ECU 10/05

Carolinian

SGA to explore new legislations

Students and staff within East Carolina University’s Student Government Association (SGA) discuss their plans for this year and new opportunities that students can look forward to.

Tyler West, speaker of the SGA assembly and junior public health major, said many of the assemblies this year have contained many legislations, the preparation for new university rules or laws. West said this is due to the dedication of SGA members to improve campus.

“It’s really important because it shows that there’s a drive to really help the students on campus,” West said. “We’ve already passed more (legislation) than the previous session which was last year’s.”

Some resolutions include the expansion of the Good Samaritan laws to also include anonymous reporting of drug abuse and drug overdose incidents, West said.

SGA is also looking into the Theta Chi sexual assault allegations, which occurred on Aug. 20. As of now, West said a resolution has been put out but there are plans to reach out to the fraternity’s national chapter for next steps.

“As we know, East Carolina can only do so much about the Theta Chi fraternity on campus, so we instead wanted to make sure that the national chapter was aware of what was going on and if they could offer any input on the situation or any sign of guidance,” West said.

Compared to last year, the COVID-19 phase being fully lifted has been the biggest change, West said. He said due to its lifting, all assemblies and office hours are able to be held in person.

The removal of the phase has allowed SGA to become a tighter community, West said, and has allowed for face to face interaction, which was interrupted due to the pandemic.

“It definitely feels like this year in SGA there’s a bigger community at play, as some people last year might have been

Social Media tracking found

Investigation reveals virtual monitoring of students

A recent investigation published last month, discovered East Carolina University to be one of 37 colleges in America secretly using surveillance software to monitor their students’ social media posts.

Investigative reporter for The Dallas Morning News, Ari Sen, began investigating the use of Social Sentinel by American colleges in 2019, Sen said. He said that Social Sentinel is a social media monitoring service used by colleges all over America since 2015.

The service recently changed their name to “Navigate 360,” but is mostly known as Social Sentinel, Sen said. He said Social Sentinel claims they are a service used for preventing tragedies such as suicides and shootings at colleges. He discovered this is not the whole truth, and that colleges have used the service to monitor protests

on their campus, Sen said.

“In actuality, they might be scan ning for keywords like ‘protests’,” Sen said. “So if there’s a topic of contention at your particular school, we’ve literally seen schools plugging in information, like specific words and phrases, related to that topic of contention.”

If a student tweets that they want to commit suicide, and they have the name of their school in their account’s bio, their school would be alerted by Social Sentinel and the school might be able to intervene before it’s too late, Sen said. He said this is an example of the software being used for an ethical purpose, and the purpose the company claims they are used for.

Colleges want a tool to manage their reputation by knowing what their students are saying about them, Sen said. Social Sentinel was a cheap and easy tool for colleges to do this, with the maximum amount any of the

Volleyball seeks second conference win

The East Carolina University vol leyball (6-10, 1-3 American Athletic Conference) team will compete against Temple University (7-8, 1-3 AAC) in a match today at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at McGonigle Hall.

The match will be streamed on ESPN+ for Pirate fans back in Greenville.

The last time the teams met was Nov. 27, 2021 in Philadelphia, when the Pirates lost in extra sets 3-2. In the first set, East Carolina was able to keep up with the Owls up until the last two points came from a bad set and a service ace from the Pirates. ECU trailed for the first half of the second set but the team was able to earn four straight points followed by another three consecutive points to win the set.

ECU won the second and third set and held the lead for most of the fourth until Temple scored six points back-to-back. The Pirates didn’t regain the lead and it sent the match into an extra set.

During the final set of the match to determine the winner after completing four sets previously, the Owls trailed

until they were able to tie 8-8 and scored another point to take the lead.

East Carolina came back to tie a point later and never led again in the set. Temple pulled a strong lead of 14-10 but the Pirates cut it down to a three-point margin when the Owls won. ECU was close to having a hitting percentage half that of Temple in the last set.

The Pirates are coming off a sweep from Tulane University (5-10, 0-4 AAC) Sunday in Williams Arena at Minges Col iseum. This was the Pirates first win in the American Conference. The Green Wave was able to get ahead of East Carolina to start off the match however that was the only set Tulane won.

During the first set, ECU kept the lead in the beginning until Tulane put up sixpoints to tie 21-21. The Green Waves were able to keep a steady offense and built points right along with East Carolina until the last two points were won by Tulane.

The Pirates took the next three sets, with the third set being the largest win margin of the game when ECU led nine points. The Pirates issued 11 aces, 13 blocks and 52 kills. According to ECU

Pirates this was the most aces in program history while in the American.

schools were paying was $50,000 a year, Sen said.

“What I’ve heard from college officials and campus police is obvi ously that they are scared of these high profile school shootings hap pening on their campus,” Sen said.

Ari Sen

“And then you’ve got a company that says ‘we have sophisticated AI (Artificial Intelli gence) that could, you know, maybe help prevent that from happening.’ ” Colleges were told they could solve their suicide and school shooting issues in addition to keeping track of protests and activism within the student body, Sen said. He was a student at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill from

ECU celebrates coming out day

The Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center will be hosting its annual National Coming Out Day event today from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. on the lawn surrounding the Cupola.

Payton Evenstad

ECU sophomore setter Payton Even stad led with four aces and not too far behind with three aces was junior setter Jukianna Askew. Evenstad has a career high of five aces against Navy (8-7, 5-1 AAC) Sept. 9 and the four she racked up against Tulane was her second best of the season. Askew led the team in assists with 20.

Temple will be in Williams Arena for the teams’ second look at each other of the 2022 season on Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. This will be the Pirates last home game and will serve as senior day.

On Sunday at noon, the Pirates will host the University of Cincinnati for their first meeting of the season. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and entry will be free at Williams Arena.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The Dr. Jesse R. Peel Center’s Interim Program Coordinator Rose Bogue, who uses they/them pro nouns said the event is not only for members of the LGBTQ+ community but also for its allies. Volunteers from the Greenville Chapter of Free Mom Hugs will be at the event, Bouge said, which is an organization that offers resources, education and support to the LGBTQ+ community.

Bogue said to “bring yourself,” as the event is meant to be a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and describes the event as the center’s most iconic event.

“Anyone who visits will be greeted warmly,” Bogue said. “The local community welcomes and supports everyone on campus.

The event will not have any COVID-19 restrictions or limitations to the number of people who can attend, Bogue said. They said there is no structure or schedule.

East Carolina Unviersity students often connect directly to the campus

in order to access their social

Stephanie Whaley

Ashley Wolfe TEC STAFF

Kiarra Crayton TEC STAFF

Martha Nebab

BRIEFS

Study abroad to host information session today

Today, at 4 p.m. the ECU study abroad will host an information session for students interested in studying abroad. The event will take place in the International House and will last an hour.

SGA to hold student assembly

Today, East Carolina University’s Student Government Association will hold its weekly student assembly in the Main Campus Student Center. The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in Ballroom C. All student assembly meetings are open to the public.

DSA to host Cupola Conversations

Tomorrow, ECU’s Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Global Affairs will host the first scheduled Cupola Conversations for the Fall 2022. The event is titled “Gender Equity and Civil Unrest in Iran” and will take place at 3 p.m. over Microsoft Teams. The virtual meeting can be joined through Student Affairs’ ENGAGE page.

CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS

Fifth domestic violence luncheon returns

that domestic violence receives in the media.

Tomorrow, the Domestic Violence Impact Luncheon will be held at 11 a.m. by The Center for Family Violence Prevention at the Greenville Convention Center.

The Center for Family Violence Pre vention is a non-profit organization that works to provide free resources and services for domestic violence survivors and their families. The center has a main office that is located in Greenville, NC, where they exclu sively serve survivors.

Laura King, the executive director of the center, said that the center provides victims with the essential services that are needed in an urgent situation.

“(The center provides) anything you would need if you had to pick up and move today,” King said.

counseling for survivors.

King said the family center specializes in assisting the entire family unit, and that there is children's counseling, parenting classes, supervised visitation and monitored exchange of children.

Stephanie Allen, co-manager at My Sister’s Clothes said the establishment has been supporting the center for 25 years with funding and donations.

“We also have literature here, so we try to educate people on the center and also just on domestic violence itself,” Allen said.

The store offers a variety of services that assist in spreading awareness and teaching about different warning signs that can be seen when someone is in a domestic violence situation, Allen said.

Allen Thomas Jr. said in 2019 he was the keynote speaker at the domestic violence luncheon and he gave a speech on the impor tance of talking about domestic violence.

Thomas said he was selected as the key note speaker in 2019 due to his experience traveling the nation and spreading awareness about domestic violence.

Since Thomas’ mother was murdered by her abuser, he said he is a survivor of “sec ondary domestic violence.”

Thomas said he believes the most import ant thing we can do to avoid domestic vio lence escalating to the point his mothers did is to speak to one another.

ONLINE

One of the programs offered is CATCH, Allen said. Allen said this program teaches grade school children about the signs that they may be seeing in their own homes.

CRIME LOGS

Editor’s Note: The East Carolinian Crime Logs are derived from East Carolina University Police Department’s (ECU PD) public crime logs accessible to all individuals. Crime Logs are done within the partnership of ECU PD and The East Carolinian, as this publication is meant to act as an additional resource for Pirate Nation. Below are listings of criminal activity that has occured on or within proximity of main campus.

Sept. 30, 2022

At West End Plaza at 9:43 p.m., there were charges of extortion found, the investigation is currently inactive

Charges of Dating Violence was found in Legacy Residence Hall at 7:30 p.m., it was followed by a campus security authority report only

Oct. 1, 2022

An investigation is currently inactive following Injury to Real Property charges at Jones Residence Hall sometime between 2:20 and 3:20 a.m.

A campus security authority report was made at Fletcher Residence Hall following an Intimidation-Hate Crime Based on Race charge at 8:04 p.m.

Oct. 2, 2022

A prosecution charge was declined after a Simple Affray incident that took place at the Ballard Residence Hall Basketball Court at 8:56 p.m.

There is still an ongoing Larceny investigation being conducted at Green Residence Hall for an incident that happened at 8:20 p.m.

An Injury to Real Property charge that took place in Fletcher Residence Hall between 2:30 and 3 a.m. still has an open investigation

The main office, King said, also provides court advocates that walk along with survi vors if their perpetrator goes through legal proceedings for their crimes. She said these court advocates help survivors understand their rights, explain the legal process and serve as a camaraderie throughout the expe rience. She said the office also provides adult

virtual due to their health reasons or COVID (-19) reasons, and just having everyone here in the office together has just been really nice,” West said.

SGA advisor Alicia Hunt said there are typically at least three resolutions established each week and many proposed resolutions have already been passed this semester. In a recent SGA assembly meeting last Wednesday, she said four resolutions were discussed. As of now, Hunt said known information is being emphasized on the food insecurity resolution.

The food swipe program, Hunt said, will be in partnership with Purple Pantry, a philanthropy service for students experiencing food insecurity.

“We’re working with Swipe Out program and Pirate Pantry, that’s one of the platforms for this year as well as looking at programs on mental health and things like that too this year,” Hunt said.

Rutvi Sachania, secretary of SGA, said one of the Swipe Out Hunger resolutions focuses on the reduction of food insecurity at ECU.

The program will donate leftover Pirate Meals and Pirate Bucks to a bank for students in need, Sachania said.

“We teach awareness and we teach warn ing signs of controlling behavior,” Allen said. “Pushing, shoving, shouting any of that, that they know what to do.”

Allen said that cancer is discussed by celebrities on media platforms much more frequently compared to the lack of publicity

Thomas said that after his speech the organization told him that the luncheon had raised a large amount of money for The Center for Domestic Violence Prevention. It means more money could go towards keeping more victims safe and providing them with a safe environment, Thomas said.

“I would absolutely encourage them (resi dents of Greenville) to go, I would encourage them to, you know, bring their checkbooks,” Thomas said.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.

2016 to 2020, and during this time was when student protests happened over the existence of a confederate statue in Chapel Hill called Silent Sam, Sen said.

It was unknown what was happening behind the scenes, such as what the police were saying in emails to each other, Sen said. He said that’s what sparked his investigation into Social Senti nel. After discovering that UNC had used Social Sentinel to monitor those protests over Silent Sam, Sen said it was possible other American colleges were doing the same.

“We found 37 colleges that have used social sentinel since 2015, and a lot of those have canceled their use of the service at some point or another,” Sen said.

A post dated 2018 from a blog post called Criminal Legal News (CLN), gives details on ECU’s use of Social Sentinel to monitor an activist in the community, even though they were not connected to ECU, Sen said.

According to the post, Lauren Gunter, the community and emergency planner for ECU, wrote in a January 2016 e-mail, that ECU did not inform the public about their use of Social Sentinel because it would only stoke unneces sary paranoia.

“The main takeaway from this investigation is that universities are gonna get a lot more pressure and a lot more questions about the use of this service,” Sen said.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Virginia Hardy wrote in an email statement that safety is a top priority on ECU’s campus. Systems like Social Sentinel alert ECU when key words related to campus safety are detected on social media, she wrote.

Hardy neither confirmed nor denied, in her email statement, if she was ever aware of Social Sentinel being used by ECU.

“Universities are attuned to social media mainly for safety reasons, to assess threats to campus and visitors,” Hardy wrote. “Individuals are still exercising their constitutional right.”

Students still exercise their constitutional right to freedom of speech with ECU’s use of Social Sentinel, Hardy wrote. She wrote that ECU has a record of being engaged and sup portive of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression activities.

The university has even won national awards and recognition within the UNC System as a pillar for supporting free speech and expression, Hardy wrote. She wrote that it should be clear to everyone that the key moti vation for using a system like Social Sentinel is an overall threat assessment to keep the campus

students, Nimeoy said, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.

Nimeoy said another focus is on the recent sexual assault within the Theta Chi fraternity as well.

“So we have the closed captioning, which was by one of our representatives, written up by one of them,” Nimeoy said. “She wants to include closed captioning for all students, not just disability students, whenever the teacher speaks so it’s easier for us to write.”

community safe.

“We don’t have staff sitting around mon itoring social media accounts,” Hardy wrote. “There are too many social media options and then too much content within each option to even consider this.”

Professor of security studies and political science, Hanna Kassab, said he believes it is “benign and benevolent” for ECU to use Social Sentinel to just pro tect student well-being. However, the power Social Sentinel gives ECU can be abused at any moment and it doesn’t take much to do that, Kassab said.

ECU could use the soft ware to spy on or investigate student posts without their consent, Kassab said.

There are students who don’t care about being watched on their social media accounts, he said. Kassab said there are many students who use the app “Tik Tok” which has surveillance software and collects information of users.

“There is a wider notion of just consenting to being spied on by the student body and by the American public or the world public in general,” Kassab said.

“He (SGA President Ryan Bonnett) wants to partner with Swipe Out Hunger, which is an organization that helps schools donate their leftover meal swipes and Pirate Bucks and Pirate Meals and all that to a bank that students who are in need can then pull from,” Sachania said. Melvina Nimeoy, freshman political science major and member of SGA, said there are many new legislation in the works with University Affairs. One of the resolutions focuses on the implementation of closed captioning for all

NIA CRUZ I THE EAST CAROLINIAN

Graduate student Duncan Patrick and Junior Javier Limon conversate with President Ryan Bonnett.

Glory

Hanna

This

COURTESY

The non-profit

Prevention serves as a safe space and as a place for education on the severity of domestic violence

`

ECU must have better responses to catastrophes

With the recent occurrence of Hurricane Ian, we are again reminded that these natural disasters can cause catastrophic damages of all ranges and it is vital to keep all students safe.

Starting last Wednesday, the state of North Carolina was put into a state of emergency, to brace for the incoming hurricane that already obliterated many parts of Florida.

The recent Hurricane Ian was close to a Category 5 storm. Almost 157,000 North Carolina residents lost power into the morning of last Saturday. and four deaths were totaled in North Carolina from Hur ricane Ian’s impacts.

With students encouraged to remain safe during these times, it only makes sense that, that includes staying home from classes until the storm has fully passed the area,

We, the editorial staff of The East Carolinian believe that with any sort of natural disaster headed our way, classes should be canceled and not up to the discrepancy of any instructor. Many students, faculty and staff at East Carolina Univer sity do not live on campus or in the Greenville area and that should be considered when sending out those rather vague alerts.

Some classes were still held last Friday which was the day that Greenville, North Carolina was hit the hardest with winds and consis tent rain.

Locally, the downpours did flood parts of the East Carolina Univer sity campus and lives around North Carolina were taken by the rain.

If citizens are encouraged to stay inside and prepare a safety plan, staying home from class should be a given no matter what may be going on in the class that day.

PIRATE

The East Carolinian does not endorse the statements made in Pirate Rants.

I am so tired of the Starbucks truck never being around. If they were gonna get rid of the one in Wright, they could at least be consistent with the truck!! I don’t have time to walk to the other end of campus for a coffee!

We claim to care so much about mental health but talk crap about Daffer.

The workers at Chick-Fil-A really need attitude adjustments. If you are going to be rude to customers, students more specifically, please find another job. We don’t need you here.

Love how the Honors College preaches its “diversity” and “inclusivity” but like 90% of the honors students are one single demographic. Seriously, everyone in there are exact clones of each other and I feel like I’m the only one that stands out and it makes me feel so very uncomfortable. I’m always singled out in the class by everyone. I always feel so alone because I’m so different. The Honors College really makes me feel like absolutely nothing because I don’t fit in. Thanks, HC. You somehow degraded my self esteem to the point where it’s just reduced to nothing.

Todd Dining, please bring back the water dispenser on the soda machine. It’s the only way I drink water. And no the flavored water you make is not the same.

START TOWING IN STUDENT LOTS!

If I’m being completely honest, I’m over it.

Questions regarding Pirate Rants can be directed to Rachana Charla at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.

our website under the opinion tab or scan the QR code.

Accepting our shame, history

When I was in middle school, I once had a teacher say that the most important sub ject we can learn about in school is history. He would go on to explain that if we don’t learn about our history and all the complexities that come with it, then we are bound to repeat it.

To no one’s surprise, the teacher got tremendous backlash from students, teachers and parents. But I could never understand why. Why was he getting in trouble for speaking the truth? Shouldn’t we want to learn from the sins of our past?

As I got older, the number of times I would hear these conversations only increased as more and more people discov ered hidden aspects of our overall history. Stories about how celebrated historical

figures committed vicious and horrific acts. Untold stories of how marginalized commu nities continued to be silenced in order to make privileged communities feel better.

I’ve dealt with my own privilege over the years, but I don’t believe there should be any thing wrong with acknowledging it, moving forward and trying to right the wrongs of the past. Privilege doesn’t mean that I haven’t had my own hardships, but I’ve never had prob lems because I was white. My ancestors had plenty of economic hardships, but they never had to worry about being killed or assaulted because of the color of their skin.

By allowing myself to learn of the true history around me, of my home or of my ancestors, I can tell the stories of those silenced by them, as much as that may break my heart. I can be proud of the work of my ancestors, especially those who were also outcasted for different reasons, while also acknowledging that other marginalized groups may have suffered more from their inability to speak up against oppression.

While this may sound like a cliche, knowledge is power. Instead of being insecure about how you may have benefited from systems of power, acknowledge it, learn from it, and elevate the stories of those around you.

The world could be so much richer if different stories from different people of dif ferent cultures got to share their experiences. Some of my favorite pieces of art are from cultures unlike my own; not just because they are beautiful or haunting, but because I get the chance to learn about other worlds. Worlds that have both similarities and differ ences from ours.

Overall, don’t be afraid of learning about history — especially YOUR history. The good, the bad and the ugly; all of it is what creates our beautiful and enriching mess that we call our world.

Reagan Blackburn is a senior majoring in Communication and a TEC columnist

To contact her, email opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.

Issues with new NCAAF rules

College football’s overtime rules are broken, with the main focus of shortening games rather than full competition between who the best team is reigning focal.

In 2018, the No. 6 Louisiana State University faced off against the No. 16 Texas A&M for a match that resulted in the two teams creating over 200 snaps together. The game went into seven overtime periods, resulting in a final score of 74-72 and a victory for A&M following a two point conversion that could not be matched. Since the nearly five hour long contest, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) made it a mission to shorten the length of overtime periods.

According to the NCAA, the new overtime rules, put into place during the beginning of the 2021 season, go as follows: “At the end of regulation, the referee will toss a coin to determine which team will possess the ball first in overtime. The visiting team captain will call the toss. The winner gets to choose to either play offense or defense first or chooses which side of the field to play on. The decision cannot be deferred.

The teams that lose the coin toss must exercise the remaining option. They will then have the chance to choose first from the four categories in the second overtime and subsequent even-numbered OT periods. The team that wins the toss will have the same

OUR STAFF

options in odd-numbered OT periods.

In each of the first two overtime periods, teams are granted one possession beginning at the opponent’s 25-yard line, unless a penalty occurs to move them back. The offense can place the ball anywhere on or between the hash marks.

Each team is granted one timeout per overtime period. Timeouts do not carry over from regulation nor do they carry over between overtime periods.

Each team retains the ball until it fails to score, fails to make a first down or turns the ball over.

Beginning with the second overtime period, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown.

Beginning with the third overtime period, teams will begin to run alternating two-point conversion plays instead of offensive possessions.”

Do you see the issue? As the game carries on, no longer does the better team have the opportunity to display their full set of talent. Immediately beginning with overtime, teams that have a pass heavy offense are set at a disadvantage. With the ability to stretch the ball downfield, some offenses will struggle inherently in the short field position. This is not to say that teams will not be able to score, but the rules set in place favor short pass or run heavy offenses.

Rather than needing to push the ball 70-100 yards downfield, offenses based on running the ball only need to gain 25 yards. The same is true for short pass offenses, built of slant and curl route trees.

Eventually, as the first overtime ends with the score still tied, special teams become less important. Teams that dominate one way or the other on special teams lose their opportunity to thrive as the only time they are present on the field is for field goal attempts. Things heat up with the third overtime, as teams forfeit the longevity of offense drives and defensive stops to attempt two-point conversions back and forth. As periods continue, you see teams stripped away of their identity as they are boiled down into goal line offenses and goal line defenses with a lack of importance of any other piece or phase of the game.

Should the outlier week twelve match between LSU and Texas A&M in 2018 be used as the standard by which overtime rules have been butchered? Would the NCAA have cared if the seven overtime match was not nationally televised? If Boston College and Campbell University went to nine overtimes, would the NCAA tip its cap in recognition of change? I think not.

The broken set of rules are in place due to an unprecedented occurrence and have only done damage to teams since their introduction into the league. The rules are broken and they need to change, but they will not change. Not until, of course, big name program A and big name program B enter a once in a generation set of events. NCAA, fix your overtime rules.

Chris Long is a senior majoring in Commu nication and a TEC columnist

To contact him, email opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.

Emily Peek Editor-in-Chief Jala Davis Managing Editor Markayla McInnis News

Editor Abigail Clavijo

Chief

Shatiece Starks Arts Chief Brendan Cavazos Sports Editor Chris Long Sports Chief Rachana Charla Opinion Editor

Reagan Blackburn

Editor

Olivia Magistro Creative Director Audrey Milks Production Manager

Halie Miller Visual Arts Editor

Jaylin Roberts Assistant Visual Arts Editor

Love Designer

Reagan Blackburn

Convictions with Chris Chris Long

Rambles of Reagan

Jacqueline E. Mathews

Aries (March 21-April 19)

— Today is an 8 — Teamwork wins. Have fun with friends. Coordinated collaboration and practice lead to a shared victory. Move quickly, complete the job and collect the prize.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is an 8 — Solve a professional puzzle with focus and creativity. Take charge to produce what you envision. Plan carefully. Discipline is required. Practice and it gets easier.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 9 — Disciplined efforts advance your exploration by great strides. Travel entices. Investigate options and choose direction and priorities. Your research is getting especially interesting.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is an 8 — Consider your shared budget when choosing purchases and expenses. A compromise may be required. Discipline now earns later rewards. Develop and advance lucrative opportunities.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

— Today is an 8 — Consult a good strategist. Collaboration and partnership lead to powerful solutions. Discuss possibilities and potential. Romance can spark. Advance a shared dream together.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 9 — Quick action gets satisfying results. Get out and get farther, faster. Watch your step. Focus on here and now. Maintain healthy practices for growing energy.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

— Today is an 8 — Physical magnetism is part of the fun. Play without taking expensive risks. Embrace romantic rituals and sentimental journeys. Appreciate poetry, symbolism and beauty.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Domestic renovation and beautification projects flower. Nurture family, home and garden. Clean and declutter. Less is more. Reward worker bees with extra honey.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 9 — You’re making valuable connections. Put in the backstage efforts for high performance. Study and research. Express your views and edit carefully. Create something beautiful.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — Efforts can get especially profitable today. Push to advance the ball. Discipline and coordination produce satisfying results. Invoice and pay. Keep cash flowing positively.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 9 — Take charge for the results you want. Apply your love for a good cause. Enliven a personal passion project. The more completed, the more gained.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

— Today is a 7 — Think things over. Truth vies with beliefs. You may not have the full picture. Enjoy private productivity. Prioritize, organize and plan for what’s next.

EVENTS

Faculty Artist: Matthew Driscoll, trombone

A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall

10th St. College Hill Dr. 7:30 to 9 p.m. (252) 328-6851

TOMORROW

Intramural Trivia!

Uptown Brewery

418 Evans St. 7 to 8:30 p.m. (252) 328-6387

NHHM Recital II: Elliot Frank and Friends

A.J.Fletcher Recital Hall

10th St. College Hill Dr. 7:30 to 9 p.m. (252) 328-6851

FRIDAY

BBQ, Bluegrass & Brew

The Barn on Saint Andrews 400 Saint Andrews Dr. 7 to 9 p.m. (252) 717-4961

Comedy Show

Greenville Convention Center

303 SW Greenville Blvd 8 to 11 p.m. (252) 329-4567

Pirates on the Porch

Celebrate Pride Month

Proctor Yongue House

601 E 5th St. 5 to 8 p.m. (252) 328-6131

ECU’s Fresh Check Day to return

Tomorrow, from 2 to 4 p.m., East Carolina University will host its sixth Fresh Check Day on the Main Campus Student Center lawn to give infor mation about mental health and suicide prevention.

The event, according to the Fresh Check Day website, is a “mental health fair” aimed to uplift stu dents with music, prizes and food. The website said they want to create an approachable and hopeful atmosphere where students can engage in dialogue about mental health.

Suzanne McDonald said that she is the senior assistant director of fitness and well-being at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, one of the organizers of the event. She said that various organizations are involved such as the Dean of Students Office, the Center for Counseling and Student Development and the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center, for the purpose of drawing in different communities.

“We try to represent a lot of different popula tions on campus because everybody is experiencing different things in different ways,” McDonald said.

“The goal of the event is really to provide peer-topeer messaging; so we like to get students involved because, as a student, you’re going to relate more to your fellow student.”

McDonald said that the event will feature many peer-ran interactive booths, such as an alcohol awareness booth called “Know Your Limits” and a physical fitness booth called “Boost.” How ever, she said that the “Nine Out of Ten” booth is one of the more significant booths of the event.

“I think it’s just helping students know that they’re (students) not alone on campus,” McDon ald said.

Sophomore psychology major Ali McKenzie said that he was slightly less enthusiastic about the event. He said that a single event once a year was not enough to successfully help students. He said that he feels like schools could be doing a lot more. McKenzie said that he hopes that many people will come out to the event, but he also said that

students should do their own research on their own time instead of relying on schools and organizations to educate them on mental health, especially if it’ll only be once a year.

“I think it’s a great concept, but what if I can’t make it to the event in any particular year? I’d be basically uneducated if one of my friends or classmates or whatever is contemplating suicide,” McKenzie said. “I just think people should do their own research and not depend on everyone else to help them,” McKenzie said.

On the contrary, junior communications major Jada Foureau said that the event could very well help solve a mental health crisis on campus. Although Foureau said that she has never been to a Fresh Check Day event, she said that it did sound like a great resource for students looking for help.

“(A mental health crisis) is very prone to happen, especially with new students coming in having to adjust to college life,” Foureau said. “It’s bound to happen, so this event will really help them out,” Foureau said.

Craft beer festival arrives

all throughout the location.

In partnership with the Pitt County Aids Service Organization (PiCASO), Uptown Greenville will host a biannual Dickinson Avenue After Dark event on Friday at the Dickinson Avenue Public House from 7 to 10 p.m. where there will be music and many food and alcoholic beverage vendors.

Director of Events at Uptown Green ville Kyle Parker wrote in an email state ment that Dickinson Avenue After Dark is a craft beer festival which is hosted twice a year in the Dickinson Avenue Social Dis trict. He wrote the event gives breweries east of I-95 the opportunity to showcase their products to their audience.

“DJ Cuttystyles will be performing as well as some fire artists and there will also be a circus-esque show,” Parker wrote.

There will be 16 breweries and nine different food vendors attending the event, Parker wrote.

Director of Finance and Administra tion at Uptown Greenville Logan Bjornson wrote in an email statement that Uptown Greenville keeps a plan to budget for the event and any operational costs. If more funds were added to the budget, Bjornson wrote, she would love to add colorful lights

“Previously, we did look into purchas ing glow-in-the-dark cups to be used for the event. However, we decided to not go with that option due to the price of the cups,” Bjornson wrote.

Dickinson Avenue After Dark, Bjorn said wrote, is a “great” event, as she attended the event last year before she began work ing for Uptown Greenville and enjoyed it. Bjornson wrote that she believes the event is a perfect place for young professionals to try out new craft beers and good food.

Taproom Manager at Pitt Street Brew ing Company Mary Ann Ricks said the Dickinson Avenue After Dark event is a good local event that supports the PiCASO. She said the brewery has partnered with the organization in the past and that they believes in their ulti mate mission.

Ricks said the Greenville community can benefit from PiCASO’s outreach pro grams and services.

“It’ll be a good time. Come hungry and thirsty because there will be lots of food trucks and beer,” Ricks said.

and Gay March on Washington he wrote.

Riley Burris, sophomore biology major, said he visited the event for the first time in the fall semester of 2021. The event last year was held in person for the first time since COVID-19, Burris said.

“The event was crowded and there were a lot more people going through the tables than I’d expected. It definitely wasn’t a bad thing though and the volunteers working the tables were really friendly and helped me find the merch I wanted to bring home really quickly,” Burris said.

This year, as a volunteer, Burris said he will be on the other side of those tables, as he will be working in shifts with around eight other volunteers.

Mark Rasdorf, director of the Dr. Jesse R. Peel Center, wrote in an email state ment that National Coming Out Day is a nationally recognized LGBTQ+ awareness day.

It is celebrated every year on Oct.11 in order to commemorate the 1987 Lesbian

Rasdorf wrote that the first time he organized the event was in October of 2014. His goal was to make National Coming Out Day a celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride and Visibility he said.

“That first event focused on the distri bution of “Gay? Fine by Me” t-shirts, a tra dition established in 2012 by the [formerly named LGBT] Resource Office.

The centerpiece of the annual event, Rasdorf wrote, is the “Human Rainbow” photo, taken at various places around the ECU campus.

“A tradition dating back to 2012 is a Human Rainbow photo with everyone wearing the different color shirts. Last year’s, in front of the ECU letters on 10th Street, was our largest ever,” Rasdorf wrote.

“We ask everyone to show up for the photo in their Y’all Means All t-shirt.”

Justyn

JAYLIN ROBERTS I THE EAST CAROLINIAN

East Carolina University students walking from the Eakin Student Recreation Center, which is home to one of the organizer’s of tomorrows Fresh Check Day.

Shatiece Starks

Suzanne McDonald

'

TEC spertZ

The East Carolinian

Sports experts predict this week’s events

Brendan Cavazos Sports Editor

ECU vs Tulane on Saturday Score Prediction?

42-21 ECU

Why? Based on what we’ve seen from Holton the past few weeks, his connection to C.J. Johnson and Ryan Jones has been better and better. You can see his confidence rising every time he throws the ball.

Chris Long Sports Chief

ECU vs Tulane on Saturday Score Prediction?

38-35 ECU

Why? I’ve seen Tulane play up to competition and I’ve seen them play down to competition. I just hope they see ECU as being down rather than up. Tulane won against a ranked Kansas State, but the next week they lost by 3.

Maxwell Lucas Sports Reporter with WZMBs

ECU vs Tulane on Saturday Score Prediction?

35-21 ECU

Why? In the past, ECU has proven to be able to throw the football very well against Tulane. Holton is very comfortable dissecting the Tulane defense.

ECU gears up for the Green Wave

Chris Long TEC STAFF

East Carolina University football (3-2, 1-1 American Athletic Conference) will compete against Tulane University (4-1, 1-0 AAC) in New Orleans, Louisiana, Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff in what will be the Pirates’ third conference game of the season. The game will be streamed on ESPNU and can be listened to at 107.9 WNCT FM.

The Pirates enter the contest following a blowout victory against the University of South Florida (1-4, 0-1 AAC) in which the 48-28 victory created the first conference win of the season. The win was highlighted by a domi nant first half, in which the Pirates outscored the Bulls 41-7. From there, ECU let off the gas to play ball control football for much of the second half.

Junior wide receiver C.J. Johnson was the star of the day, catching seven receptions for 197 yards and four touchdowns.

“I just think that he (Johnson) was as prepared as you can be for this,” head coach Mike Houston said during his weekly press conference yesterday. “I think it was important for him and his family that he did play and what an incredible performance. I can’t say enough positive things about it. Just so happy for him.”

The air attack was complimented in a run game that saw a unique combination of rushers in the game. For the first (and only time this season due to an untimely injury) time, the Pirates fielded a duo of sophomore running back Rahjai Harris and freshman running back Marlon Gunn Jr. without sophomore running back Keaton Mitchell. The pair combined for 101 yards on 26 carries. Harris was also able to break away with a score in the game.

Unfortunately, late in the fourth quarter,

Harris suffered a knee injury that took him out of the game and it was later confirmed that the third year rusher would miss the remainder of the 2022 season. Harris finished the year with 238 yards on 67 carries and a career high five touchdowns through only five games played.

“He’s obviously very disappointed as we are, and my heart sunk for him on the field Saturday,” Houston said during the press conference. “He will make a full recovery. He’ll wear the Purple and Gold and be a great player for us again, just not tomorrow. My biggest concern right now is making sure we get him healthy and support him mentally through this process.”

Tulane comes to play following a 27-24 overtime victory against the University of Houston (2-3, 0-1 AAC) in Houston, Texas. Against Houston, the Green Wave created a balanced plan of attack. Tulane’s third string redshirt freshman quarterback Kai Horton led the way for the team to mount an overtime victory in an unprecedented chain of events. Horton completed 11/21 for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Horton did not start the game, however.

Ahead of the match, it was announced that Tulane’s starting junior quarterback Michael Pratt would be sidelined with a shoulder injury. The injury allowed red shirt freshman Justin Ibieta to win the starting job, but following the game’s opening drive, he too was pulled from the competition with a shoulder injury.

“Playing without your starting quarterback last Friday night in Houston, and knocking off the Cougars. That’s an impressive win and I was very impressed with them,” Houston said

during the press conference, “Defensively, I think they’re in the top 10 in the country in multiple categories and top five in several. One of the strongest defensive units in the country, maybe one of the better if not the best defensive unit in our conference.”

It has yet to be formally announced who will start against the Pirates, but after Horton’s showing, it may be safe to assume that the Green Wave will stick with their freshest arm. Through the season, Horton has one other completion outside of the Houston game and formerly started only one game in his career. During the 2021 season, Horton faced the undefeated Uni versity of Cincinnati, who dismantled Tulane 31-12 one day before Halloween.

Though Houston was without some of its key defensive bodies, Tulane was able to create a war of attrition between the two teams. The two teams combined to force three fumbles, two blocked kicks and only allowed one touchdown each in the final ten minutes of regulation.

On the ground, Tulane’s junior running back Tyjae Spears is on pace for a career season. On 62 attempts, Spears has 260 yards and six touchdowns. If Horton does start against the Pirates, mobility from the quarterback position will not be the focal point, as Horton has a recorded five rushes for a loss of 21 yards.

The third conference game of the season will end ECU’s first road trip before the Pirates return home to face the University of Memphis (4-1, 2-0 AAC) next Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff to put an exclamation on homecoming at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina. That game will also be streamed on ESPNU.

Pirates soccer prepares to travel to Memphis

Kiarra Crayton TEC STAFF

East Carolina University soccer (7-4-2, 2-0-1 American Athletic Conference) will compete against the University of Memphis (4-3-4,0-0-3 AAC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Memphis, Tennes see, at the Track and Soccer Complex.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ for Pirate fans and there will be free entry for every one at the Track and Soccer Complex.

A no-score tie with Tulsa University (6-4-2, 1-1-1 AAC) last Thursday in Greenville at John son Stadium is how the Pirates went into their bye week. The game served as Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day for East Carolina.

This will be the teams first match of the month because of a bye week for East Carolina.

On Oct. 24, 2021, the Pirates met the Tigers in Johnson stadium to win 2-1. This was the last time the teams played each other. East Carolina were the underdogs in this game as Memphis had the better record.

Memphis had the advantage in the first half after a Tiger goal put them in the lead. Pirate junior forward Annabelle Abbott tied the game in the second half. In the last three minutes of the game, East Carolina was able to take the lead.

The teams were matched in fouls and corner kicks by the end of the game. Memphis had the edge in shots with 23 overall and eight on goal. ECU was not far behind with seven shots on goal. Abbott led the team with three shots.

Against Tulsa, the East Carolina defense had their sixth shutout of the season.

ECU junior goalkeeper Maeve English surpassed her career shutout to six which was previously four in the 2021 season.

ECU took the lead in shots 14-11 with four to one on goal against the Golden Hurricanes. The only shot on goal for Tulsa came in the second half. The game was played fair as ECU had the most fouls with four while Tulsa had two. The Pirates earned three corner kicks in the first half and one in the second.

Pirate redshirt senior midfielder Catherine Holbrook led the team with three shots and two on goal. ECU freshman Mackenna Gregory had her career high of three shots and one on goal during the game against Tulsa this was the longest she played in and racked up 40 minutes.

The Pirates will host the University of South Florida (5-6, 2-1 AAC) in Johnson Stadium Oct. 16 at noon for ECU’s alumni game.

Concluding the game against South Florida, the Pirates will only have three more games left, two away and one at home to serve as East Carolina’s senior day. Following the game against South Florida the Pirates will play the University of Central Florida (2-2-4, 0-0-1 AAC) Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in Orlando, Florida.

On Oct. 23 Temple University (1-5-4, 0-2-0 AAC) will be the next stop for the Pirates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The University of Cincinnati (4-1-4, 0-0-1 AAC) will be the final game of the season for ECU on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in Johnson Stadium for senior night.

Mike Houston

JAYLIN ROBERTS I THE EAST CAROLINIAN

East Carolina’s senior quarterback Holton Alhers looks over the Navy defense before calling for the ball from junior center Avery Jones.

Mackenna Gregory