November 2021

November 2021 | University of Evansville | crescent.evansville.edu

e f r f i en D t

m a r l o N is

Issue | November 2021

| November 2021 | Crescent Magazine

2021 STAFF WRITING

CONTENTS 3 Penguins!

WRITING DIRECTOR Lexi Willliams

5 After UET

WRITERS Jane Tafolla

7 Baseball

Jordan McQustion Nora Ruotolo

November 2021 | University of Evansville | crescent.evansville.edu

Shamar Givance

11 Woman’s History

Donavan Scultz

ormal N is

CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sama Matkari CREATIVE ASSISTANT

Different

Rilly Paterson Nicole Tucker

10 Coloring Page

13 International Students 15 The Loop

17 Movie Review 18 UE Soccer

Issue | November 2021

Jasmine Brents

19 COVID Podcast

CONTENT ASSISTANT Jordan McQustion

21 UE Vollyball

Jane Tafolla

23 Graphic Design 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 1,500, and it is distributed to 18 campus locations and housed online at www.cresceent.evansville.edu 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. ©2021 Student Media, University of Evansville.

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Letters will be edited as needed.

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.

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Penguins! Penguins!

Penguins!

Nora Ruotolo

Millions of Humboldt penguins once lived and thrived along the rocky coastlines of La Isla Grande de Chiloé, located in southern Chile. The population of these penguins has dwindled into the thousands due to overfishing and climate change.

The Penguins of Patagonia at the Mesker Park Zoo tell the story of the Humboldt species in an exhibit that has been years in the making. The penguins are under threat of extinction. They are currently classified as vulnerable.

To connect guests with the penguins, creating an engaging exhibit is crucial. Through connections formed between people and penguins, there is hope that the Humboldt population can endure.

“It’s made to feel like you’re immersed in the Chile coastline where you would see these penguins. We want the penguins to feel like they live there, and we want people to feel like they went there,” said Lauren Norvell, the conservation education curator at the zoo.

In Chile, Humboldt penguins dwell along a steep, rocky terrain that boarders a temperate forest. They nest on the coast, while feeding in the water.

The exhibit, which opened on October 27th, portrays a similar image. There are plenty of rocks for the penguins to jump from into the water. They have room to swim and display natural behaviors.

“It took many, many years and a lot of fundraising,” said Norvell, “the plan was developed with the whole zoo staff, the managers at the zoo, and the board.”

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The addition of this exhibit goes to show that the zoo is an important place in Evansville and its citizens.

“It’s the biggest exhibit that Mesker has open to date. It’s a sign of the growth of the zoo and what it can do for the community. And there’s just nothing else like it in our community at all. It’s quite a gift and a treasure,” said Norvell.

Facts about the species are displayed on plaques throughout the exhibit. One of the plaques highlights preening, or the cleaning of feathers, which is a behavior that will be observed by guests year-round.

“This exhibit and these penguins are very important to advocate for Humboldt penguins and advocate for clean oceans and a clean environment. They’re very important because they bring a lot to our community zoo,” said Norvell.

The 14 Humboldt penguins arrived in Evansville from zoos that are all over the United States as part of a species survival plan (SSP).

“All of the zoos in the country work together to manage animals that are in a SSP. What we’re trying to do is make sure that we are managing the population that’s in captivity well enough, so that they can be genetically diverse and genetically viable, so that if there were very few penguins in the wild, we would have a genetically diverse population in captivity to reintroduce them to the wild,” said Norvell.

The Humboldt penguin species is at risk. “Through overfishing and climate change their numbers have plummeted from the millions in the previous entry to thousands now,” said Paul Bouseman, the zoo’s deputy director.

Pollution from Evansville has a direct impact on the waters off the coastline of Chile where the Humboldt penguins reside. Plastics that are ingested by penguins and other marine life can lead to their death through suffocation and starvation.

“Everything that goes into our watersheds here in the Midwest ends up in the ocean eventually,” said Bouseman.

The zoo created the Humboldt penguin exhibit to share their story and inform people about the environmental issues affecting these penguins.

“For people to want to solve a problem, you have to show the person that they are connected. Having the animals here, as those ambassadors, and to create those bonds between people and wildlife

that we do in zoos, we really feel that that’s essential to changing behaviors,” said Bouseman.

Through this exhibit, the penguins can act as they would in their natural habitat.

“Humboldt penguins will spend time on land. They’ll bob at the surface of the water. They’ll dive. They can swim very quickly and for long distances. We designed our exhibit to have the potential for the penguins to do all those behaviors,” said Bouseman.

The penguins have space to swim freely, jumping in and out of the water. Guests can observe these behaviors through the exhibit’s multilevel viewing areas.

Bouseman assisted in the development of the exhibit’s design.

“I do focus on making great places for animals to live, and we want them to have habitats that promote a wide range of natural behaviors, and we certainly included a lot of that in our penguin project.”

The new exhibit attracts more guests, promotes natural penguin behavior, and practices sustainability efforts.

“It’s state of the art. It has the latest technology and the highest industry standards for zoo exhibits,” said Norvell.

The exhibit has a geothermal heating and cooling system, designed to cool the water temperature in the summer and warm it in the winter. The water temperature adjusts based upon the temperature at the bottom of the zoo’s lake.

“It’s a great way to practice what we preach, as far as being sustainable in our own operations and in hopes of making a better world for wildlife and for people that live here,” said Bouseman.

The exhibit was also designed to protect future generations of Humboldt penguins. Builders added a space for penguins to nest and raise chicks.

can see them and connect with them,” said Norvell.

When kids, teenagers, and adults walk past the Penguins of Patagonia, they see the coasts of La Isla Grande de Chiloé and penguins diving through the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The zoo hopes that people will be called to action when they hear about the risks the Humboldt penguins face.

“Once they connect with the individuals that are there, only then can they connect with the species. And that’s how you convince people to save species, because they’ve had a connection with them before,” said Norvell.

Ensuring the survival of this penguin species is a critical mission for zoos across the country and in Evansville.

“Central to all of this is the welfare of the animals and getting this exhibit right for them,” said Bouseman.

In addition to the health and well-being of the penguins, safety measures are in place throughout the exhibit for zoo staff. “We have to very much think of our staff and their safety in terms of providing handrails, safe places to get in and out of pools, and safe places to tie off when they’re on elevated rock work. We really think a lot about how our staff can use that space,” said Bouseman.

The efforts of Mesker Park Zoo are essential to spreading awareness about the continuation of the Humboldt penguins.

“The animals at the zoo are there to tell a story to increase the publics connection with these animals. A lot of people are not going to see a Humboldt penguin in real life on their own, so zoos are a critical vehicle to bring animals to the public where they can access them and

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Remarkable Transformation

Donovan Schultz

On September 11, 2021, the Milwaukee Brewers took on the Cleveland Indians in what seemed to be a rather meaningless game. The Brewers came into the game with a record of 87-55 and a comfortable lead in the National League Central Division, while the Indians limped in at 69-71 and little to no chance at a playoff berth. The game began as expected, as the Brewers tacked on two runs in the top of the first inning before sending their ace Corbin Burnes to the mound in the bottom half of the frame. Over his previous 24 starts, Burnes had built up a strong case for the National League Cy Young award, boasting a 2.38 ERA and a staggering 5.14 strikeout to walk ratio.

Burnes’s first pitch of the night showed everybody how he had amassed such gaudy numbers – a wicked 95 mph cutter painted at the bottom of the strike zone. Two devastating cutters later, Cleveland leadoff man Myles Straw was sent back to the dugout as Burnes tallied his first strikeout of the night.

He struck out seven of the first nine Cleveland batters he faced, racked up five more Ks through the fifth, and most importantly, did not allow a hit. It was becoming obvious to everybody watching that Burnes had a chance to do something special. Among the viewers was Brewers relief pitcher Brent Suter, who was looking on from the bullpen. “He was another level [that night],” said Suter, sharing looks of amazement with the rest of the Brewers bullpen as Burnes continued to mow down the Cleveland offense.

In the seventh, Burnes finally allowed a walk, ending his shot at a perfect game. However, he retired the final two batters of the inning, and walked off the mound shaking his head, as if telling manager Craig Counsell not to take him out of the game. Despite his pitch count being at 103, Burnes got his wish and took the mound once again in the eighth. With the help of a diving catch by centerfielder Lorenzo Cain, Burnes retired the side in order, and found himself just

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three outs away from history. Unfortunately, Counsell could not be convinced to send Burnes out for the ninth inning, as his pitch count had climbed to 114. Instead, Counsell turned to dominant closer Josh Hader, and he punched out two more Cleveland batters en route to securing the first no hitter for the Brewers since 1987 and just the second in franchise history.

Burnes’ performance that night in Cleveland, eight innings of no-hit baseball with fourteen punch-outs, seemed almost expected.

He has dominated the league for two seasons, thanks in large part to his other-worldly cutter and warrior mentality. However, in 2019, this dominance seemed tremendously far-fetched, as Burnes was one of the worst pitchers in all of Major League Baseball that season. Although it would have been easy to quit after such a tough year, Burnes grinded through a rigorous offseason and transformed himself both physically and mentally. The result was a complete 180, as Burnes has taken the league by storm and looks poised to dominate for years to come.

Burnes was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round in 2016 and quickly made his way through the minor league ranks. He was tabbed as the Brewers fifth best prospect before being called-up in 2018, so the club had high hopes for him. Armed with a blistering four-seam fastball that averaged over 95 mph, Burnes found great success in the bullpen of a Brewers team that went 96-67 and fell one game short of the World Series. In 38 innings, Burnes turned in a 7-0 record with a 2.61 ERA, and heading into 2019, the sky appeared to be the limit for Burnes. He had made a case for being one of the best young pitchers in the game, and the Brewers decided to move him into the starting rotation.

Unfortunately, the 2019 season proved to be disastrous for Burnes. In his first four starts of the year, Burnes posted a 13.50 ERA,

averaging less than five innings per start. However, the most alarming statistic was his 11 home runs allowed, the most in MLB. After a start against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 17 in which he allowed nine hits and five runs in 3.1 innings, Burnes was sent down to the Minor Leagues. Burnes would find his way back up to the Brewers after a brief stint in Triple-A but had similar results. He finished the season with an ERA of 8.82 in 49 innings, allowing a whopping 3.1 home runs per nine innings, almost double that of the league leader. Another concerning statistic for Burnes was his walk rate. His 3.7 walks per nine innings would have been sixth worst in the league, had he thrown enough innings to qualify.

Burnes’ struggles could be explained in large part by the ineffectiveness of his four-seam fastball. In 2019, Burnes threw his fastball 52.5% of the time at an average velocity of 95 miles per hour.

He also throws his fastball with a high spin rate of about 2700 rotations per minute, which puts him in the 100th percentile among all MLB pitchers. In simple terms, a high spin rate is effective because to the hitter, it appears as if the ball is rising as it approaches home plate.

Shockingly, despite these numbers suggesting that his fastball should be his best pitch, it was his worst – by far. Hitters mashed Burnes’ fastball in 2019, posting a staggering .455 batting average and .823 slugging percentage, as well hitting 13 home runs.

Brewers’ pitching Coach Chris Hook recognized this problem and identified that it came from Burnes’s mechanics. He was “getting around” the pitch, cutting the ball rather than stroking it purely out of his hand. This led to the pitch having a low active spin (or spin efficiency), meaning that although he spun the baseball at a high rate, by cutting the ball at release, he was only using about 60% of the spin.

As a result, when Burnes’ tried to elevate his fastball, as he often did due to his high spin rate, the ball stayed over the heart of the plate and appeared “flat” to the hitter, allowing them to see it well and make hard contact consistently`.

In September of 2019, Hook and Burnes began work on finding a solution to this problem. They worked on cleaning up the mechanics of his lower half, as it would help prevent him from getting around the ball at release. They also tried throwing a two-seam fastball (or sinker) rather than a four-seam fastball. Whereas a four-seam fastball is straight, a two-seam fastball moves horizontally to the armside of the pitcher.

As the forgettable season came to a close, Burnes had a decision make. He could take the easy road, continue pitching the same way he always had, and likely continue to see similar results.

Another poor season would almost surely result in another

demotion to the minors, leaving his career in jeopardy. Or, he could take the hard road and adapt a new style that would allow for greater success.

Brent Suter spent most of the 2019 season sidelined due to injury but spent a great deal of time around the team. He acknowledged the tough season that Burnes experienced and knew that it “could’ve thrown anybody off their game.” However, Burnes chose the difficult path, dedicating himself to a game that had been so unforgiving to him for the past six months. That winter, Burnes put together what Suter claims was “the best offseason [he’s] ever seen.”

Suter explained how Burnes “was in the sports lab all the time,” referring to the brand new, $60 million Integrative Sports Performance center that the Brewers built at their spring training site in Arizona. In the lab, Burnes worked on making his pitches move more effectively.

He also began working on an idea that would change the trajectory of his career.

Previously in his career, Burnes had thrown his four-seam fastball at the top of the zone, as the thought was that his high spin rate would cause a lot of swing and miss. However, his low active spin rendered the pitch ineffective. During the offseason, Burnes realized that rather than letting the low active spin act as a negative, he could use it to his advantage. He began developing a cutter, or a cut fastball, a pitch that is thrown at a similar velocity to a traditional four-seam fastball but has late movement to the glove side of the pitcher. Because the cutter is not straight, it is thrown with low active spin. Suter described how in the lab that offseason, Burnes worked on “getting movement off that natural cut movement that he had and accentuating that natural cut” by changing his grip on the ball. In addition to the cutter, he continued to work on a two-seam fastball, and heading into the 2020 season, Burnes had completely revamped his pitch arsenal.

According to Suter, Burnes arrived at 2020 Spring Training in “unbelievable” form. In a brief spring training schedule, Burnes’ new pitch mix wielded great success, as he posted a 0.90 ERA and a 13/3 strikeout to walk ratio in 10 innings. Unfortunately, the Spring Training slate was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and along with the rest of the world, Burnes was sent home.

Despite the challenges that the pandemic has posed to the world, Burnes was able to use the time to his advantage. According to Hook, Burnes used the time as a period of self-discovery, perfecting the cutter and understanding how to command the pitch while still throwing it at a high velocity.

Hook knows that Burnes “has always been a strike thrower,” and his command issues in the major

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leagues were a result of Burnes “trying to overdo it,” a mistake commonly displayed by young players. By perfecting the cutter, Burnes showed understanding in who he is as a player and how to play to his strengths. The result was a pitch that Burnes can throw with supreme confidence, as he knows where he is throwing it and how it will move.

When MLB finally began “summer camp” on July 1, Burnes came to Hook with a cutter that is “essentially the one that we have seen for the past two years.” In 2020, Burnes threw his two-seamer and cutter at roughly the same clip, and found success with both, finishing the year with a 2.11 ERA in 59.2 innings. However, with opponents batting just .162 against it, it became clear that the cutter was his best pitch. In 2021, Burnes threw his cutter 52.3% of the time, a 20.8% increase from the previous season. The results followed, as opposing batters mustered a measly .237 batting average and just 6 home runs, a tremendous improvement over the 13 home runs he allowed on his four-seam fastball in 2019 in a much smaller sample size. Furthermore, the cutter has allowed Burnes to have much better command than he did with the four-seam fastball, as Hook explained how the cutter has essentially become a fastball that he can command at an extremely high level. He has cut his walk rate down significantly, going from a mark of 3.7 walks per nine innings in 2019 to 1.8 walks per nine in 2021. His pinpoint command was showcased by a remarkable stretch in which he recorded 58 strikeouts before allowing his first free pass of the season, an MLB record. This remarkable turnaround fueled by the discovery of one of the best pitchers in baseball has been good for an MLB ERA title, the first by a Brewers’ hurler in franchise history.

Anybody who watches Corbin Burnes pitch can clearly see that he has elite stuff. However, almost every pitcher in MLB has elite stuff. MLB is a melting pot of the most talented baseball players in the world thrown together on 30 rosters of 26 players. There is not a large talent gap between the best and worst player on a team. The separator between elite players and those who struggle is the mental game. Suter says that although Burnes is a “gifted ballplayer, he has really worked hard on the mental side of the game to make himself elite.”

To Suter, it is clear that Burnes has developed a killer mentality that is infectious among the team. He says that what makes him one of the best pitchers in baseball is “not just his stuff, but the mound presence, the laser-focus, the warrior mentality. It’s impossible not to get fired up watching it and want to go out there to back him.”

When Burnes is on the mound, his “dominant, I’m a winner energy” radiates with the rest of the Brewers ballclub, inspiring them to “play great defense behind him and come up with great at-bats.” The numbers reflect that, as Milwaukee won 68% of the games that Burnes started in 2021.

Another area of his game that Burnes has made tremendous strides in since 2019 is his ability to reset himself when the game starts to go in the wrong direction. In 2019, Burnes had six games in which he went 5 innings or less and allowed 4 or more earned runs. In 2021, he had just two such games. Suter credits that to Burnes “doing a really good job of resetting. He has focus points throughout the game where if he throws a bad pitch or two in a row, he takes a great deep breath, really resets, [and] changes his focus.”

This focus and mentality were evident after the 2019 offseason. According to Suter, Burnes was “a different animal,” coming into 2020, “not just stuff-wise, but the mental side. He came in clear, focused, and confident.” After finding success in 2020, Burnes’ confidence has only increased, making him even more dangerous.

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On October 8, Burnes got the ball in Game One of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, his first career playoff start. The regular season is a five-month grind, complete with plenty of ups and downs. However, the playoffs are another beast. Each game is crucial, requiring players to be performing at the top of their game. In the first inning, it appeared that perhaps the Corbin Burnes of old had made an appearance. He walked the first two hitters, including a wild pitch, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Two years ago, a big inning would have broken out, putting the Brewers in a hole before they even had a chance to hit. Luckily for the Brewers, Corbin Burnes put the skills he had developed on display. He reset, gathered himself, and coaxed a double play with a nasty cutter, getting the runner out at home plate. He then punched out the next batter and escaped without any damage. From there, Burnes rolled, throwing six shutout innings and allowing just two hits en route to a 2-1 Brewers victory. Unfortunately, the Brewers lost the next three games, ending their season before Burnes had the chance to take the hill again. However, Burnes’ Game One performance shows how far he has come in the past two years, using a combination of a ridiculous cutter and a killer mentality to overcome adversity and dominate on a big stage.

In an ideal world, Burnes will celebrate his first Cy Young Award in November, one final accolade to add to one of the best seasons ever by a Brewers hurler. While it may seem like a big deal now, whether he wins the award is largely unimportant. At just 26 years old, it appears as though Burnes will find himself in the thick of that race for years to come. As Burnes continues to move forward in his dominance of MLB, it is important to look back at 2019 and acknowledge the enormous strides he has made. Anybody, no matter what they do, can look to Burnes as a guide to how to deal with failure.

Rather than let it define him, he used his failure to fuel him, and more importantly, self-reflect. The Corbin Burnes that toed the rubber for the NL Central Champions on October 8 in Milwaukee is not the same Corbin Burnes that was demoted in 2019. This Corbin Burnes is equipped with a nasty cutter and an attitude to boot, and the rest of the league is terrified to see what more he has in store.

s Bre nt ine Jas m Crescent Magazine | November 2021 | 10

Native Americans in Women’s History Jane Tafolla

“The right to vote for women as Wagner states was offset by voter suppression, gerrymandering, and excluded non-white women.”

Hearing or generally knowing about the involvement of Native Americans in Modern history is like getting a Spotify shuffle with a straight row of perfect hits. It’s not something that happens very often if at all.

Usually in Modern History if Native Americans havae a major influence or an issue its quicky swept under the rug or largely ignored. A white woman who goes missing gets more attention than the number of Native American women who go missing every year. In 2020 roughly 4,000 of all missing persons were female Native Americans according to the 2020 NCIC report. This is nothing new, but it goes almost entirely ignored by the mass public. This is why it was surprising and encouraging to hear Sally Roesch Wager, not only mention the role of Native women in America’s women’s suffrage movement, but also the Iroquois Confederacy, or the Haudenosaunee, and publicly call-out famous figures in the women’s suffrage movement for what they did to their non-white counterparts. All of this unfolding along Wagner’s underlying emphasis on the fight for the personhood of women stretching from [insert law name] in England to the present predicament of women’s rights in America.

A good portion of the history Wagner covered was a bit new to me. The audience also seemed to have a mixed variety of backgrounds regarding the women’s suffrage movement in general.

I have to admit that I knew nothing about the laws that rendered women as literal property upon marriage or the clause “I will obey you” in wedding ceremonies all the way to the 1980’s. It brought

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into perspective not only the progress we’ve made in women’s rights but also what we stand to lose should the worst happen. Especially right now when laws regarding women’s control over their bodies are being challenged against freedom of choice. However, with the role of Native American women in the women’s suffrage movement Native Americans have been systemically excluded from the progress we’ve made. It was crushing to realize that some of the more remembered figures from the movement were not only racists but also settled for less than the previous generation before them was willing to. The right to vote for women as Wagner states was offset by voter suppression, gerrymandering, and excluded non-white women. A whole generation of women willing to kick their fellow oppressed women under the bus for something that was worked around in the end of their era.

movement. Wagner’s lecture was about the Women’s suffrage movement with no side agenda to focus especially on Native American women. Wagner’s honest and relevant inclusion of Native American women is what made her lecture a milestone. While getting one lecture that treats Native Americans in modern history like humans isn’t such a big thing on its own. It did mean quite a bit, to me at least, to get some progress on this front. It meant a lot.

On a personal level, and amid a historical exploration into my own heritage it meant a lot to me, to hear so much acknowledgement and inclusion about Native American women. Especially for the short but detailed explanation of the Iroquois confederacy. Getting recognition and being treated as an equal human party that was there and contributed should be the bare minimum standard as far as history presentations are concerned.

However, since this has obviously not been the case or focus for so long, in both lectures and books I think it’s ok to be so elated. This was the first time in my entire life that I’ve heard a lecture that included Native Americans beyond a footnote or a comment that equates to They helped too, or They were there and then they weren’t. Wagner’s attention and inclusion of Native Americans was a milestone in inclusion. This is because Wagner’s lecture was not on Native American women in the Women’s Suffrage Crescent Magazine | November 2021 | 12

Different is Normal

Shamar Givance

While we face inequality and social justice in our country, we’re on the path toward a brighter light. Locally, we’re doing our part to make sparks at UE.

Knowledge about is what separates our world into being a better place. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2020 population in Indiana 84.8% is white and 15.2% of any other race. Within the 15.2% a variety of races is a multitude of different ethnic groups. An ethnic group is defined to be people who are closely related to each other through characteristics such as culture, language, and religion. Each

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of these groups contributes to America’s cultural heritage.

The University of Evansville International program is setting a pace for all schools in the United States. The culture UE has is unique in many respects. It’s made up of approximately 15% international students, 31% students with a declared religion, and represents over 55 countries. Services such as the CEIS (Cultural Engagement and International Services) encourage this diversity, giving international students support in the areas of immigration regulations, academic advisement, cultural adjustment, and community interaction.

These programs on campus are intended to improve the experience for students and to help all from the University of Evansville community. Gaining knowledge about culture helps us understand different outlooks within the world and eliminates negative stereotypes and personal biases about different groups.

“The primary mission of the Office of Cultural Engagement and International Services is to foster global awareness, understanding, and appreciation within the University of Evansville community and surrounding region,” said Kate Hogan, Director of CEIS. This mission is accomplished through programs and services designed to promote international educational activities and opportunities as well as contribute to a culturally diverse learning environment.”

comes but rather enduring processes,” said Rob Shelby, chief diversity officer.

If all universities had the same goal as UE where diversity is recognized and respected, various cultural ideas are acknowledged and valued, contributions from all groups are encouraged, and the cultivation of interpersonal trust was encouraged, we would all recognize that different is normal.

There are certain clubs at UE that supports and promotes the diversity of cultures presented on campus such as the group known as the IC (International Club). This Club organizes events and philanthropies that welcome everyone who appreciates the opportunity to expand their perspectives of other cultures. IC is a place where you can create meaningful life-long relationships with people from around the world.

“At first coming to the university of Evansville, I was scared I was going to face a culture shock and have to adapt quickly.

Thankfully, I’m at a university where I’m able to express and share my culture,” said Thomasi-Gileous-Alexander, international student at UE. Each year the university hosts an international event. The event is a traditional celebration that honors the heritage and diversity among the international students at UE through music, dance, demonstrations, authentic foods, activities, cultural displays and an international bazaar. The students are able experience cultures and different ways of life other than their own.

UE’s goal is to prepare students for a complex social world requires learning experiences that attend to the history, cultures, values, beliefs, and views of our global society.

“We are an innovative team that develops cultural competencies, cultivates values that unite us, and produces ethical cross-cultural relationships for the betterment of our community. We remind ourselves that while much has been accomplished, diversity, equity, and inclusion are not outCrescent Magazine | November 2021 | 14

Movies of the Year 1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

6. No Time to Die

2. Venom: Let There be Carnage

7. Eternals

3. Black Wido

8. Free Guy

4. F9: The Fast Saga

9. Jungle Cruise

5. A Quiet Place: Part 2

10. Godzilla vs. Kong

Shopping for Groceries Broke Life Edition

Great Reads • Freedom

by Jonathan Franzen • This Side of Paradise

by F. Scott Fitzgerald • Norwegian Wood

by Haruki Murakami • 1984

by George Orwell • Crime and Punishment

by Fyodor Dostoyecsky | November 2021 | Crescent Magazine

o Shop with a calculator o Plan meals based on what you have o Use a smaller cart or basket o Go generic o Eat before grocery shopping

Top Steaming Services 1. Netflix 2. Amazon Prime Video & Disney + 4. Fumigation & Hulu & HBO Max & Peacock 8. Crunchyroll

Winter Fun Facts

• The Earth is closest to the sun during the winter.

• More than 22 million tons of salt are used on U.S. roads each winter.

• The snowiest city on earth is in Japan.

• Wind chill is calculated using a precise formula • There are 5 different kinds of snow.

Roister: to engage in noisy partying or celebration

Word of the Month

Yik Yak

Tweets Crescent Magazine | November 2021 |

The Bigger They Are… Jordan McQuiston

The Harder They Fall is definitely a Western for the modern age, and in keeping with the status of our modern age, it’s a lot.

My knowledge of Westerns is limited. I liked Maverick and Blazing Saddles, but those are more comedy than Western. Back to the Future III was decent--and possibly referenced in this movie. There were a couple of Western-themed episodes of Star Trek, a franchise which itself has been called a space Western. But I don’t think those count as true Westerns. The only one I saw before this that really counts as a true Western was the John Wayne movie True Grit, which I watched for a class and remember very little of. But I think the idea of the Western is so ingrained into modern U.S. culture, it’s hard not to be familiar with the basics, and this movie has what you’d expect from a good, old-fashioned Western. Cowboys, desperados, pretty saloon girls, lots of guns. It has some of the cliches, like a vengeance quest plot and that weird finger twitch they do around their holsters before they draw their guns. But it also has a lot you wouldn’t normally see in a Western, and I don’t mean just the anachronistic swear words.

Wikipedia calls this movie a “revisionist Western” and you can tell that not just by the plot and the dialogue, but by the music. I don’t expect every Western to have that “*whistle * wah wah wah” sound or a lot of banjo and geetar pluckin’ while an old-fashioned-sounding choir sings. But I certainly wasn’t expecting rap remixes. I don’t really know

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if it works or not, but it certainly was strange. There’s one moment in particular where a character dies and the choice of music really ruined the impact of it for me. There are also a lot of characters to keep track of and with a two-and-a-half hour run-time, it does drag in places.

Still, there’s a whole mess ‘a things to like about this here movin’ picture. The child actor at the beginning is amazing, and the rest of the cast does an incredible job as well. There’s some great action scenes, including a knife-versus-unloaded-shotgun fight which is beautifully shot and choreographed as are the rest of the fights. It can be quite funny and it plays on some of the classic Western tropes while still maintaining the feel of a Western.

Whether or not you’ll enjoy this movie will depend a lot on your personal preferences. This isn’t the kind of movie that everyone will like. If you don’t like blood, this isn’t the movie for you. If you don’t like swearing, this is definitely not the movie for you. If you don’t like movies about black people, you’re a terrible person and you should stop reading this and rethink your life. Every character who affects the plot in any meaningful way is played by a black actor, including Idris Elba as the villain, which is always a good sign. But this really isn’t a movie about race, as I thought it would be. There’s one scene where race relations could be considered touched upon, but it’s not the focus of the movie.

Breaking Records Reilly Paterson

The UE women’s soccer team shocked everyone with their best season since 2015. New head coach Chris Pfau has made a significant improvement for the women’s soccer program with them competing for the MVC tournament championship. In recent years, the UE women’s team struggled to get themselves to a winning season. However, now in their 2021 Fall season they currently hold the best start in program history and became the first six seed team to advance to the MVC tournament. This team has a bright future and a few key players talk about how they have helped their team get there.

Fifth year senior Michaela Till recently broke the record book for the most saves in school history. She broke the record with 359 saves and finished at 380 total career saves. Nevertheless, Till being one of the best keeper’s UE women’s soccer has ever had, she carries on remaining humble when asked what it feels like to have broken that record, “it felt really good, but I couldn’t have done it without the support from my team.

This season we all have been really close so when someone does well we all feel excited for them.” This statement seems true for most of the team.

When someone scores every single person including the team and staff, seems to be full of positivity and energy.

Senior Emily Ormson has also become a huge name around Evansville’s athletics from her performances. Ormson currently has seven goals this season as the team’s starting center forward. She shared about her game winning golden goal in the Semifinals of MVC tournament against Valparaiso. “I was so happy to help my team get to the finals. We all have worked so hard for this so it felt good to have helped my team get there.” Same as keeper Till, Ormson shares her success with the team. Ormson is hoping to break more records with her team in the future.

Junior Nicole Benati has been a great addition to this Evansville team when she transferred last fall to play center midfield under Pfau.

Unfortunately, in the middle of season Benati suffered an ACL injury. Benati shared,“Even though I’ve been injured this season I have still been able to be a role model for some of the players. My first year on the team I got really close with the underclassmen, they would come to me for advice when they would struggle with similar things I went through my freshman year.” The team definitely felt an impact without Benati’s presence in the midfield, but are hopeful for her return next season. Even though Benati suffered a huge injury she still plays a huge role within the team. Nicole being one of the upperclassmen still supports her team at every game and team event. “When you’re playing you notice the energy of the people on the bench, so now being able to be that person that can give the team energy and help them succeed is a great feeling.” Nicole as well as a few other injured girls drove five hours up to Chicago to watch their team play in the championship game.

In the MVC quarterfinal game this season, the Aces played the 3rd seed team, Indiana State. The Aces conceded a goal to the Sycamores within the first half, but the Aces didn’t give up there. Defender Rachel Rosbourugh was the one to bring hope for the team when she tied it up in the second half. The aces battled the entire game and eventually pushed Indiana State to a penalty shootout. All five takers for the Aces slottled their ball into the back of the net. Not only were the shooters proving themselves, but also keeper Michaela Till who made a great stop to one of the sycamores penalties. After the Aces final shooter made her penalty the entire team rushed her and were ready to take on the semifinals.

Four Aces this season received MVC honors this season. Ormson earned all-MVC First Team Honors and defenders Emilie Hill and Rachel Rosbourough received honorable mention awards for keeping a solid back line this season. One of the freshmen this season, Hailey Autenreib received an all-freshman team award. All four of these players shined in the MVC conference and deserved this recognition. Ormson shared her feelings when receiving this award, “it was honestly unexpected. I hadn’t thought about that award at all until the moment came.”

Michaela Till broke many records at University of Evansville and made her mark. This is her final season of college soccer and something she’s going to miss deeply, “I never thought this day would actually come, it’s bittersweet because you’re proud of what we all did, but it’s the end of a chapter and five years coming to a close.” Till isn’t the only player planning to move on to other things after the season. There are six other women’s soccer players planning on saying goodbye. Another player in her last season Emily Olson shared, “I am thankful that soccer brought everything in my life. In the end I won’t remember the scores of games, but the friendships it brought.” These players have made quite an impact on the team over the years and are going to leave a huge hole in the hearts of the team and the fans.

Although, the aces season fell short in the MVC finals against Loyola Chicago, the women’s soccer team made history this season. Which is something the entire program and team should be proud about. This team created such close bonds that will last them a lifetime and it truly shows when watching them play. Head coach Chris Pfau has a deep roster with many talented girls to choose from. The women’s soccer program has a bright future ahead of them and it will be exciting to hear about the things they accomplish in the upcoming years.

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Covid Between the Coasts Nicole Tucker

Declaring a math major when entering college just made sense.

Despite receiving a multitude of surprised and bewildered reactions, I knew I could make a career out of it. Although happy with my major choice, I missed the excitement and challenges of projects and the sight of a blank page ready to be filled with the words of a new story. I had previously declared a communication minor but never felt like a real writer or someone qualified to do real journalism work.

I sat in my communication courses feeling like a fraud, as if at any time the real communication students surrounding me would discover my mathematic roots and know I was an imposter. I didn’t know how to conduct an interview or write a podcast script, and I sure didn’t know who Edward R. Murrow was.

Little did I know, during my sophomore year, I would be a part of a team that would win one of those prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Awards, and I would see my attempt at journalism work come to fruition and be published.

Piece One: Trusting the Process

Dr. Tamara Wandel has always seen something in me that I’ve struggled to see myself. It was her that pushed me to declare a communication minor in the first place, and once again, it was her that got me wrapped up into this project during my sophomore year. I took her recommendation and signed up for a ChangeLab course titled ‘Investigative Journalism’, despite not even completely knowing what investigative journalism was. I signed up for the class and let it drift from my mind as summer plans became my priority.

I was snapped out of my summer state of mind quickly when I received an email in early August from Dr. Wandel wanting to meet via Zoom and start on the project prior to the start of the semester. I really began to wonder what I had gotten myself into, but quickly brushed away my

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anxious thoughts and sent in my availability. The meeting ended with each of seven students in the class tasked with researching COVID in an individual Midwest state. Research—that was something I could do, especially research revolving around my home state of Indiana. I was confident in my researching skills and that shined through as I quickly completed my background research and sent it to Dr. Wandel well before the deadline. News and numbers involving COVID were rapidly changing though, and I found myself having to update and add to my research before the deadline passed and then dozens of times after. The next task was to find sources and conduct interviews that pertained to stories involving mass spreads of COVID within our individual states. I didn’t exactly know where to start when it came to finding sources, but I quickly discovered that Facebook would be an excellent tool. Even today, scrolling through Facebook, I come across posts from Facebook groups I joined solely for this project. The beginning of the project involved conducting preliminary interviews of these potential sources.

Due to lack of confidence in my skills and the desire to complete the assignment stress free, I opted to send short emails or direct messages containing my interview questions rather than making phone calls. After the research and basic interviews, we all dove headfirst into the heart of the project, which we now knew was titled COVID Between the Coasts.

Piece Two: Heart of the Project

My email archives capture the true behind the scenes of my work on COVID Between the Coasts. It was via email that I first asked Dr. Wandel if I could continue research into the effects of COVID on student athlete recruitment and a quick reply that sent me diving into research and interviews. It was also through an email that I contacted my first source for what would become episode 8 of the COVID Between the Coasts podcast series.

Scrolling through Instagram, I noticed several student athletes from my former high school had committed to continuing their athletic

careers in college. Immediately, I wondered how COVID affected their recruitment and commitment process. A light bulb flipped on in my head, quickly generating ideas to use for a story. Dr. Wandel gave me the go ahead to pursue the topic just as quickly as I formed the idea. The pieces began to fall into place as my research proved my theory of altered student athlete recruitment true. My excitement grew upon receiving word WNIN, an NPR affiliate and the main collaborative partner of the project, loved my story angle and wanted me to turn my research into a podcast. Suddenly I was no longer a student working on research and story angle ideas, I had the pressure of doing the work of a journalist, which came with strict deadlines and high standards of quality. My to-do list became filled with tracking down sources, recording interviews, writing a script, and recording the podcast. Luckily, my classmates didn’t let me take this all on by myself. In a week’s time, each of my classmates had emailed me the contact information for a source fitting the concept of my story. Our team of students came from a variety of majors and backgrounds with each of us bringing different strengths and weaknesses to the table. It was the strength of our team of students, the support and guidance of Dr. Wandel along the way, and the collaboration with WNIN that truly made this project successful.

My past emails show more than just the progress of the project. They also show the roadblocks encountered along the way and the long hours put in throughout the semester. The first evidence is seen by an email with a 2:43am time stamp and attached file titled “A Very Very Rough Script”. I really value sleep, so you know if I was up that late, this project meant a lot to me. I wanted everything about this project to turn out perfect, even though half the time I didn’t know what perfect even looked like for these tasks. My need for perfection led me to ending up inside Dr. Wandel’s office at least once a week and sometimes every single day of the week seeking approval on completed work and asking dozens of questions. The semester continued with the completion of four recorded interviews and over three pages of scripted material.

a real journalist part of a team with a meaningful job assignment. I was always gaining journalism skills and general professional skills. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone constantly. If you listen to the final podcast, you will hear the voices of the sources I was in contact with for the story. These audio clips were recorded during phone interviews I conducted with each of the sources. In the podcast, you only hear the answers of the sources, yet originally these recordings included my awkward introduction when the voice on the other line answered the call, the series of questions I spouted off in a tumble of words, and my sigh of relief when the call was over. I’ve never liked to pick up a phone and make important phone calls. Phone calls have always been a source of anxiety for me, yet it was necessary for all the interviews for the final podcast to be conducted and recorded via phone call. I grew as a researcher and a journalist, but more importantly I gained and strengthened the skills that will be necessary in my future no matter what career I pursue.

Knowing my work had been published and was being viewed as well as listened to by people around country brought me much pride, and I didn’t hesitate to show my friends and family the link to my podcast on the WNIN website. As the semester ended and the excitement surrounding the project died down, COVID Between the Coasts was no longer at the front of my mind. My focus shifted to the classes and projects of next semester in a blink of an eye. Mid-summer, COVID Between the Coasts reappeared on my radar as I was notified the project had won a National Edward R. Murrow Award. I naturally added it onto my resume and continued on with my summer. It was weeks later during a resumé check meeting for my sports analytics summer research program that I started to understand the significance of the award. The program co-director and head of the Carnegie Mellon University Statistics and Data Science Department, scrolled through my page of experience and achievements, but suddenly stopped as she read the COVID Between the Coasts section. She seemed surprised and impressed as she questioned why she wasn’t already aware of my involvement in an Edward R. Murrow award-winning project. On the other end, I was just as surprised to hear of her apparent knowledge on Edward R. Murrow awards; I didn’t expect someone in the statistics field to know anything about the journalism award recently placed on my resumé. After my discussion with the co-director of my summer research program, I realized the significance of the award and looked more into the prestige of the award. It is still amazing to me that this small collaborative project based out of Evansville, Indiana was recognized on a national level.

At the end of the day, I’m a mathematics student, but I’m also a communication minor. I no longer sit in my communication classes feeling like an imposter. How could I when my journalism work is still just a click away on the WNIN website? Not only do I now know who Edward R. Murrow is, but I also have a National Edward R. Murrow award on my resumé. I can truly say signing up for that random Investigative Journalism ChangeLab course impacted me in the best of ways and was one of the best decisions I have made since coming to the University of Evansville.

Piece Three: Published, Awarded & Definitely Not an Imposter

It was just a class that was added onto my planner at the beginning of the semester, but it became more than just an average class. It never felt like a class, and I never felt like a student. I felt like

https://news.wnin.org/topic/covid-between-coasts#stream/0 https://news.wnin.org/covid-between-coasts-x-ue-changelab#stream/0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBot6tFBPr8 https://news.wnin.org/post/binge-listen-cbc-season-one#stream/0

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UE’s “Big Three” Leads Donovan Schultz

As they enter a dimly lit Meeks Family Fieldhouse, Guilia Cardona and Melanie Feliciano walk side by side, smiling and laughing. They join teammate Alondra Vazquez on the bench, and as they sit down, she slides over to the middle seat and puts her arms around them, returning their bright smiles. They spend the next fifteen minutes discussing the phenomenal seasons they have had as individuals and as a team, but what stands out the most has nothing do to with what they’ve done on the court. It’s clear that the three share a love for one another that extends beyond volleyball, one that’s shared by the closest of friends.

This bond has helped power Evansville to their most successful season in decade. The Purple Aces sport a sterling 17-8 record with four regular season games remaining and look poised to make some serious noise in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

A quick look at the MVC stat leaderboard shows just how dominant the trio has been this season. They occupy the first, third and fifth spots in kills per set and are littered throughout the top of just about every offensive category.

Vazquez, who has put together one of the best careers in school history, has turned out perhaps her finest season yet in what will be her final year in an Aces uniform. Vazquez has followed up a 2021 spring season in which she netted First-Team all-league honors by leading the Valley in kills per set at 4.03, as well as posting a team high 248 digs.

Sitting at third in the league with 3.94 kills per set is Cardona, the freshman sensation. The Argentinian and her signature serve have taken the Valley by storm, leading the league in service aces by a wide margin at 42.

Coming in at fifth in the Valley with 3.58 kills per set is Vazquez’s countrymate, Feliciano. The high-flying junior has been dynamite for the Aces since her arrival in Evansville, and her passion has driven the team to uncharted territories in 2021.

Together, the trio forms a “Big Three”, and their presence has helped elevate an Evansville program that has long been the doormat of the league.

In 2018, Vazquez entered an Evansville volleyball program coming off nine consecutive losing seasons. Despite a solid effort from the Puerto Rico native, which saw her tally 218 kills, 262 digs and garner an MVC All-Freshmen team selection, the Purple Aces suffered through another abysmal season, going just 10-21 with a 4-14 conference record.

In 2019, Feliciano joined the team, and the Aces improved to 16-14, their first winning record since 2010. Feliciano put together

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a fantastic freshman campaign, earning MVC All-Freshmen team and Second-Team All-Conference honors.

Despite the promising 2019 season, in the spring season of 2021, Evansville took a step back, going just 6-14. However, according to Vazquez and Feliciano, their struggles were not due to a lack of talent. “It’s not like we had a bad team last year and a good team this year,” Vazquez explained. “We had a good team last year, but we didn’t actually believe. We thought that since we had losing records in past years, we were always going to be like that.” Added Feliciano, “Our mentality last year was that we were a losing team, and we weren’t going to make it.” The difference is that this year, they know they can win.

The Aces have done plenty of winning in 2021, starting with a seven-game winning streak to open the season, their longest streak to start a season since 1981. After dropping their first three conference games, the Aces rattled off a six consecutive Valley wins, their longest streak since joining the conference in 1994. Currently, Evansville sits at 7-7 in the league and in great position to reach the conference tournament for just the second time since 2008.

Vazquez and Feliciano credit much of the Aces’ success to a stellar freshmen class. According to Vazquez, the freshmen came in with a mentality that was different than other classes. “They’re not coming here like ‘oh this is college and we’re here to have fun.’ They actually came here to win.”

Although Cardona is the headliner of the class, each freshman has made a significant impact on the court. Taya Haffner has been among the best setters in both the league and the country, as her 10.61 assists per set is tops in the Valley and fifteenth nationally. Middle blocker Madisyn Steele leads the team in blocks with 56, while libero Blakely Freeman has played in 75 sets and tallied 181 digs, which rank fifth and fourth on the team, respectively.

However, it’s Cardona who is the odd-on favorite to take home the MVC Freshman of the Year award at the end of the season. Her presence gives the Aces three dominant attackers, and together, they have powered the top offense in the Valley. Evansville leads the MVC in both hitting percentage and service aces and ranks second in the league in kills per set.

For Cardona, her success would not be possible without Vazquez and Feliciano. Playing a sport in one’s freshman year of college is a difficult task in and of itself, but to do it in a foreign country that does not widely speak in her native tongue has been a big challenge for Cardona. “[Vazquez and Feliciano] have really helped,” Cardona explained. “The fact that we speak Spanish has helped a lot. And not only volleyball wise, but they’ve also helped me a lot getting used to

college, studying, moving into dorms. They tell me if you ever need to go to the store, we’ll take you. Alondra actually helped me to make my bank account.”

Speaking to each other in Spanish on the court has proven to be a big advantage for the trio over their opponents. “If I need to need to say something straight to them, I know I’m not having my best game, it’s better when you have someone that can speak your language,” said Vazquez. “You can express yourself better. We’re speaking Spanish all the time on the court.”

Having each other on the court also helps ease any pressure they might feel if they have an off night. Vazquez explained how when they know one of them isn’t having their best game, the other two say “hey, we need to help her, support her.” Added Cardona, “you don’t have the pressure to be 100%. I know they have my back.”

The presence of Vazquez and Cardona has given Feliciano the confidence to focus on other facets of her game when she has a bad night attacking. Feliciano explained that “sometimes in a game when I’m hitting and I know I don’t have it, but my teammates do, I just focus on passing and defending.” “I feel confident because I know I have Alondra and Guilia talking to me.”

Another source of confidence for Feliciano is her head coach, Fernando Morales. “When I started making errors, he told me ‘I believe in you, keep hitting.’ It gives you confidence.”

Since being named head coach in 2019, Morales has totally revamped the culture of the Aces program. “When I came my freshman year, our team chemistry wasn’t the best. Since my first year, team chemistry has gotten way better, we changed our culture,” said Vazquez. Additionally, she noted how Coach Morales “is way different” than the previous head coach. “You can tell why are successful now and we weren’t then.”

Morales brings an energy to the sideline that radiates throughout the whole team. “In the games he’s jumping with us and running,” said Vazquez. “He’s really passionate.”

Cardona’s relationship with Morales goes way back. “I’ve known him for a really long time,” she said. “He played for my dad and I met him when I was three years old.” As a player, Morales played professionally in several countries, including his native Puerto Rico, where he was also the National Team Captain. Currently, he serves as the head coach for the Puerto Rican Women’s National Team in addition to his duties as the head man for the Aces.

The Puerto Rican connection is obvious on the Aces roster, as they feature four players and two coaches from the island. Although Cardona is from Argentina, her father coached the Puerto Rican Men’s National Team, where he developed a relationship with Morales.

Unfortunately, the strong Latino presence on the team has caused Morales and his players to be on the receiving end of racially charged comments from opposing fans earlier this season. Cardona explained that when it happened, her and her fellow Latino teammates “didn’t hear it, didn’t really care.” However, “the rest of the team was

like ‘no, that’s unacceptable.’” In particular, junior middle blocker Hannah Watkins was adamant in her condemnation of the attack.

“Hannah got super mad about it,” said Cardona. “She did so much to try to help, doing anything she could, and that was comforting.”

Led by Watkins, the team decided to act on the situation. They created a video to be played before every home game for the rest of the season in which, surrounded by the team, Watkins advocates for fair treatment towards all players, regardless of any differences among them.

The outpour of support shown by the team shows just how close they have become. “We feel like a family now,” says Feliciano.

“Last year, we were really spread, we had a lot of drama. We are strong this year.”

The first two months of the season have seen the Aces flourish, showing the rest of the league that they have what it takes to compete at a high level in the Valley. For the “Big Three,” postseason accolades are sure to come in bunches. All three will likely be named First-Team All-Conference, Cardona is almost a lock to win Freshman of the Year, and there is a good chance that one will be named the Conference Player of the Year. However, they aren’t concerned about the individual accolades.

When asked about their goals for the remainder of the season, Feliciano answered without hesitation. “I feel we can win the conference. We want to win.”

Vazquez echoed her teammate, stating that “we can win, we can go to the NCAA Tournament.” Turning to Cardona and Feliciano, she smiled and told them “This is the year.”

All season long, the Aces have shattered records and soared to heights never seen before by the program. Four years ago, an MVC title and NCAA Tournament seemed like an impossibly tall task. However, with Cardona, Feliciano and Vazquez leaping into air unseen in Aces history, impossible no longer seems so far away.

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