very good to work with, said there’s still a need for additional accessibility and inclusion services around campus, such as his proposed program as well as classes like Desportes Bowman’s. He said a reason for this is the number of neurodiverse people is increasing very rapidly.

“I’ve [not only] realized how differently they learn,” Bortolot said about neurodiverse individuals, “but that they are actually able to see things in ways that are very different than the way that we see things … [This] could potentially be very valuable because it provides new insights that other people wouldn’t necessarily bring.”

The Breeze reached out to ODS multiple times to request an interview and comment on this story. ODS was not able to provide comment before The Breeze’s deadline.

An inside perspective

Desportes Bowman said she has many friends with a wide range of disabilities but that her program of IDD students has “some of the most interesting and resilient people out of every single person [I’ve] ever met.”

One contributor to this program is 24-year-old Brandon Stees, a co-teacher and volunteer of this program who has Down syndrome, visual impairments and an intellectual disability.

“In Virginia, in order for students to get a [high school] diploma, they have to pass a certain state test called the Virginia SOL,” Brandon’s mother, Rhonda Stees, said. “Typically, students with Down syndrome would not be on that track.”

Brandon passed all the year requirements and graduated with a full diploma, landing him a feature in the Daily News-Record.

“He blazed a trail through Harrisonburg City Public Schools,” Rhonda said.

Rhonda is an adjunct professor in the School of Music Education at JMU. She said that, although she can’t speak for the whole department, she’s seen indications there would be an interest in having a program for students with IDDs in her department. Rhonda said “Music is already doing something,” like supporting Brandon, who plays alongside the concert band. Even though he plays with the band, Barbour said Brandon isn’t enrolled as a JMU student.

Brandon is now taking courses at Blue Ridge Community College, where he’s accumulated 19 credits. He also co-facilitates JMU’s EXED 309 class on Friday mornings. In addition, he participates in speaking engagements at institutions like William & Mary to educate future teachers.

Despite Brandon’s accomplishments, Rhonda said there’s generally a lack of opportunities for individuals with IDDs following graduation.

“It’s like, ‘OK, now what?’” Rhonda said. “We’re here and we’d love to be included.”

Rhonda said she feels positively about JMU and about Brandon’s opportunities; however, she thinks that “we need to explore more.”

“Like other programs … Having one at JMU would be kind of cool to see,” Brandon said. Rhonda also said she’d love to see classes offered for credit at JMU for students in special education.

Desportes Bowman said she questions why JMU isn’t following what other higher education institutions, like Vanderbuilt University, are doing in terms of implementing residential postsecondary programs. Although she said JMU’s “probably not too different from a lot of places,” she thinks the younger age of JMU, founded in 1908, makes all the difference in the lack of progress being made.

The Breeze reached out to Executive Director of Communications and University Spokesperson Mary-Hope Vass to request comment and interviews for this story, but she said she was unable to provide one by the deadline.

Rhonda said not only would she and Brandon support a residential program at JMU, which would entail IDD students being able to live on campus with current JMU students, but she also said Brandon has friends who’d be excited at the prospect of a residential program.

“I mean, that would be wonderful,” Rhonda said. “I know JMU is wanting to be more inclusive.”

Brandon said he’s optimistic for this post-secondary program going forward.

“I just feel hopeful for this program for not just me, but for everyone who has a disability,” Brandon said. “I feel like we’re all very hopeful for that.”

Barbour said Brandon’s a great example of why JMU needs a residential college program for young adults with disabilities, because when given the opportunity and support to succed, he did. Desportes Bowman agreed, saying it helps fight stereotypes about Down syndrome.

“We really have a lot of stereotypes about Down syndrome

because you wear your disability on your face,” Desportes Bowman said. “People make assumptions about people with Down syndrome the same way they do people with autism … They assume that they’re sort of all alike.”

Deportes Bowman said her goal is to shake up those stereotypes.

“I can see my humanity in them,” she said. “And until we can recognize the humanity in others, I think we’re at risk of losing our own humanity.”

Desportes Bowman said IDD students are not so different from other students.

“In our educational system, we focus on the differences between people,” Desportes Bowman said, “when the reality is that there’s tremendous overlap.”

She added that people tend to focus on the small aspects of others that are actually different, but that’s what people do with any kind of difference.

Rhonda said she believes if more students are given an opportunity to succeed, they’ll be able to accomplish more. However, Desportes Bowman said she believes that if there isn’t adequate pressure on the institution, nothing will happen.

She said she wishes “people were interested in starting some kind of advocacy group, or putting some pressure on university leadership.”

Yet, Brandon has limited options in furthering his education and his talents beyond his current BRCC classes and EXED 309 position, Barbour said.

“We try to advocate for him whenever we can,” Barbour said. “There are [also] a couple of other students in my Friday class that come from Central High School and from Harrisonburg High School that I’d also say are really good examples of why JMU needs to develop a residential post-secondary program.”

Rhonda said she and Brandon have hope, and that they would never want anything to take away from that hope.

“All we said was, ‘Don’t put him in a box, and let him try,’” Rhonda said. She also said she thinks programs have changed in what students have been offered to do, and in opportunities that they’ve been able to have, because Brandon has blazed a trail.

“How can JMU continue to bridge that connectedness with that community of students?” Rhonda said. She also said she thinks there’s still much more people need to learn about inclusion.

Barbour said it’s “disheartening” that there is no program for these students here at JMU.

“You see how enthusiastic they are. They look forward to every Friday to come here,” Barbour said. “But there is no option for them. So are they treated differently? No, because they’re not treated at all.”

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

“We’ve been all working together behind the scenes for years now, trying to get the right people to listen. We’re hoping that we’re slowly, after all this time, gaining some momentum and getting the right people to pay attention.”

Laura Desportes Bowman JMU education professor

Brandon Stees teaches the special education class alongside Desportes Bowman. Brandon graduated high school with a full diploma, which his mom said was trailblazing.

Beyond the grave

TikTok-famous JMU alumna recreates tombstone recipes

By SABINE SOLTYS

The Breeze

Steadying a glass bowl and whisk, Rosie Grant leans over her kitchen counter, staring intently at the instructions before her as she prepares to make another one of her famous gravestone recipes. She cracks an egg, mixing it in with the flour and baking powder. Pouring in the margarine, sugar, vanilla and salt, Grant quickly whisks all the ingredients together as she makes Naomi Odessa Miller-Dawson’s spritz cookie recipe. Miller-Dawson died in 2008, and Grant found the spritz cookie recipe on her headstone.

Grant, a JMU alumna, graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English and media arts and design (SMAD) with a concentration in digital video and cinema (DVC) and a creative writing minor. Starting in 2021, Grant has now found and made 20 of these recipes written on the headstones of graves from all over the world, with the oldest one dating back to the 1990s. Through these recipes, Grant has risen to TikTok fame with over 170,000 followers and 6.6 million likes.

Grant said she first found out about these recipes when she was pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Maryland (UMD). In a class on social media algorithms, Grant learned how to manipulate an algorithm to go viral. Her professor, Jen Goldbeck, said going viral meant reaching “10,000 views on a new piece of content within seven days.”

As part of the class, Grant had to make a fresh TikTok account in the middle of the pandemic and post every day for three months. She said she decided to focus her page on her internship at the Congressional Cemetery archive in Washington, D.C. She discovered gravestone recipes, stumbling first across Miller-Dawson’s spritz cookie recipe in Brooklyn, New York. Grant made this recipe and put it on her TikTok. It garnered a million views overnight.

“It was very shocking,” Grant said. “It was one of those things where you post something that you think might do well and get 10 views, and for this I didn’t expect that much of it. I thought it was interesting but I didn’t expect this … Then people started to ask questions

about the recipe and her and giving their own input on spritz cookies.”

As a result, Grant looked more into the lady on the gravestone and found other gravestone recipes that had gotten some small news and media attention and started collecting them. Grant has now located gravestone recipes ranging from the spritz cookies in New York to yeast bread in Israel.

“Something I learned at the cemetery is that graves are becoming a lot more personalized these days, with the oldest recipe coming from the 1990s,” Grant said. “If something was important to someone, you find that on their gravestone now.”

In the beginning of her fame, Grant found these recipes online. Now, she’s gone and visited three of the graves. As a result, she was able to meet Miller-Dawson’s family in New York at her gravesite and make the cookies with them. She also visited a grave in Utah to see her fudge recipe and one in Seattle to find a blueberry pie recipe.

“All of them are super cool,” Grant said.

“When talking to family members, none of them seemed to be aware of the others, which was really interesting. The two in Israel were especially interesting in that they had to be translated for us.”

Grant said she’s continued to focus on these gravestone pieces because she loves learning about what food means to people. She said she believes that when people have these conversations with one another about how they want to be remembered — through a recipe, for instance — and what their legacy will be, it’s helped make the topic of mortality easier to deal with. And for Grant, these legacies go back to what she learned in JMU professor Erica Cavanagh’s food writing class.

“Food connects to everything,” Grant said, “and I [had never] seen food that way before these recipes, in that it can be paired with different topics.”

Cavanagh has been teaching in the English department since 2007, focusing on teaching creative writing workshops and some general education classes.

Rosie Grant started her now-famous TikTok account as part of a class on social media algorithms but didn’t expect to go viral overnight. Photos courtesy of Rosie Grant

In these creative writing workshops, Cavanagh said her goal is to help students have a platform and space where they’re supported in writing down their own experiences and finding their own voice. She said she also wants to give students the practical skills they can take beyond the class, such as paying attention to detail to create those powerful stories.

It was in her nonfiction food writing creative workshop in the spring of 2011 when Cavanagh met Grant. Cavanagh said she continued to work with Grant outside of this class on her honors thesis as well. Cavanagh said she remembers how ambitious and thoughtful Grant was when working on her thesis and applauded her journalism skills.

“Rosie is really inquisitive and that is a real asset of hers; she asks a lot of questions, and she is really curious,” Cavanagh said. “She is someone who needs to go and find the answers out for herself. I frankly don’t meet a lot of people that are that proactive. She is also just super thoughtful and generous and is one of these students that have kept up with me and Julie Sorge Way.”

English professor Julie Sorge Way also emphasized this attribute of Grant’s and spoke very highly of her and her TikToks. For 15 years, Sorge Way has taught mostly literature and writing classes and first met Grant in 2008 in her Survey of British Literature course.

Sorge Way said she came to see Grant’s appreciation for the “beauty and joy in the

world and what really matters.” This passion has even led Grant to be on programs like The Kelly Clarkson Show and NPR, she said.

“She’s really had some great feedback, and you can see why her TikToks are super interesting,” Sorge Way said. “It really reflects some of the skills we do all the time in our literature and humanities classes. She is still an English major; you can feel it in her work.”

While Grant continues to focus on the gravestones, she mentioned she hopes to maybe create a cookbook based on these recipes. She also said she’d love to visit as many of these gravestone sites as she can, having already visited some in New York and Utah.

Grant said she encourages other JMU English students to follow in her footsteps and to focus on what they are passionate about. She makes the point that whatever might be interesting to a person now could be helpful to them in the future.

“Whatever the creative output is, I would recommend JMU students to pursue that [and] build those creative habits,” Grant said. “It’s fun to be in an environment where learning is encouraged, and it is okay to fail because that is just part of the process.”

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

Naomi Odessa Miller-Dawson’s recipe for spritz cookies was the first gravestone recipe Grant found in her TikTok pursuits.

Grant has made over 20 gravestone recipes, which she’s found in places like New York, Seattle and Israel.

Grant said that through her experiences visiting the families of those with gravestone recipes, it’s helped make the topic of mortality easier to talk about.

Grant met Miller-Dawson’s family in New York and had the opportunity to make spritz cookies with them.

A helpful hand

JMU business professor works with students in 'humanitarian effort' to send medical supplies to countries in need

By EVAN MOODY The Breeze

A 40-foot ocean freight container arrives at a hospital in wartorn Izyum, Ukraine. Within the shipment are hospital beds, gurneys and boxes with JMU students’ signatures.

This is the work of the Association of Supply Chain Management club, or ASCM, at JMU. William Ritchie, a business management professor and the faculty adviser of the club, said ASCM specializes in packing, loading, organizing and delivering medical supplies to areas in need across the globe.

“This is a great humanitarian effort for the students to be giving

back to the community,” Ritchie said.

Within the past week, the club loaded two more containers that they shipped off to Samara University Hospital in Ethiopia. Along with a container to the Kharkov region of Ukraine in the fall of 2022, the club has worked with a total of 10 shipments since August 2020.

Such supplies can include bandages, personal protective equipment (PPE), masks and surgical drapes, Ritchie said.

Mihret Medical Supply Group, a nonprofit created by Virginia doctors, supplies the club with medical equipment to send to countries in need. Most of the equipment is within a year of being out of date, which entices hospitals to donate.

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CHICKEN SANDWICH™ COMBO

The equipment is inspected, tested and at times repaired, according to Mihret’s website. Ritchie said most of the supplies are still usable even past their expiration date.

“Kind of like a roll of paper towels,” Ritchie said. “If a roll of paper towels had an expiration date, and they said it was, like, next month? Well, if you keep it for six more months, what’s going to happen?”

Also provided from the Mihret Medical Supply collaboration are hospital contacts and connections to African countries for shipment, such as Ethiopia. About a year and a half ago, the Ethiopian ambassador visited the ASCM warehouse in Mt. Crawford, Virginia, to observe the program at work.

The Association of Supply Chain Management club (ASCM) has worked with 10 shipments since 2020. The club ships medical supplies consisting of bandages, PPE, masks and surgical drapes. Courtesy of Wiliam Ritchie

Interchange Group Inc. provided the Mt. Crawford workspace necessary for projects of this kind at a significant discount, Ritchie said. In 2020, the company donated a 2500-squarefoot warehouse space and logistics help.

The ASCM club uses the workspace to provide additional logistics work and manpower to carry out Mihret’s mission.

“It was kind of, like they say the term, [a] match made in heaven,” Ritchie said of the intertwining companies.

Contributing to the logistical side of the collaboration is Katie Dorey, a junior computer information systems (CIS) major. Ritchie brought Dorey onto the project a few years ago to create an inventory system.

This can be done by the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system (ERP). This can also allow the club to use Odoo, an open source business app, to keep track of the club’s inventory more diligently, Dorey said.

Dorey’s ERP, alongside two Ukrainian JMU professors, Sergiy Dmytriyev and Dmytro Babik, contributed to the Izyum shipment. One of the professors was the club’s connection to the attacked republic that allowed for delivery.

“I would have never imagined that I could have made such a meaningful difference in something like that,” Dorey said. “We actually got to see some of the footage of them unpacking our stuff.”

John Tyler Montross, a senior management major and supply chain minor, is president of the ASCM club and contributed to the Ukraine shipment. For Montross, the collaboration is an opportunity to delve deeper into worldly issues.

“I don’t think I would have paid as much attention to how much the hospitals are lacking in countries in Africa,” Montross said. “[Also], along the lines of the war in Ukraine.”

In part with the conflict in Ukraine, different challenges like COVID-19 and supply chain shortages can cause issues when carrying out projects, Ritchie said.

For the Ukraine shipment, specifically, the container had to be redirected because of difficulties resulting from the war and COVID19. This involved sending the crate to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for a guaranteed delivery that arrived both ahead of schedule and on budget.

“There’s still backups at the ports because of shortages in different parts of the world,” Ritchie said.

As a supply chain minor, Montross said he

better understands the academic perspective of ASCM projects. He said Merk Tokman, the director of the minor, provides connections for the club’s projects.

Within the minor is MGT 461, the Introduction to Supply Chain Management course Ritchie teaches.

“Dr. Ritchie is really the backbone of the club,” Montross said. “He really leaves everybody well and always creates an amazing atmosphere.”

Students learn about ASCM tools, such as the Odoo ERP software, in this course, Montross said. Those in the class also visit the Mt. Crawford warehouse and complete inventories of donated hospital supplies.

For Ritchie, the skills learned both inside the club and in the classroom are most applicable to post-graduation careers. This information can be applied across the nonprofit, logistics and research fields, as well as other post-graduate fields.

“It definitely helps with experimental learning,” Ritchie said. “It’s hands-on experience for the students and, you know, ‘Hands on, minds on.’”

Montross has expressed interest in furthering a career related to the field. With his time in both the minor and the ASCM club, he said, he’s honing usable techniques that employers seek.

“You have the opportunity to further yourself and grow as a person, and the club kind of as a [talking point] about volunteering,” Montross said. “So I kind of see it as a dual threat.”

Dorey also commented on the importance of maintaining career connections throughout the concentrations of the program, attributing her own contacts to Ritchie.

After completing the two Ethiopian shipments, Ritchie said he’s thankful for those who support the ASCM projects.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Mihret Medical Supply and all the organizations that have helped us, [as well as] the support from the university [and] my department in the College of Business,” Ritchie said.

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

Most of the donated equipment is within a year of being expired, William Ritchie, ASCM faculty advisor said. Ritchie equated this to a roll of paper towels, stating you wouldn’t throw paper towels away if they expired in a month. Photo by Valerie Chenault / The Breeze

Madison Hricik & Grant Johnson

Make it pink

Jefferson, Dukes put their twist on annual Pink Out game vs. Louisiana

By MADISON HRICIK The Breeze

It’s the solidarity of pink shoes, pink jerseys, a pink tie. It’s remembering that no one is alone in this fight.

It’s #4Ma.

Senior guard Kiki Jefferson’s first tattoo, which she got last year, is on her right forearm: It’s “#4Ma,” written in a calligraphy print. She said the saying is her own spin on the popular dedication to parents, “For Mom,” “For Mama,” etc.

But the saying originates from a different type of dedication for Jefferson. Her mom has battled cancer since Jefferson’s senior year of high school, and JMU women's basketball’s Pink Out on Thursday against Louisiana is the yearly opportunity for Jefferson to show off just how proud she is.

“My mom is just my backbone and my reason,” Jefferson said. “The game isn’t only about my mom because there are so many other fighters out there.”

The Pink Out game has started every year with the JMU women’s basketball team honoring Jefferson’s mother, Kiyana, since Jefferson began playing with the Dukes in 2019, and anyone else fighting cancer. At that time, Kiyana was going through breast cancer treatment and was cleared during Jefferson’s freshman campaign.

But Kiyana underwent treatment again for bone cancer in December 2021.

Jefferson said she credits almost all of her success to her parents’ sacrifice. Jefferson said she always felt supported by them during her basketball career, even as Kiyana went through treatment.

“It just shows that I’m not in this alone — and nobody is in this alone,” Jefferson said. “Anybody that’s battling cancer is not alone.”

While Jefferson played AAU basketball before arriving at JMU, her parents worked multiple jobs to help keep Jefferson and her brother playing the game they love.

Four jobs for Kiyana, and two for Jefferson’s father, Marcus. Marcus worked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Kiyana wouldn’t get off work until 10 p.m. — “she was just always working,” Jefferson said.

The Pink Out is an emotional game every season, and both Jefferson’s parents make sure to attend every year.

“I don’t want to say it but like, my mom couldn’t have been here,” Jefferson said. “You never know, and I’m just glad she is here.”

JMU is just one of many basketball programs around the country to have its own pink game, with some women’s basketball programs also joining in with pink jerseys, shoes and testimonies of what it can be like to have a family member go through cancer treatment. JMU head coach Sean O’Regan said it’s especially caught on in women’s basketball.

The Pink Out game originated at North Carolina State with the #Play4Kay movement in 2006 after former NC State head coach Kay Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yow lost her battle in 2009, but the Kay Yow Cancer Fund has continued to grow since its inception in 2007. The pink game has been an annual event for the Wolfpack since and it’s grown into a national staple in women’s college basketball, spanning all three NCAA divisions.

O’Regan added the Dukes’ Pink Out game hasn’t always been an in-depth, “all out” performance they put on every year. It’s slowly grown bigger, in part due to Jefferson’s personal struggles, but it’s what the head coach loves about this particular night.

“I think it’s a great awareness,” O’Regan

said. “It’s really a cool thing to do and I’m glad we do it right.”

O’Regan also said JMU’s game is about cancer awareness holistically, not just breast cancer. The pink signifies Yow’s fight, but O’Regan said having the Dukes represent fighters from all types of cancer is more personal to the team.

“It’s the whole picture,” O’Regan said. “I think everybody in the whole world has had somebody affected by cancer. For us, it certainly hits home. But if you went through the whole team, I know I’ve had family members affected with it, and I think everyone has had someone affected by it.”

Since the classic Pink Out is well known, it’s nothing new for a few transfer players.

In particular, graduate transfer guard Caroline Germond played in cancer awareness nights during her time at TCU. So to coincide with the pink jerseys and shoes JMU will wear, she put a

photo of bedazzled sneakers on TikTok and decided she wanted to try it.

It was a hit among the team. A few players got the Nike swoosh logo filled with silvercolored rhinestones. Germond placed each rhinestone by hand, she said, and while time-consuming, it was still a worthwhile activity for the cause.

Junior forward Annalicia Goodman, among others, sported the sparkling swoosh at practice Tuesday afternoon since the majority of the team was breaking the pink shoes in. But Germond ran out of some of the materials, so not every player will sport the extra sparkle, but she still enjoyed the chance to make a few pairs shine.

“I love being creative like that,” Germond said. “And I think they send a message too, so just wearing them is cool.”

Louisiana head coach Gary Brodhead also demonstrated his own support to the Pink Out.

“Our program here at Louisiana at Lafayette has been greatly affected by breast cancer throughout the past 11 years,” Brodhead said in a statement to The Breeze. “From our players, to assistant coaches, our associate head coach and head coach. We have each had people affected by it and we take great pride in bringing awareness to this cause. We feel the breast cancer game is one of the great ways to bring awareness to our community.”

JMU has been on the road for the last two weeks but is opening a two-game homestand with its annual Pink Out game. It’s part of what Jefferson is looking forward to the most about coming back to the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

“I want to show [Kiyana] she’s not in this fight, this journey, alone,” Jefferson said. “She has me, she has her family and she has my teammates, coach is always here, JMU Nation is always here. She’s not in this alone, and I’m not in this alone.”

CONTACT Madison Hricik at breezesports@gmail.com. For more women’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

Senior guard Kiki Jefferson celebrates her mom each year during JMU's Pink Out game. Ryan Sauer / The Breeze

‘EVERYONE’S BEHIND HER’

Fifth-year lacrosse goalie banks JMU career on loyalty, finally nearing her ‘dream’

By GRANT JOHNSON The Breeze

On the floor in her room of her off-campus apartment, Kat Buchanan lay teary-eyed, her two loves at a crossroads: JMU, and starting in goal for a college lacrosse team.

Usually, the fifth-year goalie is “a bundle of energy all the time,” as former JMU teammate Sydney Beckmeyer (2017-20) described her. Goalie coach Matt Snyder said one of Buchanan’s many chest bumps knocked him over during the Dukes’ upset win over thenNo. 3 Maryland last March. Snyder estimates he’s 150 pounds heavier than Buchanan.

But no time for that now. No jumping, no excitement. Buchanan was “so anxious” on the floor in her apartment, she said, grappling with a decision that would dictate the rest of her collegiate career.

It’s fall 2020, during the thick of the pandemic, after her second year backing up former multi-time allconference goalie Molly Dougherty (2017-22). JMU head coach Shelley Klaes had offered Buchanan a fifth year of eligibility — through the 2023 season — due to COVID-19 cutting spring 2020 sports short. Klaes also offered Dougherty another year. Dougherty accepted.

Buchanan envisioned she’d start by 2022. Another year for Dougherty meant she probably wouldn’t. Buchanan didn’t know if she could take another two years on the bench, let alone in school. Kat’s parents, Greg and Liz Buchanan, said there wasn’t a master’s program at JMU she wanted to pursue at the time.

So, for a moment on the floor, Kat cried. She contemplated transferring.

But leaving JMU meant turning her back on Klaes, the only coach from a top program to offer her a scholarship, and the only coach intrigued by the highlight tapes she sent over email to programs in the 2017 top 25 rankings.

Kat talked to her parents on and off for multiple weeks about what to do, though her parents left it to Kat to decide what was best for herself. But she had to make a decision eventually. Klaes needed to know if she had to recruit more goalies should Kat leave JMU after 2022.

Then, after five minutes talking to herself in her apartment, Kat came to her senses. She thought about the team she’d leave behind, the coach she’d leave behind. She had to realize that nothing’s perfect — that not everyone comes into college and starts for four or five years. She said she didn’t want to transfer just to join a “super team” and win, and leaving Klaes’ side would’ve been a “slap in the face” because she gave Kat a chance when no other college coach did.

Once she put it that way, combined with the confidence that Klaes’ fifth-year offer injected in her, Kat said it was an easy decision to come back.

“Everybody dies to go back to college, never mind for the best team in the country,” Kat said. “I just have this, this loyalty to JMU. And once you’re here, once you step on campus, it’s pretty hard to leave.”

Now eyeing a starting spot in her fifth and final year at JMU, Kat has the clearest path to be the full-time starter since she was a freshman — after sticking it out for this very moment.

Heart over height

Late one night in summer 2017, Klaes dug through her email inbox.

She had a void to fill at goalie. Klaes had goalies on her roster, but none were the complete, durable, never-injured package, she said. She was looking for more.

Kat had Greg film her games using a borrowed video camera she obtained from Milton High’s audio-visual department. She then sent the film to coaches after Greg

camp and picked JMU, with not many other opportunities besides small schools that dotted New England. Between JMU’s campus and other “amazing” commits the Dukes had already locked up, Kat said she couldn’t turn down the offer.

Eventually, Kat settled into her role as an upbeat backup. Liz and Greg said she’s always been spirited, cultivated by the tenacity she developed playing sports in her neighborhood and with her brother.

So much so, Beckmeyer, Kat’s teammate from 2019-20, sought her out to overtake the designated pregame secret handshake role — a tradition passed down in the JMU lacrosse program that neither Klaes, Kat nor

Against Maryland last year, Kat estimated she gave out 35 chest bumps in the 13-8 win. She called it the best day of her life. Snyder, who Kat knocked over with one of her chest bumps, said Kat’s enthusiasm “makes you want to run through a wall.”

“It’s just whoever is there to accept the casualty,” Kat said about her chest bumps. “People will run to me and I’m like, ‘Let’s go.’ Like, it’s a vibe.”

Kat’s parents also think her energy comes from Klaes — that Klaes creates an environment where it’s easy to be excited. Kat said, like herself, her teammates want to “grind it out” and win in Harrisonburg because of the trust and passion Klaes instills up and down the roster.

“You could never step on the field and you wouldn’t even know,” Kat said.

Some days, Kat said, she has to fake her excitement to get JMU going. But other days are just hard — no matter which way she cuts it. JMU lacrosse played five days after the death of JMU softball’s Lauren Bernett, and Kat said teammates had Bernett at the front of their minds during the remaining practices and games.

She doesn’t know if she’d go into coaching after graduation because of how demanding it is and the need to bring the energy all the time. More days than not, Kat’s excitement is authentic, she says.

But she can’t always be the energizer.

“Sometimes I just, I don’t have it in me every day,” Kat said. “I can’t fake it all the time. You know, there’s gonna be days where I’m down, and I can’t, I don’t want my team to feel that through me. Sometimes I have a hard time emotionally.”

helped her find their emails via Google searches — she “completely advocated for herself,” Greg said.

Klaes stumbled upon Kat’s homemade high school tape. She said she fell in love with her mobility, flexibility and gracefulness to intercept incoming passes around the net.

Shortly after, Klaes called Kat’s club lacrosse coach at Laxachusetts from a parking garage at the beach. Kat’s club coach called Greg. Kat and Greg were on a church service trip in West Virginia and she didn’t have her phone, but Greg did as a group chaperone.

The Laxachusetts coach told Greg that Klaes wanted to connect with Kat. Greg said he was ecstatic and couldn’t believe the call. Liz described it as an “awesome coincidence” that Klaes needed a goalie.

But just a day after the service trip, Kat had to hit the road to Harrisonburg for one of Klaes’ prospect camps.

“For all intents and purposes, that was a tryout,” Greg said.

Kat said she didn’t watch any college lacrosse growing up and hadn’t heard of JMU. She performed well enough at Klaes’

Beckmeyer know when it started, but where one reserve player conducts a handshake with every starter as they run onto the field before the game.

Beckmeyer said she and her handshake predecessors look for those to take on the role who can hype their teammates up and make them feel special running onto the field. For Beckmeyer, Kat fit that mold to a T, and she had Kat in mind from Day 1 to take the gig, she said.

“You could never believe such a vicious dog-like barking and growl could come out of her mouth,” Beckmeyer said, “out of such a tiny little human.”

The handshakes are Kat’s favorite thing, she said, and they’ll never not be. She’s been that person for two years now. All of them have their own flair: She puts a crown on the head of redshirt senior attacker and roommate Kacey Knobloch because of “how good Kacey looks doing everything.” She does a handshake with junior defender Lizzy Pirisino where they make their hands look like phones and swirl them around their ears because Pirisino’s “just swaggy like that.”

But she’s sticking with the group she can be authentic with. Staying loyal to what Greg calls an “amazing sisterhood.” And Greg said it would’ve been risky for Kat to transfer without a lot of college film for other schools to recruit her from.

The other two goalies on the roster this season are Caitlin Boden, a freshman, and Adanya Moyer, a sophomore. Kat said she feels ready to step into the starting spot after four years learning how behind Dougherty. Kat acknowledges her experience advantage over Boden and Moyer, though she said they’re at JMU for a reason — and if she’s not starting and JMU’s winning, “I’m happy.”

“Sometimes I think she doesn’t give herself enough credit,” Knobloch said. “Everyone’s behind her. She deserves this and we’re all really excited to see her finally get her chance.”

The stars are aligned for Kat’s last ride. But there’s one task left.

“Hopefully I do get the start,” Kat said. “That’d be kind of a dream come true.”

Read the full story at breezejmu.org

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

JMU redshirt senior goalie Kat Buchanan said it’d be a “dream come true” if she starts this year, but she cares more about winning. Ella Stotzky / The Breeze

Fresh approach, fresh mindset

JMU softball pitchers looking to bounce back

from PITCHERS, page 1

Last season, JMU’s pitching staff went through mental blocks — they fought internal battles. This fall, LaPorte and assistant coach Libby Bowman, who focuses on pitching, had a different plan.

Trust, confidence plagued last year’s pitching room

“I think [they think] they have to live up to [2021], and that’s really hard,” Bowman said in the spring.

Last year, among other things, the pitching staff had to grow. It had to develop and learn that “growing is OK,” LaPorte said. LaPorte added that time and time again, the staff compared themselves with former pitcher Odicci Alexander (2017-21), the superstar who headlined JMU’s run in the 2021 Women’s College World Series.

JMU gave up over 100 runs through 22 games to start the 2022 season. CAA winner UNCW gave up just 59 runs through that same span. The Dukes switched pitchers out left and right — it wasn’t just veterans Humphrey and former pitcher Alexis Bermudez (202022). It was also Rodgers, former pitchers Taylor Hankins and Meredith Wells — even sophomore utility player Isabelle Fishman.

Everyone was needed. But everyone had different levels of success. The pressure was so much, though, that Bermudez said “it was probably the lowest my confidence had been in my five-year career.”

“At the start of the season, my confidence was pretty high,” Bermudez said. “We got into a funk, I lost a lot of my confidence. It took a lot of mental work, meeting with sports psychologists and really focusing, reading mental training books and going through a tough mental performance side because it wasn’t physical.”

Bermudez said it got to a point where everyone on staff looked at each other and decided they were going to play for each other.

She said they had to keep it simple, but it took a low point for that to happen — the height of nonconference play.

“We couldn’t do it without each other,” Bermudez said. “I think, because we had such a young team, it took us a little while to catch our groove. There was a lot of pressure to be more successful to take some of the pressure off of them and let them get used to it. I think with it requiring so much from us physically and mentally, it was probably one

following

2022 season

of the most rewarding years as well because we fought hard.”

Bermudez cited the second game against Radford, then the Hofstra and Drexel series as turning points for the team. She said they were clicking, everything was working and everyone started stepping up.

After falling 10-2 against Radford, JMU came back in the doubleheader to win the second game, 14-2 — Humphrey bounced back after the first contest. In the series finale against Hofstra, Bermudez said she felt more confident because everyone was playing for each other and hitting their mark. Former catcher Lauren Bernett sealing the deal confirmed to Bermudez that JMU was hitting its stride.

Against Drexel, Bermudez said confidence came back. It was the Dukes’ best string of games of the year, she said.

“Everybody was hitting well,” Bermudez said. “Me and Alissa were on the up track with our pitching. It was just, all the pieces started to fit together that weekend and everybody was playing at their best.”

As the season wore on, Bermudez said the staff learned that trust in their pitching came from trust and support in each other. Then, as the field play started improving and pressure came off the backs of the pitchers, it gave them confidence.

She also learned she needed rest days and to focus on herself even in the hardest of times.

“Whether it was to read or to rest or to go get my nails done,” Bermudez said, “we really had to learn how to take advantage of the off day to reset and focus on something maybe other than softball.”

LaPorte said pitchers are always comparing themselves to each other but that her staff has always done a good job at staying true to themselves. So, heading into 2023, JMU’s building off a combination of this — using each other as motivating factors but also focusing on individual aspects of their game and how to make those parts even better.

Individual training, dynamics

In the spring, Bowman said the pitchers work on building speed in fall practices. Last year, Humphrey and Bermudez added 4-5 miles per hour to their pitches ahead of the 2022 season.

This year, Bowman, the pitching coach, said speed-building wasn’t the focus of training.

“We really worked on individual strengths and figuring out what those strengths were,”

Bowman said, “really focusing on their strengths and making those strengths elite was what we focused on.”

Bowman said the pitchers worked “on individual strengths and figuring out what those strengths were.” For example, Humphrey is a rise-ball pitcher and can change speeds. Transfers Brittany Hook and Rebecca Muh, LaPorte said, are strong in their down-ball pitch.

“Dynamic” — LaPorte used the word time and time again when talking about the pitchers in multiple offseason interviews with The Breeze. In softball, LaPorte said “dynamic” means to have different looks, pitches and adaptability.

The head coach said last season was a start, but there were some things the pitching staff needed. LaPorte said the team needed to bring in pitchers who complement the ones JMU already has.

“We have three rise-ball pitchers on staff right now, LaPorte said. “So we wanted to bring somebody that kind of was down. So that’s what we did. And that’s kind of the dynamic.”

JMU brought in Hook from USF and sophomore Rebecca Muh from Georgia. Bowman said the additions aren’t only dynamic but add maturity to the young staff.

The pitchers call Hook the “grandma of the group.”

“Her maturity overall has been so good for our pitching staff,” Bowman said. “because she’s kind of been through some hard moments at USF and then being able to translate that and help. Some of our younger players here, I think, have been a huge help.”

So, with a group full of different types of pitches and strengths, Bowman said it made more sense to focus on individual training.

And the mentality? Bowman said that’s matured, too.

“They’ve figured out what they need in the moment,” Bowman said. “Like, do they need to take a second? Do they need to talk it out? What do they need? And they’re all so different.”

That’s where the infield comes into play. LaPorte said the team only has seven timeouts this season, so she and Bowman can’t walk out to the mound every time. LaPorte said the team has practiced eye contact and feeling out the moment. It determines when the coaches talk to the team during a timeout or just the players.

Building confidence for 2023

Bowman said pitching is 90% confidence.

So when confidence is lacking, as it was for Bermudez last season, the result is runs. And lots of them.

“They can have the skill set,” Bowman said, “and we can go over all the mechanics, but they have to have the trust and the confidence in themselves to execute.”

Rodgers said the weight room builds that confidence, along with things outside of softball. The sophomore pitcher said weight room work has specific programs for positions groups: pitching and the outfield, among others. The “pitching progress” program, Rodgers said, builds up arm motions, what specific motions pitchers use and what the most explosive are so they can

be powerful. They’re lifting motions and getting those down pat build her confidence, Rodgers said.

Bowman added JMU’s done a lot of bullpen work during the fall. She said the team did group bullpen work, not just individual, and worked on complementing each other. So while Bowman had the staff on an individual program — finding strengths and growing them — they also worked as a unit.

“We call somebody’s name, and they’re ready and they execute what they’re great at,” Bowman said.

Rodgers said she feels well-rounded after the offseason. She called her freshman season a “humbling experience.” She didn’t know what to expect. Along with the confidence issues and growing pains, she was still trying to figure out how to be a college student.

This fall, it’s still about looking up to her leaders, she said, especially Humphrey. But at the same time, she’s perfecting everything so that “I don’t even have to think about it, I can just do it.”

‘More excited than nervous’

LaPorte said heading into 2022, there was pressure on the pitchers to be like the ones who came before them.

This offseason, in what the head coach calls one of her closest teams to date, everyone’s excited. “More excited than nervous” to be exact, LaPorte said.

Not only excited but confident.

“We believe in each other, which is also really important,” Rodgers said. “If someone’s out pitching the other people on staff, they have our backs, they trust us, and everyone on [the] team trusts us. And that also builds up the confidence within ourselves.”

Bowman said the groups took what they learned — whether from last year on JMU or another team — and remembered it. They’ve learned how to complement each other, work as a staff and calm themselves down. They’ve added dynamic pitchers to complement Humphrey and Rodgers, and they’ve learned to focus on themselves.

“I think the biggest thing with our pitching staff is that they have to be who they are,” LaPorte said. “I think sometimes as pitchers, you’re always comparing yourself to other people. And I think our pitchers have done a really good job at staying true to themselves and really trying to figure out what strength, what role they can have for this team.”

Humphrey was the last on the field. She looked up for just a second as her teammates approached the microphone. LaPorte said her players — Hannah Shifflett, Hallie Hall and KK Mathis — were nervous. They’d never been the center of a press conference.

So Humphrey watched them start talking. Then looked at her ball, set her feet, stared at her catcher at the other end of the bullpen and started again.

Whiff. Smack.

CONTACT Savannah Reger at thebreezeweb@ gmail.com. For more softball coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

Former JMU pitcher Lexi Bermudez (2020-22) said she lost her confidence at points last season. Savannah Reger / The Breeze

A new direction

JMU lacrosse continues its dominant presence heading into a new conference

By HAYDEN HUNDLEY The Breeze

JMU has been the poster child for midmajor women’s lacrosse programs over the past decade plus, but it’s now preparing to take its talents to a new mid-major conference. Just over a year ago, on Feb. 4, 2022, American Athletic Conference (AAC) Commissioner Mike Aresco and JMU Athletics announced that the JMU lacrosse program will officially join the AAC on July 1, 2022.

The move was deemed necessary due to the Dukes moving from the CAA to the Sun Belt and the CAA’s policy of not letting teams with an impending conference switch compete for conference championships. Since the Sun Belt doesn't sponsored a women’s lacrosse conference, JMU looked to find a new home in the AAC.

“We are pleased to add James Madison's highly successful women's lacrosse program to the American Athletic Conference,” Aresco said in a statement after the announcement. “JMU is firmly established as one of the nation's top programs, with sustained success that aligns with our conference's objective of competing for championships at the highest level.”

This marks the first time since 1992 that the Dukes' lacrosse team will be playing in a new conference. JMU called the CAA home for three decades, but it’s looking to tread through new waters this season.

The Dukes enjoyed frequent success in the CAA, winning 13 conference tournament championships and five more regular season championships. Seven of those 13 titles came after the hire of current head coach Shelly Klaes, including their first national championship title in 2018.

“I think it's important that we create our own identity in a new conference,” Klaes said. “And to me, that's representing JMU in the championship game. I know we have the ability to do what it takes when we’re there but we need to be there in year one.”

There may be some new faces on the team, but Klaes and the Dukes have a history with a few of the AAC’s programs. JMU has a 5-4 all-time series lead against Temple and won both of their last matchups, in 2018 and ’19, 19-7 and 16-10, respectively. The Dukes last played Florida in the 2018 NCAA tournament and beat them 11-8 in the quarterfinals.

“Lacrosse is a pretty small community so we’ve known these coaches for years,” Klaes said. “ODU was an old foe in the CAA, so it's somewhat familiar.”

The Dukes are No. 2 in the AAC’s preseason poll behind Florida and received one first-place vote.

USA Lacrosse’s preseason poll has JMU ranked No. 12 and Florida No. 8, and conference foe Temple was also considered for a top-20 selection. Stony Brook is the CAA’s lone top-20 bid, slotted at No. 4.

Even though they’ve yet to play a game in their new conference, All-Americans Mairead Durkin and Isabella Peterson have already added AAC recognition to their long list of accolades after being selected to the All-AAC preseason all-conference team. Durkin was also named the AAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Despite the slight uptick in competitiveness, JMU’s leaders said they think the increased level of foes will give them an edge. Durkin said she believes the Dukes perform better when playing against stiffer opponents.

“There’ll be faster play and more competition,” the fifth-year senior said. “I'm excited because it's a more competitive conference and our team tends to step up more when it's a more challenging game rather than when we think we're gonna beat someone we play worse.”

The Dukes will see that heightened competition early this season as their schedule is headlined by an impressive slate of out-of-conference opponents. JMU kicks off its season with three away games versus No.1 North Carolina, another AAC opponent in Virginia Tech, High Point and a neutral-site game in Sparks, Maryland, against UConn, who the Dukes defeated in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year. Other out-of-conference opponents include No. 2 Maryland, No. 20 Richmond, No. 7 Rutgers, No. 13 Virginia and Johns Hopkins.

“Playing some of the top teams in the nation pushes us to learn things we need to work on quickly and early,” junior attacker Isabella Peterson said.

This type of scheduling is familiar to the Dukes, so much as Klaes even called the difficult out-of-conference games “the foundation of JMU lacrosse.”

“It's not just about honing into what you do in the conference,” Klaes said. “So I think we really pride ourselves in going up against the defending national champions right out of the gate — everyone else is scared of that game and we take it.”

CONTACT Hayden Hundley at hundlehf@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more lacrosse coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

JMU lacrosse opens its season against UNC on Saturday as members of the AAC. Breeze file photo

9, 2023

NEW & IMPROVED

JMU softball excited to debut in ballpark with $2.5 million-plus in renovations

By MATTHEW TADDEI The Breeze

A semifinals appearance in the Women’s College World Series in 2021; winning six CAA championships, two of which were back to back in 2016 and 2017; and head coach Loren LaPorte leading the Dukes to a 148-34 record in four seasons, coupled with 45,000 Twitter followers, it’s all put JMU softball on the map.

This past summer, JMU Athletics announced its expansion of Veterans Memorial Park’s softball stadium for the coming 2023 season.

“Softball has been among our highest-achieving programs with multiple conference championships and noteworthy NCAA postseason success,” JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said in the summer press release. “The softball program has deep community ties, which has resulted in capacity crowds. While we have addressed this with temporary solutions for years, there was a strong desire to

pursue permanent structural expansion to match the interest.”

In previous seasons, the stadium had a capacity for 625 spectators. With this extension, it can now hold 1,500 people above the first and third base line. The improvements to the stadium structure and bleachers cost $2,852,000, Kevin Warner, JMU assistant athletic director for communications, said in an email to The Breeze.

Not only did JMU softball expand its stadium, the locker room was redone, which has been a big hit with the team since its upgrade finished in November, players said.

“It is just an amazing space because it provides an area for our team to be together,” LaPorte said. “There is a lounge area for them to watch film or Netflix, or just to hang out together.”

LaPorte said she’s happy with the result of the new and improved stadium and locker room, and the players said they can’t wait to use it throughout the season.

“I think we are all super grateful,” graduate infielder Hannah Shifflet said. “It’s a great atmosphere to be in there and we love spending time with one another in there while

making memories.”

Hallie Hall, graduate infielder said it’s a new home for the team. “We spend a lot of time there karaoking, and just getting to know each other better.”

LaPorte said the upgraded facilities help in recruiting. She said the class of 2023 will see the expansion and LaPorte said she believes it will bring in higher-level recruits.

Back in 2016, the JMU softball team recorded a new singlegame attendance record with 1,800 people in the stands and the outfield. For this coming season, Shifflett said, “the more people the better.”

The Dukes launch their new stadium March 10 at noon against Saint Joseph’s.

“We are ready to get after it and show them what we got,” Hall said.

CONTACT Matthew Taddei at taddeimj@dukes.jmu.edu. For more softball coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

Softball to honor Bernett

By SPORTS DESK The Breeze

JMU announced Wednesday that softball will wear stickers with the number 22 on the back of its helmets this season in honor of former catcher Lauren Bernett, who died last April. The sticker is heart-shaped and purple with softball stitchings inside, surrounding the 22.

Bernett played an important role in her two years at JMU, namely in its 2021 run to the Women’s College World Series. Last season, Bernett was the First Team All-CAA catcher. Over her career, Bernett scored nine home runs and racked up 33 RBIs.

“Every member of our team has kind of dealt and coped and handled things in their own process,” JMU head coach Loren LaPorte said at softball media day Tuesday.

“I think it’s important moving forward that we stick to respecting their privacy and the process of healing.”

While JMU is continuing to cope, LaPorte said it’s also looking forward to its 2023 season in the Sun Belt Conference. The Dukes are preparing to play the first games of their season this weekend in a tournament against Chattanooga, Indiana State and College of Charleston.

The tournament is in Charleston, South Carolina, where Bernett broke the Dukes’ program record with seven RBIs in a single game to help JMU defeat the College of Charleston, 8-2, on April 16.

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

Veterans Memorial Park’s upgrades include nearly 1,000 more seats above the first and third base line and a lounge area in the locker room that players have used to watch film and Netflix, JMU softball head coach Loren LaPorte said. Courtesy of JMU Athletics

JMU softball will sport No. 22 decals in memory of Bernett. Courtesy of JMU Athletics.

Headed back down

Byington returns to Georgia Southern for big-time men’s basketball matchup

By JACKSON HEPHNER The Breeze

On March 11, 2020, Georgia Southern men’s basketball defeated Georgia State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, 81-62. Former Georgia Southern student Brian Reynolds (’19) called it one of the biggest wins in Eagles’ history. It put them in prime position in the tournament semifinals, just two wins away from making March Madness for the first time in 30 years.

Then, as Reynolds said, “the world shuts down via COVID next day.” March 11 was the last time then-Georgia Southern head coach Mark Byington coached a game in his tenure.

After the Eagles defeated Georgia State, the Sun Belt suspended all regular season competitions and conference championships. Eight days later, Byington resigned after seven years with the program and announced he was headed to JMU.

Georgia Southern redshirt junior forward/ center Johnny McFatten was a freshman during Byington’s final season. He remembers getting a paragraph-long text from Byington while on the plane ride back from the Sun Belt tournament in Atlanta. The coach told his team he was leaving.

“I was kind of just like, ‘Dang,’” McFatten said. “Like, and it kind of really hurt because I mean, he was a nice dude. I like Mark Byington. He was a cool coach and I really enjoyed him in his time here.”

That was three seasons ago. This Thursday, Byington is returning to Statesboro for the first time to coach against his former program. The Eagles are now coached by Brian Burg, who Byington said is “doing a good job.” However, Georgia Southern has hit growing pains in the transition. Burg is 38-42 in three seasons with the Eagles. Byington went 131-97 from 2013-20.

“He’s just been so underwhelming,” former Savannah Morning News writer McClain Baxley said of the Burg tenure thus far. “Pretty much all the talent that was there left. They haven’t really brought any exciting players in.”

Eagles’ sophomore guard Calvin Wishart transferred after Byington’s departure to UC Santa Barbara. He led Georgia Southern in assists (79), 3-pointers (59) and 3-point percentage (38.3%) while an Eagle. Redshirt junior Quan Jackson transferred to UAB after starting all 33 games of Byington’s final year and leading the Sun Belt and ranking sixth in the country in steals (86).

While it didn’t help remedy the situation when Byington won the CAA regular season title in his first year with the Dukes, Baxley, McFatten and Reynolds all said there were no

hard feelings over how Byington left.

Before Byington, Georgia Southern wasn’t a basketball school, Reynolds said. But as its football program began to decline with back-to-back losing seasons in 2016 and 2017, basketball improved, going 39-17 from 2016-18, and the culture started to shift. Now, the culture at Georgia Southern shifted back toward football after four bowl appearances since 2018.

“Seeing the students section kind of dip a little bit,” Reynolds said, “seeing attendance kind of dip a little bit kind of hurts me a little bit just because it was just fun to go to games when we were at least decently good.”

Still, Reynolds understood Byington taking a job closer to his hometown of Salem, Virginia. At the time, Reynolds said he was happy Byington left for a then-CAA member, JMU, rather than a Sun Belt rival like Appalachian State or Georgia State.

Looking back, Reynolds thanks Byington for being a great coach for the Georgia Southern basketball program and university as a whole. Baxley said he won’t expect any hatred from the Southern faithful Thursday night.

McFatten is the only current Georgia Southern player who Byington coached. He said he hasn’t brought up Byington’s departure a lot with his teammates, calling the matchup “just another game.” McFatten talked to Byington when the Eagles visited Harrisonburg earlier this season. He said his former coach told him he was proud of him.

“He was just a cool dude. Cool coach,” McFatten said. “I thank them for giving me the opportunity to come to college and play basketball with this team. Like I’m forever thankful for that.”

As for the coach himself, Byington said he doesn’t think there’ll be “a feeling of nostalgia or anything like that” Thursday. Rather, his focus will be on beating “a really good team in a difficult building.” But looking back on his time in Statesboro, Byington is content with his tenure and departure.

“You know, I give every single thing I have all the time to try to help [any] program, help those players, help that team,” he said. “I’m doing the same thing I did at Georgia Southern here at James Madison. And after that, when it’s time to leave, time to do something else, you know, it’s just sometimes an inevitable thing or a natural thing.”

CONTACT Jackson Hephner at hephnejt@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more men’s basketball coverage, follow the sports desk at @TheBreezeSports.

JMU men’s basketball sits in fourth in the Sun Belt standings. Savannah Reger / The Breeze

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 “where-are-theBreezes?” dart to UREC.

From a Breeze fan who wonders why there haven't been any copies of The Breeze in the UREC atrium.

A “gracias” pat to a friend who bought me and my friends dinner at El Charro.

From someone who was full of chips and salsa.

Self-service sorrow

Dining kiosks force students into strict payment options and prevent meal adjustment

PATRICK HANOVER contributing columnist

The kiosks at JMU dining locations, such as Market 64 and Dukes Dining, are intended to make transactions more convenient. A lot of these systems became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic — and these technologies remain in place, perhaps due to their novelty

Kiosks allow you to order your food without interacting with anyone. You follow instructions on a touch screen to customize your order. There’s a process you go through to complete your order, but you can usually

An “it-goes-withoutsaying” dart to the person who sat in my unassigned assigned seat in the fourth week of class.

From someone who is arriving to class earlier next time.

A “time-to-relax” pat to Assessment Day.

From someone who desperately needed time to catch up.

go back and change things before officially checking out. This all may seem convenient — it would appear as if all that stood between you and your order were just a few taps on a screen, and you’re all set. This is mostly true, as fast-food chains, for example, might be able to advertise shorter lines if they install multiple kiosks.

Unfortunately, wait time can potentially be extended for some people and shorter for others, based on luck. This luck is more or less a speculation, but it’s possible for a few inputs to be overlooked if there aren’t

enough people managing a system. Output can be inconsistent as a result.

In addition, areas that have kiosks instead of a cashier make it difficult to use two or three punches. The kiosks send you into two separate paths by prompting the question “Is this a Duke Deal?” Selecting yes will show you all options that only require one punch, whereas selecting no will take you to the main menu.

see KIOSKS , page 20

Self-service kiosks at JMU don't accomodate the use of multiple punches for meals. Christian Wright / The Breeze

from KIOSKS , page 18

When you get to the end, you must select the payment method. Some students have shown dissatisfaction with the transaction process.

The main difference between the Freshens at the University Recreation Center (UREC), and the one at D-Hall is that customized meals, which allow for the use of multiple punches at UREC, are only done through regular standard payment methods at D-Hall.

Bottom line is, the interfaces on these kiosks are limited in terms of standard control over your ability to customize every part of your order. This is not felt as much at Dukes Dining, but at a workstation such as Freshens, which works the same way as a Chipotle, the ability to ask for special requests such as “double chicken” are not possible with the kiosks.

It would be ideal if this new way of ordering food is amended here at JMU to accommodate these requests.

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

Climb the ladder

ORIANA LUKAS | opinions with oriana

Wake up. Go to work. Answer emails.

Go home. Sleep.

Redo.

This is the standard day for many adults who try to find a place in the fast-paced, consuming corporate work environment. The common saying “climbing up the corporate ladder” refers to putting in an immense amount of effort to get from an entry level position to the top position of a specified career. Who wouldn’t want the highest paid position, with the most recognition? While it may seem like the ideal way to live, it can be incredibly time-consuming and draining.

Maggie Curry, a senior political science major going into the Army after graduation, said this mentality is a predominant cause for burn out.

“I think overall we have a very strong ‘workuntil-you’re-dead’ mentality, while other cultures prioritize time off,” Curry said. “This leads to burnout and overall unhappiness, especially if people are trapped in a field they don’t like and have to do every day.”

Western societies have consistently pushed this ideology for years. The term “American Dream” was coined in 1931 in “The Epic of America” by James Truslow Adams which described America as the land where there are endless equal opportunities for everyone. Though in theory this idea

signifies prosperity, it’s also created a warped mentality.

According to the BBC, Western societies value personal success over group success. This idea creates the mindset that one has to work for themselves and only themselves. In turn, this creates an overconfidence in self performance with 94% of American professors claiming they were better than average according to the BBC. So, in theory, if everyone is better than average, imagine the exhaustion that comes from trying to compete with everyone else in the working world. Curry said she can see how it’s easy to fall into competition, especially with her field.

“In the Army you’re always focused on promotion,” Curry said. “You want to make sure you do your tasks well for the good, but will always be trying to one up each other so you don’t fall behind.”

This mentality also plays a role in declining mental health. CNBC published an article in 2019 saying working eight hours a week is optimal for increased mental health. This number seems shocking, but a study done by the University of Cambridge and the University of Salford looked at the link between life-satisfaction, mental health and working hours.

CORPORATE LADDER , page 20

Focusing on advancement in the corporate workplace can lead to unsatisfactory lives for recent graduates

The Freshens at UREC doesn't have kiosks while the one at D-Hall does. Christian Wright / The Breeze

from CORPORATE LADDER , page 19

They looked at a group of middle-aged adults in the UK and found that with a looser work regimen, their risk of poor mental health was reduced by 30%

While poor mental health was shown to decrease, the results of the study showed the participants felt more satisfied with at least 20 hours of work a week, especially for the women. This is a slight increase from eight hours but still a major decrease from the typical 40-hour work week.

As college students approach this competitive environment, it’s important to recognize this mentality is not meant for everyone. Students are trying to navigate what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Though, who really knows at the age of 22? The idea that young adults have to know their path and are pushed into a fast-paced work environment they haven’t experienced before seems unfathomable and unrealistic.

“Overall, I think it’s a hard line to draw,” Curry said. “If you love your job that’s great, but the most important thing is a work-life balance. If you don’t have that, you won’t be successful because you’ll burn out and want to leave. Going into my job, that will be something I will focus on .”

There are self-fulfilling values in life other than work. Prioritizing work over all leisurely activities and hobbies can easily lead to a lower life satisfaction. Work is not everything, and that’s something Western societies have completely lost and forgotten.

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

As graduates enter competitive workplace environments, many begin to experience burn out as a result of poor work-life balance. Savannah Reger / The Breeze

Culture of Consumption

ELIOT ZEDD | contributing columnist

College students often knowingly, and very willingly, fall into the spiderweb trap of social media advertisements time and time again.

Over 98% of college-aged students are on social media. This makes the age group an extremely lucrative target for enterprises. Social media boomed in 2009 and has not slowed down since. College-aged students, generally between the ages of 18-22, are the first generation to be raised in a social mediadominated world.

According to a CNN report, the average age that children start on social media is 12.6 years old. This means that companies have been tracking college-aged people’s information since before they became teenagers. As an 18-year-old who has been on social media since I was 12, this means that companies have been collecting my information for nearly six years.

With those statistics in mind, one can now question the effects of social media on this generation — in this case, its consumption habits.

By growing up with the use of social media, college-aged students have developed a need for validation and affirmation more than ever before. People love to fit in and follow trends.

In fact, a study by the University of Mississippi showed that 60% of college students prefer buying from top-selling brands. The study also found that 64% of those individuals wait to see if their peers like the product before they purchase it. College-aged individuals’ intrinsic need to fit in gives companies an immense edge in terms of marketing.

Freshman kinesiology major Keira Federline said she periodically buys things because of social media.

When asked about how being on social media since age 13 has influenced her, she responded, “Sometimes [it] does more harm than good, but we have all grown up with it, so it’s difficult to not be on social media and stay in the loop.”

her friends like it.

In today’s social media realm, it’s easier than ever for companies to use personal information to curate ads explicitly tailored for the consumer. College-aged students are more than willing to give up their personal information when signing up for social media applications without even skimming the terms and services. A whopping 91% of people

For example, someone who posts themselves out in nature may often receive ads from Patagonia constantly promoting their “1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment.”

By using these tactics, companies turn people into mere consumers. But why should someone care if enterprises are taking their information if they’re showing them ads they want to see?

The repercussions of increased consumption due to social media manipulation are far greater than the potential benefits. Looking at this issue from a global point of view, when consumer habits increase, demand grows, which leads to increased production. Increased production can cause the use of more greenhouse gass to make products, which contributes to global warming.

When looking at this issue through a smaller lens, the negative effects on mental health are evident. The constant need to fit in or be better than everyone else is a theme that has withstood the test of time. Now with social media, people’s insecurities are through the roof. Companies can manipulate these insecurities to flip a profit.

Federline said she buys something because of social media “at least once a month.” She explained that the constant ads on TikTok and Instagram drive her to make purchases, even though she knows she shouldn’t fall for them. As for what motivates her to buy a product, she said it’s more likely for her to buy something if it’s listed as a best-seller, promoted by influencers she follows and if

accept the terms and services of social media applications before reading them according to a 2017 Deloitte study. Companies are then able to access your personal information to see what you like and dislike and what’s trending near you — all completely legally.

Companies can use information in a multitude of ways. One way is to promote prosocial claims that the user may support.

In our social media-dominated society, it’s difficult to escape the gripping hands of capitalism around your throat. You can try to escape the manipulation, but to many of us college-aged people, it’s all we know.

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

Targeted advertising on social media has resulted in high levels of consumerism in college-aged people

“Sometimes [it] does more harm than good, but we have all grown up with it, so it’s difficult to not be on social media and stay in the loop.”

Keira Federline JMU Freshman

This week in JMU history...

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

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

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

Patti Varol

Tribune Content Agency,

Job Opportunity - Transit Bus Operator

Do you want a part-time job that has meaning and provides a service that directly impacts the local community? If so, consider applying to the City of Harrisonburg’s Bus Driver - Transit (Transit Bus Operator) position! Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

MADISON MARKETPLACE

Madison Marketplace is open for business, and all text-only listings are FREE ! Post job listings, announcements, rentals and more using our online placement tool. Ads run two weeks online and in two print editions.

Job Opportunity - Golf Cart Attendant

Do you want a seasonal position with flexible scheduling that plays a vital role in projecting a friendly image of our golf course facility to citizens/employees/others? If so, the Parks and Recreation Department’s Golf Cart Attendant position may be the right job for you! Find out more/apply online: https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/ employment. EOE.

Job Opportunity - Administrative Assistant

Job Opportunity - Customer Service Specialist (Golf)

Are you looking for a seasonal job that allows you to interact with others in a fun environment at the award-winning Heritage Oaks Golf Course? If so, consider applying for the City of Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation Department’s Customer Service Specialist - Golf position! Find out more/ apply online: https://www.harrisonburgva. gov/employment. EOE.

Job Opportunity - Custodian (Maintenance Division)

Do you want a job with the City that helps project a friendly image to our citizens, employees, and others? If so, the Custodian position in the City of Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation Department’s Maintenance Division may be the right opportunity for you! Find out more/apply online: https:// www.harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Are you seeking a part-time job that allows you to utilize your administrative support and office operations experience? If so, consider applying to the City of Harrisonburg’s Administrative Assistant position within the Public Works Department! Find out more/ apply online: https://www.harrisonburgva. gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - School Bus Driver

Do you want to utilize your driving skills to help ensure that local students arrive to school in a safe manner? If so, the City of Harrisonburg’s Department of Public Transportation School Bus Driver position may be the right career for you! Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

Career Opportunity - Project Coordinator

Are you seeking a new opportunity in your project coordination/management career?

If so, consider the City of Harrisonburg Department of Public Works’ Project Coordinator role, which will provide you with a challenging yet rewarding opportunity to utilize your knowledge, skills, and abilities. Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

UREC is hiring!

Summer positions: TEAM Facilitator, Summer Camp Staff, and Summer Lifeguard.

Summer/Fall: Adventure Specialist, Cooking Instructor, Event Operations Specialist, Fitness Assistant, Sports Official, Recreation Assistant, and Swim Instructor.

Fall: Adventure Trip Leader, Emergency Responder, Maintenance Assistant, Member Services Assistant, and Wellness Instructor. Apply February 10-24 on JMU JobLink!

3 Bedroom Duplex with Garage for Rent

3br/2bth duplex w/garage for rent. 55+ community (at least half of the people renting must be 55 or older). 10 min from JMU.

Windows 13 tutor needed

Needed--tutor in Windows. I need help in learning to wrtite manuscripts and general computer skills i8n Windows 13. Will pay $50.00 per hour or negotiate rate. John Weir 540 421 9537 weircp@live.com

Career

Opportunity -

Crew Supervisor for Traffic Signs & Pavement Markings

Do you want to utilize your leadership skills/related experience to provide a clearly marked and signed public right-of-way for all road users? If so, consider applying to the City of Harrisonburg Public Works Department’s Crew Supervisor for Traffic Signs & Pavement Markings position! Find out more/apply online: https://www. harrisonburgva.gov/employment. EOE.

CITY OF HARRISONBURG JOBS JOBS COMMUNITY

FEB.

DID YOU KNOW...

The Madison Experience requires resources greater than those provided through state appropriations and tuition. Gifts of all sizes are necessary to power JMU.

YOUR GIFT COULD SUPPORT:

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DUKES

Many students who want to attend JMU can’t afford to without a scholarship. Your gift can help another student overcome their financial constraints so they can come to JMU.

JMU COUNSELING CENTER

The TimelyCare program provides access to virtual mental health and wellbeing services for FREE 24/7, 365 days a year to all JMU students. Students do not need insurance to access TImelyCare. Your gift can support resources like these.

THESE ARE JUST 2 EXAMPLES. YOU CHOOSE WHERE YOUR GIFT GOES.