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SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE! FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
Indiana’s Oldest College Newspaper
Buzz mounting ahead of Andrew Luck Ubben lecture
PHOTO COURTESY OF FANSSHARE.COM EMILIY MCCARTER news@thedepauw.com
As with every Ubben lecture, Ken Owen attempts to entice students to attend interesting lectures Owen said that for this semester he has achieved a “wow factor.” Andrew Luck, the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, is set to speak at DePauw on April 24 at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. “I think [Luck] brings a really good case study to a liberal arts college where the people that are involved in athletics play for the love of the game. They’re here to study first and foremost and athletics is a second thing to them,” said Ken Owen, Executive Director of Media Relations. Luck’s lecture, entitled “Creating Your Personal Game Plan for Success,” will be open to DePauw students first. “The idea will be that the program will be about life choices and about coming up with a schematic of what you’re going to do with your life and how you make decisions,” Owen said. “[This lecture will] get his ideas as to what compelled him to stay in school, how did he
make the choices he made, how do you balance study and work and having fun outside of class.” Luck (25) would have been the first pick in the NFL draft his junior year of college at Stanford, but he chose to stay in school and complete his degree in architecture. After he graduated, Luck was drafted number one overall. “He is an advocate for studying hard and having goals in life,” Owen said. DePauw’s own football coach Bill Lynch will moderate Luck’s lecture, but the topic of football will mainly be discussed in a separate meeting between Luck and DePauw’s football team. “I believe our team will enjoy their conversation with Andrew. He’s not far removed from being a college student-athlete himself, so he’ll be able to share how he handled the difficult balance between academics and football,” Lynch said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to talk about his background, his experience at Stanford and in the NFL with the Colts. I’m sure he’ll have some great stories to tell as well.” Sophomore quarterback Matt Hunt agrees with Coach Lynch. “It’s a great opportunity for our school and our football team. He’s a great role model for student athletes and I’m looking forward to [hearing] what he has to say,” Hunt said. “I’m interested to hear his thoughts on balancing academics with athletics at a school like Stanford. I’ve followed him throughout his career and looking forward to listening to him and meeting him.” Many students are aware of his academic, as well as football background, and know he will offer a lot of substantial advice for DePauw students. “I think he’s going to be a really great speaker at DePauw because he’s not only a football player, he’s also really intelligent; he graduated from Stanford with a degree in architecture,” said sophomore Sarah Wilson. “A lot of football players that know they’re going to go professional kind of blow off academics but he most definitely did not so he is a great example of a superb student athlete.”
Luck | cont’d on page 3
VOL. 163, ISSUE 25
First Flower-ins, now IFC and Panhellenic bring change to Spring Recruitment
North-American Interfraternity Conference, Inc. and National Panhellenic Conference, Inc. crests. COURTESY OF NIC AND NPC. LEXY BURTON news@theDepauw.com
First the fresh cut flowers, now the Black Monday festivities. Members in Greek chapters on campus will have to wait before celebrating their new pledge classes. Last semester DePauw’s Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils revised bylaws regarding Spring 2015 recruitment creating changes to structure and function of recruitment. Voted into the bylaws back in 2007, National Panhellenic made a unanimous agreement that all 26 organizations on campus would agree not to have a grade point average requirement. National Panhellenic has rules against discrimination against women regarding their age, race, sexual orientation or grade point average. DePauw’s National Panhellenic Council was unaware of the grade point average rule as of 2007. Last fall, the council amended their bylaws making a decision no longer requiring women to have a 2.5 GPA requirement for this spring’s 2015 recruitment. The requirement was previously required because National Panhellenic Council values the importance of academics. Although there is no longer a requirement
to register and go through recruitment individual chapters have their own GPA standards. According to Maggie Hayes, coordinator or sorority life, all six houses require above a 2.5, except Kappa Kappa Gamma, which requires a 2.67. “Despite no longer having a GPA requirement we didn’t want women to have false hope,” said Libby Warren, Panhellenic President. Although there is no longer a GPA requirement, Panhellenic does not have the authority to delegate if chapters choose to select women below their specific requirements. “Rho Gammas have really stressed the importance of academics in Greek 101, Ice events,” said Warren. “Alexa Masters, [vice president of recruitment] has done a good job making sure these women know that academics are important to individual chapters.” Although chapters have individual GPA requirements they do have the ability to welcome women with a lower GPA. “It is difficult to say if this change will effect numbers this year,” said Warren. Although the freshmen class is smaller than last years, percentage of first year women
Recruitment | cont’d on page 3
the depauw|news
PAGE 2
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
MLK speech encourages and inspires BY BROCK TURNER news@thedepauw.com
www.thedepauw.com FRIDAY, JA NUARY 30, 2015 VOL. 163, ISSUE 25 Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Chief Copy Editor Assistant Copy Editor News Editors Features Editor Opinions Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Design Editor Multimedia Editor Web Editor Social Media Editor Assistant Social Media Editor Business Manager Advertising Manager
Nettie Finn Alex Weilhammer Kevin Killeen Ali Baker Lexy Burton Brock Turner Austin Candor Jackson Mote Jacob Lynn Sam Caravana Meg Morrow Erin O’Brien Leann Burke C Thambundit Christa Schroedel
Indiana State University professor, Brian McGowan, encouraged a full Peeler Auditorium on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to recognize, “the same hardships that Dr. [Martin Luther] King fought for are still present today.” McGowan called the day, “a recommitment opportunity,” while encouraging the audience to realize work still needs to be done. He believes there are still injustices present for all minorities today. “I do not think we are in a place to celebrate,” he said. “Injustice affects everyone.” McGowan directly addressed issues present on DePauw’s campus revolving around race, privilege, microaggressions and police protests. Even though
positive steps are being taken, he believes there is still a long way to go before racism is gone. McGowan said often times people are not inherently being offensive; they simply say things without recognizing their implications. That, he said, is a miroagression. His message preceded the DePauw Dialogue, which encouraged all faculty, staff and students to think about what they are saying and the potential messages their actions might carry. “To be more like Dr. King we must think outside ourselves,” McGowan said. “Remember this was only 50 years ago.” Further, McGowan took time to recognize the impact King made. He said King’s contributions were much greater than the Washington D.C. march and his famous “I have a Dream” speech.
“We have to be careful not to take what Dr. King said out of context,” McGowan said. “It is my hope we understand the real contributions.” He wanted the audience to understand there was more to his legacy than what most people learned in elementary school, and that it must continue today. “He stood for what was right,” McGowan said the civil rights leader was focused on making real contributions and was not afraid or uncomfortable to stand up for what was right. Student Body Vice President Courtney Crosby believes the speeches and dialogue are important steps forward. “We need to stop being passive and continue to make these strides, not stop at one thing, and be active members.”
WILDART Brent Doty grinds a piece of metal during construction going on in preparation for the grand opening of Anthony’s Pizza, which will be located at 306 East Washington St., once home to Green Apple Frogurt.
Meghan Burke Nathan Basham
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superb student athlete.” Luck will be the first professional athlete to speak at DePauw since Peyton Manning’s 2004 Ubben lecture. Different from Manning’s lecture, who read a speech from paper, Luck plans to have a conversation involving important things to which students can relate. There will also be time for students to ask questions. “There’s an element of sports that sometimes you bring in people and it’s very cli-
Recruitment | cont’d from page 1 than last year’s, percentage of first year women participating in recruitment increased. Thirty-two sophomores will be joining their first-year classmates during recruitment. However, men that will be participating in Spring 2015 recruitment are required to have a 2.5 and IFC requires men to have a 2.0 to receive an open bid. “National headquarters all have a standard that is higher than a 2.0,” said Eric Wolfe president of IFC. Although the GPA requirement for IFC didn’t change, this year during recruitment first round was split into two days. Instead of having potential new members visit all ten chapters in one day, men visited five chapters on Saturday and five chapters on Sunday. “Men participating in DePauw fraternity recruitment are raving about the change from one to two days,” said Myrna Hernandez, “People’s spirits were high from a potential new member standpoint,” said Myrna Hernandez.
chéd… but I think in this kind of setting [with Luck], you get something different, it’s not canned and the moderator can guide the conversation in certain ways,” Owen said. Owen has been trying to get Luck to speak since fall of 2012 but it hadn’t come together until now. Since Andrew Luck doesn’t typically do lectures like this, many parents of students plan on coming to DePauw to hear his lecture. “A lot of people hold him in high regard,” Owen said. When Owen is looking for potential Changing this aspect of recruitment gave fraternity members the opportunity to see what worked the first day and what didn’t work, allowing them make changes for the second day. Wednesday’s DePauw Dialogue not only impacted Panehellenic’s alternative recruitment, but it also had an impact on the message chapters are sending to potential new members. “The day of inclusion had a positive effect on men’s recruitment,” said Wolfe, “especially planning first round presentations and making sure they were congruent with the message that has been present on campus.” Traditionally, on the Monday following sorority Bid Day many women newly accepted into chapters participated in festivities at fraternities. However, IFC held a discussion last September deciding to no longer allow fraternities to hold events on the Monday after recruitment. “Panhellenic women are many of the women that attend events held in fraternities, and they are expected to be respectful to the men in these chapters and follow the rules IFC will be forcing,” said Warren.
people to speak as an Ubben lecture guest at DePauw, he looks for people that haven’t spoken a lot, especially near DePauw. To further ensure the “wow factor” with Ubben lectures, Owen usually writes into his contracts that the speaker “cannot speak in a 90 mile radius of [DePauw] for 90 days.” Regardless of Luck’s contract, many students, staff, faculty and parents in the DePauw community plan to attend his lecture. “If you look at people in the sports world, it doesn’t get more appropriate than him,” Owen said.
Wednesday an email was forwarded to chapter presidents, social chairs and new member educators stating: “This decision to eliminate these events stems from the poor attendance to classes on Tuesday. As a member of a fraternity/sorority chapter, scholarship is a foundation of your organization. It is important that we strive to continue to succeed academically and recognize that skipping class on Tuesday, due to Monday’s events, sends the wrong message to the rest of the DePauw community.” Not only is the Greek community worried about people skipping classes on Tuesday but they are worried about the impression “Black Monday” leaves on new members. “It doesn’t send a positive message to new member classes,” said Hernandez. Instead of going out on a school night, CLCD is encouraging students of Greek Chapters to organize and activity solely for new members and the chapter. CLCD is even offering to pay for the costs of these chapter events. Fraternities that choose to have people attend events Monday evening are in jeopardy of their off-campus spring formals being cancelled.
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Luck | cont’d from page 1
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PAGE 3 DePauw
Tiger Tweets Madeline Piscetta, ‘17 @mpiscetta
10:54 a.m.- 29 January 2015
Yes depauw, putting tropical foliage in the gym definitely makes me feel like I’m on an island oasis
Sarah Fears ‘17 @_SarahEm_
8:02 p.m. - 28 January 2015
However, despite it’s shortcomnigs, DePauw Dialogue did exactly what it is supposed to do, and that is to open dialogue.
President Casey @PresidentCasey
11:32 a.m. - 24 January 2015
Does anyone about to leave a voicemail ever want to “press 1 for more options.” No, no they do not.
INSTAGRAM PHOTO OF THE ISSUE
the depauw|news
PAGE 4
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
CAMPUSCRIME Editor’s Note: The following report represents notable criminal activity over an extended period of time.
Marijuana • Forwarded to Prosectuor’s Office / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 1:30 a.m. | Place: Walnut St.
January 4
January 11
• Possession of Marijuana / Possession of Paraphernalia • Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 10:56 p.m. | Place: Longden Hall
• Safe Community Call - Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 1:09 a.m. | Place: Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity
January 8 • Safe Community Call - Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Visitor Released to Custody of Friend / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 2:18 a.m. | Place: Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity • Noise / Alcohol Violation • Released / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 10:31 p.m. | Place: Humbert Hall January 9 • Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Released to Custody of Friend / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 12:26 a.m. | Place: Locust St. • Traffic Stop / Possession of
January 13 • Possession of Paraphernalia • Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 11:10 p.m. | Place: Longden Hall January 14 • Safe Community Call - Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 11:16 p.m. | Place: Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity January 16 • Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 12:36 a.m. | Place: College St.
January 17
Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 7:33 p.m. | Place: Humbert Hall
• Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 1:39 a.m. | Place: Delta Upsilon Fraternity
• Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 11:04 p.m. | Place: Longden Hall
January 18
January 23
• Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Released to Custody of Friend / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 2:43 a.m. | Place: Longden Hall
• Safe Community Call - Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 1:30 a.m. | Place: Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity
• Alcohol Violation / Welfare Check • Transported to Hospital / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 2:55 a.m. | Place: Longden Hall • Public Indecency • Made Contact with Resident / Verbal Warning Issue | Time: 2:57 p.m. | Place: 710 S Locust January 21 • Minor in Consumption / Criminal Mischief • Forwarded to Prosecutor’s Office / Forwarded to Community Standards Committee | Time: 12:58 a.m. | Place: East College Lawn
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
Professor of the Week: Rick Bass University lands big catch this semeseter with Bass as Mary Field professor a school. Not many schools have this kind of a gig. TDP: What are some of your goals for the semester?
• Theft of Laptop • Unsecured / Pending | Time: 11:55 a.m. | Place: Delta Tau Delta Fraternity January 26 • Harassment via Social Media • Pending | Time: unknown | Place: Off Campus January 27 • Medical • Transported to Hospital | Time: 1:50 a.m. | Place: Mason Hall
• Possession of Marijuana / Possession of Paraphernalia •
The staff at The DePauw wishes everyone going through recruitment this week good luck!
YOU GOT THIS.
the depauw |FEATURES
PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSICA LOWRY BY ALEX WEILHAMMER Features@thedepauw.com
Joining DePauw’s English faculty this spring semester as the Mary Rogers Field Distinguished University Professor is highly acclaimed writer Rick Bass. He’s won numerous awards including the PEN/Nelson Algren Award for fiction, and has taught at several universities such as the University of Montana and Beloit College. Sixteen students are enrolled in his workshop, titled “Fiction and Environmental Nonfiction Workshop.” The DePauw had an opportunity to speak with Professor Bass, and this is what he had to say: The DePauw (TDP): How was your professorship at DePauw arranged? Rick Bass (RB): David Fields created this endowment to honor his wife, and it’s a rotating appointment where writers of different genres come in and spend a semester, just being available to students, teaching a class, a workshop in my case, and interacting with other classes as desired. It was an incredibly generous gift. And I’ve been thinking a lot about how, and I don’t mean to sound self-congratulatory, but it’s amazing how just one person’s gesture can help
RB: I want [the students] to improve and grow in their revision abilities, and to take joy in cutting. I would like them to become more comfortable with working off the map or off script, not knowing how a story or essay will end. I have some basic goals for them. Improving through repetition and coaching basic fundamentals, almost like a boot camp kind of thing. Use the word “father” when appropriate, “further” when it’s appropriate; don’t confuse the two. And then a larger more abstract goal in infusing their work with passion. There can be a tendency of younger writers to be careful when caution is not their strength, and one should always write to their strengths. TDP: What are your preferred writing conditions? How do you plan to write while you are here in Greencastle, IN? RB: I like to work in the morning, so I go to bed early enough in order to get up early enough to work. And it’s pretty much that simple. I’ve got my dog here with me, so that’ s a complicating factor. I have a sweet office out at Prindle, which would be a lovely place to work, but until she gets settled I don’t want to leave her alone too long. I’m still developing a routine. But right now I just get up, walk her, feed her, sit down at the table in the living room, and go to work. TDP: How long do you normally write? RB: Ideally a minimum of two, three, three and a half hours. After that I start to get tired and make mistakes, and it’s not to my benefit to keep pushing across the threshold of fatigue or weariness. Hemingway had a really good piece of advice about stopping each day’s work at just the point where you have some momentum to pick up the next day. TDP: How did your upbringing shape your writing style? RB: I grew up in Texas, in Houston, in
the suburbs. I think the simple brute geography of the place really influenced me a lot in voice and style. It’s a place that’s between two other places. It’s at the edge of the west, and yet it’s at the edge of the south. You have the whole Texas vibe going back then: the furthering frontier of the West, of the imagination, opportunity just a little farther west. And so you grow up with that mythic idea of big space, spaciousness, opportunity, independence, which of course is a myth. It’s not a reality, but it’s a storyline. Another influence is the deeply oral and stratified southern storytelling tradition. “So-and-so begat so-and-so begat so-and-so.” They just don’t get in a hurry with the stories in the South. The discursiveness, the digressiveness, the fecundity, the languor, the luxuriant prose and storytelling. TDP: What’s at the heart of your writing? RB: I’ve always written a lot about time and time’s relationship in human lives versus the lives of animals or the processes of geology. Our unique or singular or peculiar definition of time, the myth that we can exert some influence or control in our lives, is interesting to me. I’m interested in themes of excess and posits at every level, like a productive environment versus an environment of limited productivity. What’s the value of beauty in humans’ lives under a time of duress, a time of war? I consider that a fair bit these days. What is the cost of being engaged? What is the cost of being benumbed? They are protective mechanisms either way, they are evolutionarily valuable. They are here for a reason. When should you exert your influence to step from one to the other? What are the cumulative effects of habit and routine? I don’t know. Different things, different things. Be sure to check out Rick Bass’s craft talk this Tuesday, Feb. 3rd, in the Watson Forum of the PCCM. He is not entirely sure what all he will talk about, but knows he’ll have something to say about sentences.
PAGE 5
ALBUM REVIEW
Emerging artists of 2015 BY JAKE STRAUSS Features@thedepauw.com
Petite Noir: King of Anxiety EP Yannik Ilunga is a 24 year old South African musician that started off as a guitarist in a metal band in his mid-teens. Over the years, he has been influenced by many artists and different types of sounds to bring him to what he is producing today. His music takes on a very mature sound; something that comes with years of tinkering and figuring out what kind of sounds he wants to meld together. He has been on the map since 2012 when he released his debut single “Till We Ghosts,” which is on The King of Anxiety (Mos Def, aka Yasiin Bey, also did a remix of it). He was relatively silent until late last year when he released his breakout song “Chess,” which received critical acclaim around the blogosphere. His debut EP starts off with the energetic “Come Inside,” which showcases his brilliant baritone voice. It begins with a simple drumbeat and melody with a guitar mimicking in the background. Then it gradually swells, and you get the feeling that this will be a great experience. “Chess” is one of the most elaborate songs on his EP. It begins with a rhythmic dance between synths, drum machines and guitars, then Ilunga comes in with a beautiful falsetto “I don’t know, but you’re taking me for a fool, boy.” This is one of his stronger lyrical songs, about a relationship turned sour, and he’s pleading his lover to remember that they once had something. As the song concludes, the energy is injected and it turns into organized chaos, then cuts out. “Shadows” and “The Fall” make up the rest of the EP, and they are some of the more sonically beautifully songs in the col-
lection. The chords are vibrant, and the vocals are pristine. Overall, The King of Anxiety is a great beginning to a promising career. You can look for his debut album later in the year. Natalie Prass: Natalie Prass Natalie Prass is a singer/songwriter based out of Nashville, but she is not what you would think would come out of the Music City. She is signed to SpaceBomb records, where she is able to utilize the studio band and orchestra to fill out her retro sound. Her voice, while beautiful and substantial, is very timid and quiet. The music complements her voice perfectly, and fits the style of the music she is producing. She opens up her self-titled album with “My Baby Don’t Understand Me,” and it is a great introduction. The band sounds great, and her lyricism is uncanny. She poetically weaves her way through a relationship that is falling apart, exclaiming to the audience how her “baby don’t understand me anymore.” “Bird of Prey” is a groovy 70s funk-infused folk. The instrumentation is sweeping, and can take you away to her world for all five minutes. The verses are sung with a sort of swagger that embellishes the music. “Why Don’t You Believe In Me,” “Christy” and “Never Over You” are some other standout tracks that vividly show her heartbreak and influence from the 70s. The album closes out with “It Is You,” a very Broadway-esque/ black and white musical number. It is an uplifting sounding song of hope telling her love interest that nothing really matters unless he is with her. This is a refreshing album. Not much contemporary music is made like this today, and it is nice to hear sounds of the past being recreated by a talented lyricist and singer.
the depauw | features
PAGE 6 & 7
Winter Term
Around the Globe First-Year Grant Potts Over winter term I had the privilege of participating in a faculty-led trip to South Africa. I went into the trip knowing that most freshmen stay on campus, but I really believed there would be value in this trip for me. I was not disappointed. Our course was titled “Life After Mandela,” focusing on his impact and the racial tensions that occurred during apartheid and still occur today. I think I could write novel upon novel about my experiences there, but I will focus on one that was truly inspiring. During our first stop in Johannesburg, we visited a town on the outskirts called Soweto. Since apartheid, this traditionally black community has struggled with immense poverty. It was amazing to see it first hand.
As our group walked the streets, I experienced poverty like I have never had before. Imagine uneven dirt streets with sewage running through them, “houses” that were more like tin shacks and inadequate plumbing. However, despite all of this, I saw some of the happiest people I have ever seen. They never stopped smiling and showed our group, these foreign visitors walking through their streets, unconditional love. These people seemingly had nothing, but in reality they had absolutely everything. Soweto had a sense of community, love and hope that some of the richest American neighborhoods lack. With the memory of my South Africa trip, the incredible new friends I made on it, and a new sense of perspective, I start my second semester.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
Sophomore Maddie McIntyre
ITALY
SOUTH AFRICA
This past Winter Term, I partook in the amazing DePauw tradition of international travel. It was not my first time out of the country, but it was absolutely a new experience traveling without the comfort of my parents and for a full two weeks. The focus of my trip was “The Architecture of Sport: Soccer and Society in Italy,” which was led by Professor Dr. Pedar Foss. Our course in Italy quickly and deeply covered many archeological, architectural, significant sites and historical accounts in the three cities of Rome, Perugia and Florence. In addition to the classwork, we were fortunate enough to compete in three international soccer matches against students of a similar age, as well as attend two professional matches. Not only did I have the ability to travel across the globe to a country I had only before dreamed about, I was able to learn an extensive amount on why Italy is the way it is today
along with it’s global impact. I did this all while playing a sport I had never played before, but quickly fell in love with. This was truly the kind of once in a lifetime opportunity that Winter Term is famous for and this article could never do justice. I’m mostly thankful for the ability to learn more about myself by traveling to Italy. It reconfirmed my desires and capability to study abroad for a full semester. It taught me that I am more ready to live on my own than what I give myself credit for. Lastly, I gained a global perspective by connecting with the Italians I was able to talk with. It was an amazing experience to bond with people the same age over general topics even though we were raised an ocean apart. I also feel the need to mention the amazing food, scenery, shopping and gelato. My advice to all students and even adults is if you ever have a chance to travel abroad, be prepared to learn about the culture, people and yourself! And for everyone on the trip, “Francesco!”
Junior Alex Moss
restaurants; we ate the food cooked at the house (which was delicious). Instead of driving everywhere, we walked. Rather be tourists, we were travelers experiencing the culture The trip was eye opening. Rather than go to the major cit- than roots. ies, we stayed in the Tuscan countryside in a city called Arez- at its Now, it wasn’t all fun and games. The trip also had a class zo. We stayed on top of a hill just outside the downtown area, devoted to studying Italian cinema throughout its history, and in a place called La Accademia dell’ Arte (that’s Art Academy a film production attached to it. Altogether, I believe we in English). The building itself was about 500 years old, and watched 14 Italianunit films, and then screened the student made Arezzo actually predated the Roman Empire. were seven in total). As a film major, getting to It was authentically Italian, and certainly didn’t pander itself films (there a short film in Italy was a little like an athlete getting to to American tourists, but that was one of the reasons it was so make in Yankee Stadium: a once in a lifetime experience. All in great. For two and a half weeks, we weren’t Americans in Italy, play but instead Americans living as Italians. We didn’t go to fancy all, it was the best thing I’ve done at DePauw so far.
First-Year Hyeree Ellis As of today (Thursday, January 30th), it will be exactly one week since I’ve been back in the United States from my Winter Term trip to China. To say that I’ve gained invaluable experiences and memories is an understatement. But saying that, one particular memory will always stick out. In one of the markets we visited in Shanghai, I met a vendor whose English accent was particularly good. I asked her where she learned to speak so well, and she gave me an answer I wasn’t expecting: “Here, in the market.” A little confused, I requested more details and found a story that resonated with me. The 25 year-old had been working at that exact market for around eight years where another vendor taught her English in order to increase sales. This would mean she had started working there since she was 17 years-old—the peak age of high school. But she shamelessly said, “High school isn’t for everyone, you know. Not all of us can go.” At this point in our conversation, I was under the impression that she started working in the market instead of going to high school. I thought it was due
to family responsibilities or economic reasons, but I was wrong. I asked once more to confirm if she had been working for eight years, and she profusely shook her head and said, “No, no, no. Just here for eight years. Eighteen years all together in different markets or making…” This would mean she started working at the age of seven. In the United States, this would be hard to believe, but there, I saw so many children on the streets begging for money or even helping vendors attract foreigners. Because of her detail about markets and making…it’s easy to assume where her childhood was spent. Breaking my trance, she repeated, “This is a good deal, you know. I gave you a good deal.” I turned back, smiled and told her, “I know. It is a good deal. You gave me a lot.” And she did. She gave me a story that I hope to never forget and a new realization that while the world may be getting smaller and easier to access, it’s through human connections like these that I truly get to experience the world.
CHINA
the depauw | opinion
PAGE 8
THE DEPAUW | Editorial Board
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
The social structure of DePauw must adapt
CARTOON
Nettie Finn | Editor-in-Chief Alex Weilhammer | Managing Editor Kevin Killeen | Chief Copy Editor
GRAYSON PITTS
Unbiased reporting with an unbalanced staff: diversifying our reporting As a newspaper, we are obligated to report the news on DePauw’s campus. Perhaps our community’s most pressing issue, campus climate has been at the forefront of all of our minds, especially after Wednesday’s DePauw Dialogue. It is therefore our intention to cover DePauw’s most pressing issue with professionalism and without bias. After our storyboard meeting this past Wednesday, after the day’s speeches and break-out sessions concluded, a potential obstacle presented itself: most of our staff is white (most meaning over 90 percent). The DePauw does not seek to take sides or promote a particular message about campus climate. We at The DePauw have no agenda other than to report what is happening here. The white perspective is not the only perspective, but despite our best efforts, it is difficult to remain unbiased in our reporting when we have a racially unbalanced staff. Thus, we now ask students of color to consider joining our team to help us strike a stronger balance in our newsroom. The print medium of The DePauw is not the setting in which the University will overcome its racial obstacles. Our medium is, however, (ideally) an outlet upon which all students can rely to consume the information most relevant to our campus. We seek to set the facts straight, to lay it all on the table, so students can inform themselves on these issues, so students can then make informed decisions about how their conduct and interactions on campus. Honestly though, how well can The DePauw accomplish this goal if our staff remains primarily white? Don’t get us wrong; we will do the best we can. We will continue to run the paper twice a week, and we will continue to report the most relevant issues on campus. The DePauw is simply eager to expand the versatility of our reporting, eager to diversify the voices with which we tell the news of DePauw University. Both personal and complex, the issues that pervade our campus climate will not evaporate solely because of the efforts of The DePauw. As a news outlet, our influence on this issue is limited. We can make a difference through the quality of our reporting and the authenticity of our contributors. We will achieve quality through the journalistic process—interviewing, researching and editing. We will achieve authenticity through the perspectives of our writers, which is why we especially can benefit from new members joining our cause. Campus climate certainly affects all students on this campus, albeit with a stratified influence. Our campus will continue to engage in these deeply important dialogues, so it is our duty at The DePauw to regard these events with primary consideration. For anyone interested in helping, for anyone who wants to contribute their voice to our staff, The DePauw cordially invites you to our storyboard meetings every Sunday and Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. We would love to have you. email us at edboard@thedepauw.com
EDITORIAL POLICY The DePauw is an independently managed and financed student newspaper. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of DePauw University or the Student Publications Board. Editorials are the responsibility of The DePauw editorial board (names above). The opinions expressed by cartoonists, columnists and in letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial staff of The DePauw. The DePauw welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and accompanied by the author’s name
and phone number and sent in by 4 p.m. either the Monday or Thursday before print dates. Letters cannot be retracted after 5 p.m. the same day of submission. Letters have a 350-word limit and are subject to editing for style and length. The DePauw reserves the right to reject letters that are libelous or sent for promotional or advertising purposes. Deliver letters to the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, email the editor-in-chief at editor@ thedepauw.com or write The DePauw at 609 S. Locust St., Greencastle, Ind. 46135.
the depauw | opinion
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
I
Jim Easterhouse / THE DEPAUW
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR In 2005, artist Mark Swanson’s piece Fits and Starts celebrating sexual diversity was vandalized by a student and the community took action. The distinctive energy of a hard-fought battle was still hanging in the air when I came for a campus visit. Immediately I knew I wanted to be with and learn from the students, faculty, and staff who were visibly outraged over the destruction of a public work of art. It was only yesterday—nearly five years after graduating and ten after the incident—that I realized I also chose the school where the guilty student was enrolled. That’s the beautiful thing about DePauw University: it is a place where cultures clash and converge, a literal a microcosm of America. The small scale, supportive staff, and geographically finite campus support dialogue and swift action. Within the safety of a somewhat isolated community meaningful opportunities for students to practice civil unrest and political organizing are created. I speak from experience when I say these are skills that they will call upon for the rest of their lives. While I was at DePauw, I gained the knowledge and confidence to challenge the oppression I learned about in class. We fought against censorship, homophobia, hate speech, racism, sizeism and more. Had I attended any other university—one with more students, uninterested staff, less progressive faculty—I doubt I would have been called upon to activate. I would not have been granted the space to make mistakes or to develop the calluses I needed to continue that work into the “real world.” And that’s really what this is about. DePauw is not itself the real world, but it is part of it. You will never have more support or less reason to doubt yourself and your beliefs. Because your fellow students, whether they’re promoting or destroying what you believe in, are younger, more malleable, and less powerful versions of the people you’re going to encounter after graduation. And we alumni who are already out here fighting in the real world need you to come to battle prepared. Caitlin V. Neal DePauw Class of 2010
While I fully appreciate that there are important questions of policy and principle involved in mandating attendance of various campus constituencies at an event, I cannot help but feel disappointed that the question of "coercion" seems to have eclipsed the serious issues that led us to canceling classes for a day. It's well-worth remembering that there is no "opt-out" for members of our community who face daily challenges because of elements of their personal identities. I hope that even those most skeptical of the event can find it within themselves to spare, out of a genuine desire to understand, a few hours this one day to listen with open minds. This is a moment when we will show each other what kind of people we truly are. The call for this event comes largely from the worry, on the part of some of us, that the rest of us truly don't care what happens to them. Treating Wednesday as a "day off" will do nothing more than confirm them in those suspicions. I pray this community proves we are committed to rising above any image that we are an uncaring, unwelcoming place for some of our members. John Caraher Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy
’ve been watching this controversy unfold over my past two years at DePauw. I don’t have any solutions, but I have some ideas. I think in order to make strides towards equality on campus, we must first lay out the problem in plain terms. What I see is a campus dominated by a social structure long-rooted in this school’s tradition. Greek life has been a part of DePauw nearly since it’s founding over 175 years ago. And it’s no question that DePauw is a predominantly white school. As a result, DePauw has grown and flourished as an institution where the majority of the student population is white and Greek-affiliated. It has been, and continues to be this way. However, the non-white populace on campus is growing and is more prevalent than ever right
now. The growth of the minority on campus poses a question to DePauw’s social tradition: how does it adapt? Now that the social structure is confronted by a student population that it cannot completely satisfy, how does it change? Therein lies the problem. It seems that so far, the answer to this question has been simply not to change. This failure to change is what leaves the minority student population feeling largely ignored. The majority upholds the traditional DePauw social structure and fails to acknowledge the growing minority presence because it’s not required to. The majority can live the way it wants to without being affected by the minority’s presence. And so, the minority is left with an overwhelming feeling of exclusion. And more so, disrespect. Right now, the minority is knocking on a door that gets answered only by the school and its faculty. We have Cultural Resource Centers, a new Intercultural Life newsletter and on Wednesday, we had a day off of classes to talk about this issue. All of the faculty’s efforts mean nothing unless the students answer that knock at the door too. If we want to establish a community of respect, we must answer
the call to change from our fellow students. Being a member of the majority myself, I say: whether we like it or not, we have a responsibility. No matter who you are, you can view change as a good thing or you can view change as a bad thing, but either way—it’s inevitable. All you can do is embrace it with open arms and a progressive state of mind. What’s changing now is who is on our campus. And we have a responsibility to cater to this change, regardless of tradition. This campus, this school belongs to all DePauw students—to neglect this is to neglect our peers themselves and give up a bit of our own human decency. I’m not saying that no one is trying to make a change or that people are ignorant to the problem at hand. What I’m saying is that the power for change is in the hands of the majority. The student population can no longer coexist with the traditional DePauw social structure—a structure that fails to respect all people alike. Pitts is a junior English Writing major from Indianapolis. opinions@thedepauw.com
Facing the facts on our campus climate CONNER GORDON
T
he other day, I took a test. It didn’t take long, just a few keystrokes and some flashing images on a computer screen. Fifteen minutes later, my results suggested something that I was dreading: I may be a racist. Subconsciously, at least. I found this out by taking the Implicit Association Test, an exercise run by Project Implicit. After being presented with a series of images of dark-skinned and light-skinned faces, the survey asked me to quickly sort them into two groups: one with positive adjectives like “beautiful” and “kind,” and one with negative words like “hostile” or “deceitful.” Based on my response times to each face, the test then calculated any implicit bias present in my answers. At first, I didn’t see the need to take such a survey. I certainly didn’t consider myself a racist; I had been working to be a better ally to marginalized students practically since I arrived on campus. Yet still I was faced with
the same results – I am more likely to subconsciously associate a white face with positive characteristics than a black one. While there are questions of the IAT’s effectiveness, its results suggest just how significant implicit bias can be. It’s an uncomfortable truth, and one that I can better address now that I am aware of it. But it is a truth, nonetheless. The same can be said of the personal experiences bravely shared on Wednesday by those who continue to be marginalized at DePauw. Such truths make up the reality that, now more than ever, we as a campus need to face. We need to face the fact that racism is a very real thing, even if the 1950s are behind us. We need to face the fact that the DePauw Bubble doesn’t exclude us from these issues, and that everyone is affected by it in some way. We need to face the fact that we can be prejudiced without even knowing it, and that racism isn’t just a Yik Yak phenomena, but a pervasive and destructive force in every corner of our campus. Implicit or not, we cannot ignore its presence. And most importantly, we must face the indisputable truth that, for many in our community, the DePauw
experience is not one of uncommon success, but commonplace marginalization. It’s time to face the facts. Yes, we have a problem. Quite a few, in fact. They aren’t problems that will solve themselves through miraculous “winds of change,” but through the hard work of those willing to admit our faults and work to correct them. Such work isn’t easy, but the results of our campus climate are clear. We can no longer tolerate those who tell these individuals to put up or shut up, or to transfer somewhere else. Nor can we consider discussions about these issues optional, while programming on bystander intervention and alcohol training is mandatory for every student. We must be unyielding in approaching these issues, for anything less than a wholehearted commitment to improving DePauw’s racist environment is only another slap in the face to those who have worked so hard and endured so much to make their voices heard. Gordon is a junior Prindle intern from Carmel, IN. opinion@thedepauw.com
LETTER TO THE EDITOR As a proud alumnus of DePauw University, I support the following statement: I unequivocally and enthusiastically support all people of color at DePauw. In light of the recent campus tensions, I ask that all students, faculty and administrators do everything in their power to make DePauw a place where all are truly made to feel welcome. I support the administration’s plan to have a Day of Inclusion at DePauw and encourage all students to attend. Everyone can benefit from having a candid conversation about race in America and from learning about people with different ethnic and racial backgrounds. It’s no secret that race continues to be a divisive issue in America, and only by coming together and truly hearing each other can we begin to heal the wounds that still affect so many of us. Jared Howe DePauw Class of 1995 Numerous alumni have added their names to this letter. The full list can be found online.
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PHOTOPINION “How did you spend your Winter Term?”
“I was on the Japan trip and it was a wonderful experience in Japanese culture, technology and design.” JOHN SAMPSON, JUNIOR “I had an internship at Eli Lilly in the clinical development and operations department. I was able to meet with professionals, aid in their decision making and present my research findings at the end.” NATHANIEL FOX, JUNIOR “My winter term course allowed me to visit Covanta, landfills and I even got to live in a house with my classmates.” MANSO PREKH, FIRST-YEAR “I got to learn about non-profits and I was even able to speak with Timmy Global Health. This discussion brought together the course with real life experience.” ZELIANEL FERRER, FIRST-YEAR JACKSON MOTE / THE DEPAUW
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the depauw | sports
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
With tough road ahead and Fernitz out, men's basketball needs to find way to get going BY JACOB LYNN Sports@thedepauw.com
Wednesday’s 69-68 win over Denison University helps, but DePauw’s men’s basketball team isn’t where they need to be at this point of the season. Through 18 games, the Tigers sit at 12-6 overall and only 5-6 in North Coast Athletic Conference play. If the current standings hold, DePauw would qualify for the conference tournament as a five seed and would play Allegheny College in the first round. While six games over .500 isn’t a bad place to be, when compared to their positioning a year ago, the Tigers need to step it up and they need to do it quickly. On Jan. 30 of last year, the Tigers had worked to a 14-4 record and had thrown in two winning streaks of four games or more. They were nationally ranked at 23rd in the nation and were getting set for a run to the semifinals of the conference tournament. Even then, despite finishing the season with an overall record of 19-8 and going deep into the NCAC tournament, the Tigers weren’t awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. With that knowledge in their head, it is getting to the point that the Tigers only route to the national tournament will be through a conference championship. Their statistics aren’t the problem this season, however, the issue moving forward for the Tigers is the competition they face in their own conference. Sitting enviably at the top of the NCAC standings are The College of Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan University, who have seven losses in their combined 36 games.
With those two at the top of the conference, the rest of the league is up for grabs. Hiram is 9-9 overall but has a 3-8 record in conference play, yet they sit only one out of the eighth and final spot in the NCAC tournament. DePauw and Wittenberg have the same conference records at 5-6, but both sit close to falling out of postseason position. These are dangerous times for the Tigers and every game right now is crucial. The Tigers have finished their regular season series with both the Fighting Scots and the Battling Bishops but still face a difficult run to the finish. With a 6-1 record at home, the Tigers have had trouble winning when they leave the confines of Neal Fieldhouse. The Tigers are 2-5 on the road this year and play four of their final seven games away from home. DePauw faces an always difficult seven hour road trip to Pennsylvania to face the Gators and then will take on the Little Giants in Crawfordsville in what is sure to be a highly spirited game. Adding to the Tigers’ problems is the loss of 6-foot-9 senior Tommy Ferntiz due to a diagnosis of mononucleosis. The forward is leading the Tigers in scoring and rebounding with over 15 points and nine boards a night. While Clint Cunningham stepped into Fernitz’s role last night and played well, scoring 17 points and collecting four rebounds, the Tigers will need the senior back on the floor as soon as possible. This news couldn’t come at a worse time for the Tigers. While they sit only one game in front of the seventh and eighth seeds, they are also in a position to quickly find themselves on the outside looking in at the NCAC tournament.
sports@thedepauw.com
Things would be different when the DePauw Tigers men’s basketball team took on the Denison University Big Red on Wednesday night at Neal Fieldhouse. The last time the two faced off was Dec. 3 and on that night the Tigers saw their halftime lead evaporate on the road in a game Denison eventually won 67-65. In that game, the Tigers leading scorer was senior forward Tommy Fernitz, however, he wasn’t available on Wednesday. Back on Dec. 3, sophomores Luke Lattner and
more Clint Cunningham, who before Wednesday night’s game had totaled 13 points season. At half, Cunningham had reached his season’s total. It was a key contribution by the sophomore forward who took it upon himself to step up in the absence of Tommy Fernitz. “I knew with Tommy being out I would see more playing time,” Cunningham said after the game. “I just wanted to come out aggressive and trust myself.” Cunningham showed versatility, backing down Denison defenders down low, while also hitting a three point jump shot. Cunningham’s performance backed up what Lattner spoke about.
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Tiger OF THE Week: LUKE LATTNER BASKETBALL POSITION: GUARD YEAR: JUNIOR
After scoring a career-high 36 points against Wabash College, DePauw Men’s Basketball’s Luke Lattner is our Tiger of the Week. The sophomore has surged onto the scene this season and is averaging 13 points and is shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. In the ten games that the Tigers have played since Christmas, the guard is averaging over 17 points. During that stretch, Lattner scored 20 points or more on five different occasions, including the 36 point explosion against the Little Giants. Lattner will likely play a big role if the Tigers are going to improve their standing the North Coast Athletic Conference before the season ends.
Sophomore Luke Lattner drives down the baseline against Denison. DePauw won 69-68 in a barn burner. DAVID KOBE/THE DEPAUW
BY DAVID KOBE Sports@thedepauw.com
THE DEPAUW
the depauw | sports
Sophomore duo teams up to lift men's basketball over Denison BY BILLY RYAN
Women's basketball blows out Denison, remains unbeaten in NCAC play
Senior guard Savannah Trees drives the ball down court in DePauw’s 77-39 victory over Denison University. DePauw is now 17-1 this season. DAVID KOBE/
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
The DePauw women’s basketball team remained unbeaten following their game against Denison University Wednesday night. DePauw defeated the Big Red 77-39 at Neal Fieldhouse in one of the season’s most dominant performances. DePauw improved their record to 17-1 and 10-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference play while Big Red dropped to 10-9 for the season and 6-4 in league play. DePauw ended a three game winning streak for the Big Red and Denison. The offense was led by seniors Emma Ondik and Lauren Abendroth. Both proved to be deadly from beyond the three-point line, each making three three-pointers before the half. DePauw also led the game in important offensive statistics with 34 points off the bench as well as 28 points in the paint. “It’s always exciting when our team wins in January and February because that’s when teams start to lose focus and lose,” junior Abby Keller said. “We knew Denison was going to be a threat and we prepared well for them and came out ready to play.”
The Tigers were able to capitalize on Denison’s numerous mistakes. Denison had 17 turnovers to DePauw’s six. The Tigers capitalized by scoring 17 points off of turnovers. The offensive pressure eventually led to a 30-point lead by the Tigers at the 8:23 mark of the second half. Denison continued to struggle against the Tigers and ended the game going 38.1 percent (8-21) from the field while the Tigers shot 52.6 percent (30-57) and 60 percent (9-15) from three. Ondik had a game high 17 points while Abendroth added 14 points on a perfect shooting night (5-5). Abendroth elaborated on the confidence she felt offensively: “It was one of those nights where the ball felt good in my hands and when I knocked down my first couple I started to gain more confidence out there” Keller also grabbed eight rebounds and had eight points in the win. The Tigers try to keep their fourteen game win streak alive against Oberlin College this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Neal Fieldhouse.
Senior Michael Onuorah DePauw leads a fast break. DePauw won 69-68 in a barn burner. DAVID KOBE/THE DEPAUW
Clint Cunningham combined for only seven points, in this matchup the two sophomores combined for 45 of the Tigers 69 points and helped carry the Tigers. DePauw’s big North Coast Athletic Conference win moved the Tigers to 12-6 overall and 5-6 in conference play. Tommy Fernitz, DePauw’s leading scorer on the season, was not available to play in Wednesday night’s game after testing positive for mononucleosis. Not only does Fernitz lead his team in points, but he also leads the Tigers in rebounds and blocks and his status moving forward is still in question. “I’ll be back on campus Monday to get retested, so it just depends on that,” Fernitz said looking forward to the team’s conference matchup with Oberlin on Saturday. In a tough North Coast Athletic Conference matchup DePauw needed members up and down their lineup to fill the void left by the absence of their star forward. And that’s exactly what they did. “No one player was going to make up for everything he does,” Lattner said. “It was important that as a team, we all do a little bit more. We need a couple extra points here, extra rebounds here. It took an entire team effort.” The unsung hero of the game may have been sopho-
Lattner did his part too, totaling 28 points including the go-ahead layup with 45 seconds left that put the Tigers ahead 68-67. Denison turned the ball over to the Tigers following Lattner’s layup, which led to a Big Red foul, sending senior Connor Rich to the line with 25 seconds remaining. Rich hit one of two free throws, giving the Tigers the two point lead. On Denison’s next possession, Bret Woolard drove to the basket and was fouled with five seconds left in regulation. Woolard made the first, but missed the second. Dension retained possession, after the rebound hit off the Tigers with 2.7 seconds left. In their final possession, Denison attempted a desperation three that missed as time expired. It was a crucial stop at the end of the game, the kind of key defensive stop that the Tigers have not been able to get for much of the season. “I think five or six of our losses have been decided by five points or less, and a lot of those losses are because we haven’t been able to get that one big stop on defense,” Lattner said. “It was huge for us to be able to get those last two stops.” Next up for the Tigers is conference rival Oberlin at Neal Fieldhouse with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The DePauw (TDP): What did it mean to record your career-high in points against DePauw’s biggest rivals? Luke Lattner (LL): It was an awesome experience getting hot like that but it is not about the career-high I had in points, it’s about the team and how we battled and got a big conference win. I was thankful that my teammates were able to find me in open spots and I was fortunate enough to knock them down in that game. It was a great environment and a great game as well it was a lot of fun. TDP: Minus a few games, it seemed like you had a lot of success over the last month of the season. How would you judge your recent play? LL: The team has been playing better and better as the season has progressed. I am just happy that we are starting to figure things out and it is coming at a really good time.
TDP: What was the experience like getting to travel with the team to Tampa and play over winter break? LL: Tampa is a blast. It is a great bonding experience with the team because we are always together and we get to go enjoy some warm weather and play basketball during December. It is a great trip with quality basketball because we always bring good teams to compete against so we improve on the court as well. TDP: Do you guys have what it takes to make a run at a conference title this year? LL: I think we do. If everything falls into place like we think they can, we are going to be alright and poised to make a deep run at the conference championship. We had big goals for our team at the beginning of the season and we have not lost sight of those goals. We want to win the conference and play in March.
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the depauw | sports
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015
Swimmers ‘hitting stride,’ stroking their way towards NCAC meet BY SAM CARAVANA sports@thedepauw.com
As students begin to buckle down with classes back in session, DePauw University’s swim teams are beginning to prepare for the North Coast Athletic Conference meet and the National Championship. Both men’s and women’s squads have had successful seasons, and hope to keep the ball rolling in the postseason. Currently the women’s squad squares up at 23rd in the nation while the men stand at 21st, according to collegeswimming.com. Head men’s swimming and diving coach, Adam Cohen, sees little fear in his athletes as important meets loom. “I think going into nationals we're
confident. We’ve got some seasoned swimmers,” Cohen said. Before the team heads to nationals in Texas, the Tigers first must head to Denison University for the North Coast Athletic Conference meet. Heading into the event, the team will be training in three groups, each with a different level of intensity. Nine of DePauw’s swimmers who made “B” cut times, qualifying for nationals, will make up the first group. The national qualifiers will dive head first into the conference meet. “We’re not going to rest those guys for conference, we’re just going to train them,” Cohen said. This lack of rest will allow the athletes to be at their peak performance level at nationals, but will slow their times in the conference meet. “Some of our top end relay times
might not be as fast as they would be but we’ll still score the points we need and then we’ll have even better relay times at nationals,” junior standout Stephen McMurtry, who is part of the first group, said. The second group consists of sophomore Brandon Sholtis and first-year Kurt Swieter. Both have made “B” cut times in relays, and will attempt to duplicate those results in individual events by resting three days before the NCAC meet. The rest of the men’s team will go through a full taper leading up to the conference meet. In the 14 day taper period, the intensity of workouts will be reduced to ensure the swimmers will be well rested going into the competition. First-year diver, Eric Addy, also has a critical competition in his future. Addy has had a top notch season qualifying for
the regional diving championship where he could potentially qualify for nationals and bolster the team’s point total. Cohen has confidence in the rookie. “Eric is certainly capable of being a national level diver and getting there and getting those points,” Cohen said. Not to be outdone by their counterparts, the women’s swimming and diving team has been preparing for the NCAC and national meet since the first day by upping the intensity of practices. “They’re probably 25 percent more aggressive than what we’ve been doing in the past. Thats really been a big difference,” head women’s swimming and diving coach Ben Hewitt said. Sophomore Jamie Fritsch echoed her coach. “I think [it’s] the key to how we’ll do in the end,” said Fritsch. Unlike the men’s team divided train-
ing, the women’s team will all taper leading into the NCAC meet, with the exception of Angela Newlon. Newlon has made “B” cuts in multiple events and this week won NCAC female swimmer of the week. In the 2014 season, the women’s squad finished 15th in the nation, a result they hope to achieve two seasons in a row. “Our challenge is to duplicate that as best we can,” Hewitt said. The NCAC competition takes place on February 11th, less than two weeks away. Despite the impending test that the meet will provide for both teams, Hewitt has his team tuned to his liking. Said Hewitt: “I think we’re just hitting our stride.”
Senior swimmer Casey Hooker (left) talks to freshman Mitch Davis (right) at the end of an afternoon practice. Hooker is foregoing rest preceding the NCAC meet in hopes of better times at the national championship. SAM CARAVANA/THE DEPAUW