The Towerlight (September 3, 2019)

Towson’s campus and community news source

TheTowerlight.com

September 3, 2019

Teams gear up for the fall season, pg.16

Photo by Brendan Felch, Illustration by Victoria Nicholson/ The Towerlight

d r a c e n off campus o on campus

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September 3, 2019

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Editor-in-Chief Bailey Hendricks Senior Editor Tim Klapac

News Editor Mary-Ellen Davis Asst. News Editors Keri Luise

# TRENDING.

TOWSON

Arts & Life Editor Meg Hudson

TOWSON MALL

@_babykahlo

Sophia Bates

Asst. Arts & Life Editors

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Who wants to go to the Towson Mall with me like now ?

@SetsuntaMew THE MORPHE STORE IN TOWSON IS *FINALLY* OPEN

Sports Editor Asst. Sports Editors Jordan Kendall Muhammad Waheed

Senior Staff Writers

@Naimahhhhh Towson really messed up putting a Morphe in the mall

Staff Writers Grace Coughlan Jalon Dixon John Hack Lurene Heyl Albert Ivory Amanda Murayama Suzanne Stuller Aaron Thomas Brooks Warren Marcus Whitman

JOIN THE TOW ERLIGHT FOR OUR OPEN HO USE!

Photo Editor Brendan Felch

Staff Photographers Liam Beard

@jusdeja Towson the worst mall !!!!!!!!!!!

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8000 York Road University Union Room 309 Towson, MD 21252 (410) 704-5153 editor@thetowerlight.com thetowerlight.com The Towerlight print edition is published by students of Towson University on Tuesdays.

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Please Recycle!

SEPT 3-7 3

ACADEMIC RESOURCE FAIR Whether you need help with your paper, a tutor for your class, or help choosing your major or study abroad program, the Academic Resource Fair has you covered!

Stop by the library and learn about the many resources and tools available for your academic success.

WEEKLY

CALENDAR.

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FALL INVOLVEMENT FAIR 2019 Want to get involved, meet new people, or develop a passion? Join a student group! Learn about Towson’s 250+ organizations at this informational fair.

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RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE

The Red Cross will be accepting both whole blood and double red blood cell donations. Donors must be at least 17 years old, and weigh at least 110 pounds. There are requirements in order to donate double red cells, which can be found on the Red Cross website.

University Union,

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TU NIGHT AT ORIOLE PARK AT CAMDEN YARDS

Visit bit.ly/TUNightatOrioles to purchase tickets. With the promo code TOWSON, your ticket include an Orioles TU cap!

7 TOWSON FOOTBALL TIGERZONE Come out and show your Tiger Pride for your Towson University Tigers football team during our pre-game festivities! Visit the TigerZone in Lot 13 for food, music, games and more!

Cook Library,

West Village Commons,

Chesapeake Rooms

Orioles Park at Camden Yards,

Lot 13,

1p.m to 3p.m

4p.m to 6p.m

8a.m to 12p.m

5p.m to 12p.m

2p.m to 5:30p.m

Follow us @TheTowerlight!

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Opinion

September 3, 2019

How to find your Time for TU to go fossil fuel free purpose in college MIRANDA MOWREY Columnist @mirandamowrey Being a junior and unable to pinpoint what on Earth I want to do with an Economics degree can be unsettling at times. For years, all I ever wanted was to be a strong and powerful businesswoman, always found in a sleek pantsuit and bright red lipstick, running from meeting to meeting with a venti coffee in one hand and a buzzing Blackberry in the other.

After spending eight months working for a financial advisor, I was forced to admit to myself that I no longer wanted the career that I craved for so long. If I organized another excel spreadsheet or filed one more piece of useless paperwork, I would shove a letter opener through my eyeball. This is when I knew it was time to reconsider my future plans.

This realization led me into a period of personal discovery and has allowed me to place more value on my personal happiness than the convenience of a safe job and life.

All of the following should hold true when it comes to choosing a personally satisfying career: You love it.

Casey Miller, Associate Director of Career Education and Advising at Towson University’s Career Center, helps students find and articulate their values in order to match them with a fitting career path. Anything good in life comes with its own set of negatives, so Casey makes sure to ask students, “What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you willing to deal with?” For example, if you love the excitement of financial planning so much that you are willing to deal with plugging numbers into an excel sheet, then that is something to consider.

You are great at it.

Once you know what you love and do not love, make sure that you focus in on something you are good

at. Usually, this works out well because when someone has a passion for something, they usually put in the time and effort to become great at it.

You are paid for it.

Although I am playing the classic “do what you love, don’t think about the money” card, being able to support yourself is a must. Scientific studies show that once someone’s basic needs are met, money has no effect on happiness levels. So, as long as you are able to put food on the table, your fourth pair of Lululemon leggings probably won’t have much of an effect on your overall happiness.

The world needs it.

Studies also show that people derive the greatest happiness when they have a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves. You are only on this earth one time, so make sure to leave a positive footprint.

As a college student, it is normal to change your mind and discover through experience what you love and what you do not love.

“My best advice is to always try stuff out,” said Miller.

Upon graduating with a degree in psychology, Miller considered pursuing a PhD in neuroscience, then a career working with kids, and now finds herself happily at the Towson Career Center.

The Career Center offers oneon-one appointments, workshops and conferences that help students narrow down their career focus.

Try to attend the “Life After College” conference held on Oct. 11 in West Village Commons from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Alumni, faculty and employers will be presenting on different topics about life after college (because let’s be honest, we could use a few pointers).

“The only way to know if you like something is to try it,” Miller said.

Although I am still unsure about what I want to pursue, I am so thankful I discovered that the business world is not for me and didn’t follow through in blinding myself with a dull letter opener.

NIC KOSKI Columnist

After exploring TU’s campus, you might notice the solar panels, green roofs, and the alternative transportation programs, among other environmental initiatives. Something less noticeable is the fact that our university invests millions of dollars in the fossil fuel industry. If TU is truly committed to sustainability and environmental health, then we need to stop pouring gas on the fire and divest from fossil fuels.

Speaking of fire, major forests in places such as South America, Central Africa, and Siberia are currently up in flames during a year of intensifying wildfires and increasing temperatures around the globe. We know that our current climate crisis is only resulting in more ecological disasters like these and the burning of fossil fuels is the major driver of this crisis. By investing in fossil fuel

companies, we give financial and social support to an industry that is literally burning down our home.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s fantastic that we are at least reducing our fossil fuel consumption and switching over to renewable energy at TU. Those efforts are much needed if we are to build a sustainable future. But how can we say we are prioritizing the planet while simultaneously profiting from its destruction? TU needs to take a stronger stance against the fossil fuel industry to truly adhere to our values.

Moreover, free-market fixes and individual action simply do not go far enough. These sorts of approaches often fail to challenge the status quo and the source of our ecological crisis. Divesting from fossil fuels, on the other hand, reframes the issue by naming the source of the problem and calling for more radical change that would completely challenge fossil fuel extraction and production altogether. And at the institutional lev-

el, our university can use its position of power to call attention to the fossil fuel industry and remove its social license by which it continues to operate. In fact, some major fossil fuel companies have already acknowledged the major impact of fossil fuel divestment on their business.

Divesting from fossil fuels and reinvesting in green technologies is also a smart financial move. The long-term economic consequences of burning fossil fuels are fairly obvious. Anthropogenic climate change has severe costs for agriculture, infrastructure, health, ecosystems, and human lives. But even in the shortterm, recent studies by economists have shown that fossil-free investment portfolios actually outperform those with fossil fuel assets.

For these reasons, fossil fuel divestment makes sense for TU. While some efforts have been made, the administration can do more to prevent our college degreed from being soiled with fossil fuels.

There’s more to life than being happy KAYLA HUNT Columnist

Is our culture become more preoccupied with attaining happiness?

Is that the ultimate goal that everyone is working towards?

In Emily Esfahani Smith's TEDTalk, "There's more to life than being happy", she discusses how our culture is becoming more obsessed with happiness. Smith dives deeper by saying that we should be more focused on living a meaningful life.

In her presentation, Smith defines the four pillars of a meaningful life: belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling.

Belonging is when you are in relationships in which you feel valued and where you value others. Purpose is something you live for and

what drives you forward. Transcendence is when you feel connected to a higher reality. Storytelling is the story you tell about yourself and helps you understand how you became the person that you are.

Smith explains that happiness is a temporary state that comes and goes. She contends that continuously chasing happiness can make people unhappy.

Smith stresses that these four pillars are essential for when things in life are bad because it gives us something to hold on to.

Smith's point of view is that because happiness is temporary, we need something deeper that keeps us pushing through our day to day lives. She suggests that if we lose happiness, then we may believe that we lost our purpose, which are two different things. Happiness is an emotion that we attain, and our purpose/meaning is the answer to

why we want to live.

I created a variety of Instagram polls and questionnaires to see how some of my followers defined happiness and what it meant to them.

When asked, "Is achieving happiness one of your ultimate goals in life?" 34/35 respondents said yes.

When asked, "How would you define happiness?" one respondent, @chyressnyder_ said: "Stability in all aspects- mentally, emotionally, financially and having supportive relations." Another respondent, @ robert_sobus, answered: "Being honest with myself and doing the best I can."

When asked, "What makes you happy/fulfilled?" one respondent, @ ceenilee said, "Being where I want to be at in life will fulfill me and because I'm not there yet life just doesn't seem as great."

- To read the rest of this column online, visit thetowerlight.com

Opinion

September 3, 2019

THE TOWERLIGHT

Introduce with pronouns and trans people only have preferred pronouns. “He/him or they/them” is my set of pronouns, and that is the only way in which I have people refer to me. That is not a preference, that is my identity.

Lastly, don’t only ask the people you think are trans what their pronouns are. If there is someone you don’t know the pronouns of, it is better to introduce yourself with your pronouns and they will usually give their pronouns in turn. If they don’t, then you can ask them what their pronouns are.

This will not be a simple switch and it will take a lot of time and practice. But even taking the little steps mentioned here could help someone else feel more comfortable and less alone.

OPEN HOUSE

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Being the beginning of the semester, I’ve had to introduce myself many times. I’ve introduced myself to my classes, individual students, and in clubs.

A lot of people don’t put a lot of thought into introductions, I’m sure. You give your name, maybe your major, maybe a fun fact about yourself… But to me, they’re a bit of a big deal.

Whenever I introduce myself, I give my pronouns. It doesn’t matter if I’m asked to give them or not, I find it very important. If I don’t, maybe someone will think I’m a girl and call me “she,” which is extremely painful to have to hear.

When I do give my introduction with my pronouns when they aren’t explicitly asked for, I feel like I stick out. Like I’m drawing attention to myself. I know this is just my own thought process, and it isn’t necessarily the truth. I’m aware that most people wouldn’t think twice about it, but there’s a part of me that’s incredibly anxious about other people’s perception. I feel like the other people in the room are thinking negative things about me. I know I’m not the only trans person that thinks like this. I don’t want this anxiety. All I’m trying to do is get respected and referred to correctly, not seem like I’m trying to be different or needy.

Yet every time I’m the only one calling out pronouns, I worry that my classmates are judging me and seeing me as overly sensitive. It puts an unnecessary spotlight on me, and I really wish my cis classmates would also share their pronouns. This way I wouldn’t be the only one.

I believe automatically sharing pronouns should be normalized. Pronouns are often shared at LGBTQ events, but rarely outside of that. This could be because it feels like a lot of cis people think they don’t have to share their pronouns.

They think it’s “obvious” from their physical appearance. But

how hard is it to take the extra few seconds to add in your pronouns? Sharing pronouns can be extremely beneficial in that it makes it easier for trans people who might be around to share their pronouns. Sharing your own pronouns is also a great way to learn other people’s pronouns, as they will often share theirs if you share your own. Finding out pronouns also helps to show that gender expression isn’t necessarily the same as gender identity. As gender identity and expression can differ, you can’t always tell a person’s pronouns just by looking at them. This helps show the diversity in humanity and blur the lines of gender that are defined by society. Lastly, if you ask for someone’s pronouns, you are less likely to mess them up. Whenever I mess up someone’s pronouns, I feel disappointed in myself. I know that I just hurt someone else, and that makes me feel a little guilty.

Now, if you do mess up someone’s pronouns, the best thing to do is apologize and move on. It can make it worse if you make a big deal out of it. To most of us, we know you just made a mistake and it wasn’t intentional, so we aren’t mad. But when you apologize and apologize it can get bothersome, and if you add something like “it’s just so hard” it becomes hurtful. If you talk about how hard it is for you, that means it’s hard for you to see us as our actual gender. Someone will likely dwell on that a lot more than a simple slip-up.

Here is a list of some suggestions and takeaways about pronoun sharing.

Try to introduce yourself with your pronouns, every time. Practice if you feel like you’ll forget.

Consider adding your pronouns to your email signature.

Many TU staff members have done this, and several students as well.

Asking someone “What are your preferred pronouns?” isn’t the best idea. It is better to ask them “What are your pronouns?” It is not the case that only cis people have pronouns

SEP T

JASPER GRISWOLD Columnist

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Sharing pronouns should be normalized

R 9th 12p E B m EM UU 309

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September 11: First General Member Meeting Come tie-dye a shirt, make some slime, and bring in the new school year with your new Campus Activities Board !

September 17: TU's Wheel of Fortune

Participate in an event where you will spin the wheel of fortune, answer a question, and win a cool prize !

September 20: Family Weekend

A weekend full of activities for students and parents to get the Towson experience together. The center piece of the weekend is the crab feast before the football game on Saturday.

October 10: Fall Fest

Bring your humor and join CAB as we will be putting on a comedy show to kick off homecoming !

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News

September 3, 2019

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Towson bikeshare gets new look Towson switches from SPIN bikes to Gotcha MARY-ELLEN DAVIS News Editor @Mel_Davis_1998

KERI LUISE Assistant News Editor @keri_luise

Towson students came back to campus to find that the orange SPIN bikes they grew accustomed to last year are gone. In their place, Tigers will find teal electric Gotcha bikes scattered across campus.

“Gotcha’s mission is to empower people by providing convenient and affordable access to sustainable transportation,” said Caroline Passe, the company’s Public Relations Director.

“Our collegiate partnership with Towson will help benefit the student community by offering a new mobility option that’s eco-friendly and approachable.”

According to Matthew Palmer, TU’s Director of Media Relations and News, the switch to the new bikes happened as SPIN began to deemphasize the company’s pedal bikes and trend towards

electric scooters.

“TU is committed to green initiatives like a bike share program, which encourages alternative options to driving,” Palmer said.

Though there are already some bikes around Towson, the program will officially roll out in October, putting about 100 bikes on campus once it is fully operational, Palmer said. There will be the option to add more bikes if the demand is there.

TU senior Jennifer Gardner sees the new bike share program as having potential to benefit the Towson campus.

“I didn’t even really use the old ones, but hopefully this will be better,” she said. “I feel like there were some issues with the last one just because there were like bikes everywhere. Hopefully it’s a better system this time and it’s not going to be all over.”

When Towson kicked off it’s initial partnership with the SPIN app in the spring of 2018, students and staff could unlock, ride, and relock the dockless bikes for as little as 50 cents per 30-minute trip.

Students, faculty, and staff also

Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

This October, Towson University plans to fully roll out it’s new bike share program, putting 100 teal bikes on campus.

The University partnered with Gotcha to bring the new vehicles to campus with the idea to improve campus parking. had the opportunity to sign up for memberships that would allow them to have unlimited 30-min-

File photo by Zoe Huff/ The Towerlight

The orange SPIN bikes that were introduced last spring were removed from campus after the company started to shift their emphasis away from their pedal bikes and towards electric scooters, which is the new industry trend.

ute rides for $15 per month or $50 a year.

The new Gotcha bikeshare program offers both a monthly pass and pay-as-you-ride options, Passe said.

“Student riders can sign-up for a monthly Tiger Mo-Pass for $6.99, which includes one free hour of ride time each day and an additional $0.10 per minute thereafter,” Passe said. “They can also ride on a pay-as-you-go basis, which costs $2 to unlock and $0.10 per minute.”

The new Gotcha bikes are also GPS enabled, and can be accessed through the app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

“Riders can find bike locations compared with their own via the Gotcha app,” Palmer said.

Docking stations for the bikes will be spread across campus and marked with blue Gotcha Signs, Palmer added.

“I do see a lot more by the dorms which is cool,” said freshman Sophie Morton. “I think [bike share] can be very useful because if you’re living in West Village and you’re trying to get to the Center for the Arts it’ll get you there a lot

faster than walking 20 minutes.”

According to Sean Welsh, Towson’s Associate Vice President of Communications and Media Relations, the Gotcha app shows riding area boundaries that students can stay in.

“The Gotcha management system can also see if a bike is outside of the approved riding area,” Welsh said. “If so, they will notify the rider to bring the bike back.”

Bikes left outside the designated riding area around campus will be retrieved by a team from Gotcha.

“Bikes are monitored via a management system by both the company at TU’s Office of Parking & Transportation,” Palmer said. “The management system relays usage data to optimize locations of bikes.”

For Gotcha, it isn’t just about putting bikes on campus, but making biking into something bigger.

“We want to make biking part of these students’ lives—for practical, everyday use to and from class, but also for recreation,” said Sean Flood, CEO and founder of Gotcha.

“We hope this bike share program makes an impact on campus by helping improve campus parking and traffic congestion.”

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News

September 3, 2019

New pizza joint caters to students

Uptown’s Blaze Pizza serves up quick dishes SOPHIA BATES Assistant News Editor @sophiabates23

Sept. 1: Baltimore Police reported that a man was injured in a shooting in Essex Aug. 31: The driver and a passenger in a Nissan Altima were killed in a crash on Baltimore National Pike near Pine Street.

Aug. 30: Baltimore Police reported that one man was injured in a shooting in Lansdowne.

Aug. 29: Jewelry was discovered missing from a dorm room in Tower A. Aug. 28: A resident and non-affiliate in a dating relationship had an argument resulting the non-affiliate assaulting the resident and attempting to take the residents property, then blocking the residents exit.

Aug. 28: An unattended phone charger was taken at Cook library.

Aug. 27: A CDS incident resulted in a request for emergency medical assistance at Scarborough Hall.

Aug. 27: A faculty member was the target of harassing letters received by their department head at Smith Hall.

Aug. 26: A non-affiliate with an active trespass order was arrested and released without charge at Frederick Douglass House.

Aug. 26: Baltimore County Police continue to investigate a call for a child-involved crash on Liberty Road near Wilmar Avenue.

Aug. 23: An unknown person took several items from the Stephens Annex.

Uptown Towson houses a multitude of restaurants catered towards the area’s dominant business and student populations. Last month uptown welcomed its newest tenant: Blaze Pizza.

Nestled in the middle of uptown between New Generation Hot Pot and Insomnia Cookies, Blaze Pizza has been open a little over a month and has started to gain traction and positive feedback from locals and students. General manager Karlyn Richins acknowledged the affordability and speed of the shop to what sets them apart from other surrounding pizza places.

“We are able to turn out a pizza a lot quicker than other places can,” Richins said. “You can come in line, and are able to walk through with your pizza and get it in usually less than eight minutes from the time you walk in the door. For us it’s nice to be able to offer something that’s quick enough for lunch and dinner and in between classes.”

According to owner Kenneth Brewer, Blaze’s goal is to have a multitude of options for anyone who wants pizza while also acknowledging food intolerances and health choices.

“The most important thing for us,

as operators, the most important thing that we thought about is how can we put a solution close to the university that gives students a lot of options,” Brewer said. “You can be with a study buddy, and they could be lactose intolerant, well we have a pizza for that, but two people don’t have to share the same one pizza.”

In addition to nutrition, the quality and freshness of the pizza is something that Blaze takes pride in.

“We want to give them natural products, so 80-90% of all of our products are never frozen,” Brewer said. “They come in fresh daily. And we have 24-48 hour dwell times, so if we don’t serve them within that time, we get rid of them.”

According to Brewer and Richins, the dough and sauces are all made in house. If you go further back in the restaurant, there is also a window looking into the kitchen so that guests can see the proof of quality.

“Most of our stuff is made in house, our sauce, our dough, you can really taste the difference when you have it made in house,” Richins said.

Blaze has been well-received from the community. Towson Baltimore County Public Library Communication and Media Relations specialist Erica Palmisano has become a regular at Blaze in the past month.

“Everything is always super bright, fresh and clean. It’s our

[BCPL staff] new favorite place, it really is,” Palmisano said.

Blaze currently has 300+ locations across the world, and is expanding rapidly, according to Brewer.

“We are still growing, we are racing for 1000,” Brewer said.

Brewer also noted that the business also takes pride in their staff.

“I think that our team here makes the difference,” Brewer said. “Our job is to provide them a place to work, and I believe when you take care of your associates, they will take care of your customers.”

Richins foresees that the Towson location will flourish.

“We’ve touched both the business aspect of Towson as well as the student aspect of Towson,” Richins said. “I think once you capture those audiences, it’s a win-win.

We’re starting to build a fanbase around the great pizzas that we do have and I think once you have that fanbase it’s only going to explode from there.”

Blaze plans on offering different promotions for students and locals throughout the year, such as two dollars off for students.

“We will offer, effective immediately, any of the colleges two dollars off any pizza when they show that they’ve downloaded our app and they have an active student ID,” Brewer said. “We will run that promotion until homecoming for each student.”

Aug. 23: A staff member received an unwanted email at the Towson Center.

Aug. 21: TUPD is investigating an allegation of an employee inappropriately touching another employee.

Aug. 19: A campus security authority referred one resident student to Student Conduct for an alcohol violation at Millennium Hall.

Aug. 17: Baltimore County Police arrested a non-affiliate for making a false report of a robbery at York Rd & Aigburth Ave. Aug. 7: Money was taken from a staff office at Towson Center.

The Towerlight’s “Police Blotter” is a representative sample of crimes occurring on and off campus. The blotter is not intended to be all inclusive.

For a list of local crime reports, visit www.towson.edu/police or https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/News/PoliceNews/ iWatch?from=7&to=9.

Sophia Bates / The Towerlight

Blaze Pizza, sandwiched between New Generation Hot Pot and Insomnia Cookies, is one of uptown’s newest additions. The restaurant will run a promotion for students with an active student ID and their app downloaded.

Advertising

September 3, 2019

Get 10% OFF your textbooks when you show your printed booklist to the cashier!

9

10 September 3, 2019

News

Students stuff their very own tigers Towson celebrates Tiger pride with annual “Stuff-a-Tiger” event ALBERT IVORY Staff Writer @intellectu_Al Hundreds of Towson students gathered at Paws Aug. 27 to participate in the “Stuff-A-Tiger” event held for students to celebrate their Tiger Pride by making their very own stuffed tigers.

The event was hosted by the Office of Student Activities and New Student and Family Programs.

Staff members from the orientation team provided unstuffed tigers for students who waited to get to the main stage where they stuffed the tigers.

Within a one hour time frame, 300 stuffed tigers were quickly handed out to eager students.

After students stuffed and sealed their new tiny tiger toys

they were each given a small “Weekends At TU” shirt for their new stuffed tigers.

“I think it helps people make friends,” junior orientation leader Allyssa Jarrett said. “People got to exchange Snapchats and other social media. Students also get to network with each other and this was an opportunity for freshmen and transfers to get the Towson experience.”

Freshman Maria Myers got involved as she attended the event.

“They’re nice, quality tigers,” Myers said. “And who doesn’t like free giveaways?”

Late Night and Weekend Coordinator for the Office of Student Activities, Craig Scott, noted that this event has been held yearly for “introducing students to be tigers [and] was a clever way to show community among students.”

the d a o l n w o D Events@TyU! app toda

Albert Ivory / The Towerlight

Towson students were able to celebrate their Tiger Pride during the University’s “Stuff-a-Tiger” event held on Aug. 27 in Paws. The event was held on the second day of the fall semester.

EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO

events.towson.edu

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Arts & Life

September 3, 2019

15

Students get a taste of uptown Show some game day spirit

Support our Tigers by following these tips MEGHAN HUDSON Arts & Life Editor

This year, with Towson University introducing ROAR-wards, and the football team being picked to finish second in the CAA, there’s really no reason not to show some school spirit, and head on over to a game.

You may have noticed already that Towson University has not been the best in showing school spirit. As the pressure of success begins to set in across all teams, it’s important for us to show up and support our teams who fight so hard to make us all look good. I mean, they’re working out and eating right and stuff… in college.

In honor of our Fall Sports Preview issue this week, and fall sports starting back up, let’s talk about how to achieve the *perfect* game day look.

SPF - This year, especially since football has many mid-afternoon games this season, you’ll be sitting out in the sun. Even though temperatures will begin to drop off soon, the sun can still cause harm to your skin.

It’s important to look for face lotions and foundations that include SPF in them! Nowadays, most products tend

to include at least SPF 15. If you look around, you can find products, especially lotions, with more.

Lightweight foundation - Being outside, your skin may get more dry or oily than usual. Wearing a heavy foundation will only lead to more sweating, crease lines, and have you focusing on your melting makeup as opposed to the game. I personally love the L’oreal Paris “Infallible Pro-Glow” foundation. It’s a medium coverage foundation with a hydrating formula that contains SPF 15. While the “Pro-Glow” is best suited for dry skin, L’oreal offers a “Pro-Matte” alternative as well. Plus, it only costs $12.99. I’ve also found it to be really resilient to sweat, as this is my go-to school day and work shift foundation of choice. I’m always left at the end of the day still satisfied with how it looks.

Be Bold - Towson has some seriously bold school colors. With black and yellow screaming from either end of the spectrum, don’t be afraid to let these colors shine through.

Maybe throw on some yellow or gold eyeshadow with a bold black lip, or mix it up and do one black smokey eye, and one yellow. You can never truly look too extra at a game. At least while you’re still a student, that is. Juvia’s Place sells eyeshadow palettes with vibrant pigmentation, for

an affordable price. They also have a fairly young line of lipsticks worth checking out as well!

Hit the Ustore! - The Ustore sells tons of spirit wear. From team jerseys to Tiger decaled eye black, you’re sure to feel the spirit, when you get in spirit. And between you and me, you can find some really cool Towson University gear on Amazon as well.

Match with your friends - What makes school spirit so special, is when you get to share it with a group of people, and get excited together.

Grab some friends, and get them in the spirit as well! You’ll feel more comfortable in decking yourself out, you’ll have a ton of fun getting ready, and hopefully channel all of that energy right back into the game!

Tailgate - Nothing is worse than sitting through a long game without having eaten anything. Channel your inner chef, and tailgate! There are tons of game day tailgating recipes online to try and recreate with a group of friends. Country Living has compiled a list of 55 tailgating recipes to try out. Or, even better, bring your grill to the lot, and cook up a tailgate meal right outside the game!

Just make sure your familiar with the school’s tailgating policy. Plus, it’s a ton of fun, and really amps up the energy before heading through those stadium gates.

File photo by Patrick Burke/ The Towerlight

Towson has been known to lack school spirit at school sporting events in the past. As we begin a new school semester, our Tigers need your help in bringing the spirit to kick the season off loud and proud.

Grace Coughlan/ The Towerlight

Towson Tigers “crawled” to uptown last weekend to participate in LaborStay events. This included the “Feet on the Street” weekly block party. pons encourages me to come back.”

The next stop on the Food Crawl was The Bun Shop which offered Staff Writer different types of pastries. This rustic-themed eatery doubles as ZAC SOPER a local spot for students to study and grab a bite to eat. The Bun Contributing Writer Shop also featured different types of chicken bowls from Brown Rice Korean Grill, a nearby restaurant LaborStay weekend, hosted by off of York Road. the Division of Student Affairs, S ophomore Luka Yetter aimed to help students enjoy expressed his interest in returning both the warm weather and the to Brown Rice Korean Grill. long weekend on campus. One “The food was great, I’ll defimajor event of nitely go tr y the weekend was it again,” said the Food Crawl to Yetter.

Feet on the Street, The last stop which took place was at Z-Burger, Being here with Aug. 30. a burger joint friends and getting where students The Food Crawl’s coupons encourages were offered free purpose was to i nt ro d u c e stufrench fries. At me to come back. dents to the difthis point, the ferent eateries off tours ended, and campus. Students Feet on the Street JOY SANG were taken out on Freshman began. different tours to Feet on the the uptown area, Street is a Friday where they stopped at Lotsa Stone night block party hosted by the Fired Pizza, The Bun Shop, and Towson Chamber of Commerce on Z-Burger.

Allegheny Avenue. These block parAt Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza, stuties have been going on since the dents were offered free slices of end of May and will continue until pizza, and free soft drinks. They Sept. 27. For Towson’s LaborStay got to enjoy the indoor/outdoor weekend, Sagamore Band and atmosphere of the restaurant, Towson University’s Marching while sampling different flavors band headlined the night. of pizza.

This week’s Feet on the Street For freshman Joy Sang, the Food block party will headline Starcrush Crawl was her “first experience travon Sept. 6. As always, it will offer eling to Uptown,” said Sang. “Being live music, drinks, a moon bounce here with friends and getting couand face painting.

GRACE COUGHLAN

“

16 September 3, 2019

Arts & Life

Student

Spotlight

Poems on the perils of puberty

Award-winning poetry collection gets praise ZAC SOPER Columnist

Artist:

Natalie Willard

Year:

Freshman

Major:

Art & Design

Aspiring to be a more well-read individual, I dove into poetry this summer. One collection that particularly stood out was “What Runs Over” by Kayleb Rae Candrilli.

This collection is about Kayleb going through the perils of puberty while living isolated in the mountains with their sister, mother, and abusive father. “Hunger is all the woods left in me,” Candrilli writes as they tell the reader of their journey of self-discovery through personal experience.

The feral attitude in which Candrilli expressed their sexuality was a motif that stretched across all pages of the collection and was key in providing graphic imagery for the reader. When reading poetry, I find myself blurring similar poems together regardless of the

author. Candrilli’s collection, however, stands very distinct in my mind. I could pull out their poems from a pile simply by the truth in their words. Sure, there are countless other poems about discovering one’s sexuality or about growing up in an abusive family, for these musings call forth emotions that any writer would be foolish to ignore, but Candrilli’s story is not unique in subject manner, but in personal experience. There are no blanket statements of trouble or endless lines about “feeling confused,” Candrilli has filed their experiences down to raw responses, and catalogued these responses in endlines and enjambments.

This raw response is captured perfectly by GoodReads reviewer, Rachel, who commented, “once you see that world through the eyes of the main character, you need to escape it as desperately they did.” The desperate tone is one of the most appealing aspects of this collection. At its core, poetry is about emotion.

Keats and Coleridge wrote about feelings evoked by nature, Robert Frost wrote about the feelings of everyday choices, and now, Candrilli writes about feelings of desperation in a harsh environment. All poets can write about experience, it is when emotion is diffused from the writer to the reader that true poetry is achieved.

A factor that lead to my five-star rating were the sections that lead me to put the book down. These sections were not poorly written, or cliché in any manner. In fact, they were so well written that the graphic descriptions got to be overwhelming. To be able to perfectly place yourself in the poet’s shoes is a tell that the piece is well written. After being moved so heavily by this collection and especially these graphic sections, I had nothing bad to say about this collection.

A strong sense of voice and a strong narrative wrapped in relentless, unguarded diction made Candrilli stand out from the pool of poets I read this summer.

Art Type:

Drawing & Graphic Design

Background:

Natalie has been interested in art since she was young. She completed a graphic design program in high school, and is pursuing a career in graphic design as well.

@nataliartz Want to be featured here next week?

Email arts@thetowerlight.com

Courtesy of Kayleb Candrilli and Jackie Papanier

Kayleb Rae Candrilli published their first ever poetry book, “What Runs Over,” in 2017. They are the recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award, and the winner of the 2016 Pamet River Prize.

Arts & Life

September 3, 2019

The Division for Student Affairs offers the

Thug’s new album

Student LIFE Line

This one sounds familiar

Courtesy of The Come Up Show on Flickr Creative Commons

Young Thug recently released a new album titled, “So Much Fun.” This album is Thug’s second studio album release to date.

ABE NERY Columnist

It’s “Thugga” season, baby.

Atlanta native, and dress connoisseur, Young Thug, just dropped his latest album, “So Much Fun.” Thug is one of the most unique rappers currently in the rap game, and is unafraid to break the boundaries of what a traditional trap rappers should say and do. He has proven his unapologetic nature time and time again, from wearing a dress on the cover of his 2016 standout album “Jeffery,” to his country-rap project from 2017, “Beautiful Thugger Girls.”

There was much expectation that Thug would continue his creative streak with this new album, and reveal a new direction that his music is going in. Unfortunately, it seems that all the hype was for naught, as this album seems to just be a continuation of the same pattern Thug has followed for the last two years. The pattern being, extremely bloated projects with entirely too many features that dilute any interesting idea Thug introduces.

This album clocks in at one hour and two minutes, but like walking through a room of funhouse mirrors, it certainly feels much longer, as each song does nothing to

pique the interest of the listener.

The majority of the 19 songs that make up this project all sound the same, and contain everything you’d expect from a 2019 trap song. Even some of the witty one-liners that Thug and his album features came up with, only serve as a moment to scoff at just how mediocre the rest of the lyrics are.

However, it should be noted that Thug has had a big influence on Atlanta rap in his half-decade of music-making. There are many rappers that sound exactly like him, and adversely, there are times on this album where I genuinely had to look up the lyrics to see if it was Thug or a featured artist rapping on a song. Featured artists are meant to add a different flavor to a track, however in this case, it seems that the features just attempt their best Thug impression.

In rap, when all else fails, the beat can usually save a song or a project. Not in this case, I am afraid, as the cookie-cutter beats offered to the listener song after song do nothing to distract from how much of a mess this album is.

There are a couple of good singles such as “What’s the Move” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, and “Hot” featuring Gunna, but overall, this album is a dud. It does nothing to improve on Thug’s discography and is entirely forgettable. I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping out on this album.

As always, stay cool Tigers and godspeed.

This telephone line assists students with any question they may have about the University. LIFE Line is staffed and ready to assist callers Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After these hours, a voice mail message can be left and will be responded to on the next business day.

You can also contact us with your questions via e-mail at studentaffairs@towson.edu.

(5433) 410-704-LIFE (54 33) E-mail: studentaffairs@towson.edu

17

18 September 3, 2019

Sports Preview

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW 2019

Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Redshirt senior running back Shane Simpson, right, looks to improve on a 2018 season where he totaled more than 2,000 all-purpose yards and earned FCS All-American honors as a special teams returner. Picked as the No. 2 team in the CAA, Towson’s home opener is Saturday, Sept. 7 against the North Carolina Central Eagles at 6 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

JORDAN KENDALL Asst. Sports Editor @jordankendall45 Coming off a historic 50th season, the Tigers look to build off last year and return to the FCS Playoffs. Last season, Towson finished 7-5 and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and were ranked No. 20 team in the Stats FCS poll.

The Tigers had three top-15 victories and won each game by at least ten points.

“We improved but we didn’t finish how I wanted,” said head coach Rob Ambrose. “I thought we were explosive on offense. The addition of Flacco made us better. We probably played below expectations on defense. We played really well on special teams. Two All-Americans doesn’t happen all the time.”

While Towson made strides last season, this team is far from perfect.

“We need to improve our short

yardage game and run the ball,” Ambrose said. “At the FBS level, teams play postseason games in tropical weather, in the FCS playoffs games are always in bad weather. If you aren’t prepared to play in bad weather you won’t go far. We practiced earlier and in colder weather to prepare for colder football.”

Redshirt senior quarterback Tom Flacco was the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Offensive Player of the Year last season and finished fifth in the Walter Payton Award, considered the FCS version of the Heisman. He led Towson in both passing and rushing last season with 3,251 passing yards and 28 touchdowns along with 742 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

“He’s incredibly intelligent and athletic, on occasion he can get outside of himself,” Ambrose said. “He needs to stay in the scheme and cut the turnovers.”

Flacco’s backfield partner, red-

shirt senior running back Shane Simpson was selected for three All-CAA teams, earning selections as a first team running back, second-team kick returner and third team punt returner. Simpson had 711 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns last year, and contributed five receiving touchdowns and returned the opening kickoff vs Stony Brook for a 96-yard score.

Along with Simpson are junior running back Kobe Young, senior running back Yeedee Thaenrat and redshirt sophomore running back Adrian Feliz-Pratt, who missed last year due to injury, leaving Ambrose with plenty of running options heading into 2019.

“There’s only one football and with Feliz-Platt back we have four talented backs,” Ambrose said. “We have four guys who are starters in our conference. Their ability to work together for the sake of the offense is impressive.”

The top two receivers from last

season return for the Tigers, in redshirt senior Shane Leatherbury and junior Jabari Allen. Leatherbury led Towson with 885 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, while Allen contributed with 751 yards and eight scores.

On defense, Towson is led by redshirt senior linebacker Robert Heyward, who led the Tigers last season with 99 tackles. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Bryce Carter, who led Towson with 6.5 sacks, also returns. In the secondary, senior defensive back Terrill Gillette looks to fill the void left by the graduated Monty Fenner.

Ambrose said the defense “needs to be a little better against the run and on third down and short yardage. We did a good job of pressuring the quarterback but not in coverage.”

Following the season opener on August 31st at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, Towson hosts North Carolina Central on Sept. 7 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

For the first time, the Tigers will face the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Florida on Sept. 28.

The conference slate features road games against reigning CAA champions Maine on Sep. 14 and the preseason CAA favorite, James Madison, on Oct. 26.

CAA home games include Villanova, Albany, Delaware and Elon.

Ambrose stressed how crucial it is for fans to show vtheir support this year in person.

“We have a winning football program that was ranked in the top ten most of last year. We return four All- Americans and the number one player in the league in Flacco,” he said. “As a Towson grad, I’ve waited a long time to see us ranked and nationally respected.”

The home opener against NC Central kicks off at 6 p.m. and can be heard on CBS Sports Radio 1300 with Spiro Morekas and former Towson head coach Gordy Combs on the call.

Sports Preview

September 3, 2019

19

A return to the top on the mind for Metil After streak of 20-win seasons ended last year, coach expects a return to form NOAH WHITAKER Contributing Writer

It has been awhile since we have heard the loud squeaking of the rubber shoes on the basketball court, the utterance of game commands, and the smashing of a ball against heavy hands.

Do not worry, volleyball season is quickly approaching.

Right around the corner to be exact. The 2019 season for the Towson Tigers starts Aug. 30 with a three-game trip at Morgan State University.

High expectations are abound this year with familiar faces oc-

cupying the roster. The Tigers return the majority of the roster from last season, along with a slew of incoming freshmen.

Last year’s fourth place finish in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) will not linger over this year’s team. Head coach Don Metil has put together a team full of young, emerging athletes, ready to work together to get over the hump.

“Team chemistry and staying healthy,” said Metil. “This team is young, but they have already formed a strong chemistry on and off the court.”

Injuries are an unfortunate part of any sport but Metil believes his team will be able to stay healthy this upcoming sea-

son. This preseason, the Tigers went through a good amount of grueling practices, and recently, an exhibition game against Navy, who won their respective league championship title.

The upcoming schedule favors Towson, with more games closer to home.

This year starts off with the Morgan State University tournament, then a tournament hosted

by Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, followed by two consecutive tournaments hosted by The Tigers. A strong start in tournament play could set up a smoother ride into conference play.

For Towson, success has been just out of reach, finishing in the

top two in the CAA standings in four of the last five seasons. The Tigers fared well in the majority of the statistical categories last year, placing in the top half of the CAA in six of seven stat categories. Coach Metil expressed his team is currently “struggling in blocking, and needs to learn new drills and techniques.”

Practice has changed to elevate team play. He has ramped up workouts everyday to maximize the efforts of the young team.

Success starts from the top, and Coach Metil has established a winning culture ever since he has been on campus, posting a 114-50 record in five years. “[The players] receive a culture handbook which has guidelines in

place to set the team tone and help the athlete get through their four years on campus to create a culture of accountability,” Metil said.

Metil has high hopes for this team. While returning the majority of the roster is not unusual, it is the returning leadership of senior middle blocker Silvia Grassini and ever-improving chemistry within the team which makes Towson a dark horse candidate for this year’s CAA title.

The Tigers season continues on Friday, Sept. 6 at the Rutgers Invitational. Game one from the College Avenue Gym against Rutgers is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.

The first home event is the Towson Invitational, Sept. 13-14 at SECU Arena.

justin Griffith to lead the way for tu A difficult road schedule has coach Larkin excited to see what how team performs TIM KLAPAC Senior Editor @pacofkla The Men’s golf team returns for the fall 2019 season with a slightly different roster to last year’s. Following the departures of seniors William Bachelor and Doug Grem, the Tigers also lost sophomores Kobdech Rodrat and Nakarin Kornpatlerdsin.

However, this new roster, headlined by Spencer Alexander, the team’s lone senior, is ready to etch a new chapter in the program’s history.

“It was definitely sad to see all four of those guys go,” said head coach Mike Larkin. “I think a lot of guys on the roster see this as an opportunity to make an impact where maybe they hadn’t before. So hopefully that’s been motivating for everyone on the team.”

Newcomers to the roster feature freshman Brad Riley. Riley captured the Maryland High School 3A/4A

State title in 2018 when he attended Sherwood High School in Montgomery County. Along with Riley, freshman Jeremy Summerson adds to a strong core of youth on this roster.

“Brad and Jeremy both have the potential to go right into the starting lineup,” Larkin said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see both of them playing in a majority of our tournaments and making an impact on our results immediately.”

Larkin hopes the strides made by players such as Alexander and sophomore Justin Griffith and the end of last season continue into this year.

“Spencer and Justin are both strong players and I have no doubt that they’ll be at the level they expect of themselves this year,” Larkin said.

“I know Spencer wasn’t satisfied with how he played last year, and I get the sense that that’s motivated him for his senior year. Justin was consistent right from the very beginning of his freshman year. With as solid as it was, though, he knows he left a lot out there. He’s not even close to maxed out and I think he’s

motivated to keep pushing that scoring average down every year.”

The season began with the Missouri Tiger Intercollegiate, held in Verona, New York over Labor Day weekend.

“I’m excited for this first event of the fall. It will be one of the strongest fields we’ve played in since I took over in the fall of 2017,” Larkin said.

“We can really use this event as a measuring stick at the beginning of our season to see where we’re at and what we need to do to get to where we want to be.”

The Tigers return to the Empire State two weeks later, competing in the Doc Gimmler Intercollegiate, which will be held at the Red Course at Bethpage in Farmingdale.

Following trips to West Virginia and Elon, Towson will wrap up the fall season with the annual Towson Fall Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20 at Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Maryland.

“This fall will be a lot of fun right from the start,” Larkin said.

File photo by Nikki Hewins/ The Towerlight

Sophomore Justin Griffith is one of the standout performers on coach Larkin’s fall team. Towson opened the season in Verona, New York.

20 September 3, 2019

Sports Preview

young tigers Continue to climb higher Multiple runners prepare for their first year at Towson with a challenging fall schedule MUHAMMED WAHEED Asst. Sports Editor @MuhammedKWaheed

Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Coming from placing sixth in last year’s CAA Championship, the cross country team hopes to get in the top five rankings this year.

Towson’s cross country team placed sixth in the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Championship and No.21 in the 2018 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional. The goal for this year is to improve upon their rankings from last season. “[Our goal is to] get in the top five, but I definitely think we can have one of our better team performances this year,” said head coach Mike Jackson. “The team is really in a good place. The athletes are training very well, training very smart.

Things have been very simple with them and then regionally we’re looking to get in the top 20.”

Freshmen Alison Belter and Faith

Loftus are two new additions to the team. Sophomore Kylie Anicic was a mid-year transfer last year who ran track, but will compete in her first season of cross country this season, Jackson said.

“After having one year under their belts, they kind of have an understanding of how the college process goes and they’ve all come back better than they were this time last year so we do have a young team,” Jackson said. “They’re very excited about what it is that they’re doing and performing well so I think it’s a good sign.”

Only four members of this year’s roster are upperclassmen.

After their performance in the Towson Invitational over the weekend, the Tigers will now prepare for the James Madison Invitational is in Harrisonburg, Virginia on Sat-

urday, Sept. 14.

“The meet is a preview race for our conference championship,” Jackson said. “We’re looking forward to seeing the course, competing on it and getting a chance against some of our other conference foes.”

The Br. Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions is in Bronx, New York on Friday, Sept. 20.

“We’re looking forward to running up at Van Cortlandt Park and running against some of those teams,” Jackson said. “It’s also a hilly course and fairly tough, but also a historic course so September looks to be a very solid month with some really good competition.”

The CAA Championship takes place on Saturday, Nov. 2 while the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Friday, Nov. 15.

Jackson looks to juniors to take over

Following consecutive one-win seasons, the Tigers are hoping for better results BROOKS WARREN Staff Writer @Broookksss A major youth movement is being built under the guidance and leadership of third-year head coach E.A. Jackson. With 13 freshmen on the roster, the onus will be on their few juniors and lone senior to lead on the field and teach their teammates the culture of the program.

“Thirteen freshman is definitely challenging,“ Jackson said, “That’s a lot of newness, but we recruited these young women intentionally because of their character, and because of their integrity, and their skills.”

With the aforementioned freshman being on the field this coming season will be full of bumps and bruises. The team will be lead by juniors Beira Ho, Kendra Sykes, and Jenna Florenzo since junior

Abby Webster won’t play this season due to injury and senior Carli Herman is still dealing with injuries of her own and playing a managerial role due to injuries.

“My junior class is the right group to lead this big group of freshmen,” Jackson said. “So far preseason has been so much fun, there's not a lot of maintaining the culture because they’re the type of class to take ownership of this class.”

One of the highlights of the non-conference schedule is on Wednesday, Sept. 11 when the Maryland Terrapins come to the TU Field Hockey Complex.

“Maryland is always a top five team,” Jackson said. “Their head coach, Misty Meharg, is a mentor of mine, I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. I think it’s going to be a really great test for our young team to sort of see how we stack up against the number two team.”

Other marquee opponents,

such as Georgetown, American, and the season opener against Appalachian State, provide an opportunity for the Tigers to show their improvements.

“Teams like Georgetown and App State, and America, another top 25 team, I love keeping those same teams on our schedule yearto-year so we can stage our progress.” Jackson added.

That culture is personified by a few key values that Towson has adopted. Those are leading with love, value humility, and leading with integrity. These values are what Coach Jackson hopes will lead to the Tigers improving beyond just the simple things such as wins and loses. Especially after they were awarded the Colonial Athletic Association Team Academic Excellence Award for their success in the classroom.

“We don’t talk about wins and losses,” Jackson said. “We talk about continuous improvement. Everyday,

show up and get better than you were yesterday. Eventually when you focus on that, the wins will come about more so than losses.”

The season continues for Towson on Friday, Sept. 6 against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Owen DiDonna/ The Towerlight

While 13 freshmen on the Towson field hockey team’s roster this year, head coach E.A. Jackson looks to juniors to lead the team.

Sports Preview

September 3, 2019

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New field, new tigers peterson eyes A new turf field brings speed to Towson’s game the advantage A senior-less team can expect to face a few hurdles this fall AARON THOMAS Staff Writer @3zzzUp

File photo by Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Senior defender Monica Scaglione headlines a defensive unit that looks to anchor a Towson team geared for success on their new field. The next Tigers home game is Thursday, Sept. 5 against UMBC at 5 p.m.

JOHN HACK Staff Writer @johnhack10 With their first three regular season games already completed, Towson will have to go up against six more opponents over 20 days before they begin their conference play at Northeastern on Sept. 26.

Coming into the 2019 campaign, the Tigers present a squad that, while young with 11 true freshmen, have the potential to build on 2018 as they hold onto 16 returning players from last season, seven of which are seniors.

“Hopefully we can take a deep breath and really develop our own personality,” said second-year head Katherine Vettori.

“I think in the past we’ve tended, last year, to chameleon to who our opponent was.”

Towson is looking to build off of a disappointing 4-12-3 record from last fall and wants to, among other things, build an identity.

One of the benefits of having 19 of 29 players as underclassmen is that you can do just that.

“I want us to have a personality and I think that we’re developing that, and maturing on a daily basis,” “To generate more attack and

scoring goals is fun.”

Despite having many new names on their roster, the Tigers also share a fair amount experienced starters as well.

Midfielder Justine Stoner returns for her senior season after leading the team with six goals last season.

Helping her out on the offensive rush is sophomore forward Jenna Blank, who had a breakout year last year with seven points while playing in 18 of Towson’s 19 games.

Last fall, Stoner was named to the Colonial Athletic Association’s All-Conference Third Team while Blank was named to the conference’s All Rookie Team.

On the back line is a defensive line who will be led by seniors Monica Scaglione and Sydney Davis.

New to the Tiger Soccer Complex this season is the recently installed artificial turf field which will allow more time to utilize for practice.

“We love it. We haven’t missed a training session because [the field] drains so well and just to have a consistent surface with the type of team that we are,” Vettori said.“We are a position-driven team and it’s nice to play on a consistent surface.”

Following a 1-2-0 start to the season, Vettori would rather wait to see how the team will change over the next few weeks before she makes predictions.

“I think that when we re-assess on Sept. 26th with the out of conference play, I think we’ll be totally different than who we are today. So it’s just gonna be a constant evolution,” she said.

The next game for the Tigers will be on Thursday, Sept.

5 against the UMBC Retrievers.

Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Tiger Soccer Complex.

NEXT@ 9/5 HOME 5:00pm

Last spring, the Tigers surged through the latter half of their schedule, to finish out the year with a 13-13 record. Head coach Jamie Peterson returns for his third season at the helm.

Peterson is excited for this season as this will be the first year with all players in which he recruited into the program. Peterson expects to continue to build good team chemistry and a winning culture here at Towson.

“I would like for the team to improve despite being a young team without any seniors and only two juniors,” said Peterson.

Having a lack of seniors can pose leadership issues with some teams, but Peterson is confident in the players he has and their ability to lead the freshmen.

“We have four returning players from last year, such as Alexis Martinez, Phoebe Collins, and Lauryn Jacobs, who will keep working hard and are developing more

leadership skills,” Peterson said.

In May, Peterson announced the commitment and signing of Sarah Pospischill into the tennis program.

She joins Towson from Austria after competing extensively in Europe during her junior career.

"We are very excited to have Sarah committed to Towson," Peterson said in an interview with towsontigers.com. "She has an extensive junior background playing in Europe and is very committed to school and tennis. She will be our first player to join the program from Austria and will be our fifth international player on our roster, all five from different countries."

The fall schedule, while brief, features opportunities for the Tigers to make improvements.

The season begins at the Maryland Terrapins from Sept. 13-15.

Towson’s lone home match of the fall will take place on Sept. 21-22 at the Towson Center for the Sol Schwartz Fall Invitational.

The Tigers will face in-state foe Loyola University in October, then close the season with a trip to Deland, Florida to participate in the Stetson Hatters Invitational.

File photo by Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Alexa Martinez is one of two juniors on this year’s roster and will look to take on a larger leadership role heading into the fall season.

22 September 3, 2019

Sports

a charm city off on the wrong foot sweep for tu Season begins with loss to Appalachian State Tigers take all three matches in Morgan State to open year “When we get back in the gym and take care of two things, obNOAH WHITAKER viously we are very high error Contributing Writer prone right now so we had to play from behind,” he said. “We This past weekend the Tigers just had a lot of unforced errors, faced off in the Morgan State Uniserving balls out of bounds, hitversity Volleyball tournament, ting balls in the net, so we need cruising to a 3-game sweep, nevto start taking care of the ball a er giving up a set. little better. We need to continue The opponents consisted of to work on our defense, we got a a Quinnipiac University, Seton lot of new people in our back row Hall University, and host Morgan and they just are really not operState University. ating as one unit, rather three in“Scheduling is paramount dividuals.” this time of year and you know The youth will have a chance to we came in and set a goal and improve their errors and chemisreached that goal so now it's movtry can keep developing with the ing forward to a much tougher impending tournaments. next weekend,” said head coach Metil emphasized his goal to Don Metil. keep improving the culture, with Towson (3-0) wrapped up the the sight on making it championtournament with a 3-0 shutout ship caliber. of the Bears (2-1), winning the “We need to continue to work three games 25-22, on our defense, 25-18, and 25-11, we got a lot of respectively. new people in our This victory We came in and set back row and they capped off a domijust are really not a goal and reached operating as one nant Saturday that saw the Tigers that goal so now it’s unit, rather three deliver a similar individuals,” he moving forward. shutout to the Pisaid. rates (0-3), 25-15, Next up for the 26-24, and 25-22, Tigers is the RutDON METIL respectively.

Invitational Head Coach gers Towson opened from Sept. 6-7 in the tournament by Piscataway and shutting out the Bobcats (1-2), 25New Brunswick, New Jersey 20, 25-15, and 25-15, respectively.

This tournament will consist The Tigers were led by senior of games against the host-Scarlet outside hitter Olivia Finkel, sophKnights, Xavier University, and omore outside hitter Emily JaPrinceton University. rome and senior middle blocker This is Princeton’s first tournaSilvia Grassini, combining for a ment so they will be fresh, which tournament-high 87.5 points. can end up in the long run serve Throughout the whole weekas good competition early in the end the team, was aggressive and season for Metil’s team. were superior in the statistical “We have a lot of young playcategories. ers and we are just trying to At the end of the tournament build on our culture and how we they dominated their opponents play Towson volleyball and what in kills, assists, aces, digs, least it means to be a Towson volleyamount of errors, and blocks. ball player,” Metil said.

Metil noticed certain areas of The first match of the tournaimprovement that could be imment is against Rutgers and will proved leading into next week’s begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, tournament.

Sept. 6.

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BROOKS WARREN Staff Writer @Broookksss Towson opened up the season at the new Towson University Field Hockey Complex with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Appalachian State.

“There were some really great things that happened,” head coach E.A Jackson said. “We created opportunities, we got into the attacking circle, I think we have some good film to watch to make sure our forwards our cutting back to the ball so that when we work really hard to create those opportunities we’re actually maintaining possession and not just giving it away.”

The youth and inexperience of the Tigers showed throughout as the Mountaineers dominated possession and pressured the Towson

defense incessantly. Appalachian State was able to draw nine corner penalties, including five in the first half. App State also tested freshman goalie Tess Okkerse often, sending 11 shots toward the freshman, with most coming in the fourth quarter at five.

“I think their first two goals were from really quick breakaways,” Jackson said. “I think we can defend better.”

The Mountaineers were led by junior midfielder Meghan Smart and her two goal performance, and was flanked by sophomore midfielder Friederlike Stegen and her single goal. Smart stroke first, scoring after Okkerse pulled out a little too far from the goalie box.

The second goal of the day came from Stegen in the second quarter.

Freshman forward Sarah Farrell fed Smart for her second goal of the day in the fourth quarter after an Okkerse save and Farrell saved

the ricochet to send to Smart for the goal.

Okkerse was one of the few positives in the contest for the Tigers.

She was able to save six shots, and a game-high of four in the final quarter. Jackson had some good reviews, telling the Towson Sports Network she liked how the freshman goalie communicated and led the defense from the box. Despite it being her first collegiate game, Okkerse played with the poise of a senior according to Jackson.

“She’s just a technically sound goalie,” Jackson said. “ She doesn’t play like a freshman she plays like a senior, she communicates effectively from the back, our defenders really count on her. They’re willing to take chances to step up and try to create attacking situations off of defensive situations.”

- To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com

Strong start at home Tigers finish third overall at Towson Invitational MUHAMMED WAHEED Asst. Sports Editor @MuhammedKWaheed

The Tigers opened the 2019 cross country season by placing third in the Towson Invitational with 52 points on Friday, Aug. 30 at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Maryland.

Lafayette finished first with 45 points while Delaware took second with 48 points.

“Our goal is always to win, but the meet was a lot more competitive than it’s ever been before with some other teams coming,” said head coach Mike Jackson. “We took a bit of a conservative approach with our team, so there was some good individual performances, but we think it’s something that we

can build on and really focus on in championship season later in the year.”

Sophomore Olivia Janke and freshman Kylie Anicic placed first and second in the 4,000-meter run with a time of 15:32.4. Both runners only finished 0:00.4 seconds apart from each other.

“We’re sure they’re excited,” Jackson said. “This is their first time running at the home meet. Olivia did not run in it last year and then Kylie was playing soccer at Temple last year at this time so she’s actually a freshman, eligibility-wise, in cross country so they’re happy with how they started and we’re looking forward to how they will continue throughout the season.”

Freshman Alison Betler finished her first college meet with a time of 16:16.1.

Sophomore McKenzie Delahanty improved her time from last year’s Towson Invitational by 35 seconds as she timed 15:49.1 placing sixth.

Sophomore Elizabeth Vaughn timed 17:39.3 which was 11 seconds faster than her performance at last year’s Towson Invitational.

Senior Melissa Graham timed 17:52.2 which was an improvement from her time at last year’s Towson Invitational by four seconds.

“That’s good competitively to do that, but ultimately it’s our overall team place and where they place individually to help us perform better as a team,” Jackson said. “The individual performances in terms of time is solid, but we’re more focused on the place so that’s what we’ll work on in the coming days.”

- To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com

Sports

September 3, 2019

The NFL should be concerned with the increase in players retiring early, or they may be in trouble

Justin Griffith Men’s Golf

Courtesy of Jeffrey Beall on Flickr Creative Commons

After numerous players have retired early in their careers due to injuries or the threat of injuries, the NFL needs to reassess how safe their players really are, before everyone starts hanging up their helmets for good.

JORDAN KENDALL Asst. Sports Editor @jordankendall45 With the recent retirement of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, another great player has retired in their prime. In the past few seasons, some of the best players have retired earlier than expected. The trend should be concerning to the NFL. If more athletes continue to retire early, the future of the league will be in jeopardy.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these names, and why the NFL should be worried.

Walking Away Early In the past five years, some of the greatest players of their era have retired early for various reasons.

Most of them battled injuries and decided to move on with their lives.

Former Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor only played in nine games in 2017 before being placed on the injured reserve list. In 2018, he was placed on the physically unable to perform list and missed the entire season before being released after eight seasons played. Chancellor’s Seattle teammate, wide receiver Doug Baldwin, battled injuries throughout his body in 2018 and had three surgeries this offseason before retiring.

“The perspective is, I have to do what's best for my wife and for my future children, and that comes

first,” Baldwin said in an interview with ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “And when you're faced with the decisions of, 'Well, if I continue to do this, what is my health going to be like when my child is born?”

Former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland retired after one season due to concerns of CTE. “I just honestly want to do what's best for my health," Borland told "Outside the Lines." "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk."

Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson did not retire because of injuries, however, shocked the NFL by walking away at 29-years-old.

“I can’t put in what I want to put in, what I used to put in to get the results that I used to get. I can’t put in those same efforts and I’m not going to sell myself short,” Johnson said to The Undefeated. “I’m not going to go out there and not be 100%.”

Level Of Concern When Luck retired, it was called the most shocking retirement since Barry Sanders. Seeing as many young stars retire in their prime has to be concerning for the NFL. With the concern of CTE at an alltime high, the more players who follow suit, the fewer stars we will have to watch. The future of football isn’t bright as participation in youth tackle football, as well as high school football, has declined. If there isn’t

enough talent to play in the NFL in 15-20 years, the game will be in serious jeopardy. Other sports, such as basketball and baseball, have seen increased participation from youth.

The NFL is the most popular sports league in America, so it’s going to be hard to see it fall. But if more and more athletes decide to play other sports, the future of the league could be at stake.

No league currently faces as much scrutiny and controversy as the NFL. From the protests to the handling of off-the-field incidents, it seems in recent years that more negatives have come from the NFL then positives while the NBA doesn’t have nearly as big of an issue with players getting in trouble off the court. According to NBAcrimelibrary.com, 28 NBA players have been arrested in the past five years. According to USAToday however, 40 NFL players have been arrested since 2018.

This is the only sport where players seem to retire in their prime to protect their health, despite playing the least number of games per season of the four major sports. Football is a dangerous game, and it’s difficult to take the danger out of it.

This epidemic looks to continue and should be at the top of the NFL’s list of priorities.

They can’t afford to lose more of their greats. If they do, the future of the league, and football in general, is in serious doubt.

Sophomore Justin Griffith is one of the team’s standout performers on the Men’s Golf team. Head coach Mike Larkin said Griffith is a strong player. “Justin was consistent right from the very beginning of his freshman year,” Larkin said.

poster sale

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Sports

FOOTBALL GAME DAY PREVIEW

Tigers victorious in season opener This week’s opponent: NC Central Eagles JORDAN KENDALL Asst. Sports Editor @jordankendall45

The Tigers had the ball for 17 minutes less than The Citadel Bulldogs, but despite some long Bulldog drives, made plays when necessary to secure a 28-21 victory on Saturday.

“They are an extremely tough quality opponent, it’s a long way from home but our team has character and never doubted we could win,” said head coach Rob Ambrose “I’m glad we don’t have to play the option anymore.“ Towson started on offense, and the offensive line struggled on the first drive. Redshirt senior quarterback Tom Flacco was sacked once and a bad snap cost the Tigers nine yards which forced Towson to punt.

On the Citadel’s first possession, redshirt sophomore A-back Dante Smith started with a run up the middle for eight yards before he fumbled the next play and senior defensive back Terrill Gillette recovered.

After Flacco jumped over a defender for a first down, he found redshirt senior running back Shane Simpson in the flat for a wide-open six-yard touchdown.

The Bulldogs responded with an impressive drive that almost never happened. After Citadel junior quarterback Brandon Rainey nearly fumbled early, the Bulldogs drove to the Tigers redzone before penalties sent them back. A missed field goal gave the Towson defense a needed boost.

The Tigers took advantage of the missed opportunity, driving downfield effortlessly as Flacco quickly got

the offense into scoring range. Senior kicker Aidan O’Neil began his quest to break the FCS all-time field goal record with a 40-yard kick that extended the lead to 10. That was O’Neill’s 54th career field goal, 21 shy of the all-time record.

The Citadel started their next drive with a long run by Rainey for 55 yards. Five plays later, Rainey scored from three yards out to cut the Tigers lead to 10-7.

On the ensuing drive, Simpson ran left and made a man miss en route to a 45-yard touchdown run.

After recovering a Citadel fumble, Flacco connected with redshirt junior tight end Jason Epps but he fumbled inside the five-yard line, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs.

After giving back the momentum Ambrose told his team that “You can’t control what happened in the past, all you can control is the next play.”

The Citadel continued to pick up rushing yards, surpassing 200 as a team in the first half.

The Bulldogs converted a fourth and one which led to a one-yard touchdown run. The Tigers took a 1714 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the rain began to pick up and both teams exchanged punts on three straight drives and the third quarter ended with neither team scoring.

To begin the fourth quarter, Flacco drove Towson inside the Citadel 10yard line but had to settle for O’Neill’s second field goal of the game to increase their lead to 20-14.

The Bulldogs answered with a 75yard drive that resulted in a touchdown, giving them their first lead of the game at 21-20.

With 3:31 to play in the game, Flacco connected with three different receivers before a big 25-yard run set the Tigers up at the Bulldog four-yard line.

Simpson wold score his third touchdown of the game the next play to give Towson the lead with under two minutes remaining. Flacco found Allen for the two-point conversion to increase the lead to 28-21.

With the Citadel hoping for a game-tying drive, junior defensive back Coby Tippett intercepted a pass on the sideline on the first play, giving the Tigers possession. A 14-yard run by Simpson put the game on ice, sealing a season-opening victory that wasn’t lacking in drama..

Simpson scored all three of Towson’s touchdowns and finished with 111 yards of total offense. Flacco threw for 328 yards and a touchdown to Simpson. Leatherbury had five receptions for 78 yards and Thompson had four receptions for 73 yards. “[Simpson] made plays when he had the ball in his hands.” Ambrose said. “He blocked very well, and [Flacco] got the ball to him. I thought he had a great game today.”

On defense, redshirt junior defensive lineman Bryce Carter led the Tigers with 13 tackles. Senior linebacker Robert Heyward was the other Towson defender with double-digit tackles, finishing with 11. The Tigers defense gave up 329 rushing yards, only 12 fewer than last year’s game against the Bulldogs.

“This is what they do extremely well. They mash you and they want to play four-down football,” said Ambrose. “They don’t care about getting two yards on first down.”

Courtesy of Michael Wiser/ Towson Athletics

Redshirt senior running back Shane Simpson accounted for all three of Towson’s touchdowns in the Tigers 28-21 victory over the Citadel on Saturday. Simpson totaled 111 yards of offense in the season opening win.

File photo by Alexis Brown/ The Towerlight

Kickoff at 6 p.m. at Unitas Stadium JORDAN KENDALL Asst. Sports Editor @jordankendall45 The Tigers face the North Carolina Central Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

The Eagles are coming off a blowout loss on the road against Austin Peay 41-10. The Eagles (0-1) took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter before the Governors took over and scored 41 unanswered points until late in the fourth quarter.

Twenty-four of these points came in the second quarter, including three consecutive drives resulting in touchdowns.

NC Central’s defense gave up 563 total yards of offense, while the Eagles only had 213 yards of total offense. The Governors outrushed NC Central 291-74.

On third down, Austin Peay converted 50 percent (8-16) while the Eagles went 30 percent (6-20).

NC Central will look to rebound against Towson, and here is what to watch out for.

Coming off a 31-point defeat, it’s clear everyone for the Eagles will need to step up. There weren’t many bright spots for NC Central, however, a few players did have some positive moments.

Junior wide receiver Nique Martin had three receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown including a 35-yard touchdown reception. He led the Eagles in receiving yards and all-purpose yards with 120 including 40 kickoff return yards.

NC Central struggled to move the ball, their leading rusher was

redshirt junior running back Isaiah Totten with 26 rushing yards on eight carries.

NC Central’s starting quarterback didn’t contribute much either, as redshirt junior Micah Zanders only completed 50 percent of his passes for 61 yards.

Redshirt senior defensive back Deonta Fair led NC Central with 11 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. He was one of two Eagles defenders with 10 or more tackles.

When the offense can’t move the ball, the punter assumes more responsibility than normal. Senior punter John Picaro punted 10 times averaging 37.7 yards per punt. His longest punt was 52 yards and three of his punts were inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

NC Central is projected to finish fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They did receive one first-place vote.

Towson has played the Eagles twice, winning both games. The Tigers won the second meeting 31-20 in Towson as well as the first matchup 35-17 in 2013.

This is the home opener for the Tigers, the first of six games at Unitas Stadium. This season is the first time since 2015 the Tigers get six home games.

It’s as important as ever for fans to come support Towson, especially for the students.

In an interview with Towson Sports Network, head coach Rob Ambrose said that other coaches are “definitely afraid of our students when our kids pack our house, they ruined people when they got down near the 30-yard line.”