Crescent Magazine April 2016

crescent April 2016 | University of Evansville | College Culture Upfront | issuu.com/uecrescent | $2.50

MAGAZINE

{a look at {

SODEXO After almost three decades, Sodexo’s food service contract is up for renewal.

Crescent Magazine takes an in-depth look at UE’s dining service.

16

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“When I look at you, I don’t see color.”

Crossing to the other side of the street to avoid a person of color.

“You’ r e a girl, you don’t have “You speak English very well.” to be good at math.”

Continuing to mispronounce the name of someone with a non English-based name.

NOT ON Our Campus

understanding

MICROAGGRESSIONS through

MONOLOGUES “Men and women have equal opportunities for achievement.”

NOT WANTING TO SIT BESIDE SOMEONE BECAUSE OF HIS/HER COLOR.

“Affirmative action is racist.”

Shows surprise when a feminine woman turns out to be a lesbian.

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Contents

EDITORIAL Writing Directors MARISA PATWA RYAN MURPHY

Writers KEZIAH COLLETON ALEX GOULD CHRISTINE GRAVELLE LACI ROWE OLIVIA SHOUP AJAY SUNDARAM

Guest Writer MACKENZIE BRUCE

THIS MONTH 4

6

TOBY KUHNKE

12

16

28

MAKAYLA SEIFERT

3 OUR VIEWPOINT

FASCINATING PEOPLE | Marisa Patwa

COVER | Toby Kuhnke & Marisa Patwa

OVERTIME | Olivia Shoup

Junior Elizabeth Mendes is not afraid to be who she is and to help others do the same, both on and off the tennis court.

Creative Director Photo Editor

INNOVATION | Ryan Murphy

Sodexo has been UE’s sole food service provider for almost three decades. With its contract coming up for renewal, Crescent Magazine takes an in-depth look at its service.

CREATIVE TROY BURGER

DEPARTMENTS

Art has been the gateway for junior Brittni Tully-Dapcevich, finding happiness in those things that allow her to be creative.

Copy Editors NEIL BROOKHOUSE TREVOR RICHARDSON

Graduation is just around the corner and beyond it looms the job market. Are graduates ready for the challenge?

Senior Margaret Frerichs takes a look at mascara to see if there is any the truth behind what causes eye infections.

EDITING Editing Director

IN THE NEWS | Ryan Murphy

32

A CLOSER LOOK | Laci Rowe

Professor Mark Shifflet thrives on helping people learn how to connect with others from all walks of life.

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WITHIN FAITH

10 TRENDING TOPICS 13 FASCINATING PEOPLE 14 STATE OF AFFAIRS 21 THROUGH THE LENS 22 6 QUESTIONS 23 CAMPUS CRIME 24 BRAIN BOMB 25 WHO KNEW? 26 HOT CORNER 27 ATHLETES IN ACTION 30 OFF THE WALL

Photographer NATALIE CHRISTY TAYLOR WILLIAMS

Designers SYDNEY BLESSINGER LELIA DANT MAKAYLA SEIFERT ANNIE TAYLOR

MARKETING & SALES Circulation Assistant PATRICK ROQUE

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Find out what’s happening with Student Congress each Friday on the magazine’s Facebook page.

HOW TO CONTACT US

Ridgway University Center, University of Evansville, 1800 Lincoln Ave., Evansville, Ind. 47722 Editorial e-mail: crescentmagazine@evansville.edu • Phone: (812) 488–2846 • FAX: (812) 488–2224 Marketing & Sales: (812) 488–2221 & 488–2223 • crescentadvertising@evansville.edu

CRESCENT MAGAZINE is the University of Evansville’s student magazine. It is written, edited and designed by and for UE students and published six times during the academic year. Circulation is 1,700, and it is distributed to 18 campus locations and housed online at www.issuu.com. It is funded through advertising sales and a subscription fee paid on behalf of students by the Student Government Association. Printed by Mar-Kel Printing, Newburgh, Ind. © 2016 Student Publications, University of Evansville. | LETTER SUBMISSIONS: Crescent Magazine welcomes letters from UE students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni, but material the CMEB regards as libelous, malicious and/or obscene will not be published. Letters should not exceed 250 words. For verification, letters must include the author’s name, class standing or title and email address. Crescent Magazine does not print anonymous letters or those that cannot be verified. Letters will be edited as needed. Email letters to crescentmagazine@evansville.edu, with “letter” written in the subject line. | EDITORIAL POLICY: Commentary expressed in unsigned editorials represents a consensus opinion of the magazine’s Editorial Board. Other columns, reviews, articles and advertising are not necessarily the opinion of the CMEB or other members of staff.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

the mistakes and learn the lessons we did in such a safe environment with the help of our adviser and peers instead of finding out the hard way.

Seniors are about to enter a completely different world. They will be trading essay writing, all-nighters and microwavable macaroni and cheese for regular sleep schedules, grown-up jobs and repaying those pesky student loans.

But if the threat of something unfamiliar is enough to prevent us from taking on challenges, success will be much harder.

Think back to your first day of college. It was a new environment. There were unfamiliar people and unfamiliar settings. Roommates were weird and communal bathrooms were unpleasant, to say the least.

Although you were far away from family and friends, you eventually came around to it — even if it was just out of necessity. As the weeks went on, assignments and study sessions turned into all-nighters with your new friends and classmates. Before you knew it, you began calling campus your home.

After everything is said and done, the only thing that really makes a new situation scary is the fact that it is new.

Once that novelty wears off, it’s much less intimidating.

Changing how scary these situations are is impossible, but changing how you react to the things that scare you and embracing the unknown will make dealing with any new challenge a breeze.

So volunteer for that activity, take on that new responsibility and apply for that internship. It might not be easy at first, but if it were, it wouldn’t be worth it. New experiences will never be as scary in reality as they are in your mind.

OUR VIEWPOINT

W

hether it’s starting a summer job or graduating and going into the real world, trying something new can be a terrifying experience. But after that first day — after you finally settle into a new routine — it is never quite as scary as you thought it would be.

Sure, this is something that is hard to convince yourself of before the fact, but that by itself shouldn’t be enough to prevent you from taking on new challenges and expanding your horizons. All it takes is a change in your attitude.

Behind this apprehension is a fear of taking risks, a fear of making a fool of yourself and a fear of putting yourself in situations that make you feel vulnerable. But successful people don’t give in to these fears; they embrace them in order to conquer them.

Everyone experiences this at some point, but at the age we are right now is the perfect time to conquer these fears.

The environment and structure of college campuses provides a unique opportunity — it’s an environment in which we can finally grow up.

Through our classes and activities and internships, we can grow out of the grip of perpetual anxiety and become well-adjusted, responsible adults. In college, we have the benefit of an endless system of academic advisers, counselors and mentors who can help turn us into the healthy risk-takers we need to be in order to achieve our goals. In college, we don’t have to fear failure or making mistakes because, if we slip, we have a support system to back us up.

When we are entering the job market, employers will not be looking for people who are afraid of what they don’t know; the people they hire will be those who are willing to take on formidable projects and tough responsibilities.

When the staff of Crescent Magazine began working in the Student Publications office, it seemed intimidating.

There were unfamiliar faces, lots of responsibilities and constantly looming deadlines. But as we began writing and editing and designing story after story and issue after issue, we found that it wasn’t so scary after all.

Thankfully we were able to make

MAKING

THE CHOICE

TO GROW When confronting the real world and the anxiety that comes with it, facing our fears and doing the things that terrify us is how we grow.

DIRECTORS’ NOTE: The directors of Crescent Magazine would like to thank our talented staff members who contributed countless hours putting together six fabulous issues. We would also like to thank all of our sources for contributing to our stories. Finally, we would like to thank our readers. Without you, there really would not have been a reason to work as hard as we did.

| 3

IN THE NEWS

RYAN MURPHY

JOINING THE

JOB SEARCH

The class of 2016 is about to enter the job market. Are they prepared?

A

s another school year comes to an end, many in the class of 2016 join the job search. With degrees and resumes in hand, there shouldn’t be any issue finding places that are willing to hire young, fresh faces. But if graduates aren’t prepared, this might not be the case.

Some students have the misconception that they will be able to find high-paying positions right out of school, right where they want to be for the rest of their lives. Michael Zimmer, professor of business, was quick to shatter this delusion. “[This] generation is graduating into the most elongated lingering recession in American history,” he said. “When [students] enter the labor market in a recession, it depresses their earnings for life.”

But it is not all bad news. Zimmer also said those among the current generation who have found jobs have experienced an increase in earnings. He attributed this to their level of tech-savvyness they have gained from being raised with new technology during the rise of social media. Effectively interacting with others through social media has become a staple of many positions today.

“Once [students] do find traction,” he said, “the earnings are higher than they’ve ever been.”

The main issue students face is actually finding a job. Zimmer believes students should understand that a career may take four or five years to find, and they should first focus on gaining experience with a wide breadth of jobs, even at less-than-desirable positions, in order to build up their experience and their resumes.

“What [students] can do to expedite the [job search] is to search for a job not on pay but on the process of learning and growth,” he said.

Money is important, but experience and developed skills are what employers are looking for in new hires.

Not only that, but higher-paying positions require ex-

4 |

perience that employees can call upon in order to do their jobs effectively. Those who can match their skills to handle multiple situations reap the most rewards.

One thing students can do to develop their skills is work with local firms to set up internships during the school year.

As for where the jobs are located, students should not expect to stay local. Instead, they should expect to move around the country for their jobs — and to move a lot. A CareerBuilder and Inavero study conducted in 2012 found that 83 percent of millennials were willing to relocate.

“Go global,” Zimmer said. “You’ve got to be willing to go anywhere.”

He also said the experience and responsibility gained by going outside one’s comfort zone is invaluable for the future.

“It’s the kind of thing that gives you perspective,” Zimmer said.

It is not just about knowing what job to search for and what to expect once the search for a job begins. It is also about what can be done before you earn a degree. A lot can be done now to prepare students for the hunt, but it falls on them to take the initiative.

Gene Wells, Career Development senior director, believes these problems can be taken care of if people begin preparing before their final semester, preferably during their junior year.

There are a number of things students should do, but the three things that stand out the most are networking, using available resources and preparing.

When it comes to networking, students never seem to think about the relationships they will need going into the job market. Students get so caught up working on their grades or hanging out with their friends that they do not spend enough time cultivating their contacts on LinkedIn or through jobs they may have held.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

Senior Alexandra Amick, who works for Career Development, is connected with Wells on LinkedIn. She is focusing her job search on places that are hiring employees for their human resources departments and that have also hired someone she knows. She knows networking is a huge part of preparing to find a job.

“I’m looking for a job right now,” she said.

“They want you to have a networking connection in the company or else it’s not going to happen.”

In addition to the CCD, UE has a mentoring program where students are connected with alumni mentors, but this program often goes unnoticed. Wells said only 50 percent of students actually follow through and get in contact with their mentor. He blames this on a socially conditioned fear of strangers. Because of this, engaging with professionals, even alumni, can be intimidating.

“You need to be able to expand out of your comfort zone,” he said. “It would be such a monumental waste of a resource.”

The CCD has a number of resources that often get ignored. There are printed checklists and guides for how students can prepare themselves, and the career development area of evansville.edu has job postings, special career event listings and other methods of networking, such as UE Connect and UE JobLink.

Wells said the CCD is hardly ever visited by students who are not there for a practicum or help deciding if their major and their work experience can get them the job they want. The people who work there help students get ready for their job hunts, but hardly anyone schedules appointments, and even fewer visit the CCD regularly.

“College students [who] utilize the career center get more interviews because they have more access,” Wells said. “People need to be more aware of their resources.”

By Wells’ estimates, students should be preparing resumes and cover letters to send out to at least five companies each week and should expect to hear back from about one out of every 10. He said more than 50 percent of students in 2014 applied for five jobs or more. He added that it usually takes about 60 days to hear back from one collection of sent resumes.

When it comes down to it, students can never be too prepared. Simply working to make a plan of attack for finding a job after graduation can help students be prepared for the future, but they focus too much on the present.

“If you’re a senior, you’re not out of luck,” said Wells. “But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

CONGRATULATIONS

CLASS OF 2016

Go change the world!

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Crescent Magazine | April 2016

| 5

INNOVATION & SCIENCE

RESEARCHING

photo by MaKayla Seifert

MASCARA MISHAPS RYAN MURPHY

A

pplying mascara is a part of learning how to use makeup and many women were taught to pump the mascara wand in and out of the tube as they put on the lash-extending cosmetic. Turns out, this may not be the best way to get mascara on the wand since the extra exposure to the open air invites bacteria into the tube.

Senior Margaret Frerichs wanted to find out if there any truth to this so she spent last semester finding out.

The biology major got the idea when junior Michelle Sonnenberger suggested Frerichs study something involving makeup.

Frerichs loved the idea and decided to center her research on mascara because it is usually cheaper in cost than other cosmetics and because of its reputation for causing infections that can ultimately lead to eye problems.

Frerichs used her independent project for Biology 110, “Clinical Microbiology,” taught

by Mark Davis, associate professor of biology, to test her hypothesis.

“Her first goal was to see if organisms were found on the brushes with two different

“

methods of application,” he said.

For the experiment, Frerichs kept the process simple. She spent some time collecting various tubes of mascara from friends and others willing to hand over their mascara.

Then in early November 2015 she placed them in a solution called auger, which acts as an effective medium for bacteria to grow in.

Frerichs also studied the two different methods of applying mascara — pumping the wand in and out of the tube versus twisting it — to measure the bacteria counts in the tubes and on the brushes.

Frerichs initially planned to dilute the mascara if the collection of bacteria was too high. This would make the amount of bacteria present in the tubes smaller and easier to deal with. But ultimately dilution wasn’t necessary. Frerichs found that the mascara tubes, no matter how much exposure the mascara had to air, actually had no bacteria growing in them.

Frerichs said the growth of bacteria was probably inhibited by the mascara itself. She also said the short amount of time she had to

do the project might have affected the results.

“Time was a big issue for me because I had to do it in one semester.” she said.

“I was actually a little disappointed that I couldn’t do it for longer.”

Frerichs believed if the tubes that had been pumped instead of twisted had been given more time to see if bacteria would grow, then there would have been a substantial bacterial infection within the tubes and her hypothesis might have been validated.

Fortunately Frerichs’ study might not be over just yet. She said if she were given the opportunity, she would do her study again.

“Sometimes projects take a little bit longer than expected,” Davis said. “It was nice Margaret wanted to continue the project and we’re flexible enough that it’s doable.”

For now, the findings do not support the belief that pumping the mascara wand causes the popular cosmetic to become infected with bacteria — and that’s a great thing for women to know, whether they are used to pumping their mascara wand or have always been twisters.

“

I was actually a little disappointed that i couldn’t do it for longer.

6 |

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

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Crescent Magazine | April 2016

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Emily Fiedler Director, Employer Development

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| 7

WITHIN FAITH

RYAN MURPHY

LIVING BY

THE BOOK

Some follow the Bible to the letter, but are these followers in the majority?

T

he Bible is one of the oldest known texts in the world. It has been translated, reprinted and interpreted hundreds of times, and it has become the canon for the largest religion in the world. Some say it acts as a strict manual by which all Christians should live, but others are not as ready to take the entire text literally.

Christians believe the Bible is the word of God put onto the page by faithful followers. They believe that the words are sacrosanct and that the wisdom behind them is timeless. Some faiths, such as Judaism, follow the teachings of the Old Testament but not the New Testament, while the Christian faith follows both. Both groups tend to have their own set of verses they fall back on when it comes to arguing for their social beliefs, which coincide with their particular, personal religious beliefs.

Minister Michael Claypool, of the Living Word Christian Church in Newburgh, is one such Christian. He follows the New Testament and treats the verses as social law, be it the teachings of Romans in relation to homosexuality or the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” when discussing a woman’s right to abort her pregnancy.

“It’s not our choice,” he said. “God doesn’t make mistakes. We still haven’t been given permission to commit murder.”

Claypool also goes back to scripture when it comes to things like the Syrian refugees. He refers to the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Although Claypool is the leader of his church, his beliefs actually represent a minority in the U.S. A 2014 Gallup poll found that 47 percent of people in the U.S. believe the Bible is only inspired by the word of God and that only some of it should be taken literally while 28 percent believe the Bible is the actual

8 |

word of God and should be taken completely literally.

Another 21 percent believe the Bible is a collection of history and fables recorded by man alone.

Junior Evan DeCraene is in the majority and does not believe the Bible should be interpreted literally.

He believes that if part of the Bible is interpreted literally, the entire text should be. He actually dislikes when people point to religion as a source of evidence to justify social beliefs, thinking that the verses they use are often too neat.

People who often quote scripture are sometimes found to be selective in the parts of the Bible they are willing to adhere to. Those who quote the Sixth Commandment are also often found to be supporters of the death penalty and advocates for war. Rabbi Gary Mazo of the Adath B’Nai Israel Temple points out such inconsistencies when those who speak against homosexual rights reference passages from Leviticus.

“The smart-ass in me responds,” he said. “‘A few passages before [you] said if a child cursed at their parents, they could be taken to a nearby town where the elders would pelt them with stones until they died.’”

Mazo believes people should focus on their own beliefs gained through their own experiences rather than the phrases written in a book that is thousands of years. People should have personal beliefs in addition to religious beliefs. “[My congregation doesn’t] wave biblical verses,” he said. “We aren’t ones to quote chapters and verse.”

While the most outspoken sources of religious debate are those who verify their arguments by quoting verses whether they believe in them or not, the majority seem to believe the Bible is holy but shouldn’t be the only guide people have, especially if those people only follow select parts.

“It’s an old book,” DeCraene said. “It feels half-assed if you don’t follow it all literally. I believe more in the message than what was actually written.”

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

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| 9

TRENDING TOPICS

Stupidity is the new face of millennials.

When will we take the time and effort to change?

A GENERATION OF

IGNORANCE CHRISTINE GRAVELLE

W

ho is our country’s vice president? Who won the War between the States? What country did Amercia gain its independence from? Do you know the answers to these questions? If you can’t answer them, you’re not alone.

I stumbled upon a recent trend of videos that ask these very questions of American college students, and I was taken aback by just how many of my fellow millennials were unaware of such basic information about the country they live in.

Hundreds of these videos exist, and they all start the same way — with a reporter walking the sidewalks of an average college campus. Passing students are then asked a series of questions like those above, and, surprisingly, no one knows the answers.

Instead, when asked which show Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi was on, everyone knew.

These are our peers, our future co-workers and even our future leaders. But they can’t answer basic questions about our country.

The more I thought about it, the more examples I found of students lacking knowledge about these kinds of things. Even on UE’s campus. Even myself.

The American Council of Trustees, an organization that promotes high standards and core curricula for college students, commissioned a survey in 2015 of 383 college graduates nationwide to see how much they really knew about America. The results were disquieting to say the least.

When the graduates were asked to choose which person was on the Supreme Court from a list of four people, only 62

10 |

percent correctly chose Justice Elena Kagan, while 10 percent chose Judith Sheindlin, better known as TV’s “Judge Judy.”

Maybe worse, a third of respondents didn’t know the Bill of Rights was a series of amendments to the Constitution and 46 percent didn’t know term lengths for U.S. senators and representatives. When asked to name the “Father of the American Constitution,” 59 percent of respondents said Thomas Jefferson. The fact is he had no part in its creation.

“The findings are deeply troubling and underscore how our educational institutions are utterly failing to prepare our next leaders for citizenship,” said ACTA President Anne Neal. “In a republic which depends on an educated citizenry, it’s crucial that all Americans — especially college graduates — are fully familiar with the rights and responsibilities set out in the Constitution.”

But as millennials, how did we end up this way? When did we stop considering this information important enough to memorize and apply to our everyday lives?

The first explanation is the way we were educated. State testing might have had an impact on our opinions regarding the relevance of this information. But standardized testing is a primary part of American classrooms. States constantly pressure teachers to raise scores and keep funding high. Higher scores mean more funding; more funding means better pay for teachers.

This form of education might be teaching students to commit information to memory for a temporary period of time. We only think we need to know these things for

a specific test rather than actually remembering it. Instead of encouraging students to discover knowledge on their own terms, forced memorization is shaping our view of knowledge in the wrong way, and when focusing on the grade rather than the information itself, it undermines our intrinsic motivation to learn.

Moreover, millennials feel less of a need to memorize these kinds of information because we have technology at our fingertips.

Answers to just about everything are at our disposal with minimal effort required to obtain them.

What this issue really comes down to is the fact that we simply don’t care. Our entire generation is focused on the individual. We have this mindset that the information we learn is only for a personal grade when it’s about so much more than that.

It’s about being educated on matters that we can impact.

Our short attention spans have become dedicated to fat lips and hashtags. I encourage our university to change our view on knowledge as well as prioritize what is truly important in our world.

With elections coming up in November, we need to take the time to stay educated on our country’s past and current state. If we do not, all we are doing is making it easier for sly politicians to mend and mold the facts and details of our history in order to justify their agendas.

We can be the generation to stop that, but changes need to be made if we want to be the generation remembered for our voice instead of our ignorance.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

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Crescent Magazine | April 2016

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| 11

photo by MaKayla Seifert

FASCINATING PEOPLE

ALASKA’S NEXT TOP MODEL MARISA PATWA

12 |

O

ne minute she’s at a print shop, uploading photos of a thunderstorm. The next, she is doing half-naked photo shoots, covered in chocolate syrup, snow, dirt and paint and racking up more than 100,000 Instagram followers.

But for junior Brittni Tully-Dapcevich, modeling is just one of the many things where she excels. She grew up in tiny Ketchikan, Alaska, with a welder for a mother and a Capt. Jack Sparrow impersonator for a father, so the art therapy and psychology major was destined to be extraordinary.

As the oldest of seven children, she helped out around the house by doing odd jobs like working at a dry goods store and designing graphics for a sign company. During the summer, she would compete in logrolling competitions. She won first place three times and was even asked to compete in the world championships.

In school, Tully-Dapcevich excelled at art, debate, singing and playing the piano. Nowadays, she makes extra cash by selling her paintings. Last year, she painted a collection of fairies for a class and sold it for $3,000 the next day.

Kyle Darnell, adjunct instructor of art, is impressed with her ideas.

“I’ve been doing this for a while,”

“

he said. “That kind of stuff doesn’t just pop up.”

Tully-Dapcevich has been focusing more on her modeling and recently did a photo shoot in Hawaii. But the woman who now poses in her tighty-whities was not always so comfortable with her body. She struggled with anorexia when she was younger.

Today she is happy and healthy and loves to embrace her body with photography. She said that art is her way of cutting out the negativity.

Tully-Dapcevich said one her favorite shoots so far featured her standing in the pouring rain in a diamond-studded bikini. To her, it represented being cleansed of her past.

Tully-Dapcevich said she feels that although she has accomplished a great deal in her life, it has come at the cost of her childhood.

“I raised my siblings and graduated valedictorian,” she said. “I don’t want to put my kids through what I went through. [I want to] give them something in the future that I didn’t have.”

Tully-Dapcevich said she wants to be a forensics animator, someone who uses art and animation to bring crime scenes to life for detectives. No matter what the future holds, one thing is for certain — art will be her centerfold.

“

Art is like hitting the jackpot.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

LOVING THE GAMES AJAY SANDARAM eos where they play and instruct viewers about games such as “Grand Theft Auto” and “Fallout 4.” Their instruction for “Fallout 4” become extremely popular with viewers and received a number of compliments from frustrated gamers.

But not all of their videos are informational. In one, Schaefer built a bridge in “Minecraft” to honor the late Alan Rickman. One of their most notable series busts myths about “GTA 5” that were sent to them by users. “[We tested] falling from the top of the world into water and surviving,” Smith said, “[and ramping] a car into a plane.

We also tried to land a plane on another plane. That one got a little messy.”

For both, entertainment is the goal.

“We shoot to make people laugh,” Schaefer said.

photo by MaKayla Seifert

T

he Internet is an ocean of information and some use it as an outlet of expression and opportunity. Juniors Tim Schaefer and Landon Smith partnered to start a YouTube channel called BlackSmith Vids.

They have gained more than 1,000 subscribers, published more than 200 videos and sold merchandise — hats and shirts with their channel’s logo — to people living in places as far away as Texas.

The two met while in middle school and the basis of their friendship was a mutual love of video games. They recalled spenting hours playing “AssaultCube,” “Halo” and “Call of Duty Zombies.”

“We played COD Zombies until the sun came up on weekends,” Schaefer said about their high school obsession.

The two have now released vid-

photo by MaKayla Seifert

NEVER WITHOUT PEP MACKENZIE BRUCE

A

gymnast at heart, senior Paige Durphey never thought she would be a cheerleader. But after joining the squad her sophomore year, she is now the lone senior and leader of the cheer team. And no one could imagine the basketball court without her smile and spirit.

“Talking to her, watching her cheer — you never would know that [she hadn’t cheered before college],” sophomore Mackenzie McClarney said. “I was shocked.”

Durphey has been a gymnast since she was 3 years old and loves the sport for its tumbles and flips. But without access to gym-

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

nastics at UE, she decided to try cheerleading. Now she puts her skills to use at basketball games, adding flying to her repertoire.

“It was pretty scary the first time my coach told me to get in the air, but it’s my favorite,” she said. “When you’re in the air you really get to interact with the fans. They look at you and cheer.”

Durphey loves the pride the squad has for the Aces, and she puts that passion into every aspect of her life. Not only does she keep everyone organized with a team calendar, she was also recently accepted into the physical therapy program so she will be start-

ing coursework toward her doctorate soon.

“That has to be demanding for her,” McClarney said. “PT has to be hard — and cheer. I think people underestimate it sometimes.”

But Durphey never lets the pressure of her schedule get her down. Even at late night practices and long weekends away her teammates admire her energy and positivity.

These traits are ones that have shined in her three years on the team, and for Durphey, there is no place she would rather be.

“For her, the court is a happy place,” coach Brent Couch said.

| 13

STATE OF AFFAIRS

The line between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation is thin. Where does one end and the other begin?

BUY, BORROW

OR STEAL? KEZIAH COLLETON

I

n the United States, we are master appropriators; we love to make things our own.

In fact, as a culture, we are probably some of the worst appropriators of all.

Appropriation is taking something for your own use, typically without permission from the owner. Cultural appropriation is when members of one culture adopt or borrow elements from another culture. We are guilty of this too.

There’s a fine line between appreciation and appropriation. From celebrities to everyday Joe Schmoes, anyone can appropriate a culture, whether they’re aware of it or not. It is important to make the distinction between the two in order to prevent offending other people and their cultures.

Cultural appropriation and appreciation are differentiated by way of intent, knowledge and respect. To appreciate a culture, you must learn about it and understand what things mean. Things such as artifacts, symbols and clothing styles.

Often, when people think they are appreciating a culture, they are actually unknowingly appropriating it because they haven’t taken the time to truly understand.

Selena Gomez faced criticism when she wore a bindi for her Bollywood-themed performance at the 2013 MTV Music Awards.

Hindu cleric Rajan Zed criticized her for using it as a fashion accessory and ignoring the religious significance of the symbol.

But Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra assessed it differently. She explained in an interview with Billboard Magazine that the significance of the bindi is no longer solely religious. She said the bindi fit with the Indian

14 |

influence of Gomez’s song and believes it is wonderful when people embrace the Indian culture by wearing it.

For outsiders, there’s no surefire way to tell if someone else is appropriating a culture.

We cannot assume that a non-Indian wearing a bindi has taken the time to learn about the culture. But you can gain the knowledge and prevent yourself from appropriating.

Kylie Jenner posted a picture on Instagram last July of herself in cornrows. She captioned the picture, “I woke up like disss.”

This garnered a firestorm of backlash. Amandla Stenburg, an actress and cultural awareness advocate, called out Jenner for cultural appropriation and neglecting to use her fame to shed light on race-related issues.

Kylie’s sister, Kendall, faced a similar response when she was spotted in public sporting her own version of the style. In an unfortunate tweet, Marie Claire wrote that Kendall took the style to a “new epic level.”

Was the way she wore them epic? Sure.

But cornrows are far from new. Black Twitter users were offended by the statement, but blacks do not own the hairstyle, so it is not subject to theft. Anybody should be able to style their hair in cornrows if they so choose as long as he or she has done the research and understands possible implications.

The line between appreciation and appropriation is crossed when there is total disregard for a culture. If your goal is not to appropriate, there are things you should and should not do. For starters, do not mistake an entire culture as a costume. This is an idea that some college students do not understand. Having a party theme that requires

someone to dress like a homeless person, embody racial stereotypes or use blackface is offensive and racist. But dressing up as Pocahontas for Halloween is completely different from being a stereotypical Native American.

Do not wear something unless you know what it means. Don’t be that dummy who wears a Native American headdress to Coachella just because you think it looks cool. Do your research. It is important to know the facts so the next time you want to wear a sari as a fashion statement, you can step back and really consider your idea.

Do not make fun of a culture through attire or action. The fine line is drawn by intent and separated by respect. By being knowledgeable about other cultures, the line will be less blurry and your intentions will be properly placed.

Lastly, if you want to try something from a different culture, understand that, despite your efforts to make informed decisions, you might receive backlash.

With all this in mind, it seems that there is a level of oversensitivity when it comes to the notion of cultural appropriation. When equipped with the right level of understanding, we should be able to explore other cultures without the fear of any backlash.

In my opinion, saying that someone is guilty of cultural appropriation just because they wore a style of dress inspired by another culture is a bit harsh. Under this view, that time I made Indian butter chicken would have been cultural appropriation too.

The accusation of appropriation might be the very thing that brings cultural awareness to a standstill.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

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F

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Crescent Magazine | April 2016

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| 15

COVER STORY

BY TOBY KUHNKE & MARISA PATWA, WITH RYAN MURPHY, AJAY SANDARAM & OLIVIA SHOUP DESIGN & INFOGRAPHICS BY ANNIE TAYLOR & LELIA DANT

A Look at

SODEXO {

Crescent Magazine takes a look at the long-time campus food provider as UE’s contract with Sodexo will soon come to an end and officials prepare to evaluate other companies.

With UE’s contract with Sodexo ending soon, Crescent Magazine decided to take an in-depth look at the food service provider. UE has had a decades-long relationship with the self-described “quality of life” services conglomerate. In this article we zero in on the things that matter most to students. We will also take you on a journey from Sodexo’s origins on the French seaside all the way to our campus and the food that fills your plate.

I

n college, it seems food is the first thing on everyone’s mind. It fuels our studies, feeds our brains and brings us together. Naturally, campus food is a major part of what keeps us going, but there was a time when on-campus dining looked much different than it does today.

UE began its relationship almost three decades ago, in 1988, with a food service provider called Marriott Food Services that would later merge with Sodexo. It is a union that has outlasted most others, but beginning this summer, Sodexo’s contract with UE will come under review again. Like all relationships, it has had its ups and downs, and a walk down memory lane with contract stipulations and quality statements beckons.

Imagine a UE without Sodexo, without Cafe Court and without Ridgway Center. Over the years, everything about the campus dining landscape has changed — the food is different, the meal plans are different, even the location of the food itself is different.

Before Ridgway was built, there was no single place on campus for students to gather as a community to eat together. There were actually multiple places. There was Harper Dining Center — where Ridgway stands now — the Underground, the C-Store and the Wooden Indian — later called Union Station — located in the basement of what is

16 |

now the School of Business Administration. The addition of Ridgway did a lot to define and unify the campus community, but perhaps the biggest change to UE’s food came in February 1988 when Sigma Phi Epsilon got a special treat — a sneak taste of Marriott food.

Sig Ep teamed up with the company to sample dinners from the food service provider before full-service dining began on campus the following fall. Crescent newspaper reported early in 1988 that the response to Marriott’s food among the fraternity’s men was positive and the future looked bright for campus food.

But not long after Marriott came to campus, complaints began to roll in. By fall of the following year, students had given Marriott a chance, and they were sick of it and its food. Students wrote their complaints in letters to the editor, and the Crescent printed them for all to read, forcing the director of campus food services to address the issues. But students were still not satisfied, and UE began to reconsider Marriott’s services altogether.

A committee was formed, and Student Congress held a meeting to discuss whether to keep Marriott’s services. The Crescent reported in late 1989 that officials had chosen to keep Marriott, which surprised many. From then on, UE’s food service provider stayed the same until 1998, when a change came on Marriott’s end, bringing Sodexo to UE’s doorstep.

Pierre Bellon, a food service industry baron, founded Sodexo, originally spelled Sodexho, in 1966. His vision was to offer services that would improve quality of life. Although the majority of the services Sodexo now offers are in the food management industry, its company website still includes improving the quality of life in its mission statement.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

81%

SURVEY SAYS........

53% 70%

of respondents

do not believe the grade of food (meats, vegetables, processed foods, etc.) served by Sodexo is acceptable.

60%

of respondents

do not like the taste of the food served by Sodexo.

87%

81%

brick-oven pizzas, breadsticks and pasta; Grill 155, which serves items such as cheeseburgers and fries; Fusion, which provides international dishes such as stir-fry but veers off that path to offer other items such as the make-your-own grilled cheese bar; Stacks, the sandwich and wrap station; and Harmony, which caters to students following vegetarian, vegan and Halal diets. There is also a salad bar, daily soups and dessert and beverage areas.

As delicious as those options might

of respondents

do not feel Sodexo provides top-notch food, quality and service to UE students.

{

Most students cannot scroll through Yik Yak without seeing meme-filled comments about the food in Ridgway. When it comes to UE Dining and the quality of the food served, everyone and their mother has opinions about it. And they aren’t always positive ones.

For anyone who has not visited Cafe Court, it has six food stations: Charleston Market, which serves home-style cooking; LaVincita, the Italian-style station that serves

think food taste and/or menu quality improves when prospective students or others visit campus.

of respondents

do not feel the menu variety offered by Sodexo is adequate.

FOOD QUALITY & TASTE

of respondents

er, said that in his 17 years working with UE and Sodexo, the biggest change has been with student preferences and Sodexo has had to work to accommodate special diets and the desire for sustainability.

“I think students are more savvy [now],” he said. “They know what they want.”

In the last three decades, everything about the food on UE’s campus has changed except its food service provider. Since the Sodexo-Marriott merger, the most recent time UE’s contract with its food service provider

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

came up for reconsideration was in 2002.

Jeff Wolf, vice president for Fiscal Affairs, said that while a typical food-service contract is for three to five years, the 2002 contract was agreed upon for 10 years. When Wolf and Chavira were both asked about the contract, they would not comment, saying they were not able to discuss its details.

“Our contract has a confidentiality clause that prevents me from disclosing information,” Wolf said.

Regardless, the 2002 contract was amended in 2007, adding an extra five years to the contract’s length and extending it to 2017.

Wolf said this decision was made in exchange for Sodexo’s financial help building Ridgway — an incentive for UE to stay with the company.

UE’s contract with Sodexo ends next year, and the bidding process begins this summer. But above all, the thing both parties say they are concerned with the most is student satisfaction. And the thing that seems to satisfy students the most is good food at an affordable price.

{

Since its founding, Sodexo has grown to become an international corporation, headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, a business hub of Paris. Sodexo bought out Marriott in 1998 in an effort to expedite the growth of its company in North America.

Through this merger, Sodexo became a behemoth right off the bat. In fact, foodmanagement.com found that Sodexo is now the third largest food management company in the world. Sodexo has locations in more than 80 countries and feeds millions of people every day. And they do not just serve college campuses; they also serve hospitals, convention centers, elementary and high schools — even the White House.

Among the Marriott locations Sodexo took control of were the kitchens at UE. And with the extension of UE’s contract with Sodexo came the company’s help with the construction of a new university center — Ridgway — that opened in 2009, bringing all campus food to one place.

Dean Dana Clayton, vice president for Student Affairs, said Ridgway became more than just a dining hall; it became a place where the UE community could meet.

“Everyone wanted it to be like the mall, not just an all-you-can-eat cafeteria,” she said.

“There was a lot of excitement in the beginning. Students came to eat and [said], ‘Wow, I’ve never seen these people before.’”

The new style of eatery was exactly what students wanted in 2009, but Clayton said the things students want now are not necessarily the same as then and will probably not be the same in the years to come.

Steve Chavira, Sodexo district manag-

of respondents

do not believe the food served by Sodexo is worth the cost of their meal plan.

50%

of respondents

would be in favor of UE signing a contract with a different food service provider even if it meant paying a higher price for meals and meal plans.

Figures are based on responses from the Crescent Magazine Sodexo Survey that was open to students Feb. 14 –March 7, 2016. Respondents were asked to answer questions based on a 5-point agree/disagree scale. Strongly disagree/disagree percentages were combined and strongly agree/agree were percentages combined for the infographics. 219 people responded to the survey and figures have been rounded to the closest full number.

| 17

sound, a survey conducted recently by Cresence Magazine asking for student opinions about Sodexo found that 60 percent of respondents do not really like the taste of the food served by Sodexo and 87 percent do not always believe Sodexo provides topnotch food, quality and service to students.

It is difficult to satisfy the tastes of 844 people, the number of students who currently have a meal plan. Many others without meal plans — including faculty, staff, visitors to campus and other students — eat in the dining hall too. But believe it or not, menus are actually decided upon by Sodexo’s corporate office.

Ken Boyer, former UE Dining manager, who recently resigned this position, said core menus are provided to schools before the school year begins per Sodexo policy.

From there, he said the dining manager works with the head chef, in UE’s case, James Waflen, to pick and choose what to serve based on what is popular with students, adding that there is not much room for change because UE Dining must follow the guidelines set by corporate superiors.

While food taste is an individual preference, quality and consistency do influence people’s opinions about whether they think the food tastes good or not. Clayton said she gets complaints from students about consistency, but the quality of the ingredients — everything from the freshness of the vegetables on the salad bar to how the meat is prepared — plays a role in whether someone likes the taste of a specific dish.

“If one day your panini is great and then

When it comes to making changes to specific dishes, Boyer said they only do so when they have received the same feedback from a number of students who would like to see the change made.

“We don’t change something just because you like it with a little extra salt,” he said.

Waflen said if his staff can make a change, they will. He said someone from UE Dining always lets students know when they cannot fulfill requests and why.

Food variety is also a concern for some.

Lots of people like that stir-fry is served most days and others cannot live without a cheeseburger and fries for lunch, but others prefer more variety and healthier options.

Boyer said most complaints about the lack of variety came in the fall, and the kitchen staff has tried to prepare more popular items such as mashed potatoes with assorted toppings, tacos with various side items and desserts such as cheesecake.

Clayton said she does not believe there is a lack of variety. She said many students just eat the same food every day and never explore other options. While variety is important, having more could result in eliminating something popular like it did when Freshens, the former ice cream and smoothie station, was replaced by Harmony in 2013.

Clayton said she has also witnessed what happens when a menu item is removed.

“We almost had a mutiny on our hands when we once took away chicken fingers,” she said.

Clayton agreed that specialty events are popular with students wanting more variety.

es were served; when Boston was the theme city in February, seafood was served; and when Memphis was the flavor for a day last month, pork barbeque was served.

Nowlan said the Cityscapes have been popular with students so far and the company is looking into featuring other cities in the future. There have also been theme days, such as St. Patrick’s Day, where various Irish dishes were served to complement the day.

Some have also expressed concern that food is prepared too far in advance and then sits in warmers until it is time to serve it.

Boyer said depending on the food item, the staff tries to cook food as close to serving time as possible.

“We’re not cooking anything the day before and then just reheating it,” he said.

Boyer also said leftover food from one day or mealtime is not necessarily reused the next mealtime or the following day. He said once food has been out in a buffet area, it usually gets thrown away. He said if there is a possibility something of quality can be saved, they will try to re-utilize it, but not if it has been on a buffet line for an extended period of time.

Like any food service company, Sodexo contracts with suppliers that deliver the actual ingredients necessary to prepare the dishes that are served. And when it comes to the grade of the ingredients being served, whether it is meat, vegetables or processed food, CM found that 70 percent of students do not believe it is always acceptable.

When discussing if someone likes a particular menu item, the quality of the ingredi-

“If one day your panini is great and then the next day you find a slimy worm in your meat, then we have a problem.” the next day you find a slimy worm in your meat, then we have a problem,” she said.

Consistency is a difficult problem to fix, and Boyer said sometimes it is out of the kitchen staff’s control. He said when preparing 150 pounds of meat a day, not all of it is going to come out the same. Boyer provided a specific example.

“Some people did not like the beef stroganoff,” he said, “but [Waflen] had some of the meat and said it was great. Some at FAB said it was too tough.”

18 |

“I think what drives it is when we have specialty things to keep things new and innovative and changing,” she said. “When I see the long line at Fusion, I know there’s something going on at Fusion that isn’t stirfry.”

Katie Nowlan, Sodexo marketing coordinator, said the company introduced Cityscapes this year, where one of the stations serves things a particular city is known for. When Chicago was highlighted in the fall, hot dogs and hot beef sandwich-

ents and they way they are prepared is up for debate, but Boyer did say the grade of beef served is at least USDA Choice, the second highest graded beef, which is also the minimum Sodexo permits in terms of quality.

Poultry served is Grade A. Since menu decisions made by UE Dining are hampered to a certain extent by the guidelines imposed by the corporate office, Clayton said all comments go to Chavira in an effort to see if changes or corrections can be made.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

though it might be difficult to handle all the responsibilities at the height of serving times, 48 percent of respondents felt there were an adequate number of employees working during mealtimes.

CM also took a tour of the kitchen while preparing this story and found it to be a busy place, but its condition was clean, organized and well-kept.

What does seem to be a problem is that when students have concerns, they are quick to make an offhand comment to no one in particular or to discuss these problems with friends instead of with those who can actually do something to solve problems and check on concerns.

Michael Tessier, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, meets regularly with the Food Advisory Board to discuss any complaints, concerns or suggestions that have been submitted through students’ residence hall councils or from those who have submitted an issue by some other method.

He said Residence Life gets plenty of feedback from students and parents and praises Sodexo for making big changes to food quality this year and for how responsive management has been.

“Students don’t realize they can ask for things,” he said. “They can ask for changes.”

Tessier said issues addressed have included requests for specific food items and complaints about food temperature, lack of food variety, quality of the food and serving area cleanliness. He thinks responses to the food quality would be more positive if students were engaged to try more since he also believes students have a habit of eating the same thing, then complaining about it.

“I’m guilty of going down there and going to the same station,” he said. “That habit needs to be challenged.”

There are various ways to get your voice heard. One, of course, is through FAB. As a committee of RSA, the board’s job is to meet with administrators and Sodexo officials to investigate student complaints and try to find solutions. Students can submit any dining-related issue.

“FAB and Sodexo want more involvement,” said sophomore Codey Rohl, FAB chair. “They want to create relationships between students and Sodexo for the future.”

He said lots of requests from students

54%

of respondents

feel Sodexo employees provide friendly service while 32% remained neutral

54%

of respondents

feel Sodexo employees are respectful of students while 29% remained neutral

36%

of respondents

feel Sodexo employees act professionally while 34% remained neutral

48%

of respondents

think there are an adequate number of Sodexo employees working during meal times while 32% remained neutral

55%

of respondents

find the dining hall and other areas connected to the eating area to be clean while 25% remained neutral

42%

of respondents

do not feel Sodexo responds well to people who follow special diets (vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, etc.) while 35% remained neutral

50%

of respondents

do not feel Sodexo takes into consideration the concerns and requests of students while 35% remained neutral

35%

of respondents

think Sodexo provides enough information about the nutritional value of the food it serves while 31% remained neutral

{

service, cleanliness & complaints Service is one area where Sodexo seems to excel. Students find workers friendly, and for the most part, are pleased with their performance. It is rare that workers do not interact with those in their food line, and students seem to like the fact that they can have a relaxed relationship with the workers.

This could be why 54 percent of those responding to the survey believe workers are respectful. While there have been informal complaints here and there, the occasional issue is not indicative of the enire workforce.

But only 36 percent of those who completed the survey believe employees act professionally. Some students say they have heard inappropriate chatter taking place between certain employees, and others believe some look unkempt, especially if their uniforms are badly soiled or excessively wrinkled. But again, the occasional problem is not indicative of the workforce as a whole.

Most students believe the dining hall is clean, although there has been the occasional concern about the beverage areas being messy and wet and the floor being sticky. Al-

{

Clayton said she appreciates hearing what students think because she believes it is important that students’ voices be heard.

“It’s refreshing,” she said. “I like the change. I’m not opposed to it. We never stop listening, can never stop listening. It is important to be responsive.”

Sodexo also provides a variety of nutrition services and also sponsors a program called “Favorites From Home,” where students can share their favorite recipes with Waflen. Sodexo also tries to assist people with special dietary needs. Boyer said the staff works with 10 students with food allergies to customize their diets.

“We customize every meal for one student because [that person] is so allergic to so many things,” he said. “We meet with each person who has a dietary need before they come [to UE], even Road Trippers.”

No food service provider is perfect when feeding hundreds of people every day. And tastes differ, so what upsets one person may not bother another. Because meal plans are required of almost half the student body, Ridgway is a place where many students find themselves multiple times a day.

“Of course, we hope they’d eat here a lot just because the food is good,” Waflen said.

| 19

have to do with the rotation of menu items and the bringing back of dishes that have been taken out of the rotation. Quesadillas and Jamaican jerk chicken are two of these dishes that disappeared and were brought back by request.

“They have to balance requests versus the number of people who eat those things,” Rohl said. “It’s all about balance.”

THE FUTURE With UE’s commitment to Sodexo coming to an end, the future of campus food service is up in the air. Wolf said proposals for potential food service providers will be sent out in the fall to a variety of food service providers, with the final decision being made by January 2017.

Chavira said students can expect to see more outreach from Sodexo as the bidding process takes place, but other companies such as Bon Appetit, Chartwells and Aramark will be visiting campus as well.

Aramark began in 1932 as Davidson Bros., a vending company run by Davre and Henry Davidson. Since Aramark’s humble start, food-management.com reports that the company has become the second largest food management company — one spot above Sodexo. The top spot goes to Compass Group, a massive conglomerate that owns multiple food management companies, including Bon Appetit and Chartwells.

To some UE administrators and Sodexo representatives, this bidding process is nothing new, but to students it is something they have not had the chance to experience. But students at other schools have.

Sodexo has contracts with numerous schools across the country, with Colgate and Transylvania being just two that recently reconsidered their contracts with Sodexo.

Colgate, a private, liberal arts university in Hamilton, N.Y., with about 3,000 GENDER

CLASS STANDING

students, ditched Sodexo in favor of Chartwells.

“Chartwells, from day one, has been looking for input,” said senior Spencer Serling, Colgate Maroon-News managing editor. He added that after a few initial rocky months, the response from Colgate students has been positive.

Transylvania, a private, liberal arts college in Lexington, Ky., with about 1,100 students, recently signed a new five-year contract with Sodexo in exchange for the company’s help renovating their dining hall, much like the contract UE signed in 2007.

Junior Megan Graft, Transylvania Rambler editor-in-chief, said most of the complaints students have at her school are also about the quality of the food, but they are not good about giving feedback. She said Sodexo conducted surveys during the bidding process but also explained that Transylvania’s director of finance said the decision was not made with consideration to the quality of the food.

Chavira also mentioned that, during the bidding process, the people who make the final decision have more to consider than just the opinions of students. He stressed that there are financial considerations that have to be addressed as well.

Nonetheless, the one thing that has stayed the same over the course of the multiyear contract with Sodexo is that the real change to campus food only occurs with constructive student feedback — not by simply whining about the overcooked vegetables or getting upset on Twitter because the grilled chicken was undercooked.

If students want to have a real say in the food they eat, they should make their voices heard. And with the current contract ending in less than a year, now is the time.

MEAL PLAN? 6%

29%

2% 69%

36.5% 63.5%

32%

• Female • Male • Other

• Freshman • Sophomore • Junior • Senior • Graduate Student • Exchange, IES & Other

36% 25%

20% 22%

• Visit uedining. sodexomyway.com.

Go to the “People” tab and pull down to feedback to leave your message.

• Go to Facebook.com/ uedining to leave your comment.

• Visit surveymonkey. com/s/FAB-Comment and leave a message for RSA’s Food Advisory Board.

• Fill out a handwritten Comment Card, located near Ace’s Place and at the dining hall entrances.

AVG. NUMBER OF MEALS EATEN PER WEEK IN CAFE COURT

WHICH MEAL PLAN?

23%

Want to let Sodexo know what you think?

26%

5% 6% 21%

• Yes • No

• Purple Prime • Purple • Orange • White • Select • None

20%

52% 3%

• 1–5 meals • 6–10 meals • 11–15 meals

• 16 or more meals

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SURVEY’S RESPONDENTS

20 |

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

CRUNCH It’s that time of year.

THROUGH THE LENS

NATALIE CHRISTY & TAYLOR WILLIAMS

No matter how nice it may get outside, those end-of-the-semester papers will not write themselves. Deadlines are looming and students across campus are buckling down to finish up all kinds of semester requirements. And everyone seems to have a special study spot. From the newly renovated Bower-Suhrheinrich Library to that favorite table at Jazzman’s, the books and laptops are open as we cram all kinds of knowledge into our heads. While some may get distracted trying to study outside Ridgway Center, others thrive in the sunshine. Regardless, before you know it, finals will have come and gone and the sweet sounds of summer will be upon us.

Using a text to guide her, senior Holly Sanders spends an afternoon in the Bower-Suhrheinrich Library focusing on homework. | Natalie Christy

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

With her coffee and music in the comfort of Bower-Suhrheinrich Library, senior Brooke Ridenour gets down to school business. | Natalie Christy

Checking it twice, freshmen Jessica Robinson and Bailee Lamberson look over the class registration list, hoping to find an exciting course they can take together in the fall. | Taylor Williams

| 21

Q&A

Questions New programs, long-awaited campus renovations and a possible revision in policies point to changes in store for campus in the fall 2016.

THOMAS KAZEE President

photo by MaKayla Seifert

has affected UE’s enrollment?

A: I think facilities always have an effect on enrollment at any school because students come to campus anxious to see this as a place they’d be comfortable in for four years. I think there are some issues beyond facilities that affect enrollment more, like affordability and the availability of programs.

Q: With that in mind, has anything

Q: Now that the renovations to Bower-Suhrheinrich Library are complete, will there be another capital campaign?

A: The board of trustees has authorized us to move forward with plans for the renovation of Hyde Hall. It’s probably going to be about an $8 million project. It will be a couple of years before any work can begin, but it is at the top of the list. We had [a new Fitness Center] on our list of projects to complete, and the Fitness Center likely would be built adjacent to Carson Center. What we want to do is have a plan that calls for some improvements to Carson in the short term but would be part of the broader project for the Fitness Center.

Q: Do you think the lack of renovations

22 |

been done besides the renovations to bring enrollment up?

A: We’ve been focusing on new program development. We’ve added some things we didn’t have before. Probably the most important new addition is the physician’s assistant program. Another important element is our focus on affordability. We offer financial aid that represents more than half the sticker of tuition price at UE.

Q: How has UE dealt with the decrease in revenue from lower enrollment?

A: We’ve cut costs. Obviously [we’re] looking at other ways to increase revenue, and that’s what we’re talking about with new programs. We went through a process a few years ago where we evaluated every program — academic and administrative — and as a result made some position adjustments there.

We’ve recognized that the revenue side needs to be balanced on the expenditures side, and so we’ve reduced expenditures.

Q: How do you think campus would be affected if the alcohol policy changes?

A: That falls into three different areas.

The first area is the policy of the university [in] relation to serving alcohol at university functions; if we had a wedding reception on campus, could we serve alcohol? We are talking now about creating the opportunity for alcohol to be served at those events.

The second area is policies regarding whether students who are 21 years old could have alcohol. And then the third area is alcohol as it relates to Greek activities. There are many facets to this, but if you look at those three areas — if we can put together an overall policy that we believe is workable — then we’ll see where it goes.

Q: With these changes, what can students look forward to next year?

A: One of the things I want for UE is for the quality of the student experience to be one that we can match with any university in the country. I want a student who comes here to graduate with a sense that “my life has been transformed by my experience here.” In that sense, what students should expect next year is what students expected this year. And that is a faculty dedicated to their success and a set of program options that allows students to move in the direction they want to with respect to their lives after UE.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

The following information was compiled from criminal offense reports filed Feb. 28–March 19 in Safety & Security.

campus crime

March 18 – Student tried to use another student’s ID, which had been reported lost. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

— Two students seen entering Lambda Chi Alpha house with city street barricades. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

Mar1ch 15 – Student found to have provided drugs to others on campus. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

March 5 – Three students found with alcohol in A-lot. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

March 4 – Marijuana found in a student’s vehicle and Hughes Hall room. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

Feb. 28 – Two students found intoxicated in A-lot.

Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

— Man banned from campus found walking through H-lot. Evansville Police were notified and man was escorted off campus. ­— Six students found with alcohol in a Walnut Commons townhouse. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

— Two students found intoxicated in A-lot. Referred to the vice president for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

EARN • • • • • •

•

CASH BACK

Renting books in the summer or fall?

Don’t forget to check into the UrEntal bookstore rental program.

Buyback runs April 28–May 4 during regular store hours.

UE ID is required to sell back books.

Receive up to 50% back on books based on re-order request for the next term.

Free quote on any book.

Promotions, giveaways and merchandise discounts during Buyback Week.

Books bought back remain on campus so UE students benefit from used-book prices.

UrEntal books due back no later than 5 p.m. May 4, 2016.

UE BOOKSTORE

Ridgway University Center 812–488–2678 evansville.bkstr.com

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

Monday–Thursday: 8 a.m.–6 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m–4:30 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Sunday: Closed

| 23

BRAIN BOMB

LIFE IS A CIRCUS

Showman P.T. Barnum founded the circus that would become the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1871.

Kids used to say they were going to run away from home and join the circus. But many of us today have never even seen a circus, let alone thought about running away to one. While many circuses still exist in the United States and glamourous aerial acts still dazzle audiences, it’s a different type of show business.

According to circus superstition, it’s unlucky to wear green in the ring.

Circus Flora is a critically acclaimed one-ring circus located in St. Louis that showcases world-class circus talent. It has become a touring show but performs in St. Louis for the month of June and early July. Since 1986, it has combined the acts of a one-ring circus with fantastic performances of theater.

Bozo may be the world’s most famous clown, but Emmett Kelly performed more than 50 years until his death in 1979 and was America’s most popular and recognizable circus clown ever.

Jumbo became a word meaning large because of the 11-foot-tall elephant P.T. Barnum bought from the London Zoo. President George Washington attended America’s first circus in Philadelphia on April 3, 1793.

Clowns are nicknamed Joeys after 19th century pantomime star Joseph Grimaldi.

24 |

The circus sideshow has mostly disappeared, but sideshow characters, such as conjoined twins, the bearded lady, sword-swallowers and others with body deformities became icons of circus culture.

Cirque du Soleil has become a phenomenon, although not as a traditional circus. Instead the shows, which both tour and have a permanent home in Las Vegas, are widely known for their high-flying aerial acts and their amazing costumes.

Once a performer’s wardrobe trunk is set down backstage, it’s considered bad luck to move it before the circus relocates.

It is said that it is harder to get into the Ringling Brothers Clown School than Harvard Law School.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

WHO KNEW?

IQ MEASURES YOUR SMARTS, RIGHT? IQ stands for “intelligence quotient,” but it doesn’t necessarily determine how smart you are. It is actually a psychological test that helps measure your reasoning and problem-solving abilities. Your IQ score does not show how curious or how creative you are. It doesn’t show how good of a speaker someone may be or how smart someone is in his or her particular area of interest. It really only helps show the ability to manipulate, process and interpret information in relation to others.

WHY CAN’T YOU TICKLE YOURSELF? Have you ever tried to tickle yourself and wondered why you couldn’t do it? The answer is fairly simple: because you can’t!

The reason for this is because of a structure in your brain called the cerebellum, which is responsible for regulating muscular activity. It can predict when you try to voluntarily tickle yourself. This can-

DO VITAMINS REALLY HELP US? Sorry, but vitamins and supplements do not actually help people live longer or prevent health problems. Most vitamins don’t have much effect at all.

WHY ARE LEAVES SO COLORFUL? It’s pretty simple really. Leaves change color because their chlorophyll breaks down. Their true pigments appear in its absence, changing the leaves from summer green to the luscious fall colors of red, orange and yellow.

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

cels the response of other brain areas to the tickling sensation. The only exception to this rule is in some cases of people with schizophrenia. The cerebellum is surprised when someone else tickles you, which is why you actually feel a tickling sensation when someone happens upon your ticklish spots.

A RIGHTING REFLEX? Cats can always land on their feet because they have something called a “righting reflex.” It also helps that they have no clavicles and a flexible backbone that soften the impact of landing.

WHY IS QUICKSAND NOT QUICK? Quicksand is slow at pulling someone in because the body is a lot more buoyant in quicksand than it is in water, causing a person to float like a cork. But if you get stuck in some, don’t panic.

Get rid of any weight you’re carrying and try to get out of your shoes. Then stand still for a while before moving again. That’s when you can escape. You may lose your shoes, but not your life.

| 25

THE HOT CORNER

Connecting athletes with other students is no easy task, especially if fingers are pointed and fan attendance is low.

FIXING THE BRIDGE

BETWEEN US ALEX GOULD

P

laying NCAA Division I sports turns quality players into quality adults by molding them into people who know what it’s like to grind through homework on a 10-hour bus ride.

Not much is harder than having to wake up at 5 a.m. for practice, then going to numerous classes throughout the day, having another two-hour practice from 3 to 5, then getting a quick bite to eat and going to study table for two more hours, all while trying to have some sort of social life. Now repeat this routine five days a week.

After a year and a half, Athletics Director Mark Spencer has gotten to know how UE works and is starting to make his mark.

One thing he is keenly aware of is students’ commitment to academics. He said he took a trip last fall with the cross-country teams, and during the two-hour trip, he noticed the runners had their books open and were studying. Even after the meet, when they were mentally exhausted, they opened their books and studied some more.

As a student-athlete, I find that participating in sports helps me compete in the classroom as well. It helps with time management and how to perform to the best of my ability. Like the commercial for the NCAA says, “College athletes will probably go pro in something other than sports.”

It’s true, and UE does a terrific job of pushing athletes to be the best they can be academically and in their sports. Spencer said all 14 men’s and women’s teams finished with a cumulative 3.295 GPA for the fall 2015 semester, one of the highest in the MVC. That is just below a B+ average.

26 |

UE’s student-athletes have done well academically for years. One complaint I hear from students is that athletes are treated better and get special privileges. Some non-athletes think athletes are just handed good grades because they play sports and get to skip all the classes they want without consequence. As a pitcher, I have played baseball for the Aces since my freshman year. As a senior, this means I’ve lived the life for four years. I can tell you those complaints are myths because it takes a lot of work to maintain grades, play your sport well and build relationships with people.

Sports reporter Brad Wolverton said in an article for “The Chronicle of Higher Education” that many athletes spend about 40 hours per week on their sport during a season. That is more than five hours a day.

When you pile on homework, study table, academic counseling and some trace of a social life, the time commitment is much more than that of a full-time job.

Many people believe athletics does not do much for campus other than provide entertainment. In reality, sports do so much more, from supporting academics by requiring GPA minimums to promoting campus unity. Athletics even helps with enrollment, considering 205 students at UE are athletes and many others support athletics through their majors. Spencer said athletics is a front-runner for UE and that media outlets help prospective students living outside of the area to become aware of UE. The bridge between athletes and non-athletes is tough to build and maintain because people have completely different so-

cial circles and interests. Spencer mentioned that people usually form groups around similar interests and schedules; athletes are often more comfortable around other athletes just as theatre majors are more comfortable around those in that major. But at UE, for the most part, we don’t have the stereotypical jocks other schools have. So how can athletes build a relationship with other students? The best solutions are having pride in our school and attending sporting events.

UE has figured out to a certain degree that a lot of students don’t want to head off campus for a game, either because it is inconvenient or because they simply aren’t interested in the sport. But if any of you were at the Ford Center for the men’s basketball game against Wichita State, you saw how electric the crowd was and how much fun the game wound up being despite the loss.

Athletics Department personnel did a great job of not just hyping the significance of the game but promoting it as the place to be — where everyone will be having a fun time.

Let’s face it, fan attendance is pretty bad at UE unless a team wins, and sometimes even if they are winning, students don’t attend. Unfortunately, I believe this is because most students would rather do other things than show their support.

Yes, winning helps bring in fans, but you can’t expect all 14 teams to win all the time. If Athletics officials want attendance to improve, they need to promote sporting events as the ultimate place to be — where the games are fun and your friends are there. That’s what schools with spirit do — they attend games and support their teams.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

PLAY BALL Let there be sunshine.

ATHLETES IN ACTION

NATALIE CHRISTY

League play continues as the softball team battles not only opponents but once again the unpredictable Evansville spring weather. It’s the same worry every season for all spring sports as they try to fit in games and matches between raindrops and chilly temperatures. But the great thing is that the softball team has already surpassed its win record from last season, and while MVC foes continue to give the Aces a run for their money, there is still plenty of conference action yet to come. The Aces take on Wichita State this weekend for a three-game series, with play beginning at noon April 9 at Cooper Stadium. Let’s hope the weather cooperates.

Second basemen Chandra Parr is determined as she quickly winds up the throw to first base to try and make the play. | Natalie Christy

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

Keeping her eye on the infield, shortstop Michal Luckett steps off of second base and makes the creep toward third. | Natalie Christy

As home umpire Cory Hastings watches the plate, Drake rightfielder Kaitlyn Finneran slides into home as catcher Mickaela Fleming gets in position for the tag. | Natalie Christy

| 27

OVERTIME

Her can-do attitude and caring spirit are just two of Elizabeth Mendes’ special traits.

SERVING

ACES AND

FRIENDSHIP OLIVIA SHOUP

Z

eroing in on the ball just in time to return it to her opponent, junior Elizabeth Mendes is a competitor on a mission. But off the tennis court, she is a woman who channels her caring spirit by helping other people.

Mendes had never even picked up a tennis racket until her sophomore year in high school, but the sport clicked for her right away. She ended up playing varsity at Watertown [Conn.] High School for three years.

She was even recognized for her outstanding play when she was named most versatile player her senior year.

But Mendes never intended to continue playing in college. She choose UE for its academics, but eventually she missed tennis so much she decided to try out as a walkon last fall.

“I thought, ‘Let’s see if I’m good enough to make [an NCAA Division I] tennis team,’” Mendes said.

Coach Jayson Wiseman said Mendes is still developing after not having played for a while, but her hard work and desire to improve goes above and beyond what is normally expected.

“She’s kind of a grinder,” Wiseman said.

“Elizabeth is a poster child for what you want your walk-ons to be.”

“

In addition to tennis, the archaeology and biology double major also likes to help people, whether she is motivating her teammates or cheering up a sorority sister.

Mendes said she reaches out to people based on her own personal struggles with an eating disorder. In high school, she said she thought nobody else was going through what she was and she felt alone. Because of this, she tries hard to be there for others.

As Zeta Tau Alpha’s risk reduction and education chair, she said one of her responsibilities is to help address problems her sisters mght be having. Freshman Tatiana Czajkowski said Mendes excels at the position because she is always able to give the support her sisters need.

“She’s good at being kind to everyone while getting her point across,” she said.

But Mendes believes she has become a stronger person because of her eating disorder and what she had to go through in order to get better. And while she would never want anyone to go through the same things she did, she is glad she was able to beat it.

“I learned a lot about myself,” Mendes said. “Who I am is more than just what I look like.”

Mendes said those feeling insecure about their looks should look at themselves in the

mirror every day and tell themselves they’re beautiful. She also said working out too much can become dangerous for someone who has a negative body image.

“Be happy with yourself first and then lose weight,” Mendes said. “Do it to better yourself and make yourself healthy, but know you’re still beautiful regardless.”

Mendes’ suffered a concussion in January during a tournament against SIU-Edwardsville when she hit her head on a wall.

Wiseman said it was a miracle she didn’t break anything.

“It was probably the worst tennis injury I’ve ever seen,” he said.

While Mendes continued to play, she failed the concussion test when she got back to UE and missed two weeks of class because of it.

“Any time there’s a danger to them, we’re very cautious,” Wiseman said. “If it costs us matches, so be it.”

Mendes said her schedule was difficult to balance even before her concussion, with tennis practices or conditioning every day and tournaments most weekends. She said Wiseman helps to accommodate her busy schedule, but it is still hard work.

“It’s like a full-time job,” she said, “but I love having something to keep me active.”

“

Elizabeth is a poster child for what you want your walk-ons to be.

28 |

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

photo by MaKayla Seifert

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

| 29

OFF THE WALL

DOTM

JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

a brand-new name — cheeseburger anyone?

Seems a British man legally changed his name to BACON DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER. The Huffington Post reported the change was inspired, like many really bad ideas, by an evening of drinking.

“It was the culmination of probably too many drinks in the pub where there was a conversation about names,” the former Simon Smith told the Evening Standard.

“Bacon Double Cheeseburger was pretty much the first thing that came up. Everyone loves bacon don’t they?”

The 33-year-old said his choice for the new name was the stupidest thing he and his friends could think of.

“My friends were quite supportive of anything that makes me look silly, as good friends are,” he said.

Cheeseburger said so far his new name hasn’t affected his career as a

consultant in the oil and gas industry.

But Cheeseburger admitted that he uses Smith on his resume and doesn’t inform employers his real name is Cheeseburger.

“I usually drop that bombshell after the contracts have been signed,” he said.

It appears his new name has some advantages. Once word got out that there really was a man whose name was Bacon Double Cheeseburger, fast-food outlets started contacting him, including Byron Hamburgers, a British-based burger chain.

So what do his parents think?

“My mum was furious, but my dad thinks it’s hilarious,” Cheeseburger said.

“He’s happy to use my new name.”

And his fiancee isn’t too happy, either.

“No girl ever dreams of spending her big day marrying a man called Bacon,” Cheeseburger said.

really awful pick up lines

TIDBIT

> What is a nice girl like you doing in a DIRTY mind like mine? > Hey, handsome. is your name Google? Because you’re the answer to everything I’m SEARCHING for. > Sorry, but you owe me a DRINK. Why? Because when I looked at you, I dropped mine. > If I had to rate you from 1 to10, I would RATE you as a 9 because I am the the one you are missing. > You want to know why I like your BUTT? Because it’s bigger than my future. > You’re like a fat stump; I’m always FALLING over you.

30 |

The Romans used to brush their teeth with urine. If you’re ever on a date and your breath stinks, don’t go to the bathroom to fix the problem. Ewww.

strawberry cosmo

This refreshing take on the classic Cosmopolitan blends strawberries with the traditional ingredients. 1001COCKTAILS.COM says to muddle — or smash — Cointreau and lime juice with all but one of the strawberries in the bottom of a cocktail shaker then fill it with ice.

Add vodka, shake briskly until the drink is cold and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with the extra strawberry and serve in your favoriate cocktail glass. Yeah, it’s girly pink, but it tastes really good.

ingredients: 1–4 strawberries | 1

oz. orange liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier) | 1.25 oz. lime juice | 1.5 oz. lemon vodka

heard it here “My favorite machine at the gym is the vending machine.”

There’s an opera house on the U.S.-Canada border. The stage is in one country; half the audience is in the other. Imagine needing a passport to get popcorn.

– comedian Caroline Rhea

The northern leopard frog’s eyes might actually be bigger than its stomach; it retracts its eyes into its head to help force food down its throat.

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

people tweet the damndest things Write the name of someone you hate on your body every day in permanent marker, so no matter how you die they’ll become a suspect.

@WolfpackAlan Been on hold so long I can’t remember who I called. I have a credit card out and my pants off but that doesn’t really narrow it down much.

@fireland Back from vacation and can’t remember where anything is. Where are the forks? The cups? The family photos? You know what? This isn’t my house.

@TheEllenShow I can’t believe it’s almost 2016 and I’m still mentally writing “Spoiler alert: You lose” on every confederate flag I see.

@OhNoSheTwitnt I’ve already had two beers which automatically means my day is already better than yours.

@iGreenMonk It’s Christmas Eve! Not Christmas Steve!

Things that make us Crazy RATIO BOOSTERS

WHO SAID IT FIRST

We live in a sad world where ratios on Instagram and Twitter actually mean something.

The worst is when you follow me, I follow you, and then you unfollow me. This technique is called the ratio booster because it increases the ratio between “followers” and “following,” making you seem more popular than you are.

When I tell someone a joke and that person rephrases the joke to a larger group, there are only two ways this can go. Either they take complete credit for the joke if people think it’s hysterical or blame you for the joke if no one laughs. It’s a complete lose-lose situation. If you’re one of these people, get help pronto.

Nobody likes a copycat.

ONE WORD ANSWERS Don’t text me all enthusiastically and then five texts later start giving me one-word responses. There is nothing good about a one-word response, in fact one-word texts should be used only to start or end a conversation. Don’t text me in the first place if you’re going to end up sending “K” to my thoughtfully crafted sentences. Nobody has time for that.

ALL ABOUT A’S When people complain about getting an A- in a course. Some of us are trying hard to pass, let alone get an A-. Please don’t be that person who complains about an A- letter grade.

No one will sympathize with you, especially if you didn’t study. It’s better than an F. So try to keep all negative comments to yourself.

@sbellelauren

REMEMBER WHEN... … THE BACKSTREET BOYS, NSYNC AND AARON CARTER were popular? They captivated the music world in the 90’s, breaking chart records left and right. They didn’t last long and quickly faded into the night, but boy did they speak to people when they were popular. When you hear them now, people still jam to their songs. … FRUIT STRIPE zebra gum was the coolest gum available? It came in a bright rainbow package and had an intensely fruity flavor that never lasted for more than 30 seconds. But the best part of this gum was the totally awesome temporary tattoos that came on the gum wrappers. … we used GIANT PENCIL SHARPENERS that made that loud grinding noise? When the teacher was lecturing or everyone else was taking a test and your pencil broke, you would almost rather have just failed the test than get up, walk to the front of the room and make all of that noise. … the only shampoo that could make you cry was L’OREAL KIDS “No Tears” shampoo?

Despite the description, getting this shampoo in your eyes felt like scraping sandpaper across your corneas. Apparently, the “no tears” on the label actually meant that your hair wouldn’t tear or get knots. … KID PIX was the coolest form of art and Photoshop in the 90’s and early 2000’s? This was the coolest thing to do in computer class where you could actually make some pretty interesting art projects. Or you could mess around with it and accomplish nothing, but you didn’t care because you had so much fun using 30 different kinds of paint on one page.

There are more microbes living on your skin than there are people living on Earth. If you ever get lonely, remember this.

Crescent Magazine | April 2016

OJ Simpson was suggested to play the role of the Terminator, but the casting crew thought he was too likable and innocent for the part.

If you think you’re talented, think again. Leonardo Da Vinci could draw with one hand and write backwards with the other at the same time.

The longest recorded time between a set of twins being born is 87 days.

As if labor isn’t bad enough already.

Poor Momma.

| 31

A CLOSER LOOK

photo by MaKayla Seifert

ALWAYS APPROACHABLE LACI ROWE

E

veryone knows the planet is getting smaller. New technology has forced us to change the way we view the cosmos, the way we view other cultures and even the way we talk to each other. The field of communication has been greatly impacted by this technological revolution, and over the years communication curricula has changed as a result.

Chair Mark Shifflet, professor of communication, has witnessed the rise of social media in the 18 years he has taught at UE. When he first started, he taught web design in addition to other courses. Since the introduction of smart phones and Facebook, he said he has had to change his teaching style to help his students pursue their ambitions in the expanding fields — everything from public relations to marketing. He believes communication is tricky to teach but that it is also a vital subject to learn. “[Communication] is one of the fundamental aspects of being human,” he said. “It’s one of the odd things that everybody does. If

“

you’re strong with fundamentals and can produce messages in different forums, you’re flexible and adaptable to whatever changes occur.”

Senior Molly Chidester believes when it comes to teaching, Shifflet retains his easy-going personality while still pushing students in their studies.

“He’s preparing us for the real world,” she said. “[It is] his passion for teaching and wanting to see his students perform at their best ability. If that means meeting with students, he will. He always has his door open.”

Senior Cherese Butler is pleased with the direction and advice Shifflet has provided her.

Needing help with her graduate school preparations, she turned to him for guidance.

“Dr. Shifflet has given me a lot of advice,” she said. “He makes himself available to students.”

Shifflet said helping students is one of the things he enjoys most.

“When you are working with a student, and that light comes on, that’s a gratifying

feeling,” he said. “You don’t get that in other places.”

Shifflet escorted a group of students to China during the summer of 2010 to study how the Chinese government utilizes media to improve its economy, and he factors what he learned into his lessons. One thing he believes is that the communication field has room to grow in terms of health care, and he sees Evansville as fertile ground in which to cultivate that interaction.

“One of the great things about being in this area is its dynamic,” Shifflet said. “Who knows what the curriculum is going to be like in 10 years?”

And while Shifflet continues to develop the communication department, Joe Atkinson, digital multimedia specialist in residence, appreciates the impact Shifflet has had thus far.

“Every department wants to prepare its students,” he said. “Dr. Shifflet has the ability to make a round curriculum to give students what they need to succeed.”

“

[Communication] is one of the fundamental aspects of being human.

32 |

April 2016 | Crescent Magazine

www. tsagl.org • facebook.com/tristatealliance • #tsaglbt

TRI-STATE ALLIANCE

ART AUCTION & RECEPTION Featuring a live auction, a silent auction and a reception, all benefiting TSA’s Youth Group and TSA’s Young Adult Group.

3-5 p.m.

Sunday, April 10 Evansville Airport Holiday Inn 7101 U.S. Highway 41 North

Cost: $25 Students: $5 with a valid school ID

TRI-STATE ALLIANCE

Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities of the Tri-State since 1980

send checks to: TSA Youth Group Art Auction, 501 John St., Suite 5, Evansville, IN 47713 or pay at the door.

To learn more information, contact Wally Paynter at 812-480-0204 or wallypaynter@icloud.com

congratulations CLASS 2016 Welcome to the

Alumni Association

Get Connected

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