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March 10, 2020
TOWSON RESPONDS TO
CORONAVIRUS
OUTBREAK In an effort to reduce the spread of Coronavirus, Towson University has suspended all study abroad programs and is taking strides to educate the campus community, pg. 6 & 7
Illustration by Victoria Nicholson/ The Towerlight
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Social
March 10, 2020
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Editor-in-Chief Bailey Hendricks
Students react to Coronavirus
Senior Editor Tim Klapac
News Editor Keri Luise Asst. News Editor Sophia Bates
Arts & Life Editor Meghan Hudson Asst. Arts & Life Editor Grace Coughlan
Sports Editor Jordan Kendall Asst. Sports Editor Muhammad Waheed
Staff Writers Ashley de Sampaio Ferraz Isaac Donsky John Hack
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I work at Wegmans and we’ve been ramping up our order and paper/water is scarece. Its insane.
If you survived Lil dickies bathrooms you are immune to the Coronavirus #Towson
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Professor: “Coronavirus cases in Montgomery county are confirmed” Towson student: “ isn’t like 70% of Towson’s student body from MoCo?” *silence in room* Well damn
My study abroad trip got cancelled :(
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8000 York Road University Union Room 309 Towson, MD 21252 (410) 704-5153 editor@thetowerlight.com thetowerlight.com The Towerlight print edition is published by students of Towson University on Tuesdays. The Towerlight is owned by nonprofit Baltimore Student Media Inc., BaltimoreStudentMedia.com. The Towerlight’s advertising deadlines are firm: Wednesday noon for space; Friday noon for art. Classifieds appear online and in print and are self-service at TheTowerlight.com/classifieds. We encourage letters to the editor and online feedback. Commentaries, letters to the editor, editorial cartoons and other editorials express the opinions of their authors and not necessarily the views of the newspaper. The Towerlight does not discriminate based on age, color, condition of handicap, marital status, national origin, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. ©2019 by The Towerlight, 8000 York Rd, Towson, MD 21252. All rights reserved.
Please Recycle!
MARCH
10 - 14 10
WEEKLY
CALENDAR
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12
1 13
14
FIX-IT FAIR 2020
CLASSICAL MASTERWORKS
WORD (FORE) PLAY
SPRING BREAK SHUTTLE
BASEBALL VS. BINGHAMTON
Join us during RecycleMania to get tips on how to maintain your stuff instead of tossing it out! Let’s reduce our carbon footprint and save some money by fixing more and wasting less!
Join students of the Towson University Brass Choir, Saxophone Ensemble, Chamber Winds and String Orchestra for an evening of classical masterworks.
Join our open mic event as a chance to celebrate, normalize, and encourage conversations about sex, sexuality, love, romance, & relationships alongside your student performers!
The final day of the Spring Break BWI-Penn Shuttle. You can reserve your free ride to BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport or Penn Station on TU’s Spring Break BWI-Penn Shuttle. Just bring your TU OneCard to board the bus.
The Tigers play a double header against Binghamton University as part of a four-game series. Towson has won four of their last five games and home games are free to attend.
Cook Library Lobby, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Harold J. Kaplan Hall, 8 p.m.
Paws Cafe, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Union Garage, 5:15 p.m.
John B. Schuerholz Park, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
THIS WEEKEND @ TU
Women’s Lacrosse vs. University of Massachusetts Saturday, March 14 at Johnny Unitas Stadium at noon Towson hosts the Massachusetts Minutemen for their second home game of the week. Following a 0-3 start to the season, the Tigers have split their last two games. All Towson athletic events are free for students to attend by swiping your OneCard at the stadium entrance.
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Opinion
March 10, 2020
Democratic voters need to step up now TYRONE BARROZO Columnist
Despite what fellow university colleagues might say about current Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders online, nobody came out to the polls for Super Tuesday. So, the real news story this week is that Sanders’ opponent, former vice president Joe Biden, won Super Tuesday, making him the front runner to win the Democratic nomination. In short, Sanders’ supporters have failed for the second time to get their candidate to the grand stage and I, for one, am not surprised. I’m not here to discuss the science or to analyze the statistics relating to this outcome. I’m here to simply call for some sort of change. It pains me to have to waste ink and paper to do this but, apparently, even after the internal
disaster that happened in 2016 which resulted in an election that could be best somewhat as a fight between two evils. With the 2020 election coming up, my biggest priority as a young voter is to make sure that the current president does not serve a second term. As an international representative of the US, he’s just made the American population look like complete fools at the expense of occasional Twitter memes. I would like for my country to start acting and representing itself as an international superpower that can sustain itself but can also act benevolently and assist their allies in times of need rather than abandoning them.
And, as I’ve said in a previous piece, Biden is not the DNC’s best option if they want to take the White House. Now I want my fellow Millennials and those part of Generation Z to acknowledge their fault. The country could be doomed to four more years of a Trump administration because nobody comes out and votes for the change that they often preach about. So, when I hear someone eventually say that this upcoming election gives them déjà vu, I’ll simply scoff. Just because things seem bleak and the establishment seems corrupt, it does not hurt at all to take a sick day and exercise your right to vote and express yourself in that respect.
Taking back the word “queer” for us JASPER SCELSI Columnist
“Queer.” If you’re a part of the LGBTQ community, that word could make you feel a variety of ways. Accepted. Scared. Welcome. Hurt. Understood. Attacked. Some people have this word as a part of their identity, and some people connect it to bullying they have received. Some, like myself, have a complicated relationship with the word that is a mixture of the two. I am a trans man, but another label I use is genderqueer. Genderqueer is a type of nonbinary gender where the person’s gender is a gender other than “male” or “female,” so a type of third gender that isn’t a mixture of male and female or an absence of either.
This isn’t the only identity which has “queer” in it. Some people describe their sexuality as queer. Usually, a queer sexuality is a multisexuality, meaning the person is attracted to more than one gender. Other examples of multisexualities are pansexual and bisexual, to name a couple. Queer can also be used to describe the sexuality of a nonbinary person, because they may not identify with “straight” or “gay” identities because they do not have an “opposite” gender and may not only be attracted to others with the same gender. Being genderqueer, I once had someone tell me I wasn’t allowed to have that gender because that word was a slur. That hurt, because that word made me understand myself a little more. I wondered if I had to change how I described myself to make others feel welcome. But I know several other people who can’t stand the word. One gay
man I know described the word as “second only to the f slur.” He had been called queer in a derogatory way and feels uncomfortable being called that as such. But oppressed communities can attempt to reappropiate former slurs. Everyone else I talked to liked the word. Some feel like the word makes it so they don’t have to “unpack a complex identity” and it can be a “catch-all” term. It makes them feel like a part of something, and it’s easier to say than “LGBTQ.” Many have only seen it used in a positive light, but see it as a negative when a nonqueer person uses the term. My relationship with the term is complicated. I like it as an adjective, but not as a noun. I am a queer person, not a queer. But I do feel like it’s a way for people to feel a sense of community. And I welcome the use from anyone that is LGBTQ.
On the lookout for budgetfriendly grocery stores MIRANDA MOWREY Columnist @mirandamowrey
Yesterday, I decided to drop in to The Fresh Market to pick up a couple things on my grocery list. It must have been the pre-workout from my earlier visit to the gym or the fresh air flowing in through my cars windows that altered my critical thinking skills. For some reason, although I was counting pennies for a cup of coffee the day before, I thought I was in the financial position to spare a few extra dollars on a fancy selection of fresh and organic produce. Boy, was I wrong. My visit went a little like this: I snagged a cart from the front of the store and picked out a bundle of bananas (69 cents a pound - not too shabby). “Alright, so here are the eggs…$3.99 for a dozen?” My heart rate now begins to quicken as a droplet of sweat forms on my brow. “A box of green tea for $5.99….maybe it's some kind of fancy tea?” Aisle eight is where I called it quits. All I wanted was a simple jar of kosher dill pickles and could not find them for anything less than $6.99. I look to the older women at my side for a sense of support, trying to see if she felt the same way as me about these overly-priced cucumbers that took a bubble bath in vinegar. She did not seem phased by this atrocity and I came to the conclusion that I have entered foreign territory. Throwing my hands up and letting out an annoyed huff, I gave up on this adventure. Seven bucks for pickles is where I draw the line! With my tail between my legs, I retraced my steps and returned the fancy green tea and eggs to their home on the shelf and bid the bananas farewell.
I swiftly exited the hoity toity store, revved up my 2007 Honda Civic decorated with a myriad of scrapes and dings and began brainstorming other, more realistic options for groceries. Bottom line, The Fresh Market simply does not work with my budget, and probably doesn't work with yours, either. Where else can college students like us buy pickles without having to sell our plasma to the Red Cross? There is another man, and his name is Trader Joe's. Seriously - how does this place do it? The store offers so many organic, h e a l t h y foods for extremely cheap prices. My favorites are the cauliflower gnocchi, spinach and kale dip, and the free food and drink samples they offer in the back right of the store (wink wink). Aldi is another local option that has sells a bunch of generic, low-price items. I prefer Trader Joe's produce to Aldi's, but Aldi has more options when it comes to miscellaneous things you can find at the grocery store like soaps, dog food, baby pools, you name it. If you are used to the mainstream grocery stores and can't seem to give them up, it is possible to save a lot of money by using the coupon apps they offer. I have found success in using Safeway's app, “just for U.” Before you shop, you can search for the items on your shopping list to find applicable coupons to show at checkout. Sometimes it is nice to go to stores like Safeway, Giant, or Food Lion because they tend to carry a lot of favorite name brand foods that Trader Joe's and Aldi's do not. Together, we can boycott the ridiculous prices of The Fresh Market's precious little jars of pickles and instead show love to the stores that have the wellbeing of the consumer's pocketbook in mind. Rant over!
Opinion
March 10, 2020
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THIS WEEK’S COMICS The Misadventures of Towson: The world staying on Coronavirus alert
Comic by Nyasha Marufu/ The Towerlight
Tales of the Tigers: Are handshakes becoming a thing of the past?
Comic by Augustina Ugbaja/ The Towerlight
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News
March 10, 2020
Towson responds to Coronavirus outbreak
University calls back study abroad programs as precaution against virus BAILEY HENDRICKS Editor-in-Chief @imsimplybailey SOPHIA BATES Asst. News Editor @sophiabates23 In response to the Coronavirus outbreak, Towson has suspended all study abroad programs for spring break and summer and is preparing to help ill students and reduce the spread of disease. The University held an on-campus forum March 4 in which Director of University Health Services Matt Goldstein provided updates on Coronavirus and answered questions. With spring break coming up, Goldstein advised students to reassess travel plans. “If you are traveling and have any health conditions, you should talk to your primary care before doing that,” Goldstein said. According to Goldstein, the University is ready for pandemic situations, as there is a plan that is updated periodically. He also said the University has a
“pandemic workgroup” meeting regularly. Goldstein added that the University is a POD (point of dispensing) site for mass vaccinations and could deliver thousands of vaccinations a day, if needed. Towson community centers, residence halls and the Health Center would be used to help ill students and reduce the risk of spreading disease. “We are in the process of putting surgical masks in the community centers, at the residence hall, and they currently are in the Health Center,” Goldstein said. There are also disposable thermometers located in community centers and residence halls. Goldstein added that there are precautions in place to seperate ill students from healthy ones in the residence halls. However, he indicated that sick students going home would be ideal. Coronavirus started in Wuhan, China.The first confirmed death occurred in Wuhan on Jan. 30. On Jan. 30, TU suspended study abroad programming and university-sponsored and university-related travel to China for
spring 2020. On Feb. 26, TU suspended all upcoming university-sponsored and university-related travel to Italy and Japan, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded Italy to a Level 3 Warning and a Level 2 Warning for Japan. Towson recalled students, faculty and staff from Italy and they will self-quarantine rather than return to campus. On March 3, TU suspended all study abroad programs for spring break 2020 and the summer 2020 term.On March 5, three cases of Coronavirus were confirmed in Maryland. Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in Maryland later the same day. “I think it’s very smart for Towson to not have them come to campus,” senior Aaron Kaplan said. “I think it’s best for them to be here [United States] right now because of all the stuff we are hearing in the news about how fast the outbreak is spreading in Italy and how it’s better controlled, as of now, over here.” Senior Noah Beall was in China from September until Jan. 25, right before Towson made the
Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight
TU Director of University Health Services Matt Goldstein spoke at an on-campus forum Wednesday to provide university updates and advice moving forward with the Cornoavirus spreading around locally.
decision to cancel any future travel to the area. According to Beall, the concern wasn’t there until about two weeks until the end of his trip. “ A t the very beginn i n g , nobody was worr y i n g about it at all,” B e a l l s a i d . “ Y o u h e a r d s o m e rumors f r o m H o n g K o n g . My dad sent me a text like ‘Hey, there’ve been four people infected with a new disease in Hong Kong.’ I wasn’t very worried about it because nobody else was at the time. I think I wasn’t worried about it until about two and half weeks into my trip when the actual government was saying it was a problem.” Beall said he believes the United States did not prepare as seriously as they could have, as he recalls his return from China and mixing in with the public. “We did no preparation and I still think we are lacking preparation for people coming into the country,” Beall said. “When I came in, we fly into the Boston airport and literally everybody on the plane was wearing masks and we merged into the population for visas and such like that. It was concerning, because nobody there was wearing masks. If somebody on the plane was sick, it would’ve been very easy for somebody else to catch it.” Junior Annie Shipley was planning on attending a psychology two-week study abroad program in Rome and Venice. According to Shipley, she wasn’t informed of her program being cancelled until the campus-wide email was sent. “My program isn’t just suspend-
“
ed, it’s cancelled,” Shipley said. “I have been following the campus wide emails very thoroughly, and I actually saw that it was suspended through that. Then afterwards, afterwards being the key, I received an email from the office of study abroad saying it was cancelled.” As of March 8, S h i p l e y h a s n ’ t received much inform a t i o n about reimANNIE SHIPLEY bursement. TU Junior “I have no information about reimbursement besides being vaguely told that I would receive my money back, no other contact has been made about it,” Shipley said. Shipley disagrees that the University is taking the necessary approach. “I think Towson is being overly cautious and it’s affecting students who want to study abroad,” Shipley said. “I won’t be able to study abroad again because of the way my schedule works out. This was my last chance and I can’t believe I won’t be able to take it.” Towson has not recalled travel from Japan at this time. However, in a Feb. 29 campus-wide email, TU said they will “provide assistance to facilitate the early return home for any TU student studying abroad anywhere during the spring 2020 term.” Sophomore Kalifa Warren was glad TU hosted Wednesday’s forum and felt it provided good insight on COVID-19. “I think it was really good to get students educated to keep the fear of the spread down,” Warren said. “I’m glad that I came because I got some information that is going to keep me less worried about the situation.”
I won’t be able to study abroad again because of the way my schedule works out. This was my last chance and I can’t believe I won’t be able to take it.
News
March 10, 2020
TU asks study abroad participants, conference attendees to self-quarantine BAILEY HENDRICKS Editor-in-Chief @imsimplybailey
Towson University has requested that all American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference attendees and study abroad participants who were recalled from their host countries to self-isolate, according to a statement sent from TU Communications to The Towerlight. This weekend, TU was made aware of nine students and one staff member that attended the AIPAC conference in Washington, D.C. where there were reports of confirmed COVID-19 (New Coronavirus 2019) cases. “While the number of conference attendees and size of the conference would likely make the TU attendees low risk for direct exposure, out of an abundance of caution, the TU Health Center, following USM guidance, requested that all of the TU attendees self-isolate at home and away from the TU campus for 14 days from the last day that they
attended the conference,” TU’s statement to The Towerlight read. One student who attended the AIPAC conference told three of their mass communication professors that they will be in self-isolation. “One of my professors told me that one of his students is currently being [self-]quarantined,” said Melissa Baltimore, a TU sophomore. Faculty of one of the students who attended the AIPAC conference has been in communication with the TU Health Center. The University made arrangements to wipe clean and disinfect the classrooms where the student’s classes were being held. The faculty of the student were given the option to convert their classes to an online format. Mass communication professor Tamara Henry sent an email to her News Reporting students, staff writers for the Baltimore Watchdog, a news website that features stories written by Towson University journalism students, the morning of March 9. The email informed the students that they should “minimize how much you go into the community unless you are certain of your
safety visiting a site.” Henry urged her students to think of creative ways to cover events instead. “Most of our stories can be done by phone,” Henry said in her email to her students. “Try to Skype interviews so that you still may be able to provide a personal touch to your reporting. The County Council can be covered by watching the live video stream; the Board of Education also records its meetings and posts them online.” Mass communication professor and editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Watchdog John Kirch said the decision was made in an effort to keep students safe. “Dr. Tamara Henry and I hope that our reporting students will still be able to cover important news events in person, but we do not want to put anyone in unnecessary danger of being exposed to the Coronavirus,” Kirch said. “We will assess each situation to make sure that the Baltimore Watchdog continues to cover the region while also keeping our students safe.” – Assistant News Editor Sophia Bates and Senior Editor Tim Klapac contributed to this article.
COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS -99 Total Cases in the U.S. (Including 30 travel-related cases, 20 person-to person spread cases, and 49 cases currently under investigation) -10 Total Deaths in the U.S. -13 states reporting cases in the U.S. -More than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed around the world -7,100 were classified as serious -96 countries and territories have been affected -More than 3,400 people have died, with just over 3,000 in China and more than 370 in other countries -More than 55,000 people have recovered
THE FACTS COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, is a respiratory illness The outbreak first started in Wuhan, China But cases are growing internationally, including in the U.S.
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TIMELINE AROUND THE WORLD Dec. 1, 2019 - Earliest reported symptoms in Wuhan, China
Jan. 9 - The first confirmed death occurred in Wuhan,
China
Jan. 20 - First confirmed case in South Korea Jan. 23 - A quarantine on travel in and out of Wuhan
was imposed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus out of Wuhan Jan. 24 - At this time, a total of 15 Chinese cities were also under similar quarantine measures Jan. 30 - The World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern Jan. 30 - TU suspended study abroad programming and university-sponsored and university-related travel to China for spring 2020 Jan. 31 - Outbreak confirmed to have spread to Italy Feb. 19 - Iran reported its first confirmed cases Feb. 26 - TU suspended all upcoming university-sponsored and university-related travel to Italy and Japan Feb. 27 - Japanese elementary, junior high and high schools close until early April to help contain the virus Feb. 28 - Switzerland’s Federal Council banned all public and private events involving more than 1,000 people Feb. 28 - Florida and Washington state declared state of emergencies Late February - First six confirmed deaths in the United States reported March 3 - TU suspended all study abroad programs for spring break 2020 and the summer 2020 term March 4 - Italian government ordered a full closure of all schools and universities nationwide as Italy reached 100 deaths March 4 - Towson University hosts event to share information on COVID-19 March 5 - Governor Larry Hogan declares state of emergency in Maryland after three cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Maryland March 6 - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an emergency funding package, with some $8 billion March 8- Hogan confirms two more cases of Coronavirus in Maryland, one in Harford County and another in Montgomery County
- Compiled by Editor-in-Chief Bailey Hendricks, Info according to Center for Disease Control
10 March 10, 2020
Arts & Life
Mexican-American poet tells tales from the border
Ashley de Sampaio Ferraz/ The Towerlight
Luis Alberto Urrea, a Mexican-American novelist and poet, spoke in the Liberal Arts Building March 4. Urrea introduced his new novel “The Devil’s Highway: A True Story.” This novel recounts the story of the Yuma 14, an event which happened in 2001, where 14 Mexican immigrants died as they were smuggled into the United States.
ASHLEY DE SAMPAIO FERRAZ Staff Writer
Luis Alberto Urrea, a distinguished Mexican-American poet, said that it is important to witness the unfamiliar, during a talk at Towson University Wednesday. “We need to try to bear witness in some way that isn’t always pointing a raging finger,” Urrea said. The attentive crowd, a mix of both students and members of the public, filled every seat as Urrea shared stories of his past adventures and experiences writing about the border and the impoverished people of Mexico. “I remember one of the critics said that I wrote the funniest tragedies in the world,” Urrea said. “And I thought, no, not really, it’s just that people are funny. If you were in my writing workshops, you’d know all of my weird commandments, but one of them is: laughter is the virus that infects us with humanity.” Urrea has written 17 books, and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize with his book “The Devil’s Highway: A True Story” and is a member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame. He said
he first began writing about Mexican culture after going on a mission trip to Tijuana as a recent college graduate. “In those days, we were one of the first groups doing stuff, working in a Tijuana municipal garbage dump with the garbage pickers, recently arrived migrants, indigious people working in prisons, working in orphanages and various barrios,” Urrea said. Urrea studied both theatre and writing in college and said that he originally wanted to use his talents to be rich and famous. Then, during his senior year of college, his father passed away suddenly while on a trip to their hometown in Mexico. The suspicious circumstances surrounding his father’s death drove Urrea to want to help others. “I just had to give back after what happened to my dad,” Urrea said. After arriving in Tijuana, Urrea worked as a translator for his group, and said that, as a result of his position, he had to witness a lot of gruesome situations. “Translators, if you have the gift of speaking it, you have the responsibility of listening to it,” Urrea said. “People need to tell somebody whatever they’re going through, and that was me.” These days, Urrea shares what
he’s learned throughout his experiences to audiences across the United States. Freshman Kelly Murph said that she found Urrea inspirational because of his dedication to telling the stories that most may overlook or think aren’t significant enough to share with the world. “I guess that he found every side of every person’s story important to the larger narrative,” Murph said. Urrea’s commitment to telling everyone’s story doesn’t only apply to impoverished Mexicans. During the talk, he also shared about his experience speaking to a U.S. Border Patrol agent when he was writing “The Devil’s Highway,” a book about the Yuma 14, an event where fourteen illegal immigrants died while being smuggled across the desert in the United States. “I was really big on bearing witness on my people, who I felt were
“
my people, but I had gone in there with prejudice,” Urrea said. “I was going to trash the border patrol, I was going to write a book about how evil they all were, because t h a t ’ s what I thought.” Urrea said his p l a n s changed once he began to connect with the agent. “ T h e first thing [the agent] said was, LUIS ALBERTO URREA Novelist/Poet ‘if my wife was starving, I’d enter any nation on earth to feed her,’” Urrea said. Urrea shared that as he and the agent continued to speak, he started to understand the struggles border patrol agents have to go through in their daily lives. Urrea believes that being angry at each other is not a very good way for our country to solve its problems, and instead, people need to listen to each other again. “In a lot of ways, love is more
Translators, if you have the gift of speaking it, you have the responsibility of listening to it.
powerful, in every way, than rage,” Urrea said. “The hauntings in those men, even though I often think badly of them, are real.” Kaitlin Marks, a student at Towson University, said that she agrees with Urrea and believes everyone could use a little more understanding, especially when it comes to border patrol issues today. “I think that we all need more empathy,” Marks said. “And I think that if we approached the situation and used the context of where people are coming from it might be a little easier to understand why they want to come here.” For now, Urrea just wants to spread a message of unity and understanding among his people, both Mexican and American. He believes the best way to do this is by close communication. “I think we’re in the middle of a tumult, that is going to be hard to define yet,” Urrea said. “I’m seeing a lot of people writing their own stories. If we can listen to the dreamers, if we can listen to the undocumented as well, and try to understand what it is; I think we understand what we think their story is, but we don’t often sit with them and ask, ‘what is your story?’”
Arts & Life
March 10, 2020
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Conquering College THE WEEKLY DISH Reset your resolutions during spring break BROOKE FOUNDAS Columnist
Just like most college students, my New Year’s Eve resolution was to visit the gym frequently and eat healthier. Now two full months into 2020, I am proud to say I have stuck to this invigorating goal for the first time in my life. Over the past few years in college I have personally struggled with balancing classes, my social life, relationships, the gym, and eating healthy. But being able to find the time for your friends and family while also taking care of your body is something that should be essential for college students. Here are some of my tips and tricks to stay on top of your nutrition, maintain healthy relationships, and mold your soon to be “beach bod” from the exercise science major herself: Plan your meals. Being a student, know that the “Freshman 15” is a real thing. It is not as easy as it seems, but there are some ways to prevent the curse! I lived on campus for two years but recently moved into an off-campus apartment. Seeing how different the lifestyle is, it helped me realize what I could have done differently. The best way to start is by envisioning what you want to eat throughout the day and plan it out. If you start your week or day with an agenda of your meals, it will give you structure and hopefully encourage you to eat healthier. Change up your diet a bit. For the past year and a half, I’ve been vegetarian. Well, technically the term I use is pescetarian, which means I only eat seafood. I can say, I’ve never felt better! No one is expecting you to change your diet as drastically as I did but you could slowly begin to do so. Start this cycle by incorporating healthy options
into your meals for a day or for the week. You can do this by trying a veggie or black bean burger, a side of fruit instead of fries, or no queso in your chipotle bowl. Even just these small changes can show positive effects on your body. Make time for your friends. Add a time in your schedule specifically for you to bond with your friends. My friends and I look forward to Monday nights. If you’re a Bachelor fan like we are… you’ll understand. As we all gather around the tv and eat popcorn, we realize that this is a time we look forward to every week. Talk to your friends and find a certain time in the week where you are all free, even if it’s as simple as meeting at the West Village dining hall for dinners on Wednesdays. Get it? West Village Wednesdays! Plan your workout. The hardest thing for me when I go to the gym is trying to plan what I want to do. Is it a leg or arm day? Should I just stick with cardio? This was my biggest mistake. Plan your workout ahead of time! Once you’re at the gym it’s likely you can lose motivation, therefore decide to skip the weights and only do 20-30 minutes of cardio. Of course, it’s always okay to skip a portion of your workout occasionally but it should not be everytime you go. Pinterest can be your best friend when it comes to designing custom workouts for you. Head to the gym when it’s slow. When I first started going to the gym a few years ago I was always intimidated by the strong muscular men and women lifting weights and grunting while doing it. At Burdick Hall, I’ve noticed the busiest times are 5-9 p.m. on weekdays. I gradually learned that the best workout I’ll personally get in is when there are less people. So likely around 8-11 a.m. during the weekend days and just about all day on Saturday.
Outstanding breakfast bites
Courtesy of Austin Kirk on Flickr Creative Commons
Towson Hot Bagels and Deli, which now has three additional locations, sells house made bagels and other breakfast-related foods. It was voted The Towerlight’s Towson’s Best Breakfast and Coffee, this year. ALEXANDER EHASZ Columnist
Breakfast sandwiches are the quintessential portable breakfast, boasting a filling combination of bread, egg, and often meat and cheese just as easily eaten whilst running to class as it is sitting at a table. With those humble components are a lot of opportunities to really excel. One notable omission is Atwater’s Belvedere. I was not able to get there by 11 a.m. (the breakfast menu cutoff) for this review. However, if the quality of their soups and lunch sandwiches are any indication, they would have doubtless placed in my top five. 3 . THB (Towson Hot Bagels and Deli) - Bacon, egg, and cheese on Asiago A bad bagel is a terrible thing - gummy, floppy, and doughy are all apt descriptions of an all too common breed found in grocery stores and restaurants. Thankfully, THB forges a different direction. Their bagels, made fresh in-store, have a pleasant chewiness and a well developed crust. The sandwich I ordered topped this with a fried egg, a good quality bacon that there could have been far more of, and American cheese. Had there been a larger portion of bacon and a slightly less cooked egg, this
would have been an amazing sandwich, but as is, it is still quite good. 4/5. 2. Rise Towson - Bacon, egg, and cheese on Biscuit Sandwich number two comes from a spot up York Road that specializes in biscuit sandwiches as well as donuts and coffee. Their bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit had the most generous portion of bacon I have seen, and the quality and cut of it was great as well. The egg was on the firmer side, but not overcooked, and the cheddar cheese was a nice creamy counterpoint. Overall, this was a fine sandwich. However, it does fall just short of the number one on this list.
4.5/5. 1. Cunningham’s Cafe Breakfast sandwich with bacon on cheddar biscuit I cannot imagine a better breakfast sandwich. The cheddar chive biscuit was crumbly but held its shape, and was buttery with a bright buttermilk tang, a savory depth from the cheese, and a light herbaceous fragrance from the chives. The egg was tender, soft curds enveloping a flavorful and tangy melted cheese. The bacon was crispy and thick cut. Cunningham’s has elevated the breakfast sandwich to a refined composed dish. 5/5.
Sophia Bates/ The Towerlight
Rise Towson, a local cafe with southern-inspired cuisine, sells a variety of pastries and staple southern breakfast foods, such as biscuits.
12 March 10, 2020
Sports
hoyas take care of tigers Towson captures TU remains winless through first six games ecac championship Tigers climb from fifth to first within two days in Boston MUHAMMED WAHEED Asst. Sports Editor @MuhammedKWaheed
Amanda Bosse/ The Towerlight
Senior midfielder Jon Mazza scored his eighth goal of the season against Georgetown. His goal came early in the fourth quarter and was the final goal scored by the Tigers. The Hoyas defeated Towson 16-4. JOHN HACK Staff Writer @johnhack10
The Tigers’ rough start to the season continued against No. 13/12 Georgetown. The Hoyas took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating Towson 16-4. "It’s difficult to win a game when you can’t do the simple things on the field and we did that right from the start,” head coach Shawn Nadelen said. “We had a lot of mistakes early on.” Despite struggling to win faceoffs so far this season, the Tigers went 5-8 in the first quarter. Nevertheless, Towson continues to have problems with securing the ball for sustainable possessions, elongating sufficient scoring opportunities as the team committed seven turnovers in the first quarter. “It was very frustrating when it’s the simple, fundamental plays in a game that need to be made and we’re not able to execute that,” Nadelen said. As a result of the Tigers early miscues, Georgetown pounced on the offensive zone opportunities,
firing 16 shots on net, six of which found the back of the net. Towson only took four shots in the first 14 minutes of the quarter. With 1:07 remaining in quarter one, junior midfielder Greg Ey scored his third goal of the season to put the Tigers on the board. “We were unraveled right from the start in this game,” Nadalen said. “And not that it got that much better throughout, but when your facing obviously a team that was outplaying [us] as well as Georgetown is, they capitalize on it. Kinda jammed it right back down our throats, and we just didn’t respond great.” The Hoyas added another three goals in the second quarter and led 9-2 at halftime. Less than a minute into the quarter, senior attack Brody McLean scored Towson’s second goal of the game. This was the only made shot of the five the Tigers attempted on goal in the quarter. “There’s no doubt that our guys care, our guys are working hard,” Nadelen said. “We are just not a mentally strong team, unfortunately, right now and it’s leading to our miscues on game day. We gotta do our best to correct that during the week.”
Georgetown added to their lead in the third quarter, adding another three goals despite Towson taking three more shots. Redshirt senior midfielder Grant Maloof connected with freshman attack Andrew Milani for the Tigers only goal of the quarter with 5:56 left. Senior midfielder Jon Mazza scored just over a minute into the fourth quarter, but Towson was shut out for the last 13:50 of the game. The Hoyas won on ground balls and faceoffs in the quarter, with 11 ground balls compared to the Tigers five. Georgetown also won five of the six faceoffs, and went 23 of 23 in the clearing game. “This is as tough a time as it comes in regards to lacrosse,” Nadalen said. Redshirt junior Shane Brennan started in goal for Towson, he saved three shots but gave up six goals in the first quarter. Junior goalie Jake Stout entered late in the first quarter and finished the game for the Tigers. He surrendered 10 goals but saved six shots. Towson returns to Johnny Unitas Stadium against the No. 12/13 Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, March 14 at noon.
Towson won the 2020 Indoor Track and Field DI Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships with 63 points this weekend at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center. UConn placed second with 59.75 points while UAlbany finished third with 58 points out of 41 teams. Towson ranked fifth after the first day of competition. “I would say hysteria,” Head coach Mike Jackson said. “It wasn’t a meet where we put a lot of points up early and then there were other events that we did not compete in so we had to wait and see how the other teams did so it was certainly a dramatic finish and we’re just glad that we were able to come out on top.” Sophomore Crystal Johnson won the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.47 while redshirt sophomore Christina Riggins placed second with a time of 7.49 on Sunday. “We were very excited for Crystal and all the 60-meter runners,” Jackson said. “Last year Crystal was third and I felt like she wasn’t going to lose ever again, but her teammates Christina Riggins and Shamika Burton did a great job. We were really hoping to go one, two, three, but it’s pretty tough at that level to do so, but they definitely stood out and left their mark on the meet.” Johnson, Riggins and sophomore Shamika Burton qualified for the 60-meter dash finals on Saturday. Riggins finished the semi-finals with a personal-record time of 7.56 while Johnson timed 7.58. Burton timed 7.61. Johnson had a time of 24.40 in the 200-meter dash finals on Sunday. She qualified in the semi-finals with a time of 24.55 on Saturday. Senior Helnsarah Penda finished fifth in the 60-meter hur-
dles finals timing 8.70 on Sunday. She qualified in the semi-finals on Saturday after taking third and timing 8.58. Senior Michella Obijiaku set a new meet and school record while also breaking the Italian national record in the weight throw with a toss of 20.66m on Saturday. Obijiaku was named the Women’s Performer of the Meet. “It was great because she’s a senior and it’s her last indoor meet so being able to end on a high note like that at a meet of that level was very special,” Jackson said. “She had a meet record and school record in the weight throw and then to be honored by the ECAC to be the Performer of the Meet was special.” Junior Elisia Lancaster finished second in the weight throw with a toss of 19.67m while sophomore Georgia Coleman placed sixth with a throw of 18.20m. Sophomore Hayley Horvath finished second in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.10m on Saturday. Sophomore Ani Boghossian-James finished fifth in the pentathlon on Friday scoring 3,349 which is fourth all-time. Freshman Christina Marion placed 11 with a score of 3,036 which is seventh all time. “Their best performances to date,” Jackson said. “Both personal bests which is what we plan on doing when we go to championship meets… so it was a great start and definitely helped us to win the championship.” Towson will compete at the NCAA Division I Championships on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Redshirt senior Lauren Coleman will be the first Tiger to compete in the Division I Championships. “She’s a milestone for our program and extremely historic, but the hardest part was getting in,” Jackson said.” Now we want to go win a championship, so the goal is for Lauren to go out there and shock the world and I’m confident that she can do that.”
Sports
March 10, 2020
13
home field advantage for tu Tigers go 3-1 in first home games of 2020 ISSAC DONSKY Staff Writer Towson made their home debut in the Demarini Tiger Clash, finishing the weekend with a 3-1 tournament record with wins against La Salle, Iona, and Stony Brook. It was deja vu for the Tigers (9-7) in their final game of the weekend as they once again went to extras for the fourth time this year. Senior first baseman Madison Wilson drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 8th to give Towson the win over the Seawolves (10-4). Wilson finished with six RBI in four games of the tournament. “Madison was getting it done on both sides of the ball today,” head coach Lisa Costello said. “She made some great plays out there.” The Tigers fell behind early 2-0 to Stony Brook in the third after giving up a two-run homer. It took until the bottom of the fifth for the Black and Gold to respond, as sophomore infielder Gracyn Houmis and freshman outfielder Lauren Ringhiser both hit RBI singles.Tied at 2-2, the game went to extras, sophomore outfielder Nicole Kidwiler hit a double and Ringhiser advanced to third. Wilson’s sac fly two batters later gave Towson the win. “We just need to focus on putting together good at-bats,” Costello said. “Whenever we fall behind we ask
ourselves ‘What do we need to do at-bat, how do we adjust?’” The Tigers played a doubleheader against Iona, they won the first game 3-0 but fell 5-1 in game two. In the second game against the Gaels (2-6), Iona outhit Towson 7-2. The Gaels led 3-0 through four innings led by a two-run home run. The closest the Tigers came to a comeback was Wilson’s RBI double in the bottom of the 4th, which brought Towson within two. Iona pulled away in the top of the fifth taking advantage of an error by senior utility Julia Smith-Harrington. On the mound, redshirt senior pitcher Ashley Cruise went 3.2 innings allowing four hits and three runs. “We didn’t adjust well,” Costello said. “Their pitcher did a good job shutting down our offense and preventing us from getting on base. We just needed to adjust better.” In game one vs Iona, sophomore pitcher Sara Johnson and Gaels senior pitcher Marnie Skinner engaged in a pitcher’s duel for the first four innings. Neither pitcher allowed more than three hits through four innings. A twoRBI base hit from Johnson in the bottom of the fifth gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Towson added a run in the bottom of the sixth after Ringhiser hit an RBI single. Johnson would finish the game with a complete game shutout, striking out 10 Iona batters.
“Our pitchers are starting to pitch more than just throw,” Costello said. “Their hitting spots are changing, and they’re changing speeds.” The Tigers began the weekend with a 9-3 victory in their home opener over La Salle (0-8). A twoRBI base hit helped the Explorers take an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. It would be their only lead of the day, as Ringhiser tied the game with a two-RBI single. Towson took the lead for good in the bottom of the third off a La Salle error, and never looked back. “We did some things well,” Costello said. “But we also have some things we need to clean up. I have noticed that there is no quit in this team.” After sophomore infielder Chloe Poulich hit her first home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers added three more runs the following inning. Smith-Harrington hit a triple and scored after freshman utility Sam Carson hit one deep into center field. Wilson and Houmis each collected an RBI in the inning. Wilson ended up inadvertently scoring the final run of the day after she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth. Towson remains at home next week as they host the Tiger Invitational Tournament. The Tigers will face off against Morgan State on Friday, March 13 at 3 p.m.
Michella Obijiaku Indoor Track and Field
Senior Michella Obijiaku was named the Women’s Performer of the Meet at the 2020 ECAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The London native broke the Italian national record in the weight throw with a toss of 20.66 meters. Obijiaku’s performance helped the Tigers win the ECAC championship, beating out the UCONN by 3.25 points.
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Amanda Bosse/The Towerlight
Sophomore infielder Chloe Poulich contributed a combined two hits and two runs in the Tigers victories over LaSalle and Iona. Poulich has committed just one error this season as Towson improved to 9-7.
14 March 10, 2020
Sports
The legend of Zion continues JALON DIXON Columnist
In just 18 games, New Orleans Pelicans rookie forward Zion Williamson has put on a clinic as he continues to put the league on notice by reminding everyone why he was the number 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. After undergoing knee surgery back in October that would stall his NBA debut and force him to miss 44 games on the season, Williamson has come back to court looking like the dominant big man he was projected to be. Standing at 6-foot-6, 285 pounds with a freakish combination of athleticism, power and finesse, the 19-year-old forward is playing out of his mind while just simply playing within the flow of the game. Williamson is currently averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 58.8% shooting from the floor. With fringe allstar level statistics right out of the gate, most would assume that he is having this much success so early because Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry, is playing the ball through Williamson to help him the young phenom get used to being the man for his team. However, Zion actually does not have the ball in his hands often and is more of a cog in the offense rather than a number one
scoring option. Playing on the third best team in the NBA in terms of pace of play and fifth best in points per game, Williamson tends to get a majority of his points within the flow of the game. The Pelicans have a very “Run-N-Gun” offense where they like to get up and down the court as much as possible by capitalizing on transition points and relying on the full length of the court rather than calling a ton of set plays. If you watch his game, he still needs a lot of work regarding him becoming a good three-point shooter and he gets most of his points off of lob dunks from point guard Lonzo Ball and put back baskets. Steve Jobs once said, “Do not try to do everything. Do one thing well.” Rather than coming into the league trying to be this all around superstar and struggling every night to be this “Do it all” player for New Orleans, Williamson is capitalizing off just straight hustle. The one thing he does really well is to make the most of each possession strictly off effort and will power. With that, he has gone on to score over 20 points in 15 of the 18 games he has played so far including back-to-back 30 point games against the Portland Trailblazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. - To read the rest of this column online, visit thetowerlight.com
SolutionS for PuzzleS on page 15
comeback season for tigers Towson wins three of four games vs. Lafayette
Brendan Felch/The Towerlight
Sophomore outfielder Javon Fields drove in six RBIs last week as the Tigers won four of their five games, including a 21-4 victory over UMBC. Fields is the team leader in hits and runs scored this season.
KAYLA WELLAGE Staff Writer
Towson faced the Lafayette Leopards for the first time since 2001 for a four-game weekend series. The Tigers (6-8, 0-0 CAA) defeated the Leopards (4-10, 0-0 Patriot League) in their weekend series at Schuerholz Park. Towson won three out of the four games this weekend which included a doubleheader on Sunday. “They continue to prove that they can do this,” interim head coach Miles Miller said. “They continue to prove that we can make some noise this year.” Senior southpaw Austin Weber started his first career game as a Tiger during the final game of the weekend series. The second game of Sunday’s doubleheader began with Weber retiring the side in order at the top of the first. He struck out eight batters and did not allow a walk in six complete innings. “It was a lot of fun and it was a cool experience, but I’m mainly happy that we got the wins today,” Weber said. In the third inning, sophomore outfielder Javon Fields was walked with the bases loaded to give Towson their first run of the game. The Tigers did not record a
hit in the inning, but scored three runs off a bases loaded hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. An RBI by redshirt sophomore outfielder Matt Arceo in the fourth inning increased Towson’s lead to 4-0. Lafayette scored two runs in the seventh inning, but the Tigers responded with nine runs. “When we play team offense we’re really good,” Miller said. “If the guy is working with the guy in front of him and working with the guy behind him, we tend to get things going - getting bunts down, good baserunning, and getting strikes makes us better.” Two Leopards errors led to three runs, and sophomore catcher Trent Gast-Woodard hit a twoRBI base hit to left field. Fields batted twice in the inning, and after a sacrifice bunt picked up an RBI single. The Leopards added two runs in the ninth, but Towson was victorious 13-4. “We finally started playing team baseball again,” Miller said. “We were able to create some chaos.” The Tigers came back from a 5-1 deficit and defeated Lafayette 8-7 in game one of the doubleheader. The Leopards led 3-0 in the first inning, but Towson responded as freshman catcher Burke Camper picked up an RBI base hit. The Tigers were held to three hits in the next five innings and were shutout until the seventh.
Towson’s defense struggled early on, committing an error in each of the first four innings. Their four errors were a season high so far. Lafayette scored four runs off of errors and led 6-1 heading into the fifth. “We were really a mess at the start of that first game,” Miller said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t make plays early,” Although freshman southpaw Tyler Russo allowed six runs in the 3.2 innings he pitched, he also recorded a career-high five strikeouts. “I felt bad for Tyler Russo because he actually made some good pitches, but we didn’t make any plays behind him,” Miller said. The Tigers regained their momentum after redshirt junior right hander Kody Reeser relieved Russo. Reeser pitched two consecutive 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed four hits and one run. Towson rallied in the seventh inning and scored four runs. Senior infielder Colin Conroy reached first base on a fielder’s choice which resulted in the Tigers second run of the game. Fields hit a two-RBI single towards right-center He advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored when Camper singled towards second base. - To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com
Puzzles
March 10, 2020
15
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