UTDPD Blotter

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Opinion Editor Shriya Vyasam opinioneditor@ utdmercury.com

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Contributors Oluwaseun Adeyemi

Ally Duong Parth Ghumare

Raya Jishi

Vaishnavi Josyula

Juhi Karnalkar

Unaiza Khakoo

Thaovy Nguyen

Harika Patchipala

Rainier Pederson

Andrew Peters

Zachary Rose

Casey Rubio

Rylee Russell

Vedant Sapra

Akhil Shashi Rachel Woon

Media Adviser Jonathan Stewart jonathan.stewart@utdallas.edu

January 25 • An employee reported the theft of his catalytic converter at 6:27 p.m. at BPI Dallas.

January 27

• A student reported being struck in the back of her neck by a water balloon at 9:37 p.m near CCHS.

January 28

• A student reported being struck by a water balloon by someone driving past her at 5:26 p.m near Lot J.

February 4 • A student left their watch in a JSOM bathroom and reported it missing when they returned at 3:10

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If you are a longtime fan of the game, you might worry that watching this saga will feel too repetitive of the game’s plot points. But this could not be further from the truth. The show uses the original plot as a backbone but fills in the details behind many of those events to a degree that the game could not, partially thanks to its longer run time. Each hint falls into place masterfully, particularly in the depiction of outbreak day. That extra backstory is enough to keep both old fans enriched and new fans engaged. More importantly, it turns the show’s runtime into an ongoing mystery that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Blink once, and you will miss something critical.

Another concern fans of the video game have is that it might deviate too much from the original. And, it is true, there is an amount of reinvention that is necessary to modernize the story. But any

MCMURRY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 then I feel good about it, and I think I can do everything pretty decently,” Stevens said. “For defense, it's really a confidence thing. You have to believe that you can stop the guy [in order] to have any hope in that challenge. And it's an honor to have that challenge, so I accept it gladly.”

Butterfield said he often matches Stevens up on defense with the competing team’s prime scorers. For Monday’s game, that included a leading conference

SOCCER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 the program. After a somewhat disappointing 2022 season, an offseason of change could be exactly what the Comets need to reestablish themselves in the American Southwestern Conference.

“Statistically, we just need to score more goals,”

Shirley said. “I’d like to be a little more offensively minded, get players higher up the field, try and generate more … opportunities, use the width differently, be a little more aggressive. I just want to have

TENNIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 were only there for a day and they were kind of in the same position.”

Unlike the previous seasons, all Division III games this season adopted “no-ad”— short for noadvantage — scoring where the player who wins the next point during a tie wins the game, rather than having to win by two points. According to graduate student Jeremiah “Jed” De Luna, no-ad scoring had deviations from the original plot are done for a very good purpose, since they make the themes of the original sing even truer. The core of the story is the same: the devotion of a found family and the many struggles they encounter on the way.and the many pits and struggles they encounter on the way.

The game instilled feelings of horror in players by putting them in the driver seat of a fight for survival. This doesn’t quite translate to a film format, but the series makes up for it by bringing innovative body horror to the max. In nature, what the Cordyceps fungus does to its hosts is grotesque, and any film adaptation must keep true to that fact. Makeup artists fashion photorealistic clickers with split head prosthetics. Accurate effects make mycelium threads writhe from host mouths and fruiting fungi grow through flesh and bone. If you can make it through this grotesquely real series without a hint of nausea, you truly have a steel scorer, McMurry’s CJ LeBlanc.

“He’s a senior,” Butterfield said. “He’s an experienced guy, and you count on those guys to step up during the big moments, and he got off to a pretty good start. He understands our defense and our offense as well, if not better than anybody else. So, his intelligence on the floor is of real value to us every time we play … we count on those seniors. We count on James, Curtis, Will, Isaac, Hunter and Kyle to really lead the young guys. And I think the young guys are more than willing to follow the older guys along because they are experienced, and a fun game to watch … I’d rather win 4-2 than 1-0 … and I think players buy into that, playing a fun style … that’s what I envision because that’s something that I can make sure happens.”

Focus on scoring and playing an up-tempo game should help the Comets, who were far more defensive last season, only scoring a total of 16 goals.

Shirley said an offensive approach would help the team capitalize on the talents of stars such as freshman midfielder Janae Shaklee and junior forward Bella Granada, a duo that scored over half of no impact on the outcome of the competition.

“I think it benefits me more than my opponents because I strive under pressure-filled situations,” De Luna said. “With no-advantage, margins for errors are smaller and nervousness can start to settle in on big points, but I don’t feel like that’s a problem for me.” De Luna said the camaraderie between new and returning players has been synergistic, even with five players from last season graduating and ultimately resolve. they’ve been down this road before.”

Unfortunately, there are a few too many times where the immersive factor of the game falls flat.

American viewers may struggle with the voices of Australian Anna Torv (Tess) or British Bella Ramsey (Ellie), who create mostly convincing American accents, except for the times the filter slips. More importantly, Hollywood once more makes the mistake of casting the privileged to play the underprivileged. Post-apocalyptic smugglers who grew up impoverished under a military regime should not talk like they’ve had years of elocution training. They should talk like they’re from the streets. At times, it is difficult to swallow the way some of these characters communicate, but that is a constant problem in entertainment. While the show has been rightfully praised for its diverse casting, there may be a lack of representation of different classes.

With two games left in the season, Butterfield said he’d like for the team to focus on getting as few fouls as possible. For example, Monday’s game started fast paced with quick baskets from Stevens and Poerschke but lost momentum in the second half from fouls committed by both the Comets and the War Hawks.

“It’s an issue. We’re not where we need to be at that right now,” Butterfield said. “No team is going to play foul free, but I think we foul excessively at times. But I think that a lot of the stuff that [McMurry] was doing

UTD’s goals last season. If the team can successfully develop a stronger offensive game plan while staying as grounded on defense as they were last year, Shirley thinks the team’s 2023 performance could be among the best in recent memory, raising hope for a strong playoff push.

“You never want to put titles on anything, but obviously you want to make the playoffs,” Shirley said.

“Every time you go into a season, if you’re not going in with a mindset of trying to win the whole thing, then what’s the point? Of course, that’s your goal, you leaving the team.

“In past years, we’ve sometimes had a lack of unity amongst the entire team,” De Luna said. “However, since I’ve returned to the team this past fall, I’ve really worked on breaking down any walls between our teammates and getting everyone comfortable with each other. I’ve stressed the importance of having a team that is all on the same page and all on the same agenda, and I think my teammates have really bought into that.”

Despite brief lapses in immersion, the world building of the series is overall fantastic. The QZ (quarantine zone) is maintained by harsh military rule, and it is almost as savage as the wastes that lie outside its walls. In the QZ, there are summary executions, bombings, shooting and horrendous violence from both the military and the rebel militia. Outside the QZ, there are mindless, violent infected and ruthless raiders, slavers and worse. All of this chaos and suffering gives deep context to the way the characters act, knowing that their peaceful world went up in flames without warning. In “The Last of Us,” civilization as we know it is destroyed by a humble fungus that finds its way into the food supply. A silent killer.

All this horror allows the crystallization of the strongest themes from the original. Save who you can and cherish what you have because it can all be taken away at the drop of a hat.

[that night] forced us into those situations.”

The Comets are set to play their last two matches on campus for homecoming this Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. before the ASC championship quarter finals.

“We’re in a pretty good position right now, so our guys know what’s at stake,” Butterfield said. “We've, been together a long time now, so it's just a matter of them having good preparation every time that they play and coming ready to play, but physically and mentally preparing for each game.” go in and you want to try and win a championship.”

With the 2023 season not starting until August, Shirley has time to get to know his team better and see exactly where their strengths and weaknesses lie. In the meantime, Shirley said he is excited to advance his career at UTD and use this opportunity to combine his love for soccer with his love for the university.

“I just enjoy being at UTD. I really enjoy the school and I think I’ve really felt at home here,” Shirley said.

Despite the changes in this tournament, the team hopes to win more games and ultimately the championship. The next men’s tennis game will be on Feb. 18 at UTD against Hardin-Simmons University.

“Both the men’s and women’s teams have been putting in a lot of work, so we’d love to have any extra supporters who’d be interested in watching some tennis,” De Luna said.