The Auburn Plainsman 09.17.20

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

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ELECTIONS 2020

FOOTBALL

‘We’re just doing what we can’ Student politcal organizations discuss upcoming 2020 election

TODD VAN ERMST | AU ATHLETICS

Auburn Football scrimmage, Sep. 2019.

By NATALIE BECKERINK Managing Editor

According to findings from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, the 2016 election saw a 48.3 % voting rate amongst college students. With the unprecedented circumstances facing the 2020 election, political organizations in Auburn have been working to share their ideological values and help get students to the polls once again.

For Carsten Grove, senior in industrial and systems engineering and president of College Democrats, the main focus for the next two months has been split into two parts — a partisan effort and a bipartisan effort.

“We are doing more partisan work and then more bipartisan work,” he said. “Our partisan work is about supporting campaigns; we’re working with mostly Doug Jones and Joe Biden campaigns.”

The Auburn College Democrats publicly an-

JACK WEST | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

nounced their support for Biden and Jones, and though Grove said campaigns have looked different this year, there is still a lot of work to do.

“We’re going to start phone banking with them, texting for them, all that sort of stuff just to help support the campaigns,” he said.

In regard to their bipartisan efforts, AUCD has been attempting to spread awareness for absentee voting and registering to vote. Normally, they

would set a table up on Haley Concourse to help people sign up. Now, due to COVID-19 regulations, they had to find a different method.

“The biggest difference from elections in the past years is just that we can’t be out on the concourse registering people to vote,” Grove said.

“Because our reach is only within our organization, we’re going to try to reach out to other organizations that aren’t as politically engaged, and just kind of ask them to spread general information about absentee voting to their members.”

Seth Johnson, sophomore in political science and Vice President of AUCD, has been working directly with Doug Jones’ campaign. He said that the need to get out and vote is more of a challenge due to the coronavirus, but it is also that much more important.

“Students are the least likely to actually go out and vote, and the biggest challenge is to convince fellow Auburn students to actually go out and » See POLITICS, 2

COMMUNITY

Council extends state of emergency order

By CHARLIE RAMO Section Editor

During the Committee of the Whole before Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, the Council discussed renewing or revising the local state of emergency. Mayor Ron Anders was recommended by both Auburn University and East Alabama Medical Center to renew the current order. The current order primarily focuses on restrictions to bars.

“We’ve made it this long,” Anders said. “There have been a number of sacrifices made and I appreciate those who were willing to make those sacrifices, but I’m asking the Council to extend the order three more weeks to Oct. 7.”

Ward 7 Council member Jay Hov-

ey stated he would not support an extension of the order. He believes the restrictions push patrons to other parts of the City and do not stop large gatherings from happening.

“We cannot legislate morality and we cannot legislate common sense, but we can legislate someone out of business,” Hovey said.

Cases at the University are still trending up, said City Manager Jim Buston. However, the number of new cases per week is lower than expected. There are currently 26 hospitalized COVID patients at EAMC, with seven on ventilators.

Lee County is still considered a ‘hot spot’ for the virus in the state, Buston said. The County recently was lowered from ‘epidemic’ to ‘high

risk.’ Most counties in Alabama are currently considered high risk.

The City has issued 14 citations based on local and statewide health orders so far, with five going to businesses and nine to individuals at a house party.

Ward 3 Council member Beth Witten proposed that the extension last until Oct. 2, the same day Gov. Ivey’s Safer at Home Order expires, instead of Oct. 7. Anders recently spoke with the Governor’s Chief of Staff and he would not be surprised if restrictions are extended past Oct. 2, though he does not expect for all of the current restrictions to be extended.

The Council did not pass the proposed amendment in a 5–4 vote.

Ward 8 Council member Tommy Dawson, Hovey, Witten and Anders voted yes.

The Alcoholic Beverage Commission is asking for businesses to sign a promise to follow the statewide health order’s guidelines, Witten said. If local businesses sign on to the promise, they would be able to police themselves so the City would not have to police guidelines for them. “[There are] legitimate concern sand health issues,” Hovey said.

“With nine citations to a house party, it proves that we have to police this all over and not just downtown.

I’d hate for someone’s livelihood, which depends on a normal course

Tigers no. 8 in AP poll

By JOHNATHAN HART Writer

After the second weekend of college football, the Auburn Tigers came in at No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.

Released Sunday, the AP Top 25 poll has removed all teams not playing in the fall, eliminating three teams ahead of Auburn in the preseason poll: Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon.

Kentucky comes in at No. 23, bringing the amount of Top 25 opponents Auburn will face this season to six. It also means that Auburn’s first game on Sept. 26. will be a Top 25 matchup between the No. 8 Tigers and No. 23 Wildcats.

According to the most recent AP poll, Auburn will host No. 23 Kentucky, No. 6 LSU, No. 15 Tennessee and No. 10 Texas A&M, and have away games at No. 4 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama.

TODD VAN ERMST | AU ATHLETICS

» See COUNCIL, 6

The offense runs after practice Saturday.

CORONAVIRUS

AU reports 109 new cases; lowest since reopening

By JACK WEST Editor-in-Chief

Auburn University reported 109 new COVID-19 cases last week, according to data released by the University.

This is a significant decrease in new cases following two straight weeks of the University adding more than 500 cases per week.

On Tuesday, the University also released data regarding the Sentinel Testing program that it is conducting through GuideSafe.

According to that data, 329 students were randomly selected for testing, 6 of which tested positive. This equates to a 1.8% positivity rating for the week of Sept.

7–13.

In the previous week,

621 students were randomly selected for testing, 39 of which tested positive. That equated to a 6.4% positivity rate for the first week of September.

In a video released on Tuesday, Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Auburn University Medical Clinic, said that this week’s decrease in cases was expected.

“It’s always a good thing

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to see the number of positive cases go down,” Kam said. “You can’t see it behind my mask, but I’m happy. I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Kam said that the decrease in cases was not because of a decrease in testing, but because of people on and off campus better adhering to social-distancing and mask guidelines.

“It didn’t just go down be-

cause testing went down, it went down, again, because of all the steps that people have been taking and adhering to,” Kam said.

Last week, Kam said that he expected a spike in cases following the Labor Day weekend, but this week he added that the spike may not show up until next week.

“I was expecting that these numbers were to

go down this week,” he said.

“Again, I want to be clear that it’s not going to last forever. The expectation is because of Labor Day we will see a slight spike — hopefully it’s a slight spike.”

Kam said that Auburn has been more fortunate than some other schools across the country. » See COVID-19, 2

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

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NEWS

Auburn University COVID-19 data AU's total cases

AU's new weekly COVID cases 1600

1600

1400

1400

1200

1200

1000

1000

800

800

400 200 0

598

570

600

1376

778

600 400

208

109 8/22 – 8/28

8/31 – 9/6

9/7 – 9/13

208

200 0

8/15 – 8/21

1485

8/15 – 8/21

8/22 – 8/28

8/31 – 9/6

9/7 – 9/13

Note: Since The Plainsman’s previous publication, Auburn University has updated some of their COVID-19 data. Those updates are reflected in the data presented here.

COVID-19 » From 1

“Other schools are not as fortunate as we are,” Kam said.

“Some schools are totally online; they’ve shut down. We have been Auburn strong and continued to be committed towards trying to make this a successful semester.”

Even though the weekly increase in cases declined this week, Kam said that the University should not overreact to the good news.

“We did not overreact when the numbers were bad; we do not want to underreact when the numbers are good,” he said. “We need to be consistent; we need to be committed.”

Throughout the entire video, Kam stressed the importance that Auburn students and employees follow all of the University’s social-distancing and mask guidelines.

On a county level, hospitalizations have stayed relatively consistent across the month of September, according to data released by EAMC on Wednesday.

“The opening of schools saw the increase in community cases that most people expected,” said John Atkinson, EAMC’s spokesperson. “We seem to be over that initial spike of cases, and the good news is that hospitalizations didn’t mirror that sharp increase.”

POLITICS » From 1

vote,” he said. “Whether that’s in person or whatever the case may be, which is a challenge in and of itself, on top of COVID.” Johnson has been working with the Jones campaign since 2017, and now facilitates communication between Doug Jones and Auburn. He said students who are interested in working on campaigns can start by joining at the entry level and working their way up to more responsibility.

“The best way to get involved is to start at the ground level, whether that’s with Doug Jones or Joe Biden or whoever,” he said. “Just start making phone calls or texting, whatever the case may be, you can work your way up very authentically from there.”

Auburn University College Republicans has also been coordinating efforts during the past few months to help interested students stay engaged with the political scene. Jordan Parker, senior in business analytics and vice chairman of AUCR, shared how the club has been working to get new students involved.

“Obviously this is a very different time, especially for clubs and organi-

LOGAN ELLISON | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The AU Med Clinic has been an integral part of Auburn’s COVID-19 response.

zations,” Parker said. “We’re just trying to adapt as best we can. We’re trying to be creative, come up with new ways where we can not only meet and socialize, but also do it safely while fulfilling the purpose of what our club is — to activate, mobilize people and get them excited about politics.”

Parker emphasized that this year would be the first time that a lot of freshmen students are voting, which is even more reason to encourage involvement.

“We’re just doing what we can, working with some different campaigns to mobilize members to get them on the ground, phone banking, door knocking, stuff like that,” he said.

For both organizations, mobilization of their preferred campaigns is important for their candidates. Grove said that this year is more unpredictable than in years past, meaning that they have more of an opportunity to reach undecided voters.

“We’re trying our best to kind of work on our base and reach out to people that we expect to vote Democrat, but we also want to try and expand that too to people that maybe have always traditionally voted Republican,” he said. “Maybe to try and show them that they might not have

as many differences with Democrats as they thought or reach out to people that may not have ever voted.”

Though Trump has taken a hit to his campaign efforts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Democrats have also been negatively impacted, Grove said.

“The actual effects of COVID have hurt Trump more, just because he’s the one that’s president right now, so regardless of beliefs on whether or not he’s at fault, he’s the one that’s in charge, so he’s going to take the brunt of it,” he said. “On the other hand, I believe that this whole issue with COVID has been hurting Democrats more and Joe Biden’s campaign because Democrats already tend to have lower voter turnout.”

Parker also mentioned the impact of COVID-19 on the president’s re-election, mainly in regard to the economy.

“Obviously before the pandemic the economy was on fire and it has kind of come to a grinding halt since then,” Parker said. “A lot of Americans, not only are they wanting to get back to work and ready to get back to work, but people are kind of on their last leg when it comes to being able to support themselves, support their family and getting back to that place

where consumer confidence is so high in early 2020.”

Despite the hit to the economy, Parker said he is hopeful that the president will be able to work past this issue.

“We’ve already seen the economy start to bounce back. We’ve seen great job numbers, everything along those lines, so I think the economy will really be the biggest role in this election.”

In addition to the presidential election, a lot of eyes are on the Alabama Senate race between Tommy Tuberville and incumbent Doug Jones. Both College Democrats and College Republicans have stated that they will be working with their respective campaign.

Parker said that AUCR is closely communicating with the Tuberville campaign through the COVID-19 regulations.

“We are excited to help him [Tuberville] out in any way that we can,” he said. “Obviously since the pandemic, events have been shuffled around, but we’re in constant communication.

Our members are super excited to get involved.”

Grove said College Democrats are almost more focused on the Doug Jones campaign than Biden’s, just because there is more at stake due to Al-

abama’s history of voting Republican.

“The biggest thing, being that we’re in Alabama, is … we’re obviously working with the Joe Biden campaign, but one of our bigger focuses is the Doug Jones campaign,” he said. “Nationally speaking, Alabama is much more likely to swing Republican than Democrat, but when it comes to the Senate election, it’s a much closer race.”

Overall, both College Democrats and College Republicans have a similar objective and have members who are excited to get out and campaign.

“People are motivated, wanting to get out, wanting to get involved with campaigns both on and off campus, to promote the conservative values that we cherish so closely,” Parker said. “We’re going to be active; we’re going to be out there; we’re going to be loud and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure the president gets reelected.”

Johnson also echoed these sentiments, that people need to get out and get excited for Doug Jones.

“It’s no secret that Doug Jones is the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the Senate election,” Johnson said. “We have to acknowledge that because we have to work that much harder.”

opinion

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

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OPINION

EDITORIAL

Auburn should reintroduce S/U grading

By EDITORIAL BOARD Fall 2020

Auburn’s beloved Tigers carry a roster hovering around 100 student athletes, while some programs struggle to field a team. The Tigers also boast some of the most up-todate athletic facilities that rival some professional organizations, while some collegiate programs have to fundraise just to have some workout equipment.

It would be the understatement of the century to say college athletic programs across the country are on equal footing when it comes to the resources at their disposal, and die-hard SEC fans are the first to let you know conferences can’t come close to the SEC’s grip as hegemon of the NCAA. The stark difference between opportunity and resources at Auburn and say, Arkansas State, is wider than an Alabama kicker’s field goal.

Anyone with a modicum of understanding of college football is fully aware that it is no way an equitable system.

Despite a seemingly legitimate curse on Nick Saban-recruited kickers, Alabama competes for a national championship year after year, while fanbases such as Vanderbilt’s would be thrilled to get a single conference win this year.

And just like in football, Auburn’s student body has a greatly varying availability of resources, opportunities and even time.

Look across Auburn’s campus, and you’ll see students from all walks of life — from different countries, different races, different cultures and different backgrounds. Admittedly, not as many as there should be, but that’s a different editorial for a different week.

So, just as it’s no surprise when Auburn decisively stomps a team from the MAC, it should come as no surprise when a student from an upper-middle class white fam-

ily with no job and no student loans outperforms an international student working a second job just to get by.

Furthermore, the restrictions and obstacles brought about by COVID-19 make the discrepancies in college football programs even more glaring. Similarly, the pandemic has more clearly exposed the inequities in higher education.

But this is where the parallel should end.

Football is a game inherently meant to determine winners and losers. It’s not meant to be equitable in any sense of the word.

College, however, hasn’t and never should resemble a place to divide students between the haves and the have nots. College isn’t just about the knowledge learned and the ideas discussed. It’s about further developing one’s identity, expanding one’s perspective and cultivating fundamental values.

Don’t believe us? Look no further than our very own University’s Creed, which lays out the values and attitudes Auburn men and women should harbor.

So, when a student who doesn’t have WiFi connection at their apartment doesn’t do as well on an exam as a student with a private room and study quarters at an expensive downtown apartment, the circumstances that produced the unequal outcome shouldn’t be reinforced and perpetuated in an unfair and antiquated grading system.

In March, when the University was initially moving to mostly remote instruction, it also announced a new and temporary grading system of optional satisfactory or unsatisfactory grades that were later determined to be possible if discussed between the student and instructor.

Similar to the grading system in place in certain courses already offered at the University, the new grading option allowed for students to determine whether they would receive a traditional letter grade or if the instructor would award a satisfactory or un-

MY LY | ASSISTANT SECTION EDITOR

satisfactory grade to the student. There were further stipulations on how it was implemented, but the basic idea for its enactment was to allow students to close some of the learning gap widened by COVID-19.

For the most part, the announcement was welcomed by student and faculty alike, and it was proven to be a popular adjustment for colleges and universities throughout the country.

We believe this was a reasonable play call by the University, especially considering the abrupt nature of the transition to online learning. But, as the virus has raided our public health, many of our personal lives and forced Auburn to operate almost entirely virtually, the University left the alternative grading system after the spring semester.

This stubbornness comes at the same

time that nearby schools such as the University of Alabama and University of Alabama at Birmingham have continued to offer pass or fail grading as an option for all courses and have announced that it will continue at least through the fall semester.

Once again, it’s sad to say such a decorated and respected university as Auburn has to follow in the footsteps of Alabama, but it must be said.

However, we would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to thank and show a sign of appreciation to the vast majority of faculty and professors at Auburn who, at least in our experiences, have been more than accommodating to students during an extremely uncertain and difficult time.

That being said, Auburn should return to a grading method that has been shown to be quite effective at increasing equity.

COLUMN

Everyone needs to participate in Sentinel Testing

By LANEY MAYFIELD Writer

The Sentinel Testing program at Auburn University is underway, and everyone selected for an examination should participate.

Through this program, roughly 2.5% of Auburn students and faculty will be selected to take a COVID-19 test each week. This includes students and employees. The purpose of this program is to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 throughout campus.

It is not mandatory for students and employees to participate in this program, but it would be beneficial for the entire campus community to be aware of their status. This is an opportune time for the campus community to utilize available resources designed for their health and safety.

It’s quite concerning that in the most recent data released by the University, just over 300 students and faculty participated in the first round of Sentinel Testing, while nearly 2,000 were selected to participate.

If students and employees are aware of their status, it could

prompt them to make the essential adjustments to slow the spread of the virus within the campus community. Moreover, it could grant them a state of assurance instead of having to speculate whether they have the virus or not.

After participating in the program, if someone discovers that they carry the virus, they can inform others and take the necessary measures to recover. On the other hand, if someone discovers that they do not carry the virus, they can continue to take precautions to remain healthy.

If students and employees cooperate, data can be collected, and there would be an accurate number of positive and negative cases on campus. With that data, University officials can act accordingly to combat the virus and ensure safety for everyone.

Students and employees who engage in the program will receive a test, free of charge. This is a thoughtful concept because some in the campus community may not have access to health insurance or additional funds to cover the cost of the test. It can alleviate the burden of financial worry during testing.

TRICE BROWN | ENTERPRISE EDITOR

Sentinel testing is being conducted in the scholarship room at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

While the virus continues to spread on campus, it is known to affect everyone differently. Someone could have the infection but may be asymptomatic and can unknowingly spread it to someone who may react differently to the disease. By taking the test, they can protect them-

COLUMNS & EDITORIALS

The Auburn Plainsman welcomes letters from students, as well as faculty, administrators, alumni and those not affiliated with the University.

The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages.

Letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification.

Submission may be edited for grammar, style and length. Please submit no more than 600 words.

This editorial is the majority opinion of the Editorial Board and is the official opinion of the newspaper.

The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors.

These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.

CONTACT

Letters must be submitted to editor@theplainsman.com before 4:30 p.m. on Friday for publication.

ed for testing will receive an email from healthy@Verily.com asking them to schedule an appointment for COVID-19 random sentinel testing.

Sentinel testing takes place in the scholarship room at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

OPINION PAGE POLICIES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

selves and others.

When informed on their results, they can encourage others at higher education institutions to get tested as well. Sentinel testing has been introduced to several college campuses in Alabama.

Students and employees select-

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TIM NAIL

Editor-in-Chief

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SGA

Student Senate moves to in-person hybrid meetings

By TIM NAIL

kind of went into a model of not having meetings every Monday [but] sending updates every Monday instead, and we were still able to vote on legislation,” Kassen said. “In that, we felt like Auburn’s Student Government Association met for its third we were not experiencing the community you get out of senfall senate on Monday, Sept. 14, which was unlike the previ- ate meetings, and we weren’t really getting that face-to-face inous virtual-only meetings this semester because it was partial- teraction.” ly held in person. Around 30 senators gathered in the Student The in-person reconvening of senate came with changes Center Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. to discuss a future vote to revise similar to campus events this fall — participants were required the ticketing system for SGA elections, while only a few attend- to show a green GuideSafe Healthcheck passport screen before ed via Zoom. entry, and each senator was physically distanced at their own Hays Kassen, senior in accounting and vice president of SGA, table. Microphones were set up for those who needed to speak, said the decision was made because meetings held fully over a new addition to the meetings given their usual occurrence in Zoom reduce senators’ interest in participation. a smaller Student Center room.

“Back in the spring when we were moved to fully virtual, we In the past few months, SGA reintroduced summer senate meetings by using Zoom, which Kassen said had not occurred for many years. However, it was in these meetings that SGA leadership noticed a change in the interaction between senators, he said.

“We felt like people were not talking as much as they would in person,” Kassen said. “With student senate, there’s an element of being able to talk [and] discuss legislation that you can really only get in person and not so much over a Zoom screen. With that, we felt like there was a need to have in-person meetings for the fall semester.”

Ada Ruth Huntley, senior in global studies and president of SGA, also said the student senate format is more reliant on physical presence for the style of debate that makes up meetings.

“We’ve definitely been taking the approach of if we can do it online, we want to do it online, but ... the back-andforth discussion is just so much easier to do in person when there’s not the fear of a roommate walking in and yelling on camera or Wi-Fi dropping unexpectedly in the middle of a presentation,” Huntley said. “It just makes everything function so much smoother, and since we’ve been able to adapt it TIM NAIL | SECTION EDITOR for a classroom model, we thought we could implement the SGA Senate meets on Sept. 14, 2020, in Auburn, Ala. same thing via senate.”

Section Editor

The first two meetings of the semester had to be held over Zoom only because several senators were under quarantine, according to Kassen. Because of this, senators were not required to physically attend if they felt uncomfortable doing so.

Nonetheless, both Huntley and Kassen said SGA plans to continue this hybrid meeting model each Monday night for the near future. Committee and cabinet meetings, however, will remain solely on Zoom.

“For the time being, I think this is the best move for student senate,” Huntley said. “I’m really proud in the way in which we did it ... ensuring nobody came if they were potentially exposed to someone who might have tested positive. If there is one way to meet in person, I think that we’ve pretty much nailed what that model could look like.”

Kassen mentioned that the number of senators and support staff totals less than the University’s event attendee maximum currently imposed because of the pandemic.

“We only have about 39 normal members, and so we are under that 50-person event limit,” he said. “Given that, we feel like we can be in person safely socially distanced wearing masks.”

Student senate meetings include an open forum segment where non-SGA students, faculty and staff may bring an issue before the senate or promote an event or organization. These will still occur with the hybrid meeting format, but Kassen asks that those arriving in-person communicate with SGA leaders prior to meetings.

“Anybody can come that’s affiliated with the University, but we just want to watch that for number purposes and making sure we’re not breaking that 50-person limit,” Kassen said. “[Monday] night we were well under that. If we get a situation where we have more than 50 people who want to come, we’ll probably have to let certain people in at different times, or they’ll only be able to send one person in if it’s a group.”

Senate participants who wish to use Zoom to speak during open forum or attend for other purposes are asked to contact SGA for the Zoom invite link, which will not be posted publicly as to avoid interruptions.

ACADEMICS

Instructors report diminished face-to-face class attendance

By JACK WEST Editor-in-Chief

It has now been a month since Auburn University began its fall 2020 semester and started to have a significant number of on-campus classes for the first time since March. Plenty of Auburn staples have also returned to campus including fall sports practices, SGA Senate meetings and long afternoons of brutal sunshine turning concourses into gridels.

However, amid all of this, one thing seems to be missing.

Actually, it seems to be about 20,000 things.

Even though many professors are offering classes either fully or partially in-person, much of campus remains devoid of students.

No one expected concourses, classrooms and dining facilities to be packed to their pre-pandemic levels, but even some professors have been surprised by the dearth of students.

Chris Vickers, associate professor of economics, is one of those professors.

“It mildly surprises me that there isn’t more demand for in-person classes,” Vickers said.

This semester Vickers said he is teaching roughly 70 students split into two HyFlex classes. The HyFlex model has been a common tool used by universities like Auburn who are reopening during the pandemic this fall since they give students the option to attend class either in person or online.

Of the 70 students Vickers is teaching this semester, he said about 15 actually come to campus for class.

“It doesn’t bother me either way — people can do whatever they want — but it is true that, given the option, most people are choosing not to attend in-person classes,” he said.

Vickers also said he believes that his experience isn’t atypical.

Adair Martin, instructor in the department of finance, said she is noticing a similar trend of empty lecture halls.

Martin is teaching a little over 200 students this semester in two separate courses.

“The first week or so, I had more students coming to class, probably like 25 or 30,” she said. “Now, we’re down to between nine and 12 showing up.”

Both Martin and Vickers said they spent time before the start of the semester preparing classrooms and course procedures to allow 50 or 100% of their students to attend in-person class. Both of them also laughed about how unnecessary that planning ended up being.

“I was worried,” Vickers said. “Because, in theory, if everyone wanted to show up in person, I didn’t have enough classroom capacity. Then, it turned out that just didn’t matter at all.”

Both employees expressed that they respect students’ decisions to attend class online, but they still seemed baffled by how few actually turned up on campus.

“For whatever reason, most people have chosen not to come in person,” Vickers said. “I’m not second guessing anyone’s decision; however, I think it does raise slight questions about how demanded really [were] in-person classes.”

Multiple students said that even though they feel like the University’s social distancing and mask

EVAN MEALINS | MANAGING EDITOR

Some instructors said they are surprised students prefer online classes over face-to-face.

policies work, they don’t see a reason to only go on campus for one or two classes.

“If I have three classes and two of them are online, the other is in person or online, I’ll just stay home and do them all online,” said Amber Hallmark, sophomore in anthropology. “I still go to some in person just to get out of the house typically though.”

Hallmark also said she was worried about her fellow students not being honest with the University about a positive test result.

“I also think classes — at least mine — are as safe

as they can be without going online,” she said. “But it all still doesn’t work if people don’t report their cases for fear of being forced to move to quarantine dorms.”

These concerns about personal health and academic well-being show that when students have the option to attend class either in person or online, they are being asked to make a risk-reward calculation. In short: is the reward of going to class in person worth the risk of catching COVID-19.

Right now, the answer for most students seems to be no.

HOUSING

Residents describe life under COVID rules

By DESTINI AMBUS Reporter

JACK WEST | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sanitizing stations are present in residence halls.

A month into into living on campus under COVID-19’s thumb, some current residents said they feel safe under current housing guidelines.

“Of course, as we stop outside our rooms they want us to put masks on,” said Michael Floyd, a sophomore in journalism who lives in Harper Hall in The Quad.

“And there’s signs up around saying, ‘it only takes one second to pull on a mask.’”

Alongside that, there’s sanitizing machines up in the halls, and washing one’s hands and the basics are encouraged. Like many aspects of living in a dorm, there are some things that are just the resident’s responsibility, including personal health.

David Elliot, freshman in computer science who lives in Eagle Hall in The Village, said RAs are moderately enforcing these rules.

“They’re not going around hounding us or anything, but if they see it they’ll definitely enforce it,” he said.

Similarly, Floyd said he feels RAs are doing their job but not over-enforcing

rules.

“I don’t see RAs going around checking, or dropping reminders in the GroupMe, but that doesn’t mean they’re not enforcing it, I just don’t see it,” Floyd said.

Floyd, who lived in Duncan Hall last year, said although it is very different, adjusting to the new guidelines has been simple for him.

“My mother got COVID in the summer, and it almost took her life,” Floyd said. “Thank God it didn’t, but it almost did. Adjusting has been easy for me cause I knew what I had to do when I got here.”

Floyd takes precautionary measures such as taking his friends’ temperature and giving them hand sanitizer when they come in, bleaching, mopping and spraying Lysol to ensure the safety of himself and his roommate.

Elliot, on the other hand, tested positive for COVID-19 himself during the summer and takes a slightly more relaxed approach.

“My friends, they know they’re not really gonna get it from me,” Elliot said. “I don’t really check my temperature, and my roommate don’t check our friends’ before they come over. I do make sure I clean ev-

erything though, but I don’t think there’s that much of a risk.”

Despite this, both students feel safe in their dorms, and Floyd said he feels safer staying on campus than he would in an apartment.

“I feel like, in an apartment, there’s less security,” Floyd said. “People that are in charge here can control more in terms of like partying here, more than they can off campus.”

Floyd said that he wasn’t aware of any large party gatherings in his residence hall.

Elliot shared that he heard of specific rules in place for vistiors across campus.

“I’m fairly certain that they only want a certain number of people in your dorm now,” Elliot said. “And, I think there’s a time limit on visitors now, like none after 9 p.m.”

With the measures that they do have in place – wearing a mask even in common areas or just leaving your dorm and the sanitizing stations – Elliot said he feels pretty safe living in the dorm.

“I definitely feel safer here than I would anywhere else, or just walking around campus,” Elliot said.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 5

HISTORY

VIA AUBURN UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

Collage of photos from the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic in Auburn.

A look back: Auburn and the 1918 pandemic

By COLLINS KEITH Assistant Section Editor

The influenza pandemic of 1918, more commonly known as the Spanish flu, infected around 500 million people across the globe. It was more deadly than both World Wars combined, killing around 50 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It bears some similarities to the coronavirus. “[It] was transmitted when infected people sneezed or coughed and expelled mucus into the air or onto another person,” issue 130 of the Alabama Heritage reads, a print magazine published by The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Alabama Department of Archives and History. “A person could be symptom-free but contagious for as long as twenty-four hours.”

The above text refers to the spread of the Spanish flu, but could easily be applied to the current COVID-19 outbreak, as people can be contagious with COVID-19 for up to 48 hours before the onset of symptoms, according to Harvard University. In the first-hit locations in the United States, like Camp Funston in Kansas, the disease spread so quickly that the sick had to be housed in a converted hangar, according to the Alabama Heritage.

While the Spanish flu had been synthesized and evaluated by the time of the outbreak, the properties that made it so devastating were not. Efforts to limit its spread were solely non-pharmaceutical.

“With no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited,” the CDC’s website reads. “Non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants and

limitations of public gatherings were applied unevenly.”

Yet another similarity of the two pandemics is the way in which they hurt their victims. The following quotes are taken from the paper titled, "Spanish Influenza." This paper is based on the findings of 600 cases at the Post Hospital of the then Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University.

“The essence of the whole pathologic picture consists, therefore, in the abundance of the hemorrhages seen in the mucus and serous membranes, in the respiratory tract and in the lungs,” the paper reads.

“Hemorrhages in the lungs pave the way for a secondary infection … as the lungs are literally shot to pieces, as with bird shot, after an attack.”

In many cases, the secondary infection that came after was pneumonia. According to the CDC, a similar process can happen with pneumonia afflicting the weakened lungs of COVID-19 patients.

Other similarities in symptoms include an elevated temperature of 99–101 degrees as well as a dry and rasping cough, according to the paper based on findings from the Post Hospital. These symptoms were found by the paper to be telling signs of the Spanish flu.

In Alabama, the first wave of the Spanish flu passed through in the spring and summer of 1918, but it was not until the second wave that the outbreak became severe enough to alarm health officials. The City of Birmingham’s health inspector, Dr. J.D. Dowling, went on record to the Birmingham News on Sept. 4 insisting that the outbreak was nothing more than a case of the cooties.

Under the headline, “No Spanish Influenza Here; ‘Cooties’ Attack School Kids,” which ran in the Birmingham News, Dowling insisted that no “extraordinary disease of any kind has been reported,” saying that children starting the new school year were at risk from “cooties.”

Just three days later, on Sept. 7, Birmingham reported the first two

ELECTIONS 2020

flu deaths, and the next day, all schools in the city were closed.

According to the Alabama Heritage, Gov. Charles Henderson issued a proclamation on Oct. 7, calling on “all country and municipal authorities” to ban public gatherings and to close “schools, churches, theaters, picture shows and other places of amusement” as long as “the disease exists in their respective communities.”

The pandemic then made its way to Alabama Polytechnic Institute.

In a report to the Student Army Training Corps, Tommy Fullan, instructor in mechanical drawing and machine design, stated that “thirteen persons died of approximately 700 who had this severe flu, 80 cases developing into late pneumonia.”

President Charles C. Thach reported to the trustees of Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1918 the following statement regarding the University’s response to the pandemic: “[The] heroic service of about forty women of the community, who at the peril of their lives, nursed the young soldiers day and night and by their spirit of self-sacrifice … contributed the chief agency in the preservation of the lives of these young men, and bringing about the highly gratifying low death rate.”

While the Spanish flu would continue to ravage the globe, the worst of the pandemic had passed in Alabama. According to the Alabama State Board of Health, 145,821 cases were reported in 1918, with 5,446 deaths, a death rate of 3.73%. There were an additional 5,882 pneumonia deaths.

This contrasts with the death rate in Alabama for COVID-19, which is 1.71% at the time of writing, according to The New York Times.

Information for this story was sourced from Auburn University's Special Collections and Archives.

GREEK LIFE

Auburn Panhellenic earns national excellence award

By VIRGINIA SPEIRS Writer

ALLISSA STANLEY | PHOTOGRAPHER

The first day of the Voter Registration and Information Drive on Sept. 16, 2020, in Auburn, Ala.

League of Women Voters to hold registration drive in RBD

By TIM NAIL Section Editor

The League of Women Voters of East Alabama will be continuing its Voter Registration and Information Drive in Ralph Brown Draughon Library next Tuesday, Sept. 22.

The drive is open to all students, faculty and staff and aims to help them in registering for this year’s federal election, requesting absentee ballots or checking their registration status.

Elizabeth Devore, Ph.D. student in electrical engineering and a board member of the LWV of East Alabama, said the biggest intention behind the drive is accessibility to the college community, which includes some out-of-state students.

“If you haven’t voted absentee before, we’re there to help you,” Devore said. “If you just have some general questions or want a quick reminder about deadlines and dates, that’s what we’re there for. I was officially a Florida resident the entire time I did my undergraduate here, and so I always felt weird voting. I voted absentee, but I was voting for representatives where I wasn’t even living.”

Participants are asked to bring some form of ID if requesting an Alabama absentee ballot. This can include a state issued ID such as

a driver’s license or even an Auburn University TigerCard, according to Devore.

The drive follows the approval of a polling location on campus during a Student Government Association senate meeting on Aug. 24 and is linked to the proposal, Devore said.

Hannah Krawczyk, senior in political science and executive director of Auburn Justice Coalition, was a driving force behind the proposal and is also the LWV of East Alabama’s student liaison.

“There’s a lot of overlap with the University considering [the LWV is] mostly based out of the Auburn-Opelika area,” Devore said.

“LWV actually has a program called ‘Vote 411’ that started in 2006 and that offers a lot.

We have one of our board members who specifically oversees and helps with that. We’ll have some of those resources available for people ... as well as some of the stuff that SGA has prepared, so it’s very much a collaborative effort between [the] University and LWV.” Masks are required to participate in accordance with the University’s “A Healthier U” COVID-19 guidelines, and volunteers will be separated from visitors with a table shield.

Laptops will be provided for online registration form submission, according to Devore, and hand sanitizer and wet wipes will also be available for visitors.

The Auburn University Panhellenic Council was awarded the 2020 National Panhellenic Conference’s Excellence Award last month on Aug. 10 for its national merit as a College Panhellenic Association. Auburn Panhellenic has won this award once before in 2017.

“The NPC Excellence Award is granted to College Panhellenic Associations that demonstrate outstanding contributions in the following categories: academic innovation, community impact, judicial procedure, leadership, marketing, programming, and recruitment,” said Madison Birckhead, president of Auburn Panhellenic. “For perspective, NPC sororities are located on more than 670 campuses internationally.”

The NPC is an umbrella organization for 26 national women’s sororities across the United States and Canada. They define themselves as the “premier advocacy and support organization for the advancement of the sorority experience.”

Every year, multiple colleges receive the NPC Excellence Award for their outstanding contributions in various categories. In 2020, there were 25 college Panhellenic associations that received the award.

Birckhead said Auburn Panhellenic is honored to receive this award, and it sees it as proof of hard work the association has done for sororities on campus.

“Auburn sees this honor as a testament to the hard work that all of our women put forth in an effort to make our community stronger,” Birckhead said. “In our code of ethics, it is written that ‘as members of Auburn Panhellenic, we stand for academic excellence, social responsibility, leadership and service to our college campus and community’. The NPC Excellence Award is affirmation that these founding ideals are leading the way and establishing the future of Auburn Panhellenic.”

Birckhead began serving as the Auburn Panhellenic Council president during the fall 2019 semester. She said she is proud to be the Panhellenic leader during this time and is honored to serve as president during the reception of this award.

“Personally, I am so humbled to be leading our community in a time such as this and to be surrounded by women who steadfastly strive to improve our community and strengthen one another,” she said. “I am so thankful to see the work of these women be recognized on a national level and I truly could not be more proud to be a part of Auburn Panhellenic.”

The Auburn Panhellenic Council was founded 91 years ago in 1929. Since then, Auburn has “served as a voice, an advocate, a resource, and a community for women on Auburn’s campus”, according to the website. Auburn University hosts 18 Greek chapters under the Panhellenic association.

JOSH FISHER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Auburn Panhellenic has received the NPC Excellence Award once before in 2017.

community THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

6 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

COMMUNITY

EDUCATION

Lee County Schools starts in-person classes

By SAM LANKFORD Writer

As Lee County Public Schools reopened on Monday, a year of uncertainty lies ahead.

Roughly a quarter of the student population will begin classes online, presenting new obstacles to the public-school system. Lee County Public Schools has put in place measures to alleviate some of the complications that might arise from the demands of school life in a COVID-19 era.

Students and their families were given the choice of in-person or remote learning. According to Assistant Superintendent Jason Wright, roughly 25% of Lee County’s 10,000 students have elected to begin classes online while the majority will begin classes in-person.

Measures to maintain in-person school’s effectiveness while balancing safety are straightforward, as masks, social distancing and proactive surface cleaning will remain enforced. Online instruction, however, presents the school system with new challenges for all, particularly students of families in lower income brackets where access and supervision might be lacking.

Lee County Public Schools has provided all students with laptops, but for many, Wi-Fi is not available at home.

“To address the Wi-Fi issue, we have three things that we’re working to do: One, we have disseminated our school buses that are equipped with Wi-Fi to 20 different strategic locations throughout the county that families can go to and access,” Wright said. “We have also made the Wi-Fi in our school buildings

COUNCIL » From 1

of business, be completely shut down by actions we take.”

The Council approved the extension of the local State of Emergency in a 6–3 vote. Dawson, Hovey and Ward 4 Council member Brett Smith opposed. Witten stated she was extremely conflicted, but she voted yes.

Among the monthly service awards, Anders announced the retirement of officer Michael Roberson, and Dawson commended him for being someone the community and its schoolchildren could look up to.

The Council unanimously approved tax abatements for two new industries moving into Auburn. Anders commended the City’s economic development team for bringing new industry into the community.

When considering pre-zoning The Silos at Conway from Rural to Limited Development District, Ward 6 Council member Bob Par-

VIA LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS WEBSITE

The Lee County Board of Education oversees eighteen school campuses.

accessible from outside in the school parking lots.”

Wright also stated that funds from the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and particularly Gov. Kay Ivey’s Alabama Broadband Connectivity for Students, has allowed LCPS to purchase Wi-Fi hardware to distribute to students’ families. According to a July press release from the Office of the Governor, beneficiaries of this plan must currently be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals

sons denied unanimous consent.

“In the past several days, there have been moving parts,” Parsons said. “I thought it would be more appropriate to take a breath and have a look at it again with a clearer plan.”

Buston explained that pre-zoning is a way for the Council to show an applicant that their property would be rezoned if it were annexed into the City.

The applicant could then apply for their property to be annexed into the City.

Both pre-zoning requests will be on the agenda for the Oct. 6 City Council meeting.

The Council approved a resolution declaring an entertainment district downtown during the first two University football games, which allows patrons to walk up to bars to purchase drinks if they are outdoors.

The City’s ordinance prohibiting walk-up indoor bar service will still be in effect. Businesses will be able to set up temporary outdoor bars for the events.

Auburn’s Public Safety Department will be actively enforcing both

or meet other income criteria. This coverage is approved through Dec. 31, 2020.

For working parents, lack of Wi-Fi might be solvable by LCPS’s initiative, but parental supervision for younger, more dependent children proves another. Right now, families have the choice of sending their children to school or keeping them at home, but if schools are forced to close their doors again, a parent might have no other choice than to quit or put their job on hold.

the statewide health order and the City’s ordinance, Buston said.

“We’re trying to be as accommodating as we can to our local businesses, while at the same time being cognizant of what we’re being asked to do by the University and healthcare providers,” Buston said. “It’s a compromise. Maybe we’re making everyone unhappy instead of making one side unhappy. This is what we’ve come up with.”

Hovey showed his support of the proposal, saying he wants to be able to expedite the process of obtaining any necessary permits for the event.

Dawson, a retired police chief, opposed.

“I’m opposed to it because I think we’re asking our police officers to do one thing one month and another thing the next month,” Dawson said.

“I don’t think they’re going to know what they need to do. It’s confusing to me, for the police especially.”

Dawson stated he sympathizes with downtown businesses, but he has concerns for the Public Safety Department enforcing the regulations during the events.

If schools were forced to close, the range of students that could be accommodated for services would be barebones.

“We would open the buildings when we could for individual cases; special education, ESL, those things are required services. But as far as if things are closed, they’re closed,” Wright said. “And that would become a family decision of how they would address [online classes].”

Another possible issue that might arise in online instruction is confusion, whether that be from course material or the facilitation software itself. According to Wright, LCPS has designated staff to supervise, monitor and facilitate online courses.

“There’s an English teacher available to support English students; there’s a math teacher available to help with math, and so on and so forth,” Wright said.

Seventh and eighth graders will have help available to them from teachers of various schools across the county, while high schoolers will get help from teachers located in their respective buildings.

Students will have access to one-on-one instruction through designated periods, or through scheduled office hours.

If another stay-at-home order is issued, students, especially young primary-level students in particular, might lose out on important opportunities to develop social skills, Wright said.

“That’s kind of the downside, why we need everybody to take the measures that they can to mitigate the spread so we don’t have to do that,” Wright said. “Back in March, that was terrible.”

CONTRIBUTED BY CITY OF AUBURN

The state of emergency was approved in a 6–3 vote.

While Anders said he is not expecting a massive crowd in town on gameday, many local hotels are nearly full for the first football weekend.

The entertainment district resolution passed in an 8-1 vote, with Dawson opposing.

During Citizens’ Communications, Lee County resident Tara Brumfield brought to the Council’s attention the proposed quarry in

Beulah.

The proposed quarry is planned

by Creekwood Resources, the same company that proposed a quarry on the border of Opelika in early 2020.

Brumfield said the quarry is located six miles from the original proposed location, which the Council opposed earlier in the year, and asked that the Council write a resolution in opposition of the current proposal as well.

CULTURE

City begins free Sundown Concert Series

By KATIE CARROLL Writer

After being canceled in the spring, the City of Auburn’s Sundown Concert Series will continue this fall. The first show of the series is set to take place on Thursday starting at 6 p.m. CST at Kiesel Park.

There are four shows in the Fall Sundown Concert Series, and attendance is free.

The shows are set to take place on Sept. 17 and 24, Oct. 1, and Oct. 8. The band lineup is H2O, The Auburn Jazz Quartet and DJ K. Cole.

According to the event’s co-coordinator, Ann Bergman, safety precautions are being taken to follow social-distancing guidelines.

Guests are being asked to wear masks when entering and exiting the park. The event coordinator will use eco-friendly spray paint to mark spots on the grass to designate areas for guests to set up their chairs or blankets. Guests are allowed to remove masks when sitting in their spots but are expected to wear them at all other times.

Bergman said the purpose for marking the grass was

to ensure that people in the same family unit or friend group can all be seated together while still maintaining an acceptable distance from others.

The Sundown Concert Series occurs twice a year — in the spring and fall. The spring concert series was planned for May but got canceled due to COVID-19.

Bergman said Auburn’s Parks and Recreation Department chose not to move forward with the spring concert series because the Coronavirus pandemic was still in its early stage and it was uncertain how to safely hold public events.

Bergman said the department decided to put on the fall concert series because they have recently started holding other events, like the City Market, and have been able to follow safety procedures.

“We know that as long as people are wearing masks entering and exiting and we mark places to ensure social distancing, we feel comfortable having an outdoor event,” Bergman said.

According to Bergman, some aspects of the event differ from past years for safe-

ty reasons. Concessions and food will not be offered this year and there will not be a food truck set up at the park.

However, Bergman said guests are encouraged to pack a picnic and bring their own food.

Guests are expected to bring their own seating items like blankets and chairs. Dogs are also welcome but must be kept on a leash the entire event.

Bergman said that because the concert is outdoors, if it rains, it will be canceled. The City will post updates on performance delays or cancelations to its website and social media platforms. “[The concert series] has a very casual atmosphere. It’s a lot of fun,” Bergman said.

The Montgomery-based band, H2O, peform Sept. 17 and Oct. 8 at the Fall Sundown Concert Series.

According to band member Tyrone “Deak” Ross, the band can have anywhere from four to seven members.

Four members of H2O will be present for Thursday’s concerts, along with a special guest.

Ross said that for Thursday’s performance, he will be playing bass guitar, Ron-

ald “Hooch” MacMillen will be playing drums, Henry “Bo Henry” Campbell will be playing the keyboard, and they will be joined by special guest Roscoe “Louisiana Fred” Phillips, who plays harmonica and sings. “[The band members] all have different personalities, but we bring a lot of excitement,” Ross said.

Ross said the band has been performing together since 1995.

H2O plays a variety of music but focuses on R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. The band will play some cover songs, but Ross said they would also be performing some original songs by Phillips, who specializes in Southern blues.

“We do a little bit of ev-

erything, though,” Ross said.

“We play jazz sometimes, but we’ll be playing mostly old school R&B, rock ‘n’ roll and blues first.”

Ross revealed that their surprise guest for the Oct. 8 performance will be female vocalist L’Oreal. “[L’Oreal] has a very nice voice and she sings just about anything,” Ross said.

FILE PHOTO

The Electric Rangers perform at 2017 Fall Sundown Concert at Kiesel Park on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

PAGE 7

EMPLOYMENT

Auburn Fire Division offers college students jobs, tuition

By ELISE SAPPINGTON Writer

“Need a challenging job that can help finance your college education? Join our team and protect and serve the community while building skills for the future,” reads the flyer advertising the City of Auburn’s Student Firefighter Program. The program is available to all high school graduates planning to attend college.

The City of Auburn offers its Student Firefighter Program every year, with details available on its website.

The deadline to apply is Friday, Sept.

18.

Most professionals within the Auburn Fire Division began their careers through the Student Firefighter Program, according to AFD. The program not only offers a way to graduate from college debt-free while getting paid, it additionally offers a career path with opportunities for upward mobility.

In order to be eligible for the City of Auburn’s Student Firefighter Program and its benefits, applicants must pass a physical ability test and interview.

Those selected will attend the 17-week recruit-training academy.

During training, individuals will obtain their Firefighter I and II certifications as well as Emergency Medical Technician-Basic certification. Upon completing their training at the academy, individuals are certified professional firefighters. They will then be assigned to a fire company or station based on their success in Fire School and the need of departments within the area.

A week in the life of a student firefighter means a 24-hour work day followed by 48 hours off, repeating throughout the week. As students, time off for class is allocated during the shift.

ELISE SAPPINGTON | WRITER

Kaak has served with the AFD for five years.

Student firefighters are required to be full-time students taking at least 12 hours of credit per semester. They must also maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average in order to earn tuition reimbursement for up to six years of schooling.

Along with reimbursement of tuition, student firefighters are also paid employees of the City of Auburn.

These Firefighters earn anywhere from $7.91–$8.82 per hour, increasing with each year of service. If housing is needed, the AFD can provide a dormitory for student firefighters at the fire station.

Simms Kaak is currently a senior in

finance at Auburn University and has been a student firefighter for the last five years. As a junior in high school, Kaak watched his senior friends go through the interview process, fire school and then eventually become certified firefighters. He was inspired to do the same after his high school graduation from Auburn High School in 2015.

Kaak explained how incredible the people he works with are. The life of a firefighter is riddled with ups and downs such as strenuous physical demands, humility that comes with routine response to tragedy as well as the building of lifelong relationships through the satisfaction of a job well

done. In the lives of these men and women, a support system is everything.

“I think the biggest support through it all has been the guys I’ve worked with, knowing that a lot of them are also students,” Kaak explained. “Yeah, obviously, my family has supported me, but it makes it so much easier when there’s other guys that are also doing the same thing, and they’re going through school. They’re doing this, they may even be working a second job.

Everybody is kind of on the same page, and that that’s probably the biggest support there is actually.”

Firefighters see tragedy on the job.

Kaak believes the timing of these events

ELISE SAPPINGTON | WRITER

Auburn Fire Division has five fire stations throughout the City.

to be the hardest part of his job.

“I think the most difficult part of the job has to do with timing,” Kaak said.

“Obviously, dealing with tragedy is difficult, but it’s usually ... at the worst timing ever, whether it’s where you are in your life or ... where you are during the day.”

Kaak said that dealing with the tragedies he experiences on the job has become part of his life now. Amongst the difficult aspects of the job, he spoke of the peace from knowing he has done something within the tragedy. He described confrontations with these events as “humbling.”

“You could be having the best day at work, and then have a really bad car wreck, but it’s humbling at the same time,” Kaak said. “That’s the only thing I would say is difficult to deal with, but the people you’re surrounded with and the resources you have available makes it so much easier.”

To Kaak, the rewarding aspects of his job are not getting to put out fires or carrying someone out of a burning building, although those responsibilities are his as a professional firefighter.

He is most fulfilled in uniform when he is able to assist with tragedies that seem meaningless to an outsider but mean everything to the one in need.

“To me, it’s the smaller-scale stuff that you don’t think of so much, but you realize how much whoever you’re helping really appreciates you,” Kaak said.

“It’s not so much the bad car wrecks and you get the person out. That’s not as rewarding to me as someone whose mom fell down. I know that sounds crazy, but sometimes it’s the little-bit smaller stuff as simple as an elderly person falling down that we just come to help pick back up. There’s just something more rewarding about helping someone who really needs it and that can’t help it.”

ELISE SAPPINGTON | WRITER

Firefighters receive both firefighting and medical training.

sports

8

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

SPORTS

SOCCER

Sports are back

on the Plains SHANNA LOCKWOOD | AU ATHLETICS

Views during soccer practice at Auburn Soccer Complex. Aug 4, 2020; Auburn, AL, USA

‘Excited’ Tigers ready for the return of Auburn soccer

By MATTISON ALLEN Writer

The absence of sports from Auburn’s campus since March finally comes to an end this Friday as Auburn soccer makes its long-awaited debut as the first athletic event on campus this fall.

Soccer is usually the first fall sport to play each year, but this season is different. Head coach Karen Hoppa, entering her 22nd season as head coach of the Tigers, understands that it’s a season opener like no other.

“It feels really magnified and different,” Hoppa said Tuesday.

“It’s opening week, and this is my 28th season as a head coach.

There’s always a similar feel in opening week, and there’s anticipation and excitement and all that; I feel that, but I also feel the weight of everything extra that COVID brings.”

Now the time is here. The Auburn Tigers will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs Friday night at the Auburn Soccer Complex. Not only is this the first game on campus, but it will also be the first SEC soccer game of the season.

It has been an unorthodox offseason for the Tigers. The team missed out on the spring exhibition season and about a week and a half ago, had to simulate an exhibition game to make up for the absence of those spring games.

Hoppa and her staff not only coached the full 90-minute simulated exhibition but also stepped in to help referee it. The Tigers also had the scoreboard on and played music to help reacquaint them with the typical game atmosphere.

“They’re as ready as they can be,” Hoppa said. “We’ve had a lot of great scrimmages, we’ve tried to simulate an exhibition game, but we’ll see what it looks like. I know they’re excited to play, but I think it’s going to be 100 miles per hour when we

start that game for both teams.”

Auburn has played Mississippi State 24 times in soccer and heading into this season’s matchup, holds a 17-5-2 record over the Bulldogs.

Last season, the Bulldogs got the better of the Tigers with a 3-2 win over Auburn. In that contest, Auburn saw both of its goals come from seniors in Jessie Gerow and Bri Folds.

Folds, who led the Tigers in scoring last season with six goals, graduated and now plays for the Swedish professional team Kopparbergs Göteborg FC. At the same time, Gerow finished tied for second on the team with four goals.

Hoppa mentioned multiple players who have been working to step up for the Tigers, including team captain Kori Locksley.

“It’s a new team with new types of playmakers,” Hoppa said.

“Kori Locksley is someone we’re going to have to rely on from the goal-scoring standpoint. She came on strong at the end of last season and was named a captain. She’s playing great, so she’s somebody we’re certainly going to look at.”

Other players mentioned were sophomore forward Sydney Richards and junior midfielder Hailey Whitaker.

Richard was an All-SEC freshman last year and is expected to play at a higher level this season. Hoppa said that Whitaker has been playing more in the attacking position and moving centrally, which will help the Tigers.

It has been a long process to get to this point, and Auburn is not taking things lightly. Fellow team captain Sara Houchin, a senior, is just looking forward to playing.

“We’re so excited we get to play,” Houchin said. “It’s right here, and it seems almost not believable because we’ve been waiting so long for it to happen.”

Auburn kicks off versus Mississippi State Friday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

FILE PHOTO

Auburn soccer head coach Karen Hoppa cheers after their fourth seed selection for the first round of the 2015 NCAA Soccer Tournament.

Monday, Nov. 5 at the Auburn Soccer Complex.

Soccer seating chart for home opener vs. Miss. State

GRAPHIC CONTRIBUTED BY AU ATHLETICS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 9

FOOTBALL

Final projections for Tigers’ 2020 depth chart

DEFENSE JOSH FISHER | PHOTOGRAPHER

K.J. Britt runs onto the field

FREE SAFETY 1. Jamien Sherwood 2. Chris Thompson Jr.

STRONG SAFETY 1. Smoke Monday 2. Jordyn Peters

CORNERBACK 1. Nehemiah Pritchett OR Marco Domio 2. Matthew Hill

CORNERBACK 1. Roger McCreary 2. Jaylin Simpson OR Devan Barrett

NICKEL 1. Christian Tutt 2. Ladarius Tennison OR Zion Puckett

LINEBACKER 1. K.J. Britt 2. Wesley Steiner OR Desmond Tisdol

LINEBACKER 1. Owen Pappoe 2. Zakoby McClain

By CHRISTIAN CLEMENTE Assistant Section Editor

While Auburn will be returning its starting quarterback, there’s going to be plenty of roster turnover for the 2020 season.

The Tigers will have almost a completely new look in the trenches with four offensive linemen leaving and Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson and Nick Coe all heading to the NFL. Along with the losses on the defensive line, Auburn will have to replace four players in the secondary, with Javaris Davis, Noah Igbinoghene, Jeremiah Dinson and Daniel Thomas all gone.

Not only are there holes on offense and defense, but the loss of starting punter Arryn Sipposs created a hole on special teams.

Auburn, along with every other school, has been forced to create their depth chart for the 2020 season without spring practice.

However, they have had a five-week fall camp that’s helped create some separation for certain players.

In fall camp, coaches have talked heavily about Mark-Antony Richards, Shaun Shivers, Shedrick Jackson, Brandon Council, Colby Wooden, Roger McCreary and Chris Thompson Jr., to name a few.

Auburn will be forced to rely on some new names this year, not only due to departures from last year’s team, but because this season, more than any other, will require a deep team.

Malzahn and coordintors Chad Morris and Kevin Steele have stressed the importance of a deep team throughout fall camp, with Malzahn saying he’d like the team to be “three deep” at each position.

While Steele says the defense usually carries 18 players they view as starters, it will be a little different for the offense this year.

With a little over a week until the season starts, here’s some final projections before the official depth chart releases.

The Tigers will kick off their season inside Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 26 against the Kentuky Wildcats.

SPECIAL TEAMS

BUCK

WIDE RECEIVER-FLANKER 1. Eli Stove 2. Caylin Newton

WIDE RECEIVER-SPLIT END 1. Seth Williams 2. Ze’Vian Capers

WIDE RECEIVER-SMALL SLOT 1. Anthony Schwartz 2. Kobe Hudson

WIDE RECEIVER-BIG SLOT 1. Shedrick Jackson 2. Elijah Canion

TIGHT END/H-BACK 1. John Samuel Shenker 2. Luke Deal OR Tyler Fromm OR J.J. Pegues OR Brandon Frazier

RUNNING BACK 1. Shaun Shivers 2. D.J. Williams 3. Tank Bigsby OR Mark-Antony Richards 4. Harold Joiner

1. Bo Nix 2. Grant Loy 3. Cord Sandberg 4. Chayil Garnett

DEFENSIVE TACKLE 1. Tyrone Truesdell 2. Marquis Burks

LEFT TACKLE

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

JOSH FISHER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Anders Carlson during the Outback Bowl.

1. Austin Troxell 2. Alec Jackson

KICKER

LEFT GUARD

1. Anders Carlson 2. Evan McGuire

1. Brandon Council 2. Keiondre Jones

KICK RETURNER

CENTER

1. Shaun Shivers 2. Matthew Hill

1. Nick Brahms 2. Jalil Irvin

PUNTER

RIGHT GUARD

DEFENSIVE END 1. Big Kat Bryant 2. Colby Wooden

IRELAND DODD | PHOTO EDITOR

Bo Nix runs the ball during the Outback Bowl.

QUARTERBACK

1. Derrick Hall 2. T.D. Moultry

1. Daquan Newkirk 2. Dre Butler OR Jay Hardy

OFFENSE

1. Oscar Chapman 2. Aidan Marshall

PUNT RETURNER JOSH FISHER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Big Kat Bryant poses prior to the 2019 Auburn vs. Kent State game.

1. Christian Tutt 2. Ja’Varrius Johnson

1. Tashawn Manning 2. Kameron Stutts

RIGHT TACKLE 1. Brodarious Hamm 2. Brenden Coffey

TODD VAN EMST | AU ATHLETICS

Head coach Gus Malzahn talks to his team following practice on Wednesday Sept. 9, 2020.

lifestyle THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

10 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

LIFESTYLE

HEALTH

Student org advocates mental health awareness

By LYDIA MCMULLEN Writer

The month of September is Suicide Prevention Month. It’s a time for students, community members, mental health advocates and organizations to come together to promote suicide prevention awareness.

Student organizations are making a push to promote mental wellness on Auburn’s campus. TJ Annerino, senior in political science and government, is co-president of Auburn’s chapter of Active Minds. Active Minds is a student-led organization committed to destigmatizing mental illness on college campuses.

For Annerino, growing up in the South meant that “mental health just wasn’t something that was talked about in school or elsewhere.”

However, when she got to Auburn and became involved with Active Minds, she was glad to discover, “other people were feeling anxious, other people were feeling overwhelmed, and I wasn’t alone.”

Annerino suspects isolation as a result of COVID-19 restrictions will play a role in the deterioration of student mental health, especially among freshmen who have not yet had the opportunity to form strong friendships.

However, Health Promotion and Wellness Services is making an effort to continue providing resources and community for students.

“Being isolated, of course, can affect everyone’s mental health,” Annerino said. “It’s even more difficult when you’ve been isolated for months in your hometown and now finally you’re in your college town and you’re excit-

ed to be here, and all of the sudden you’re being told you have to be in your dorm or apartment.”

During a particularly taxing time on campus, Annerino said she is grateful for the opportunity to work with Active Minds to combat the issues that threaten students’ mental wellbeing and also propel the conversation about mental health, including suicide prevention.

“Unfortunately we have had students who have died by suicide in the past,” Annerino said.

According to a 2018 CDC report, suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15–24 year olds.

“I personally know multiple people that went to Auburn that have taken their own lives because of mental illness,” said Megan Moreland, sophomore in psychology and a member of Active Minds. “My uncle took his own life as a college student, and I never got to meet him.”

Moreland joined Active Minds to fight the stigma against mental illness.

Having personally witnessed the effects of mental health struggles, she said she believes mental illness is common among college students, yet many people do not understand it.

“It isn’t something people can control, and a lot of people don’t realize that it has a lot to do with chemistry inside your brain,” Moreland said. “When someone commits suicide, they cannot think of others because the struggle inside themselves is too strong to control.”

This school year, the club’s efforts to destigmatize mental illness and present on-cam-

WELLNESS

CONTRIBUTED BY GABRIELLE MCKINNELL

Active Minds spreading awareness about mental health on the concourse.

pus resources have been complicated by COVID-19 as students are unable to congregate in groups. There are still online resources for students, though.

Eleven campus departments and 10 student groups collaborated to create A Sound Mind, a website to promote mental wellness and offer resources for students to use to maintain their mental health. Annerino was able to contrib-

ute to this online resource.

This month, Active Minds is making a push on social media to make students aware of the online and on-campus resources available for their mental health.

Annerino said it is important for people to be able to connect either in person or online, and Active Minds wants students to be aware of those opportunities.

RELIGION

Upcoming Jewish holidays affected by the pandemic

By MAGGIE HORTON Writer

MEGAN TURBYFILL | PHOTOGRAPHER

A student preparing lunch.

Advice for healthy meals in dorms

By ABBY WINSKOWICZ Writer

A major struggle for students living in residence halls is preparing balanced meals for themselves, with only access to a microwave and refrigerator.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, getting groceries and eating on campus presents new risks many haven’t had to face in previous years.

Dylan Levering, a resident assistant and a junior in ecological engineering, said it can be difficult to cook in residence halls that do not have kitchens in the suites.

“Unless you want to drag dishes to the common kitchen in the building, you really have no choice but to do all of your cooking with a microwave and other housing approved appliances,” he said.

Even though it’s difficult to cook in resident halls on campus, it is possible.

Levering said his favorite meals to cook are frozen meals that can be easily placed in the microwave. He sometimes puts eggs, spinach, peppers and cheese in a bowl and makes a microwaved omelet bowl.

With the risk of infection, Levering said cooking has become more difficult because he tries to avoid going to the grocery store.

“I go less frequently, always wear my mask and make sure to maintain appropriate social distance from others in the store,” Levering said.

When cooking meals in the residence halls isn’t cutting it anymore, Levering said eating on campus is always an option.

“I typically prefer to eat more on campus than cook for myself simply because it’s so much easier to get nutritious, full meals rather than sodium-packed frozen meals,” Levering said.

Lily Zandieh, a graduate research and teaching assistant in the School of Kinesiology, said healthy fats, complex carbs,

protein and fiber are some essential parts of every balanced and nutritious meal.

Zandieh said healthy fats can be found in foods such as nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, avocado and seeds. Complex carbs like beans, brown rice, oatmeal or anything labeled whole grain are important components to a meal.

Protein, such as chicken, beef, tofu, salmon and tuna, Zandieh said, are also important. Consuming fiber found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains are also healthy options.

There are meals that students in resident halls can make that include these essential nutrients. Zandieh said a few easy sources of protein and nutrient can be stored in a refrigerator or be microwaved.

“Eggs, oatmeal, popcorn, beans, soups, fruit, mac and cheese, any sandwich, chocolate milk, milk and protein powder,” Zandieh listed as possible meal choices.

It is also possible to cook meals while on a tight budget.

“I would suggest students purchase the grocery store brand,” Zandieh said.

“For Kroger or for Wal-Mart, their brand is called ‘Great Value.’ Students can purchase those items instead of the name-brand items.”

Zandieh said some stores may also apply discounts to food that is about to expire.

This can be a great option, she said, as long as you inspect the food first before purchasing to ensure it is still good to eat.

Sofia Sanchez, extension specialist in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, provided some ideas for easy meals to cook in residence halls.

“Wraps are so easy,” Sanchez said.

“Tortilla wrap, lunch meat, cheese, cherry tomatoes. Use hummus as the spread.

Add avocado if you’re fancy.”

Sanchez said another idea is frozen pasta or rice bowls you can easily place in the microwave, or cottage cheese.

The Jewish community is participating in Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in different ways this year, but Jewish people are finding new ways to observe these high holidays.

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are two important Jewish holidays starting in the upcoming weeks.

Rosh Hashana begins Sept. 18 and ends Sept. 20. Yom Kippur begins Sept. 27 and ends Sept. 28.

Rosh Hashana means “head of the year” in Hebrew and is the Jewish new year. Rosh Hashana is celebrated by eating sweet foods such as apples and honey to represent the sweet new year.

In the Hebrew calendar, Sept.

18 will mark the beginning of the year 5,781. The Hebrew calendar counts the years from the creation of the world as it is recorded in Jewish tradition.

Yom Kippur is the day of atonement, and people fast to observe the holiday. Jewish people are supposed to focus on praying during this time.

Most members of the Jewish religion fast from sundown to sundown, but some fast from sunup

to sundown. People with medical conditions are not expected to fast. After sundown, Jewish people break the fast of Yom Kippur with a big meal.

Jewish people believe on Yom Kippur God reviews the Book of Life and records people considered righteous. Most Jewish congregations attend four or five services for Yom Kippur in the span of three days.

Hillel is a congregation of Jewish Auburn students with about 50 members. It mainly functions as a social group, but it helps undergraduate and graduate students become part of the Auburn and Opelika Jewish community and to meet other Jews at Auburn.

This year, Hillel will be attending virtual services at Congregation Beth Shalom in Auburn.

There will be services for both Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana on Zoom and Facebook Live.

Usually, members of Hillel attend services at the temple together, but due to COVID-19 there are no in-person services.

“Not being able to be with the community in person is tough,” said Clio Straus, sophomore in pre-elementary education and Hillel co-president. “Usually we

are surrounded by love, but we are not able to have that when we have to sit on our computers alone in our room.”

Straus said she will be fasting for 24 hours. Fasting was hard to manage as a high school student with a busy day full of sports, school and extracurriculars, but in college, it is easier to manage your lifestyle and take things at your own pace, she said.

“Fasting can be hard in the Alabama heat because you are not allowed to eat or drink water, [but it] makes you feel proud to observe traditions,” Straus said.

Yom Killur and Rosh Hashana hold a significant importance for followers of Judaism.

“Yom Kippur is the most important holiday in Judaism because it is how we repent for our sins,” said Eli Dvoskin, Hillel vice president and a junior in computer engineering.

Dvoskin said he will be fasting from the time he wakes up until sundown to observe Yom Kippur.

“It gets tough around 3 p.m. or 4 p.m., especially when you’re passing by restaurants on campus,” he said. “The smell of Chick-fil-A at the Student Center can be tempting.”

CONTRIBUTED BY CLIO STRAUS

Hillel gathered at Bruce Pearl’s Hanukkah party.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 11

HEALTH

Dermatologist explains mask-related skin issues

By ABIGAIL MURPHY Section Editor

After a long walk from campus and the removal of the mask, the mirror reflects one more pimple that wasn’t there before.

“Definitely we see a lot more skin problems on the face lately,” said Stephanie Lai, a dermatologist at Dermatology Specialists of Alabama - Auburn.

One of the issues has been irritation of the skin around the mouth through redness and, sometimes, eczema-related symptoms.

There has also been an increase in mask-related acne. She said this is partly because of the inclusion the mask creates which can cause breakouts to occur more frequently.

“Inclusion [is] not being able to allow the skin to breathe,” she said.

Lai said those who don’t have a history of developing acne are less likely to develop mask-related acne than those who find themselves liable to acne, such as teenagers.

People prone to acne are likely have more sebum, which is a facial oil production, she said. Excess build up of sebum can delevop into breakouts.

Lai said wearing a mask all day, especially when your profession demands for you to do so, increases the amount of the time the skin must be inclosed which increases the likelihood for skin irritation.

When someone has excess sebum or sweat, it can sink into his or her follicles, also called pores. This can develop into comedo, more commonly known as whiteheads and blackheads.

“If we have too much irritation, that will cause the comedo to inflame so that would cause the acne,” Lai said.

To prevent mask-related skin issues, Lai said to make sure to wash your face every morning.

“A lot of people that we see only wash their face at nighttime,” she said.

Washing the face in the morning, washes off the sebum that may have built up on the face during the night.

She said also putting on a light moisturizer can help the skin get less irritated through the day while one is wearing a mask.

“Usually the cloth mask, the 100% cotton mask, are better than the disposable ones,” Lai said. “This is because the material itself is better [for the skin].”

She said she encourages people to not

MARQ HARDAMON | PHOTOGRAPHER

Washing one’s face in the morning can wash off facial oil that may have built up during the night.

wear makeup if they know they will be wearing a mask because it creates more stress on the skin.

Then at the end of the day, or when you are done wearing a mask for that day, she said to rewash the face and put on some moisturizer.

However, it is also important to wash or dispose of the mask at the end of each day, Lai said.

“Wash the face mask every day if people are wearing the cloth mask, and if they are

wearing the disposable, the surgical, mask then definitely use a new one every day,” Lai said.

While the mask’s outside may have respiration droplets, she said the inside also holds facial oil, saliva and sweat that occured during the day.

A new and clean mask each day will keep from old particles irritating the skin the next day.

Lai said finding a time and place during the day to take off the mask can help with

skin health as well.

“In terms of the surgical mask, I would recommend someone to remove it at least during the lunch hour and just try to let their face rest and the skin breath a little bit,” she said.

This can also be useful for the cloth mask, she said.

Lai said to try to take advantage of creams and remedies that may help with acne or irritation but if conditions are worsening, seek a medical professional.

ARTS

Student trades football for woodworking business

By ABIGAIL WOODS Writer

From the man whom God blessed with the knowledge to build the Ark of the Covenant, Bezalel Builder found its name.

Bezalel Builder is a small woodworking business that was created by Auburn student Sidney Mims.

“The mantra of Bezalel Builder is that all of us, no matter what we do, were created to create,” Mims said.

Mims, a senior in building science, is married to Claire Mims, a senior in architecture.

Because both spent a lot of time at Church of the Highlands involved in ministry, the two were able to meet.

“My wife and I believe that our purpose

is to build churches and homes for people all over the United States and the world,” he said.

Mims said, for a year, his time was focused on playing for the Auburn football team, and it took a while for him to find woodworking as his passion.

“Naturally, with the switch from student-athlete life, there was a huge gap in what I did with my spare time,” Mims said.

“I had always loved building things, and that passion really started when I was younger.”

Mims’ first piece made for someone else was a bookshelf.

“Looking back, I did such a bad job and kick myself for letting something like that out of my shop, but, you live and you learn,” he said.

Now Mims is focused on constructing

smaller items for people to put in their homes such as bowls and cutting boards. Each cutting board and bowl is unique and can be made quickly, he said.

Mims said he started with small projects, and then his woodworking ideas grew in size. “[I began with] a shoe rack for myself, and the projects quickly escalated into bigger things,” he said. “I made a double-decker couch, a kitchen table and a shed for myself outside of my apartment.”

Mims said his love for building really lies with “making unique pieces of furniture.”

The first large piece he created was a solid oak dining table made from “traditional wood joinery, where all the wood fits together without any screws or nails,” he said.

The creation of this table opened up a

world of possibilities for Mims to expand on down the road.

When Mims is not creating new pieces in his backyard, he can be found at church.

“Trying my best to live a life of faith, I knew that I wanted to reflect my abilities back to the one who gave them to me,” Mims said. “Bezalel Builder was founded on the theme verse(s) Exodus 31:3-5.”

Mims’ passion for his work also stems from creating gifts for people they can’t find anywhere else.

“I love thinking through build processes to make a piece that is truly unique, bringing the clients’ ideas to reality,” Mims said.

Mims’ work can be found at bezalelbuilder.com, as well as on his Instagram @bezalelbuilderllc.

CONTRIBUTED BY SIDNEY MIMS

Mims and his wife, Claire, posing togther.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Old Hollywood sex symbol West 4 Hooded winter coat 9 Flinch or gasp, say 14 Computer giant whose motto is “THINK” 15 Go-to crew 16 One-named “Hello” singer 17 *Smartphone download 19 Bricklayer 20 Chris of “The Avengers” (2012) 21 “... to __ it mildly” 23 Prefix meaning “one” 24 Feudal worker 25 *Sheet for plotting 28 Variety show 30 “Delish!”

31 Barbecued pork snack 34 Rain more gently 38 Platform for Siri 39 *Mr. Lube service jobs 42 “If you ask me,” to a texter 43 Basil-and-pinenuts sauce 45 Ideal wheels 47 Observe 49 Rid of vermin 50 *Sample set of buyers used in market research 55 Deep cut 58 Persian Gulf sultanate 59 Statehouse VIP 60 Roast host 61 Part of USNA 63 Streamlines, as a factory ... or, when read as two words, what the beginnings of the answers to starred clues are 66 Recurring motif 67 Soccer shoe gripper 68 Has too much, briefly 69 __ Hawkins Day 70 Learns (of) 71 Eagle or evil organ DOWN 1 Performers often “trapped” in imaginary boxes

2 Overhead 3 Humiliate 4 Close friends 5 Dug in, at dinner 6 Irish actor Stephen 7 Phi Beta __ 8 Increase the intensity of 9 Ewe’s beau 10 Sushi soybean side dish 11 “The Frog and the Fox” fabulist 12 Replicate genetically 13 Barbershop quartet voice 18 Deduce 22 Biblical “your” 25 Expert 26 Harness strap 27 Star that’s also a source of radio waves 29 Presidential rejections 31 Nurse, as a drink 32 “The Raven” poet 33 B and B’s first B 35 Game with x’s and o’s 36 Thurman of “The Avengers” (1998) 37 __ favor

40 Pakistani language 41 “Not a __ out of you!”

44 Tidal wave cousin 46 Igneous rock, once 48 Omelet ingredient 50 Roman and Comic Sans 51 Nebraska city near Boys Town

52 Gave in 53 Exterminator’s target 54 Reproductive cell 56 Like dive bars 57 “Siddhartha” author 60 CPR pros 62 Jeans label 64 Leaves in hot water?

65 Rowboat rower

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

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09/14/20

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