The Towerlight (September 24, 2019)

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September 24, 2019

The School Next Door With a growing university and community, TU works towards being a good neighbor towards residents, pg. 4

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Opinion

September 24, 2019

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Comedy and politics: the cursed connection Global Climate Strike hits Towson TYRONE BARROZO Columnist

Hasan Minhaj, comedian and host of the ongoing Netflix series, “Patriot Act”, recently spoke to Congress about the student loan crisis.

And, according to NBC news, the folks at Capitol Hill were having a good ole’ laugh about the financial tumor plaguing many American millennials’ lives. Of course, Congress were in the right to laugh.

What would a lowly comic know about the inner workings of government bureaucracy and compromised morality?

Well, it’s funny that that’s mentioned because here’s an idea: comedians actually play an integral role in society as being both the representative for the majority of America as well as its voice of reason in times of struggle.

The relationship between comedy and politics is an interesting one—certainly interesting enough for some mad lads (and lassies) in higher academia to teach a course in political comedy in the early 2010s. What’s most interesting about the relationship between the two is that, unlike the most outspoken grassroots protest leader, comedians have the power to rally an audience for change but with an audience that a protest leader could only dream of acquiring. Because of that, political comedians allow us to do many things such as keep tabs on crooks in Washington who are actively trying to screw people over.

For instance, earlier this year, the former host of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart, rightfully lambasted the shameless negligence from a nearly empty congressional panel in regard to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Footage of the testimony went viral on the Internet and following Stewart’s emotional speech, a bill was passed and successfully went through the House and the Senate to ensure that 9/11 victims will never run out of money for healthcare. Now that’s fine and dandy, but it should be noted that there are a couple points that should be brought up with this particular situation.

Prior to the testimony, Stewart was very much an outspoken voice for the Zadroga Act, a bill meant to set up a 9/11 victim healthcare fund,

since 2010 and even dedicated an entire episode of “The Daily Show” to highlight and expose the bill to the masses. Then, Stewart popped up again as a guest on “The Daily Show” in 2015 to shame politicians before the Zadroga Act neared its deadline for renewal because the act only guaranteed funding for five years.

The 2019 testimony was just the icing on the cake, and with sheer luck and maybe the grace of a benevolent god, he was finally able to shame the higher-ups enough so that they would finally do their job and help out dying heroes and heroines.

Stewart is just one example of comics using their platform for good, but he wasn’t alone. Long before he became a broken record of bad Trump impressions, Stephen Colbert, former host of “The Colbert Report” testified before Congress— albeit, in character as a well-intentioned conservative buffoon—to address the lack of support for migrant agricultural workers despite the US’ dependency on their labor.

Now, just to be clear, the conflict between Stewart and Congress isn’t a partisan issue for reds and blues to hiss about at each other—it’s a common sense issue. Once the public realized that, all that was left was to identify those on the wrong side of history which, in politics, is usually present.

Luckily, these comics are really good at doing their research, finding the facts, and making complicated concepts digestible to a [liberal] simpleton like myself so that we can focus on what is simply wrong and what we can do to maybe fix on certain issues. I mention that now because I want to transition to the part of this piece where I start talking about John Oliver and Hasan Minhaj. There’s a reason why I don’t get paid for this.

Aside from raising awareness and pushing for action, political comedians also use their platforms to educate people on well-known and obscure issues alike. The best examples for this discussion would probably be the host of “Last Week Tonight," John Oliver, and the aforementioned Minhaj.

For over five years now, Oliver has done an extraordinary job at covering numerous issues from capital punishment, net neutrality (unrelated side note: go screw yourself, Ajit Pai), and LGBT+ rights.

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

NIC KOSKI Columnist

Several Towson University students, including myself, walked out of class this past Friday, Sept.

20, to rally at Freedom Square.

We then took the closest light rail down to Baltimore City Hall where we continued our rally alongside thousands of other Baltimore students.

Many of these students marched from nearby high schools and middle schools, joined by their teachers, and carried signs reading “We are skipping our lessons to teach you one,” and “The seas are rising and so are we.” This was my first climate strike and it was truly inspiring.

While many of our “leaders” either idly stand by or, like the Trump administration, actively rollback protections for the environment and human lives, the youth of America are truly leading the way toward a livable future. The Baltimore climate strike was only one among countless others spanning across over 150 countries. The strikes began three days before the UN’s climate

emergency summit and sought to demand action on our climate crisis and bring an end to the age of fossil fuels.

Despite the overwhelming scientific support for the need to address climate change on a systemic level, I still see people overly focused on lifestyle change over systems change.

“Green bloggers” often recommend buying eco-friendly products or taking p u b l i c t ra n s p o r t a t i o n more often. However, this focus on lifestyle change is then often taken up by people who couldn’t care less about environmental causes to be turned against environmental activists who don’t model the perfect eco-friendly lifestyle, as a recent Fox News article has done in response to the climate strikes.

Lifestyle change is great when it is within your means. But as many at the strike pointed out, most people can’t switch over to more

eco-friendly modes of transportation when our cities have not designed their streets for accessibility and public transportation. One speaker added, “It’s not the fault of the workers in the fossil fuel industries who are just trying to feed their families, it’s the industries themselves.” To this we could add the startling fact that the U.S. spends billions of dollars on fossil fuel subsidies to keep the industry afloat despite consumer action to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

When we have all of these much deeper, interrelated causes to our climate crisis, lifestyle change simply won’t cut it. We need legislators, city-planners, educators, and all of us who have a hand in these systems to make the kind of change that will cease sustaining the fossil fuel industry and reproducing environmental disaster on a global scale. This is what the climate strikes are about.

The misadventures of Towson: Memory loss

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News

September 24, 2019

Constructing a community partnership

Campus growth has TU taking measures to maintain a positive relationship with residents TIM KLAPAC Senior Editor @pacofkla Universit y ad mi nistrators have taken steps to satisfy residents of Towson. Construction happening both on campus and Uptown, an expected increase in enrollment, and more projects on the horizon create a balancing act for the university.

“We are a 329-acre campus in the middle of a suburban area, surrounded by neighborhoods and a vibrant community,” said Katie Maloney, TU’s Executive Director of Government and Community Relations. “It’s important for us to be outward facing, to open our campus to the neighborhoods and making sure we are good neighbors.”

One of the ways Towson is working toward being good neighbors is the free ‘Movie Nights’ that were held at Johnny Unitas Stadium twice over the summer.

The stadium track was opened to the public to sit down and enjoy a movie on the video board while food and beverages were offered and donations of school supplies were being accepted. Attendees got to see ‘Spiderman: Into the Spider verse’ on July 20 and the live-action ‘Aladdin’ on Aug. 17.

Maloney said that the university also provides a grant

into the equation.

With private

to the Baltimore County Police Department to enhance the patrols on weekends during the fall and spring semesters. The late night shuttles from downtown back to campus are another example of TU’s commitment to the Towson community.

“We are very committed and [President Schatzel] is committed,” Maloney said.

One of the eight priorities TU President Kim Schatzel outlined when she arrived was ‘BTU, Partnerships at Work for Greater Baltimore.’

The University’s Strategic Plan stresses how TU is “dedicated to continue to empower our campus and our greater community to make choices for lifelong well-being and effective stewardship of our natural resources.”

“When I came here, one of the priorities that I had was that we really want to be good neighbors,” said Schatzel. “The more that we can act as an anchor institution and really be an asset to both this community as well as Greater Baltimore, that’s what the intention is to do.”

Students are certainly aware of the construction around campus, but the changes being made to Uptown have brought the residents

include Towson Row, 101 York and Towson Station, locals have had to deal with the same issues students have experienced on-campus.

“As far as the building that’s going on, we’re a little concerned,” said Karen Nuttle, a resident who lives near the Towsontown Garage.

“As far as the concerns, it’s just where is the traffic going? Because Towson University still has a lot of students that commute.”

As the construction in Uptown creates traffic concerns, residents can become frustrated. However, TU has taken strides to connect with residents in order to hear those concerns and address them. “[TU] is getting really big, and again, there’s a little concern, but the university does cooperate with us,” said Nuttle. “When we have our community meetings, somebody [from the university] does show up and we voice our concerns.”

The meetings Nuttle is referring to are held by the University Relations Committee once a month during the school year. In these meetings, residents can voice their concerns to a TU representative.

“I think the relationship is strong because the University Relations Committee deals with issues every month school is in ses-

projects

that

Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Local resident Karen Nuttle has had positive experiences with students living in her neighborhood and has heard a lot about the University’s attempts to maintain a positive atmosphere in the community.

sion, and because the President’s office engages key stakeholders

to the ordinance to better improve the communities, including hav-

in the community,” said David Marks, county councilman for the Towson neighborhoods.

Maloney stressed that the university is taking every measure possible to ensure the changes being made to Uptown are smooth for residents.

“Anytime you have growth, you have growing pains,” she said. “We make sure we’re not starting [construction] too early in the morning or late at night, making sure we’re sensitive to traffic, [minimizing] any traffic that would occur.

Some of it is unavoidable, but our neighbors have been fantastic and understanding. They’ve seen growth in the core and they’ve felt it as positive.”

When incidents do occur as a result of the construction, Marks said that they have been smallscale and have been handled.

“We’d had issues with contractors parking illegally in neighborhoods that we’ve had to deal with, but these are all short-term nuisances,” he said.

Nuttle says she has had positive experiences with students living in her neighborhood and while she hears about parties that are thrown, she hears more about the positive measures taken by students to maintain a positive atmosphere in the neighborhoods.

“Right now it seems like the students that are here are very committed, and those are the students that we want here,” she said. “Once in a while, I hear about Rodgers Forge having a big party where things got out of hand, and the police had to be called. I’ve heard about it, but I’ve also heard about whenever we have a big snowstorm, all the Towson U [students] that live there get out and shovel the community.”

Improvements in the neighborhoods can be attributed to the Social Host Ordinance passed by the Baltimore County Council in 2016, which levied stricter penalties on parties in the Towson neighborhoods.

Since the ordinance passed, the number of complaints has dropped from more than 50, to less than 15.

Amendments have been made

ing violators perform community service in the community in which the violation occurred.

“I don’t want to unnecessarily penalize students, but I want them to be good neighbors,” Marks said.

The social ordinance isn’t about simply punishing students that misbehave, it is about building a strong relationship between the neighborhoods and Towson University, something that can be hard for colleges to do.

The university has plans to continue engaging with the Towson community as the campus grows year after year. The new science building is one example of TU’s ongoing community efforts.

“The whole back of the building was deliberately built into the Glen [Arboretum] so there is an open classroom,” Maloney said. “We hope to make it available to community groups, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, to provide hands-on learning in a living classroom concept.”

Ser vice efforts by the univer s it y, i nc lud i n g ‘ Tow n and Gown,’ a day of ser vice in October sponsored by the SGA, where students assist local homeowners and businesses by cleaning up Uptown Towson, and ‘The Big Event,’ TU’s largest day of community service,are examples of how students, faculty, staff and alumni give back to their community.

This year’s ‘Town and Gown’ takes place on Oct. 26. and ‘The Big Event’ is slated for April 25, 2020.

The Towson community also holds service events that students can participate in. Marks referenced the ‘Towsontown Spring Festival’ and road and stream claunups organized by the Towson Chamber of Commerce and the Towson Communities Alliance as examples.

As the university’s growth continues, Nuttle is excited for what she feels is an overdue boost to the community.

“I’m glad to see another big public university in our state because we really did need it and [the university] was not [large] when I was here,” she said.

- Meghan Hudson contributed to this article.

News

September 24, 2019

TU’s donations hit record high

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As a state school, Towson receives some funding from the state; however, philanthropy has helped TU develop a number of programs and scholarships. Towson has raised over $14,085,000 in fiscal year 2019.

MARCUS WHITMAN Staff Writer

Towson University has surpassed their previous records in donations through philanthropy with a record amount of $14,085,000 raised. Through these philanthropic donations, Towson has been able to fund a number of new programs and expand existing projects on campus such as scholarship programs, athletics, student programming and operations, facilities, faculty and student research projects and more.

Todd Langenberg, Towson’s Associate Vice President for the Division of University Advancement, explained how it is decided where the money goes to ensure that donors have a say in the distribution.

“Every one of our over 15,700 donors in fiscal year 2019 made their own decision of how they would like to see their gifts put to use at Towson University,” he said. “Donors are offered the opportunity to contribute to any of our over 700 philanthropic causes across campus, whether that be to benefit efforts such as student programming and operations, endowed scholarship funds, physical plant and facilities, or faculty and student

research projects.”

According to Langenberg, the university reaches out to potential donors such as alumni, families, corporations, and community members. These people are contacted through methods such as social media, phone calls, emails, postcards, and face to face meetings. Langenberg added that the University accepts anything from $1 to $1 million for donations.

Sean Welsh, the Associate Vice President for Communications and Media Advancement, explained how philanthropy is important to the University because the funding from the state of Maryland allows the university to run. Philanthropy helps the University fund many projects and grow the school out further.

“There are a number of programs that we are developing out further in which members of the philanthropic community can get involved and truly make a difference,” Welsh said.

According to David Vanko, Towson’s Dean of the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics, philanthropy has also specifically helped his college grow. He said that while funding from the state is good for covering the day to day expenses and keeping the lights on, philanthropic endeavors have benefited Fisher College more by further expand-

ing its academic programs and resources.

According to Vanko, philanthropy has also helped Fisher College outside of just monetary gifts.

“For the new science center that one of our laboratories been very equipped, a company intends to donate, they’re not giving us money,” he said. “They’re giving us equipment for genetics and DNA analysis.”

The College of Science and Mathematics’s Hill-Lopes scholarship is launching this year, thanks to philanthropy donations from Barbara Hill and Ancelmo Lopes.

The scholarship’s purpose it to encourage women in the field of science and help them gain the skills they need to excel in the STEM workforce. The scholarship program is taking effect this fall and will officially be launched on Oct. 11.

Vanko also mentioned that the Glen Arboretum will be getting new funding thanks to donors.

This funding will allow the Glen Arboretum to have new trees and shrubs planted and to clean out invasive species in the area.

Vanko says the plan is to turn the arboretum into an area meant for study on campus.

“Glen Arboretum, proven more and more, will become a real jewel that people are gonna visit,” said Vanko.

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Arts & Life

September 24, 2019

Traveling exhibit comes to TU

ROARING REVIEWS

Sci-fi film is out of this world TYRONE BARROZO Columnist

Courtesy of Sayaka Kajita Ganz

Sayaka Kajita Ganz’s traveling exhibit, “Reclaimed Creations” is now occupying the Asian Arts Gallery in Center for the Arts. Ganz kicked off the opening reception for the exhibit with an artist talk on Sept. 19.

GRACE HEBRON Contributing Writer

CFA’s Asian Arts Gallery welcomed artist Sayaka Kajita Ganz’s traveling exhibition, “Reclaimed Creations,” with a “meet the artist” gathering and opening reception on Sept. 19.

Ganz, who cultivates welded animal forms from reclaimed plastic, visited Towson University to share her creative philosophy, rooted in the Shintoanimistic belief that souls reside in objects both animate and inanimate.

For Ganz, the road to plastic was paved with metal. She began collecting, cleaning and welding sculptures from discarded pieces of metal from a courtyard as a student at Indiana University.

“I would just have such a great time going through it and finding treasures that kind of looked like parts of animals,” said Ganz, who continued making metal sculptures for five years after graduating, until one day, plastic called her.

“At the thrift store, I just came across this bag full of yellow, plastic chain,” she said. “I think it was for a children’s swing set or something.”

Ganz used the chain to create a yellow swan, from which she later salvaged the head, neck, and portions of the wings to create “Phoenix Rising from the Ashes,” an installation featured in “Reclaimed Creations.” Unlike other pieces featured in the exhibit, it’s what Ganz describes as a “second incarnation,” of a bird she had previously sculpted.

She typically refrains from altering a finished work, including the shape or color of any plastic used for welding, a culmination of 50-plus bins of col-

or-sorted materials amassed over a ten-year period.

“I tend to start with the idea of an animal and then I find the colors to describe it,” Ganz said. Her intent is to mimic the colors found in nature, leaving room for slight exaggeration in pieces like “The Bird of Paradise,” which Ganz describes as being bright “Chinese red with yellow.”

“Those colors are more muted in nature, but still there,” she said.

“They’re mostly reddish-brown bodied and then they have yellow heads, but maybe not so bright as I made.”

Other pieces, like “Red Cheetah Running,” use color more interpretively.

“The cheetah, I made red because of the sense of speed and movement that I wanted to communicate,” Ganz said.

Fifth year design major, Patricia Elia, praised the whimsical, fun and immersive elements of Ganz’ work.

“The sculptures themselves are so striking, but her attitude towards the process has almost as striking, if not more, than the beauty in her forms,” said Elia. “I think she really responds to the qualities of the plastic and uses it to execute a vision that’s in line with what the plastic already is.”

It’s important to Ganz that the individual pieces of plastic maintain an authentic voice, even in animal form. A look at any given sculpture in “Reclaimed Creations,” reveals plastic flatware in various states; from slotted spoons and spatulas to hand-clappers. Even remnants of a George Foreman grill can be found in Ganz’ sculpture of a whale, welded with blue plastic to be looked at as if through water.

Senior illustration major Chris Lins described his fascination with the lifelike quality of Ganz’ work.

“[The sculptures are] all understandable and realistic enough to tell the animal just from sight, even though it’s an amalgamation of these other pieces,” Lins said.

Lins was struck by the polar bear sculptures, which appear to be moving through water from where they hang in the center of the gallery.

“Usually, I want to create the impression of the animal being alive and in some kind of motion,” Ganz said.

The artist attempts to simulate sideways movement in her sculptures with a combination of diagonal lines, like the ones found in plastic coat hangers, which Ganz uses to create almost every piece.

“They’re made to mimic our shoulders, so they can also describe other body parts of the animals,” she said.

Ganz expects environmental crisis to cross the minds of those who view her work, but she doesn’t want consciousness to come from a place of sadness or guilt.

“When we feel like we are being accused of something, we feel very defensive and our heart kind of closes and we feel very disempowered,” she said. “When we can open our hearts more, then I think we can start to care more, and that’s more important for us to be able to make a positive change.”

Ganz sees plastic as her teacher and hopes to honor each piece by returning it to earth as a happy animal, not stepping away until she can see them smiling.

“If they look like they are happy and alive, then I’m finished with the piece,” she said.

“Reclaimed Creations,” is on display in the CFA Asian Arts Gallery through Dec. 8.

In the early hours leading up to the 4:35 p.m. screening of “Ad Astra,” a science fiction film, it was a rather uneventful day. I folded laundry, my OkCupid match texted me to cancel our date (again), and I spent a lot of my time alone on my couch, fiddling about on Snapchat. Needless to say, I showed up to the theater about an hour early to escape the weekend silence.

I quietly took in awkward stares.

At the concession stand, I cursed at the $6.25 price for Angry Orchard cider, then purchased one anyways.

Five minutes later, I bought myself popcorn and soda, and before I knew it, it was time for the film to start.

“Ad Astra” stars Brad Pitt and is directed and co-written by James Gray. The film’s plot takes place in the near future and Pitt’s character, Roy, is sent out into space to find his long lost father, whose experiment goes awry and suddenly threatens the fate of humanity.

The film had it’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29, and was later theatrically released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios’ 20th Century Fox on Sept. 20.

Prior to the film, I did not know what to expect as I didn’t really watch any of the trailers of the film leading up to my actual viewing of the movie.

For the most part, the visual effects for the film look phenomenal and realistic. Many sections of the film felt like looking at a planetarium and managed to maintain the simplistic, wondrous feeling that kids get from looking up at the stars, even despite the heavy adult themes of familial anger and resentment.

The sound editing of the film immediately established a sense of world-weariness and unknown human emptiness through synths and industrial tones which was only reflected in Pitt’s performance of a somewhat despondent major dealing with compartmentalized emotions towards his father whose absence

left scars. The film also features music composed by Max Richter, whose previous contributions in film and television includes Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” and Charlie Brooker’s “Black Mirror.”

Cinematography was headed by Hoyte van Hoytema whose work has been leaving impressions on viewers since 2008 with “Let the Right

One In.” Hoytema has also been the head of cinematography on other films such as “The Fighter,” “Her,” and “Dunkirk.”

Needless to say, Christopher Nolan fans will be in for quite a treat with this film. A particular stand-out scene that really caught my eye had Pitt in a center-frame shot in a scarlet red hallway where light and shadows guided the narrative during that part of the film.

Trust me, you won’t be able to miss the scene and you certainly won’t be disappointed.

Aside from all that the film’s production had going on with it’s stacked team, I did have a couple of minor issues with this film.

According to the film’s billing, Liv Tyler played Pitt’s husband but she’s barely in the film. Like, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and Ruth Negga respectively didn’t have too much screen time either, but Tyler’s minimal presence was really noticeable in the film (I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a phone-in type of situation like Bruce Willis does for most films nowadays).

I also thought that some of the parts of the film were a bit preachy.

That may or may not be due to the regular use of voiceover narration to progress the narrative of the film.

I can’t say that it wasn’t an unwarranted stream-of-consciousness narration because the film emphasizes the importance and the integrity of the main character’s psychological well being. I don’t believe that preachiness is a big issue, but it’s certainly something worth mentioning when considering to shill out $12 on a Friday night—if you want something more relaxed and entertaining, then this film might not be the right one for you.

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

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Arts & Life

Goats graze Glen

Up your daily discourse IAN PINKERTON Columnist

Tim Klapac/ The Towerlight

Goats in Glen has become a Towson tradition for the past six years.

The goats returned last week to clear invasive species out of Glen.

MEGHAN HUDSON Arts & Life Editor

Goats in Glen, simply, is a Towson tradition. Towson University has been utilizing goats to reduce invasive species in the Glen Arboretum for six years now, and plans to continue doing so for years to come. Dubbed as “landscapers,” these furry farm animals typically spend two days a semester chomping on invasive species within the Glen Arboretum. This semester, the goats visited on Sept. 17 and 18.

According to James Hull, professor emeritus and assistant curator of botany for Towson University, the Glen Woods was established in the 1930s when Towson University was simply for teaching future educators, and known as the Maryland State Teachers College at Towson.

The area was established as a demonstration garden during the great depression, when gardening was an extremely useful skill to teach students, as it saved money on vegetables.

For the next 40 years, the Glen Woods served as the center point of the Towson campus. By the 1970s, Towson State College would shift their focus towards academia and towards utilizing the buildings which were granted to be built on campus under Roosevelt. For the next 20 years, this teaching school would evolve into Towson State University.

Finally, in the 90s, Towson University decided to revive the Glen area, and focus on transforming it into an Arboretum that would have all of the native trees of Maryland. In order to achieve

this goal, the university would need to kill off the overwhelming population of invasive species which were overtaking and killing the existing trees in the Glen Woods.

“We have been working for the last 10 years to remove the invasive species, and the goats are a part of that effort,” said Hull.

According to Hull, there are three basic ways of removing invasive species. The first is mechanically, by tearing up everything and replanting. However, this method is very destructive, and causes erosion. The second is chemically, spraying and killing invasive species with herbicides. Adversely, the area lies on the Jones Falls watershed, and the university has responsibilities to the watershed.

Lastly, they can eliminate the species more selectively.

“The goats come in and will eat within a selected area to eliminate the invasive species in that location, and volunteers and some paid students will go in and remove the root stalks of these invasive species and then replant them with natives,” Hull said.

The goats come from Harmony Church Farm in Harford County at least once a year. While the goats are on campus, students have the opportunity to interact and help feed them.

“It’s very economical to bring goats in,” said Ronnie Cassilly, a goat herder from Harmony Church Farm. “If you don’t, you’re going to lose all your trees, and trees are expensive.

Not only are they economically valuable, they keep all of us alive, they sustain us on the planet.”

- Suzanne Stuller contributed to this article.

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

Words are one of the most important aspects of human communication. Without them, it would be pretty hard to tell your friends about the tasty meal you had for lunch.

Because of this crucial importance, it is difficult to claim that expanding one’s vocabulary warrants anything but positive results.

Albeit, working to create a well-rounded vocabulary is a grueling task that seems not worth it, it pays off in the long run. Personally, it took a few months before I noticed any results. Now, after two years of working to expand my vocabulary, I notice results left and right.

A well-rounded vocabulary can mean understanding older or more academic works of literature, being able to express ideas more effectively, having greater ease in making connections, and much more.

Whether it’s to liven up some writing or to spice up a conversation, a well-rounded vocabulary is always a useful tool to have under one’s belt.

How can you work to expand your vocabulary? It’s simple.

Whenever you come across a word you don’t know the exact definition of, whether from reading, listening, or some other medium, take note of it. Later whenever you find yourself bored, go back to these words and jot down their definitions in a journal or make flashcards. Eventually, they will stick in your head and you will start to notice those new words you learned everywhere you go. But, since that takes a lot of time, here are ten words that are useful, fun, interesting, and practical: Myopic - Myopic is a great word to use in an argument. It means to be narrow-minded and short-sighted, lacking foresight. It’s useful to help rebuttal an opponent who is ignoring the big picture of something, either in an essay or an argument with friends.

Effervescent - To be effervescent is to be lively and enthusiastic, often used synonymously with “bubbly.” This is the perfect word to describe someone who is excit-

ed; it might as well be a fancier way of saying someone is excited about something, or in a particularly good mood. Effervescence is also the name for the fizz and bubbles in a carbonated drink.

Antipode - Personally, I think that this is a fun word to say. An antipode is something that is the direct opposite of another thing. For example, going to sleep is the antipode of staying awake. It’s similar to an antithesis except the word “antithesis” is usually used to show a contrast between two opposite things.

Aitch - This word is a fantastic ice breaker. Imagine you’re having trouble talking to someone new. What easier way is there to start a conversation than by sharing a cool fact and bonding over its bizarre nature? Aitch simply means the letter “H” … Yep, just the letter “H”. Obsolete words are always great for conversations!

Sesquipedalian - This one may be a mouthful, but it is also great for conversations! Ironically, sesquipedalian means something that is characterized by a lot of syllables (go figure). A fun way to use this word is to mention it to some friends with an alliterative buzz: it’s fun to blabber “the suspiciously sesquipedalian Susquehanna,” isn’t it?

Dogmatic - Dogmatic is a super useful word to describe someone who won’t give up their principles no matter what. Someone who is dogmatic feels obligated to set principles and claim they are undeniably true. If you ever meet someone who says they always sleep early, even though they often stay up late, they are being dogmatic.

Scintillating - This is the perfect word to describe Towson’s community. To be scintillating is to be brilliant, clever, and skillful. If that doesn’t sound like Towson, then I don’t know what does; aside from describing Towson, this word is great to use in an essay to introduce a prominent source in a paper; “… the scintillating William Nye, in his study about…” is just one example of how to use this word.

Supercilious - Have you ever been corrected by someone snobby and couldn’t find a word to describe the encountered person? Look no further, the word supercilious fits perfect

be supercilious is to be pretentious and condescending: to act above someone else because you think you’re superior.

This word could also be helpful when drafting historical essays about oppressive conditions.

Eunoia - Eunoia is the shortest word in the English language to use all five vowels. How cool is that!? In rhetoric, to have eunoia is to have goodwill between the speaker and the audience. In other words, it is when the audience believes the speaker is trying to do good. You can see a lot of this at the Climate Change protests that are happening all over the world. In addition to this rhetorical meaning, eunoia is rarely used in the medical sphere to describe someone who is living with a normal mental state, the perfect middle between euphoria and depression.

Sycophantic - This is a fancy word to describe a kiss-up. To be sycophantic is to be overly obedient to someone in order to gain an advantage over others. To be someone who does this is to be a sycophant. It is a fantastic word to describe this kind of behavior without giving off an informal vibe, making it perfect for academic writing.

I hope these ten words will inspire you to work to build your own vocabulary! Actually, here’s an extra word for you: “tautology.”

Essentially, a tautology is when you say the same thing twice in succession with different words, like I did by saying “your own.” It’s not like your vocabulary isn’t already yours, right? Why add “own”?

The English language is a goldmine of fun and useful words, you never know what you’re going to discover. Without working to build my vocabulary, my academic writings would be filled with overused diction and complex googled words that barely make sense. A strong vocabulary can aide and enrich one’s life, allowing for greater communication, understanding, and agility.

In addition to the tips for learning new words mentioned above, if you’re thirsty for more fantastic words, you can go to a Word of the Day website like wordthink.com, or simply browse a dictionary for a few minutes. You’ll be surprised what fun words stick with you.

Sports

September 24, 2019

11

Tournament sweep Towson wins Tiger Invitational without losing a single set, conference schedule up next

Jenna Blank Soccer

Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Sophomore Emily Jarome (center) and senior Sylvia Grassini (right) fight for a point in Towson's victory over NJIT on Sunday. The Tigers won all three matches in the Tiger Invitational without losing a single set.

JORDAN KENDALL Asst. Sports Editor @jordankendall54 The Tigers swept the Towson Invitational vs. the Loyola Greyhounds, NJIT Highlanders, and New Hampshire Wildcats sweeping each match 3-0.

“Today [vs. New Hampshire] against a winning program that’s having a lot of success in the first two sets, we imposed our will,” head coach Don Metil said.

Against the New Hampshire Wildcats (10-4), Towson (10-2) got out to an early 10-2 lead in part to two kills by senior outside hitter Annie Ertz. With a 15-5 advantage in kills in the first set, it helped the Tigers win the first set 25-8.

Freshman middle blocker Lydia Wiers and senior outside hitter Emily Jerome each had four kills in the period.

In the second set, the Wildcats kept it close, battling back-andforth with the Tigers. Towson scored four consecutive points twice during the set, which led to the Tigers winning the second set 25-17. The Tigers had a slight 1512 kills lead in the second set.

In the third set, the Tigers took six of eight points after trailing 7-5 to take back the lead 11-9.

The game continued to be competitive as the Wildcats took seven of the next 13 points to cut into

a 19-14 Towson lead. New Hampshire scored four of the next seven points and the set was within three points at 22-19.

“In set three, we were sloppy with some unforced errors but we’re in a good mind space going into conference play,” Metil said.

The Wildcats scored the next three points and tied the set at 2222. New Hampshire took a 23-22 lead the following serve.

The set continued to go backand-forth until an attack error won the third set for the Tigers, 33-31.

Jerome finished with a teambest 15 kills, Wiers had 11 and senior middle blocker Silvia Grassani had 10. Senior setter Marissa Wonders had 38 assists.

“We need that experience going into conference and learning how to keep our composure in those tight matches and still find a way to win,” Metil said.

Against NJIT (1-14), the Tigers won the first set 25-19 in part to the 13-6 kill advantage.

Once gaining a 5-2 lead the Tigers would never trail in the set and scored as much as seven straight points.

In the second set, Towson would go on scoring runs of 7-0 and 8-0, en route to a 25-11 win.

The Highlanders took an early 5-1 lead in the third set before Towson scored nine of the next 12. Towson had two runs with five and six unanswered

points leading to a 25-16 win in set three to sweep the game 3-0.

Jarome had 12 kills leading the Tigers. Wonders finished with 27 assists.

Metil was impressed with a lot of what his team did.

“Our ability to stay in system, and our dig transition,” he said.

Against Loyola (7-7), the first set was very competitive, neither team having a scoring run longer than two consecutive points until Towson scored the final three points to take the set, 25-18.

“We played well on [vs. Loyola], in an environment a year earlier we did not,“ Metil said.

In set two, Towson scored five of the last eight to win 25-20.

The Greyhounds scored seven of ten points after trailing 4-2.

Once Loyola took a 10-9 lead, the set went back-and-forth, which the Tigers won 25-21, scoring the final two points.

Finckel, Jarome, and Ertz each had seven kills. Wonders led the Tigers with 27 assists.

“I was impressed with our ability to stay in our defensive base and generate a lot of blocks,” Metil said. “We averaged about three and a half blocks a set and that’s where we need to be against our conference opponents.”

The Tigers travel to Newark, Delaware on Friday, Sept.27 to face the Delaware Blue Hens at 6:30 p.m. from the Bob Carpenter Center.

Sophomore forward Jenna Blank made history in Towson's 3-0 victory over the University of Richmond on Thursday. Blank became the first player in school history to record a hat trick in one half and was named the CAA's Player of the Week.

12 September 24, 2019

Sports

Tigers dropped in overtime loss to Villanova

Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Redshirt junior wide receiver Caleb Smith is one of the players being asked to step up following injuries to redshirt senior running back Shane Simpson and junior wide receiver Jabari Allen. Smith had five receptions for 54 receiving yards in Towson's 52-45 overtime loss to Villanova on Saturday. The loss dropped the Tigers to No. 10 in the FCS football polls.

TIM KLAPAC Senior Editor @pacofkla JORDAN KENDALL Asst. Sports Editor @jordankendall54 The No. 5 Tigers fell to the No. 18 Villanova Wildcats 52-45 in overtime in what may have been the game of the year.

"Hats off to coach Ferrante and Villanova, that is a very, very good football team,” said head coach Rob Ambrose. “They brought their A-game tonight.

After last year, we knew that was coming, and they were impressive on both sides of the ball and special teams.”

Despite the loss, the attendance of 8,811 was the 13th-highest in the history of Johnny Unitas Stadium, something Ambrose is thankful for.

“I’d like to thank the Towson

faithful, the people who made a lot of noise and made a difference and really enjoyed their Saturday night,” he said. “That’s how Saturday night football is supposed to be. I hope to see you more. that was pretty high entertainment value for your dollar.”

Offensive plays were abound in this game as both teams combined for over 1000 yards of total offense. Villanova’s (4-1, 1-0 CAA) 1-2 punch of junior quarterback Daniel Smith and junior running back Justin Covington proved to be a formidable opponent for the Tigers (3-1, 1-1 CAA) defense, who are tied for first in the nation in turnover margin.

Smith added to his conference-leading passing touchdown total, throwing for four while compiling 279 passing yards, along with the game-winning touchdown run in overtime. Covington, who leads the nation in rushing yards, ran for 195 yards and one touchdown.

Without redshirt senior run-

ning back Shane Simpson and jujust 32 yards on 10 carries. nior wide receiver Jabari Allen, The Tigers defense surrenTowson’s offense turned to their dered three touchdowns of 25+ its depth for answers, and didn’t yards and failed to get the Villaget any. Aside from redshirt senior nova offense off the field as the quarterback Tom Flacco and redWildcats went 12-19 on 3rd-down shirt senior wide receiver Shane conversions and 2-2 on 4th down Leatherbury, the rest of the ofconversions. fense struggled to make big plays.

“We were bad on third down, “[Simpson and Allen] are talentyou gotta stop them,” Ambrose ed players,” Flacco said. “You have to said. “It’s next man take advantage of up, tonight we can your opportuniAfter last year, we ties. We had tons lament on the loss but tomorrow we knew what was com- of opportunities to gotta learn from win this ballgame ing, and they were and we gave it it.”

Flacco totaled 414 impressive on both away.” yards of offense, Both 4th-down sides of the ball. including a 42-yard conversions were touchdown run, Villanova’s ROB AMBROSE on Head Coach game tying drive and Leatherbury was the leading reat the end of the ceiver for the game with 118 yards fourth quarter. and one touchdown.

“We were out of position, on Senior running back Yeedee some plays they were just more Thaenrat, starting for the injured physical than we were,” redshirt Simpson, did contribute three touchsenior linebacker Robert Heydowns on the ground, but managed ward said.

“

Heyward did make a big play for the defense, intercepting Smith on a dropped pass and taking it 49 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 42, electrifying the fans and capping a 17-0 scoring run for Towson.

“It was a good play, ran a screenplay,” Heyward said. “[Villanova] dropped it, I ended up with it.”

Once overtime began, the energy was heavy on the Wildcats as Covington ran the ball down to the Towson two-yard line on the first play of the extra quarter; Smith would score on the next play.

The Tigers will look to rebound on the road as they travel to Gainesville, Florida to face the Florida Gators of the FBS on Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is at 4 p.m. and the game can be watched on the SEC Network.

Towson's next home game will be on Oct. 12 against the Albany Great Danes at 4 p.m. from Johnny Unitas Stadium.