Volume XLVI, Issue 18 February 6, 2015

the

Case Western Reserve University volume xlvi, issue 18 friday, 2/6/2015

Observer A land purchase CWRU would like to forget University pays $575,000 for disgraced dean’s house Mike McKenna Director of Print Case Western Reserve University’s newest building isn’t on campus. There are no classrooms, lab space or conference rooms, but it is equipped with the following: granite counter tops, a landscaped stone patio, two wood burning fireplaces, a detached 3 car garage and a “glamour bath” Nobody’s name graces the outside of this building; university officials would prefer to keep the previous owner out of the spotlight.

Cuyahoga County Auditor records indicate that on July 1, CWRU purchased former law school Dean Lawrence Mitchell’s five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home for $575,000.

Mitchell resigned last March after Law School Professor Raymond Ku sued both Mitchell and CWRU, alleging that Mitchell retaliated against Ku for bringing forth a number of allegations of sexual harassment against the dean, his superior.

The lawsuit alleged that while at CWRU, six professors experienced sexually inappropriate harassment from Mitchell, along with four members of the administrative staff and a law student. Several of these individuals allegedly stated to Ku that they feared for their jobs if they reported Mitchell’s misconduct.

The 3072 Fairmont Blvd. address is located in the middle of a residential Cleveland Heights neighborhood, a 10-minute drive

from campus.

The timing of the purchase suggests that CWRU may have bought Mitchell’s residence as part of the undisclosed settlement which ended Ku’s lawsuit. The property was bought a week before the settlement was announced in a joint statement by representatives for CWRU, Mitchell and Ku. University officials would not comment on the questions of why the university purchased the house or whether it was purchased as a stipulation of the settlement.

They did note, however, that the university is continuing to pursue plans for the property.

“We do not comment about individual faculty arrangements with the university, but we can confirm that we own the house and intend to sell or rent, depending on the circumstances,” the university said in a statement.

A similar property across the street from the house is currently asking for $3,200 a month in rent.

Ryan Young, CWRU’s listing agent from Kevin Williams Realty, confirmed that the university had listed the property for sale up until the end of last month. He would not comment on why CWRU pulled the house off the market.

Mitchell is set to return in a teaching capacity in August of 2015.

Subodh Chandra, Ku’s lawyer, did not return request for comment as of press time.

Winter closures After Monday’s snow day CWRU has:

4 times Delayed opening 4 times And closed for whole day

Closed early

3

once.

times were for extreme cold (all during January of 2014)

6 were forall snow since 2011.

-Statistics courtesy of The Daily

Meredith Dykehouse/Observer

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer In July, CWRU purchased the above house from its former law school dean.

What Mitchell was accused of: Engaging in sexually inappropriate conduct with female members of the faculty and staff of the Law School on multiple instances, including at a party at his house. These allegations include caressing a female colleague’s bare back and making sexually charged comments toward subordinate employees. In a detailed affidavit, one of Mitchell’s former assistants, Daniel Dubé, alleged that Mitchell propositiond him for a threesome and forced him to help cover up the dean’s issues to keep his job. When

Dubé finally reported Mitchell through the proper channels, he says he was “laid off for budgetary reasons.”

What the settlement is believed to consist of: CWRU purchasing Mitchell’s house (due to timing of sale).

Ku being name the director of the law school’s newly created Center for Cyberspace Law and Policy. (His appointment was publicized in the same press release that announced the settlement.)

Undisclosed other reparations.

Giant killers Spartan basketball beats Top 10 team Aaron Shang Staff Reporter On a snowy night in Cleveland, the Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team stayed hot by outpacing the No. 7 Washington University (Mo.) Bears en route to a critical 89-78 victory in St. Louis.

Relying on an unstoppable offensive effort from senior forward and team captain Dane McLoughlin (25 points on 8-13 shooting, 7-10 from deep) and a career night for senior center Connor Edel (16 points on 7-8 shooting), the Spartans matched the highly-touted Bears shot for shot the entire game, before pulling away late with a 17-6 run. As a team, CWRU shot a blistering 53.4 percent from the field, including an astounding 15-30 from three-point range.

In addition to the impact that the win had

on CWRU University Athletic Association (UAA) standings, the victory also affected a number of important historical marks.

Coming into the game, Washington University had taken the last 19 meetings against CWRU. In taking down that dubious mark, the Spartans also ended the Bears’ undefeated record at home this season. The 15 threes that the Spartans hit also set a new season high across Division III basketball and fell just two shy of a UAA record. Forward Dane McLoughlin’s seven three-pointers tied his personal career high, as he continues to add to his own school record in that category.

With the loss, Washington fell into a threeway tie for second place in the UAA, while CWRU remained tied with The University of Chicago for first place atop the conference.

to Killers | 18

News

A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 5 Medical school denies degree

pg. 9 Dance your heart out

pg. 6 Speaking up on transportation

pg. 17 Swim preps for UAA tournament

news CWRU hosts panel on climate change in northeast Ohio John Brogan Staff Reporter With Cleveland being affected by bouts of extreme weather this winter, climate change is at the forefront of many students minds. On Feb. 3, the Tinkham Veale University Center hosted a symposium that explored the local impacts of global warming on the quality of life in Northeast Ohio.

The National Audubon Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation, hosted the event. The society has approximately 500 chapters across the United States. Amongst the roughly 100 people in attendance were many recognized figures in environmental programs throughout Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.

Water With Lake Erie accounting for 28 percent of Ohio’s yearly tourism income, keeping the lake clean isn’t just a matter of sustainability. It’s a matter of economic necessity. According to panelist David Spangler, who is the president of Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Inc. and vice president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, sport fishing on the lake also supports 20,000 jobs in northeast Ohio.

Rapid algae growth in Lake Erie, primarily due to heavy rainfall, can become harmful when certain toxic forms of algae begin to spread. While some algae are beneficial and necessary for the lake’s ecosystem, others contain high levels of phosphorus that can make the water undrinkable.

According to the World Bank, water scarcity is one of the largest threats to the world economy, with 36 percent of the world’s population already living in water-scarce regions. Bryan Stubbs, executive director of the Cleveland Water Alliance, is working to improve water quality around the world. He referenced

California’s recent drought as an example of a water scarcity affecting a highly industrialized and contemporary area.

Stubbs also stressed the importance of protecting watersheds, a particular concern for Ohio with the growth of oil and gas drilling in the Utica Shale region, which covers half of the state.

Drilling wells, sometimes referred to as fracking wells, generally use between two and eight gallons of fresh water per drill.

Reforestation When people talk about reforestation, they don’t usually reference urban settings. But with Cleveland only having 19 percent tree canopy, a low number for a city, many panelists called for change.

Currently, organizations in Cleveland are working on reforestation, and have received over $1 million in grants to educate communities and plant trees.

Smart Homes David Beach, the director of GreenCityBlueLake, the sustainability center at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, spoke about the need to reduce carbon emissions and prevent deforestation.

One way that he proposed to reduce carbon emissions was through building smart homes. These are energy efficient homes designed to require significantly less energy for heat and electricity. A recent exhibit at the Museum of Natural History showcased the first smart home in northern Ohio.

Agriculture Cleveland has the largest amount of urban farmland in the country, according to Joanne Scudder, the Director of Sustainability at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. The Ohio City Farm, next to West Side Market, is a good example of this, along with local farms Cleveland Crops and Central Roots.

According to Scudder, climate

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer Experts at the panel talked about the different ways in which climate change is affecting Cleveland residents, including its effects on economics and public health. change is forcing farmers to change how they manage their yield. Higher temperatures and droughts have been lowering corn and soybean production levels, forcing a larger reliance on wheat.

Public Health Climate change can also cause issues in public health. Air pollution is a commonly cited issue, especially in cities.

According to pediatrician Aparna Bole, the systemwide Sustainability Manager for University Hospitals, air pollution can be particularly bad for children.

Longer, hotter seasons in Northeast Ohio have resulted in increased pollen. Bole explained that more extreme weather conditions and higher pollen counts may be a contributor to the increasing asthma rates in Cleveland.

Cleveland already has one of the highest asthma rates in the country, particularly in the African American population. Roughly 20 percent of Af-

rican American children in Cleveland have asthma.

Taking action Every speaker stressed the importance of community support in pushing lawmakers to take action on climate change.

According to Marnie Urso, the grassroots coordinator for the National Audubon Society, policy makers can’t be expected to be experts in every field.

“Understand where they’re coming from,” stressed Urso. “That opens up a conversation and allows you to be a resource to them.”

Urso focused on the importance of federal action but said that community support is necessary to facilitate that. She encouraged everyone to call their members of Congress and ask them to support federal action on reducing carbon emissions.

The panelists also advocated using social media activism, including sending tweets with the hashtags #CLEclimateimpacts and #actonclimate to politicians and friends.

Ki Oh/Observer Last week’s storm blanketed campus with over a foot of snow, resulting in a morning classes being cancelled.

news

observer.case.edu

3

Spotlight on research

Student designs research program on obesity interventions in urban youth Kushagra Gupta Staff Reporter The weekend is always a great time to relax, but few students spend theirs as Precious Amoako does: dancing.

As the president of the African Students Association (ASA), she has the privilege of planning the organization’s annual Culture Show, featuring dancing and plays on Apr. 11. Currently, she spends three hours each Saturday and Sunday rehearsing four separate dances.

Helping people is what drives Amoako. That’s why she is doubling as a psychology and nursing major. Despite a challenging academic path, she still wanted to gain experience with research.

That’s what led her to the IMPACT research study, a seven-year study aimed at determining a path that is most helpful to improve a child’s health.

Last summer, Amoako conducted a sub-study that found that there was a

negative correlation between the Body Mass Index (BMI) from a pre-study medical screening and the self-reported quality of life of participants in the program. This means that those with a higher BMI reported a lower quality of life.

While people may expect the findings, no overarching program actually scrutinized the area. Amoako pointed out that obesity has been studied extensively in the negative outcomes on health, but little research has been done on its effects on actual quality of life.

A total of 360 overweight or obese children, aged nine to 11, participated in the study. Amoako used the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life questionnaire, which is specifically designed for kids and uses a five-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Included are questions such as “I get out of breath while climbing the stairs” or “I feel uncomfortable sitting in my desk because it’s too small.”

“I focused on questions related to their everyday experience with their weight and how it could be possibly affecting their lives,” she said.

She also inspected the data for any differences in gender or socioeconomic status in responses, but found none. The results show that the IMPACT program’s overarching goal to choose a path to interventions will not only improve health, but also quality of life in these individuals.

The undergraduate research office, SOURCE, funded the project. At first she was just a research assistant to the IMPACT study, but found out that she could use the funds for her own sub-study.

Amoako also designed pamphlets for cooking classes and helped run the classes themselves. She developed a health passport that allows persons to gain points by performing proactive, healthy tasks.

“Every time you do something, you get a stamp—for example, if they go

to the Cleveland Metroparks and take a hike,” she said.

Amoako is also studying the modes of transportation that participants in the program choose. Participants can either get a prepaid Taxi ride or a $10 gas card to pay for their transportation to program events. Currently, she maintains a log of which mode participants choose.

Originally from Ghana, Amoako moved a couple times before arriving at Case Western Reserve University. In high school, she enjoyed dancing and has kept the activity up with her participation in the ASA. Despite her academic rigor and research initiatives, Amoako still finds time to participate in other organizations. Sustained Dialogue, a social issues organization, keeps her busy.

The group identifies social problems on campus and then picks solutions to them.

They then present an action plan to various university officials, including President Barbara Snyder.

CWRU researchers contribute to analysis of 55,000 year old human skull Mark Patteson Staff Reporter On his first visit to the Manot Cave dig site in northern Israel’s Western Galilee region, Mark Hans decided that the excavation offered a virtual treasure trove for evidence of humanity’s Paleolithic past.

Within only an hour of digging, Hans had already unearthed several ancient tools and animal bones.

Hans, chair of Case Western Reserve University’s Orthodontics Department, has worked with more than 20 international researchers on a decade-long excavation project, led by Tel Aviv University anthropologist Israel Hershkovitz.

Last week, the team published the analysis of their most intriguing find: a 55,000-year-old partial skull belonging to an adult human.

The skull presents the first fossil evidence of humanity’s hypothesized migration out of Africa in the Middle Paleolithic period. The fossil’s appearance in place and time suggests that humans could have interbred with Neanderthals 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.

“It has been suspected that modern man and Neanderthals were in the same place at the same time, but we didn’t have the physical evidence,” said physical anthropologist Bruce Latimer, one of the contributors to the study and director of CWRU’s Center for Human Origins, to The Daily. “Now we do have it in the new skull fossil.”

CWRU’s Dental School partnered with Tel Aviv University and other institutions on an excavation of the cave in 2012. Latimer and Hans contributed their expertise in characterizing the shape and morphology of the skull.

Stephanie Kim/Observer

For Hans, an orthodontist, examining the skull provided a unique opportunity to learn more about evolutionary dentistry, or how modern dental problems tie to their origins in our ancestors.

“Physical anthropology is a close science to orthodontics,” said Hans. “Both [sciences] study facial shape and form.”

In addition to the skull, the Manot Cave site has yielded human teeth, a breast bone and a heel bone that belonged to other individuals.

Hans hopes that as the excavation enters its sixth dig season this July, researchers will find more bones to create more complete skeletons.

Hans and Latimer lead volunteer student expeditions every July to participate in the dig. To Hans the remarkable density of material in the cave opened up the exciting possibility for the cave to provide students

an opportunity to unearth their own finds.

“If students are interested in going, this is one of the few archaeological digs where you are almost guaranteed to find evidence of human activity,” Hans said.

The cave, discovered by accident in 2008 during the construction of a sewer line, has already yielded a tremendous number of artifacts. Since excavation began in 2010, finds have included numerous burnt animal bones, tools, human bones and teeth.

“The fun is in the find,” said Hans. “If you like a little bit of adventure, you might even make history.”

Hans encourages any students interested in participating in the Manot Cave dig to contact him (mark.hans@cwru.edu). The trip lasts two weeks in July near a resort area on the Mediterranean coast of Northern Israel.

Ki Oh/Observer

Students embraced their half day on Monday by building snow-people throughout campus. Campus squirrels were still active despite the freezing temperatures.

4

news

Campus insider

RHA’s president on residence hall pride, gender inclusive housing Julia Bianco News Editor Each week, The Observer will sit down with an important member of campus administration or a Case Western Reserve University organization to get an inside look at their organization.

This week, we talked to the Residence Hall Association president, Victoria Robinson.

Gender inclusive housing survey on the way Robinson says that the Residence Hall Association (RHA) will be releasing a survey in a few weeks designed to gauge interest and support for gender-inclusive housing among the student body. Currently, gender neutral or gender nonconforming students are often placed in first f loor singles, where they are isolated from the rest of the community. RHA is hoping to change requirements to make residence halls more inclusive for these students.

RHA will send the survey results to Vice President for Student Affairs Lou Stark, who will see whether or not the policy has enough support to implement. If possible, RHA would like to start implementing the policy for the fall of 2016.

RHA wants you to respect where you live Starting in the fall, RHA will begin a Love Where You Live program, designed to encourage people to respect their living spaces and the other people in them.

The community councils will hand out wristbands and fliers to residents as they move into their new homes.

Robinson said that RHA has seen people destroy their common areas. The goal of the Love Where You Live program is to give people a better sense of community standards.

Project Pay Attention coming to CWRU Project Pay Attention, an initiative started at New York University, aims to get people to consider the language that they use and how it affects those around them.

“It’s about replacing your words that you say that are offensive with better words,” said Robinson.

Working with the #webelonghere movement and Culture of Care through the Office of Greek Life, RHA hopes to start creating a campus culture where people spend more time thinking about what they say. They are also looking to collaborate with other organizations on the Student Executive Council.

“Even though it may not be a resident initiative, it impacts residents,” said Robinson. “People feel at home in the community when they feel respected and comfortable.”

Robinson hopes that Project Pay Attention will bring more focus on RHA’s three pillars of leadership: development, programming and advocacy.

“In past years, we had a focus on leadership and programming, but advocacy always fell to the wayside,” she said. “This year, we thought that focusing on balancing the three pillars was really important.”

2/6/15

Changes to VPN aim to provide more Internet security Kevin Wang Staff Reporter Two-factor authentication has been an important security feature offered by popular services such as Gmail for years, and it is now coming to Case Western Reserve University’s network. Two-factor authentication is going to be required for access to the virtual private network (VPN).

The VPN allows members of the community to access CWRU’s network while not on campus and gain access campus-wide resources, such as software from the software center or journal articles to which the school has subscriptions.

The push for two-factor authentication came after many phishing attacks, where hackers send fake emails pretending to be legitimate, to acquire sensitive information such as passwords. These attacks occur quite often, with a major attack on the university’s payroll system, Human

Capital Management, occurring over this past summer.

“Password theft is rampant,” said Tom Siu, chief information security officer at ITS. He estimates that in a six-month period, 400-500 passwords are reset due to possible password theft. These days password theft is common enough that passwords are no longer a reliable way to protect sensitive information.

Two-factor authentication works by having two necessary requirements to sign in: a password and something that the user can physically access that someone else who may know the password would not have to. This allows an added layer of security to prevent someone from accessing an account, especially if the attacker does not have physical access to the physical authentication process.

A convenient way to use two-factor authentication is to have a mobile application that generates a one-time key

to grant access to log in. However, for non-mobile phone users, there are many alternatives that would allow two-factor authentication to be possible for all members of the community. For example, there are physical keys that generate two-factor authentication codes that one can buy inexpensively without needing a mobile device.

Two-factor authentication is starting with the VPN, because information behind the VPN, is especially sensitive. There are plans on transitioning it to other password systems, including Single Sign-On, the pathway to signing on for Student Information Systems and Blackboard. These transitions will not be mandatory for all students, but are highly recommended to protect students accounts.

The Information Technology Services Help Desk is available to assist people with two-factor authentication. They will also be putting up videos on how to set it up.

Annual leadership awards cut many categories, add new awards for diversity, graduate students Sruthi Meka Staff Reporter Since 1986 the division of student affairs has awarded Dr. Dorothy Pijan Student Leadership Awards to grant recognition to exceptional undergraduate student leaders at Case Western Reserve University. This year the awards underwent a number of changes in response to student feedback.

“Student feedback indicated that we should work to create a ceremony that is celebratory and appreciative of all nominees with a lesser emphasis on winning an award,” said Melanie Scanlon, the associate director of Student Activities & Leadership.

Among the changes made to the leadership awards is the inclusion of more awards for diversity efforts, graduate student leaders, graduate student organizations and faculty advisors.

There will be 22 awards presented at the event this year, in comparison to last year’s 25 awards. They will no longer award past awards, such as outstanding member of the media, outstanding member of USG and outstanding orientation leader. New awards will make an appearance at this event.

To be honored at the awards ceremony, a peer, a faculty member or staff member must formally nominate a student within the nomination period, which ends on Feb. 22. Each nominee must then submit an award application, which will be presented to a selection committee, comprised of faculty and staff from various departments across the university. All student nominees who completed the award application are invited to attend the awards ceremony.

Scanlon said that they are no longer giving awards for specific organizations at the ceremony, although mem-

bers of those organizations are still invited to celebrate. She hopes that the changes made to the awards will lead to a memorable experience for all students in attendance at the awards ceremony.

“These changes allow for a longer reception with university faculty, staff and administrators where all nominees can be celebrated,” Scanlon said.

The Tinkham Veale University Center Ballroom will hold the ceremony and reception on Apr. 15. Only previous award winners and current nominees will be able to attend the event.

“We are always assessing the awards program to make sure that the award categories, nomination and application process and awards ceremony respond to the needs of our community,” Scanlon said. “We recognize our student leaders create a vibrant campus community, and we work very hard to highlight that through the leadership awards.”

Cleveland Clinic accused of overcharging patients, ordering unnecessary tests Alexander Wheaton Staff Reporter Last March, a federal lawsuit was filed against the Cleveland Clinic, accusing them and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation of ordering excessive tests on patients to receive more Medicare payouts. The lawsuit, previously sealed, was released on Jan. 20.

The suit was filed by Dr. Sam Ghoubrial on behalf of the United States government, under the False Claims Act. Ghoubrial is an employee at the Summa Medical Center in Wadsworth, Ohio. He does not work for the Cleveland Clinic but filed the suit after inquiring why the Clinic was so expensive and why unnecessary tests were being ordered.

The False Claims Act is a law used to try companies that commit fraud against government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Though the U.S. government can choose to take up cases filed un-

der the False Claims Act, federal prosecutors chose not to take over the case against the Cleveland Clinic. Ghoubrial and his attorney remain the plaintiffs and will continue to pursue the claim instead. If they win the case, they will receive a portion of the fine Cleveland Clinic would be required to pay.

The suit accuses the clinic of gaming one Medicare billing system in particular: the Diagnosis Related Group. This provision of Medicare pays hospitals one lump sum for tests done within 72 hours of diagnosis. Though the size of the payment varies based on the patient’s disease and treatment, the suit alleges the clinic orders extra tests to be performed outside of this window, even tests that have already been performed, in order to receive larger Medicare payouts. This puts an unnecessary financial burden on patients and potentially exposes them to excessive radiation or invasive tests, the suit states.

In 2002, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine was established as a partnership between the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.

Each year, the college admits 32 students for a five-year program, and is one of three possible tracks within CWRU’s medical school. At publishing time, it was unclear whether or not the lawsuit would affect CWRU’s relationship with the Cleveland Clinic, and CWRU Media Relations had declined to comment on the case.

Though the excessive billing the lawsuit accuses the clinic of is frequently only a few thousand dollars, a drop in the bucket compared to annual Medicare payouts, the suit says this has been done thousands of times, on a regular basis.

The case is slated to go before U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent later this year. If the Clinic is found guilty, it may be subjected to fines up to three times the amount it is accused of taking, plus other penalties.

news

observer.case.edu

On the beat

No Pride Up until this week, if you were driving or walking along Euclid Avenue near the intersection with Adelbert Road, you would have seen the words “Case Western Reserve University” in metal letters across the wall next to Adelbert Hall. It was an advertisement and a statement of where you were at the most visible entrance to the campus, and to some extent a symbol of university pride.

Then, sometime in December some of the letters began disappearing, slowly at first, like carrots vanishing from a garden, and then with increasing frequency until it became harder and harder to tell what the remaining letters were supposed to be attempting to spell. Some of our officers thought the campus had possibly been targeted by scrappers, people who steal things like copper pipes and sell them at junkyards for the value of the metals they contain.

We started watching the sign.

The truth turned out to be far more disheartening. The truth was that our students, the future leaders of the United States, exclusively targeted the letters. Events came to a head the weekend of Jan. 24, when several groups of students were caught stealing letters by the CWRU Police Department, and in at least one instance, students were caught urinating on the sign, and one student chose to fight with officers. There are rumors this activity was somehow organized or inspired on social media.

Whether that is true or not is irrelevant. For the time being, the surviving letters have been brought back to police headquarters where they sit in storage.

They may or may not be replaced, as neither the department nor the university can watch over or replace them indefinitely if the student community is determined to tear them down.

I, for one, find this sad. School spirit is sometimes an elusive thing here at CWRU, but there has to be a middle ground between painting yourself blue and white and blatant destruction of symbols of the university of which we are all a part. Let’s be better. Let’s show a little pride in our school and its symbols.

On the Beat is a weekly safety column written by Sergeant Jeffrey Daberko and Officer Mark (The Crossing Guard) Chavis of CWRU PD. We welcome questions, suggestions and gripes/groans/moans/complaints about campus life at policecolumn@case.edu.

CWRU Police Blotter

Jan. 27 to Feb. 3 Jan. 28: Petty theft—bag taken from unsecured locker, Wyant Athletic Center.

Jan. 30: Petty theft—male observed stealing steaks in store, Constantino’s.

Jan. 31: Felony theft—items taken from unattended backpack, Veale Athletic Center.

New app created by CWRU students gives users deals on-the-go

5

Cleveland catch-up Julia Bianco News Editor We boil down what happened in Cleveland this week.

Ki Oh/Observer Savrtooth was created by three CWRU undergraduates who worked with Blackstone LaunchPad and Emerging Marketing.

Gabrielle Buffington Staff Reporter Savrtooth is taking bargain hunting to a new level.

The iOS app and online interface gives users access to exclusive flash sales in their area. Retailers have signed up for Savrtooth accounts to promote their items or services.

Creators Billy Littlefield, Nate Leclerc and Fred Li all attend Case Western Reserve University. They were able to launch the new app thanks to organizations like Emerging Marketing, a company experienced in “business to business” marketing techniques, and Blackstone LaunchPad. Littlefield serves as chief executive officer, Leclerc as chief technology officer and Li as chief operations officer.

“We started Savrtooth when we realized that flash sales online were so successful in the short-term, while brick and mortar stores were struggling to compete against

online e-commerce businesses that offered these features,” notes the Savrtooth website. “So we created Savrtooth, a mobile application that sends local push-notifications to users for short lasting, limited time deals for big time savings.”

Users interested in finding sales simply have to create an account. As they go about their day, they will receive notifications on their phone about local sales that are available for a limited time. They can click on the sale to see how much time remains to use it, and they can show their countdown screens to a cashier to get the deal before time runs out. Sales can last for days, or for minutes.

The app will be in a closed beta testing mode in the University Circle area from now until next month. Anyone here with an iPhone can download the app, and every user is encouraged to give feedback on the program to speed up the debugging process.

Editor’s choice

Court rules that CWRU can deny degrees due to a lack of professionalism Miriam Ridge Staff Reporter A recent federal appeals court ruling will allow Case Western Reserve University to deny a degree if it determines that a student lacks professionalism.

Last summer, CWRU School of Medicine student Amir Al-Dabagh completed all of the requirements to become a doctor, but the school decided to expel him due to a number of disciplinary issues.

Al-Dabagh graduated from the University of Michigan-Flint with a 4.0 grade point average. He enrolled at CWRU in 2009 and completed four years of medical school and a year of research at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

According to court documents, AlDabagh exhibited rude behavior at a 2012 dance, tried to avoid cab fare by jumping out of the moving car, repeatedly received complaints from patients’ families and other staff at the hospital and allegedly gave patient case summaries where he didn’t personally examine the patient.

Al-Dabagh, who is currently a dermatology resident at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, brought the issue to the United States District Court, claiming a

breach of contract: His lawyers argued that he had paid $150,000 for his medical education, completed all academic requirements and, according to the student handbook and other documents, he had done nothing to warrant CWRU’s expulsion.

Judge James Gwin granted a temporary restraining order on May 14 that prevented CWRU from expelling Al-Dabagh. A hearing was held May 27, which determined that, “Although courts should give almost complete deference to university judgments regarding academic issues, the same deference does not follow university character judgments, especially on character judgments only distantly related to medical education.”

The case made it to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated that CWRU is within its rights to make an academic judgment about a student and its Committee on Students. On Jan. 28, the decision of the district court was reversed.

“We are grateful that the appellate court recognized that universities are uniquely qualified to make academic judgments,” said a CWRU spokesperson. “In particular, we appreciate that the judges made clear that assessments of a student’s professionalism are part of that academic judgment and merit the highest deference.”

Shaker Square shooting leaves two dead Tonia McCrary, 35, was shot and killed by her boyfriend on Feb. 2 outside of U.S. Bank in Shaker Square. The shooter, Julius C. Whaley Jr., 38, was later found dead from an apparent suicide a few blocks away.

McCrary and Whaley had two children. Their neighbors said that they seemed like a nice family, although one said that McCrary had been trying to break up with Whaley before the shooting.

A woman called 911 after she saw McCrary and Whaley loudly fighting in a black truck around 8 a.m. on Monday.

After Whaley shot McCrary, he called his sister and confessed to the shooting before killing himself.

Whaley pleaded guilty to drug possession in 1997. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking on three different occasions: in 2001, 2003 and 2008. He also pleaded guilty to domestic violence in 2005. In 2013, he was accused of rape and kidnapping, but the charges were dismissed for currently unknown reasons.

“I don’t think enough people understand that you can never predict what’s going to happen next,” noted Douglas Smith, who lives near Shaker Square and witnessed the shooting while on his way to work, in an article on Cleveland.com.

“This is the last place I would ever expect something like this to happen.”

Bonne Bell closes doors, lays off 91 employees Popular makeup company Bonne Bell, best known for Lip Smackers lip gloss, announced on Jan. 29 that they will be closing their offices in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, OH. The 91 employees will be laid off on March 29.

The company sold the Lip Smackers brand, as well as the rest of the Bonne Bell cosmetics brands, to Markwins International Corporation, which also owns a number of other cosmetics brands, including Wet n Wild, Physicians Formula and the Color Workshop.

“It’s disappointing, especially for employees that have been affected,” Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough told The Plain Dealer. “But I also recognize that Bonne Bell Co. has been a great employer for decades in this area. I believe that they will do whatever they can to assist the affected employees.”

“It’s going to be a loss to the city, as anyone would say,” he told Crain’s Cleveland Business.

opinion Editorial

Speaking up on campus transportation concerns A Case Western Reserve University student experience often looks a little like this: Students are standing outside at 9 p.m., many snowy blocks from their dorm building. They could try to wait for a Greenie—they reject that idea immediately, thinking that they would wait far too long only to risk the bus rushing past them without stopping.

Next, they think of Safe Ride, but stop short of calling when they remember friends’ stories about waiting for hours only to give up and walk home.

So, that’s just what the students do: give up and walk home anyway.

While students may not want to risk the trip, there comes a point of diminishing returns when students just start hoofing it, especially since it may be safer to set out for their destinations than to wait in a possibly unsafe place to be picked up.

It seems to be a system that is in dire need of a repair. But Vice President for Campus Services Richard Jamieson doesn’t see this obvious dissatisfaction from the campus community. He is optimistic and emphasized that a lot of progress has been made towards fixing campus transportation.

For instance, Jamieson said that this winter, a new morning Greenie was added, running from north to south campus, and there is another

all-day Greenie that runs when temperatures reach below 15 degrees. He also noted that the frequency with which the Nextbus app is intended to update has been increased from once a minute to once every 15 seconds.

Jamieson said that according to Nextbus, Greenies are running on schedule the majority of the time. We’re not sure if we buy this as we’ve experienced “five-minute” waits frequently turning into 10 or 15.

The reported winter reforms to campus transportation extend to Safe Ride as well. CWRU has added a new Safe Ride vehicle during peak hours, from 7 p.m.-11 p.m., bringing it to a total of four Safe Rides in circulation during that time.

According to Jamieson, Safe Rides aim to have students wait for 15 minutes or less; he cited that less than 20 percent of students wait for more than half an hour for their Safe Rides. Our own experiences and our frostbitten fingers beg to differ.

It is important to note that these are not necessarily criticisms of Safe Ride— or Greenie, for that matter—drivers. As with any other job, these vehicles are driven by a usual range of people, some of them fantastic, others less so. But it is not human resources which this editorial aims to critique, but the system in which these drivers and students are all doing their best.

Safe Ride, for example, has a maxi-

mum of four vehicles running at any given time, as noted above. Each of these vehicles could realistically carry four people, apart from the driver, at a time. Hence, a maximum of 16 students out of a campus of 5,000 can be driven to safety at a time. It would be hard for any driver who is not close, personal friends with The Flash to keep up with the demand on their service.

Why don’t we add more? Or better yet, wouldn’t just bigger cars be a worthwhile investment? Maybe pair that with a “shortest route” type of software, and students will go from being frustrated, targets-of-attack, to safe, happy individuals.

On the topic of improving Safe Ride, Jamieson said that Campus Services is making efforts to implement a tracker which could update students on the estimated time of arrival of their Safe Rides in response to student requests.

Still in the research and development stages, a tracker system possibly run through the CWRU Shield app is expected to go into effect late this semester or in the next fall semester.

At least this is an indication that campus services is listening to student feedback. This then begs the question of why they can give such a positive report of campus transport, when the majority of students’ impressions are as negative as last year’s polar vortex temperatures.

There is a simple explanation for this: Their impressions differ from students’

impressions, because students aren’t sharing theirs—at least not along the right channels. Rather than griping to their friends, students should instead channel their complaints more productively.

When asked where students should direct their feedback, Jamieson was offhand in his response: “Well, they can call me.”

Aside from this openness to feedback, he also noted some other means by which students can register their complaints, including Campus Services, Access Services, Bus Buzz or Standard Parking, the company which operates Safe Ride.

Campus Services, in turn, should make greater use of the university resources available, using creative solutions to solve some frustrating problems.

For example, what would it look like if the computer science department along with Think[box] sponsored a contest to develop a cheap tracking app? Could we use advanced metrics to analyze wait times and how to run transportation more efficiently.

Sure, we should put more money into transportation, but we don’t need to just throw money at the issue. Let’s think outside the box and be ahead of the transportation curve.

We’re a cutting edge university.

With some work, we can be in terms of transportation as well.

About the street where we live The elephant in the room Andrew Breland Every time a Healthline bus passes by on Euclid, look, and you will not miss the words “University Circle” written on its side. Among the other “Cleveland neighborhoods,” including Midtown, Downtown and East Cleveland, University Circle reminds us of the small area we call home. But what is University Circle?

Ask people in Cleveland about it, and the answers vary wildly. Most everyone knows about the university part, but even that is not a given. After all, Case Western Reserve University is a “Division III nerd school,” the way someone described it to me the other day. Some people are more likely to remember Cleveland State, despite CWRU’s couple-hundred-point advantage per US News.

Most everyone here has heard about University Hospitals. But leave the Northeast Ohio region, and all anyone knows is the Cleveland Clinic.

It would seem that most people even

know about the Cleveland Museum of Art. But then again, when I arrived, I could not have accurately told anyone about the treasures inside.

University Circle is a lot more than those three anchor institutions. There are, of course, others: the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Western Reserve Historical Society and Severance Hall. But more than the institutions, there’s the culture. Little Italy remains one of the most culturally pure and authentic neighborhoods in the U.S. The existence of the university brings exciting new restaurant concepts that try to capture the attention of “young people.” A short drive away, Coventry, Cedar-Lee, Cedar-Fairmount and the Cultural Gardens provide vastly different locales and entertainment options.

So, we reach the question again.

What is University Circle? It is the intersection of many different cultures.

The median income in University Circle is only $14,000 (presumably due to the massive overabundance of students), but nearby the average incomes range from $12,000 in East Cleveland to nearly $40,000 in some of the Shaker-area sub-

urbs. The University Circle population has different racial breakdowns as compared to any other area of the city—55 percent Caucasian, 23 percent African American, 18 percent Asian, according to the City of Cleveland. The districts surrounding University Circle, according to the City, are all more than 81 percent black, with the Glenville District to the North at nearly 97 percent.

But University Circle is not merely different from its surroundings either. A walk down Euclid Avenue from 115th to Stokes will obviously show that. At one end, eyes averted from East Cleveland, you are within view of new “uppity” installations like Piccadilly Artisan Creamery, a made-while-you-wait ice cream shop employing liquid nitrogen, or Crop Kitchen, a locally-sourced restaurant dedicated to “culinary responsibility.” But as you continue down the road, you run into “older” concepts and businesses that do not fit with the new residents of the neighborhood, things like Circle Convenience, Rascal House Pizza and Falafel Café.

And the culture of the neighborhood is changing. The newest additions all

fall in the former category. New concepts like Trentina, the aforementioned Crop Kitchen and even Happy Dog, to some extent, cater to a more affluent audience than the rest of the nearby organizations. Add those to the already existing higher-scale restaurants in the area (L’Albatros, Washington Place, Mia Bella), and you can make an argument that the University Circle is an upand-coming nouveau riche area. Then again, we face the reality that by all accounts, this area is generally “poor.”

There are quite a few facts here to review. University Circle, perhaps appropriately, is drastically different from any other area around it. Unless a student grew up on campus, it is safe to say that living here, let alone traveling off campus, is a new life experience. As the neighborhood continues to change—and it will—it is important to remember that the “culture” of our home is still in flux.

Maybe the next few years will alter that, but as of now it is still up to us.

Andrew Breland, senior, writes a weekly Opinion column. Contact him at awb69@case.edu.

opinion 7

observer.case.edu

Blame it on the alcohol?

High ground

Chandler Holcomb In the wake of several embarrassing incidents involving intoxicated students, Dartmouth College has announced plans to enact a hard liquor ban on its campus in addition to the implementation of a mandatory four-year sexual violence prevention program.

Dartmouth’s actions represent a relatively extreme response to a problem that spans colleges and universities throughout the United States. President Phil Hanlon has a clear intention: to foster a safer and healthier environment for students. While the intentions of the faculty are undoubtedly noble, I question the wisdom of the hard alcohol ban.

The primary reason for banning hard liquor is to end high-risk behavior from students. The link between alcohol and sexual assault on campus is relatively clear. A number of peer-reviewed journal articles have noted that on average at least 50 percent of college sexual assaults are associated with alcohol use, not counting those that go unreported.

What is not clear is whether that link is correlational or causal. When considering it as causal, one might cite

how heavy drinking interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and adversely affects mood and behavior and impairs judgment. It is not uncommon for perpetrators of rape to claim that excessive alcohol consumption reduced their inhibitions and blurred their ability to recognize consent. Hanlon used those facts to justify the ban.

Will the policy be successful? Well, one must consider other parts of the policy besides the ban. One of the commendable consequences of the sexual violence education program that is being implemented at the same time as the hard alcohol ban is that it encourages dialogue, publicizing and raising awareness of the important issue of sexual assault on campus.

Ignoring the problem of rape and sexual assault on college campuses has undoubtedly been harmful. Teaching about the issue and spreading awareness will dispel misconceptions about rape and hopefully create an environment of personal responsibility and control though societal pressures and conventions.

The solution lies in education and changing mentalities. I am fairly certain that sexual assaults will decline at Dartmouth. However, the decrease will be in response to identifying and teaching

about the issue, not the hard alcohol ban.

Hopefully, that reduction will not be used to advocate banning hard liquor on other campuses. The problem of sexual assault is deeper than binge drinking or wild parties. Rape has been the focus of numerous studies and surveys attempting to answer the question of why men rape. The answer is complex.

Sexual assault is not the result of reckless drinking, just because the first sometimes follows the second. Research has indicated that the horrible act has roots in intensely personal issues such as animalistic urges, brooding insecurities and the intoxicating power trip that can accompany control.

Others have called attention to a societal component as well, dealing with how society views and depicts sex, violence and women. A ban on hard liquor simply does not address the heart of the issue. It instead restricts liberty and treats students as too untrustworthy to partake in a privilege that otherwise would be protected by the 21-and-over law. There is such a thing as drinking responsibly, and exposure to alcohol and social drinking are very real parts of life.

Shocking, I know. I myself enjoy a drink from time to time; it helps me

unwind. A huge concern I have with the policy is the enforcement. A strict no-tolerance policy means the administration will have to come down hard on those who break the rules—otherwise students will continue to covertly drink. Someone not unlike you or I may be reprimanded or expelled for acting without any malice whatsoever.

Whether or not you agree with recreational drinking is your own concern, but you cannot deny its popularity and prevalence. Collective punishment because of a few bad eggs not only glosses over the problem, it punishes those who otherwise enjoy the activity and drink responsibly.

And perhaps more importantly, the across-the-board ban impinges on the freedom of students to make the choice whether or not to drink hard alcohol. It will be interesting to see how the new policy will affect life on campus and how the students will respond. As it stands, all I can say is I am glad I did not attend Dartmouth College, where students are not trusted to make a choice that millions of people make every day: to drink hard alcohol responsibly.

Chandler Holcomb is a junior at Case Western Reserve University.

Learning to let go while in India My commuter life

Abby Assmus Over winter break, I traveled to India on a short-term study abroad trip for two weeks. When friends ask me about the trip, it is hard for me to find the words to describe everything I did and saw. The one thing that I did learn, and probably the most important, was how to be more relaxed.

I feel like I am finally back to normal after being home for three weeks, at least back on a normal sleeping schedule and a little more adjusted to the cold weather. But I am not back to my old self and hope to not go back to my old attitudes. Learning to let go of all of the things I cannot control has helped significantly with my stress levels so far in the semester and is something I think everyone should try to do more.

One of the places we visited was Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana University in Bangalore.

The University offers instruction in

yoga and does research on yoga’s effect on the human body. There were many lectures about how yoga is more than just doing the moves; it is a state of mind and a way of being.

The purpose of these lectures was to show how it is important to let go of anger. Specifically, one lecturer emphasized the point of letting go of all of the things out of our control. I have tried to practice this ever since that lecture and think that it is an important way to live life.

It is easy to get caught up in school work, and the work in itself is often stressful. Add that to all of the other clubs and activities that people are part of, and there is so much stress that it is easy to get frustrated and break down, especially with such inclement weather as Cleveland has throughout the first months of the spring semester.

For example, last weekend I had a rough day because everything seemed to be going wrong. The weather and construction on basically all the streets around me made me late, and I was

Be the media Join The Observer staff as: Social Media Editor Advertising Agent Writer Photographer More information at observer.case.edu/job-opportunities/

already agitated by all of the work I had for school. Then I remembered how I was trying to not be such an angry person and that in the grand scheme of things, the weather and being late did not really matter. Since these things were out of my control, there was no point in wasting energy being angry about them.

School is only going to be a small part of my life. Although right now, in the midst of it, it seems like the most important thing, soon I will graduate and have to worry about other problems besides writing a paper and reading for class.

School is important, and living in the moment and enjoying my time while here at Case Western Reserve University also is. It is also important to step back and realize that all of this stress with school, especially about things that cannot be controlled like working in groups or the weather, is not completely necessary. It helps to take a step back and see this, because then it is easier to focus on the things I can control like reading for class the next day.

There are so many things that I learned in India that I could write and want to tell everyone about, but the most important thing is to let go. There is no use in getting upset about things you cannot handle, because that just leads to unnecessary stress and anxiety. We are all lucky to be at CWRU and receive such a great education.

While not every class might be easy, it is important to try hard in school. I do not want to be so stressed about it that I cannot enjoy my life. So, I want to encourage everyone to think about how not everything is in your control the next time they are having a bad day.

Letting go of your anger and stress about these things will help you be happier. I find this difficult to do still, but I really enjoy the peacefulness I find when I am able to not be angry about the snow or cancelled meetings.

Abby Assmus is a senior English and History major. She hopes she is not the only person who makes time every day to relax instead of doing school work.

f cwruobserver @CWRUObserver observer.case.edu Have an opinion on this week’s editorial?

Let us know.

8

opinion

2/6/15

Don’t do it for the money Cleveland in color

Sarah Jawhari This is sound advice. Not just from me, but from seven-year-old you, who couldn’t ever imagine becoming a doctor, dentist or lawyer just for perks. At seven, you wanted to be an astronaut, a teacher or an artist. One boy in my seocnd grade class, named Gregory, wanted to be an elephant.

Maybe you wanted a professional degree, either because your parents spoon-fed you a life plan since diaper days, or because you genuinely found the career enticing. You can see yourself in heels or a tie, rushing to the clinic, fighting traffic to get to the courthouse.

You can change lives. People look to you for guidance. The meaning of “all grown up” and your final feat as a student: the professional degree.

And eventually, you become great at what you do, and you’re paid a very pretty penny for it.

Problems ensue when reality comes before the dream. That is to say, when the driving force behind your pre-medicine, pre-dental or pre-law decision is strictly financial and—in your mind—practical.

Doctors make six figures. You want a BMW. The math checks out, but this preemptive greed can be altruistic too.

You want the white picket fence for your family, the golden retriever and the summers in Europe.

Enter our current academic stairway.

You go to school for a long time until

you grow into your white coat. You could never earn this living as a teacher or an artist—an unfortunate fact most adults have preached to you already. And only very few have been able to make it as an elephant—sorry, Gregory.

I am still growing into my white coat.

After graduating from Case Western Reserve University, I pursued a degree in dental medicine at Case School of Dental Medicine. No, my parents are not dentists. My decision to go into the field was a hybrid of two passions. Sarah at seven, like other seven-year-olds, wanted to make sick kids feel better. Sarah at 21, after years of hard work and $5,000 in savings, finally got the braces taken off and couldn’t believe her orthodontist had transformed her into a girl. I instantly wanted to fix faces for a living, too. Thus began my love affair with teeth, and I’ve been smitten since.

Dental medicine is a subspecialty of medicine that is notoriously lucrative and notoriously terrifying. One study ranked “fear of the dentist” right under the number one fear in the U.S., “public speaking.” Brandishing the lidocaine syringe takes time and talent, but not all dental—or medical—students are in it for the right reasons.

As the daughter of middle-class immigrants, here is what I’ve learned.

Professional school is expensive, more than what you make at a side job. (Believe me. And tip me, because I’m there.) It is thousands upon thousands of dollars, but it’s an investment, a tab you will pay off once you’re established. Getting

established takes years, usually the best years of your life. Unless your parents or a divine creator is helping you pay, don’t expect to get rich quick. The government no longer throws money at you to seduce you—regardless of wealth or skin color.

You are lucky to get in. They know it. So do you.

Professional school is hard. People who sailed through college without trying are especially at risk, because they enter their graduate programs thinking a few all-nighters are all it takes. You’ll learn that you have to eat, sleep and breathe your profession just to keep your head above water. You will likely graduate with grays, bags, adult-onset acne and a permanent 5 o’clock shadow. School will challenge you every day.

This is a career for life, a rewarding purpose that you must fall in love with every morning before work. Call me a freak (you won’t be the first), but teeth are my life now, and I couldn’t be happier.

My dream is to give back to underserved neighborhoods, because I spent the bulk of my childhood in Cleveland’s west side.

These areas need the most attention and are often the last to get it. Truth be told, I probably will not live “like a dentist” in this lifetime.

What disappoints me are the medical and dental students who are already planning their post-graduation shopping sprees or complaining about their rounds in the Free Clinic or the patient who cannot afford care but does not qualify for insurance.

Is it every student? No, absolutely not.

Most students are grateful for where they are. But the unkind, insensitive few don’t know how big of an impact they make with their words. If you are in it for the money (and only the money), you are going to be a crummy doctor, a terrible dentist, a bad lawyer.

In Sept. 2014, a prominent Michigan doctor made the news for falsely diagnosing cancer in healthy patients and putting them through agonizing rounds of chemotherapy. His is an extreme case of health care fraud, but I don’t believe he is alone.

I dislike like the unspoken smugness inherent to our field. The vibe is that we’re above it all, the best of the best. The reputation is not unearned. We work hard and learn a lot to serve our fellow man.

And to be clear, I’m not saying you have to dream about Doctors Without Borders or represent clients who can’t afford to pay you. You are permitted (and you definitely deserve) to live a wealthy life after all the years of hard work. But if you are going into it for the wrong reasons, you also deserve to reconsider. You owe it to yourself and the people whose lives you’ll touch to self-reflect, to plot your decision carefully. Do it because it makes you happy, because you are ready to work hard, ready to be good at it.

Don’t do it for your parents, for the prestige or the title—and definitely don’t do it for the money.

Sarah Jawhari is a student at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry.

Letter to the editor In response to “‘Rape culture’ or just ‘culture’?”

To the editor, In light of the discussions regarding sexual assault at Case Western Reserve University in the last few weeks, I feel compelled to write in for the first time in my undergraduate career. I’ve been reading The Observer as long as I’ve been here, but I’ve never been so terribly disappointed in the paper until now.

To start, the editorial from Jan. 24 covered the issue of sexual assault and Greek life, specifically fraternities—but only to say that we should be focusing on the greater campus community instead of just one facet. But how can we have a conversation as a campus community without addressing the components of that community? This conversation cannot be just about “CWRU as

a whole,” because it takes responsibility away from the many organizations that make up our school, including (but not limited to) residence halls, teams and clubs, classrooms and absolutely Greek life.

Considering the tone of the editorial, I was not at all surprised by the columns from Jacob Martin on Jan. 24 and 31.

Martin made a valiant attempt to examine the same subject with an open mind, but fails to understand exactly what he means to discuss.

Let me be as clear as possible: Rape culture does NOT refer to a culture that explicitly condones rape. The term “rape culture” has roots in militant feminism and is intended to shock and provoke reactions about a topic that most people would prefer to sweep under the rug. A

The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer exists to report news affecting and/or involving students and to provide an editorial forum for the university community. Unsigned editorials are the majority opinion of the senior editorial staff. However, Opinion columns reflect the views of their writers and not necessarily of The Observer staff. For advertising information, contact The Observer at (216) 302-4442 or e-mail observerads@case.edu.

The Observer is a proud member of the CWRU Media Board.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be e-mailed to observer@case.edu or submitted on our website at observer.case.edu. Letters can be mailed to 10900 Euclid Avenue, Suite A09, Cleveland, OH 44106. For policy and guidelines related to the submission of Letters to the Editor, refer to observer.case.edu/submit-a-letter.

simple search via Google provided me with a number of reasonable definitions, all of which come together to describe how cultural ideologies, media images and societal institutions support sexual abuse by normalizing and trivializing violence against women. Rape culture also includes the way victims are blamed for their own abuse by judging a victim’s apparel, choice to drink, choice to walk home alone or any number of things meant to excuse the attacker. Remember Steubenville, Columbia, UVA, Vanderbilt—all of these instances where efforts were made to blame everyone except the accused, especially the victim.

In his second column, Martin admits that we live in a sexist, misogynistic, chauvinistic society—these are all aspects of rape culture even if he, or any-

one who reads this article, doesn’t like the term. I will freely admit that it isn’t perfect, but in my understanding sometimes we need strong terminology to get people to pay attention. To say that the phrase “rape culture” blows the issue out of proportion is to diminish the very real fear that potential victims of sexual assault face every day.

Sincerely, Leah Feitl Leah Feitl is a senior studying two very heavily male-dominated subjects and would advise columnists that they should probably spend at least the smallest effort to research and understand what they would like to write about.

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergradute students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher KATHLEEN WIESER director of design MEREDITH DYKEHOUSE director of print MIKE MCKENNA director of business operations TAYLOR MORAN advertising & marketing manager COLE MORRIS account manager MARCUS GUTIERREZ digital publicity & communications manager JESSICA YANG news editor JULIA BIANCO a&e editor ANNE NICKOLOFF opinion editor AQUENE KIMMEL sports editor JP O’HAGAN advisor BERNIE JIM multimedia editor HARSHA CHANDUPATLA web editor JOE SATTERFIELD news layout CHRISTINA CHENG a&e layout VICTOR LOPEZ copy editors MARIA FAZAL ADITHI IYENGAR sports layout ROBERT BROWN opinion layout AMANDA LI

arts & entertainment

The Quaffle isn’t the only ball the Quidditch Team Sanjana Krishnakumar Contributing Reporter The “Harry Potter” theme song resonated throughout the room, as students entered the Tinkham Veale Ballroom in ball gowns and tuxes. Hogwarts-inspired decorations surrounded the tables and windows, while a mouthwatering appetizer station and dessert bar had the guests coming for seconds.

You guessed it; this scene was none other than the Yule Ball, presented by the Case Western Reserve University Quidditch Team. The Yule ball was a “Harry Potter”themed semi-formal/formal dance that included fine dining, photo booths, games and dancing. This ball was inspired by the fourth “Harry Potter” book, “The Goblet of Fire,” where a wizard tournament takes place and multiple schools from around the world come to together and compete. After the tournament there is a Yule ball to foster international friendships.

Although this was only the second annual Yule Ball, over 400 tickets were sold.

CWRU Swing Club made an appearance with an energy-filled performance that the guests loved, while a local Montessori school set up a butter beer booth as a fundraiser.

is throwing

Sanjana Krishnakumar/Observer Quidditch Team’s Yule Ball was just as successful as their first year, with plenty of dancing, food and “Harry Potter” lore to spare.

“Our first Yule Ball was in Carlton Commons, which limited us to only 300 people, and we sold out the building’s capacity. However, Tinkham Veale is a much bigger venue and allows us to expand our event,” said Natasha Smith, president of the Quidditch Team.

CWRU Quidditch team practices twice a week and competes against other universities in the northeast Ohio region.

Beyond the creative aspect of this sport, players must have a need for speed and intensity, since the game calls for both basketball and soccer techniques.

“We have constructed our own hoops and other equipment, because those aren’t regular sporting gear you can easily buy,” said Smith. “We are a competitive team, and it’s a very exciting sport to be a part of.”

Although the Yule Ball is their largest fundraiser, the Quidditch team held a tournament in the fall where they taught Greek chapters how to play and had them compete for charity.

Yule Ball brought together a community of people who shared their love for “Harry Potter.” The lively music, delicious food and vibrant decorations made the night an unforgettable one.

SpartanTHON’s back and bigger than ever Brian Sherman Staff Reporter Tomorrow, Feb. 7, Case Western Reserve University’s own SpartanTHON will hold its annual Dance Marathon in the Veale Gymnasium. This year marks the fifth dance marathon since the club’s inception, and it’s looking to be even larger this year than ever before.

The marathon is held to benefit the children at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and challenges its participants to stay on their feet for 12 hours while dancing, watching many different student groups perform and participating in various activities.

Over the years dance marathons like this throughout the country have benefited

countless children through various Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Dance Marathon has been steadily increasing in attendance and funds raised year after year. Since 2012 the total fundraising of the event has nearly doubled each year, with over 250 people registered as dancers this year, a huge increase from last year’s 150 dancers. In addition, many more students are anticipated to attend the event in support of their dancing friends.

With such a huge anticipated turnout, SpartanTHON has prepared a variety of themed hours, including “Around the World” and “Spartan Pride.” “For the Big Kids” hour was also added this year, in recognition of the large number of “big kids” who also benefit from the services provided at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.

Participants, if they aren’t busy dancing in front of the stage, will be able to keep entertained with a variety of activities, including a relay race, life-sized Yahtzee, giant Twister and a human machine game.

Alternatively, they will be able to keep entertained by the several student groups performing at the marathon.

Spartan Cheerleading, Case Kismat Fusion Dance Team and several other groups will return from last year, and Dhamakapella and Speakeasy are among the many newcomers. Plenty of food will also be provided as well, with new food served every two hours.

Despite all these activities and the year’s worth of planning that went into them, SpartanTHON has not lost sight of what it stands for. Throughout the night, three

Event: SpartanTHON Dance Marathon Location: Veale Center Date: Feb. 7, 12 p.m.

Price: Free to attend, $50+ for dancers miracle families (those who have benefitted directly from the fundraising of Dance Marathon) will be appearing at the event.

In addition, there will be a fundraising table at the event itself, allowing participants to contact friends, family and anyone else they might know to help raise more money for the cause.

“I think people in this, are in this for the right reasons,” said SpartanTHON Entertainment Chair Abby Miklosovic. “We all love the cause and the kids, and we’re excited for this year’s marathon.”

10

a&e

2/6/15

CWRU Thoughts

36 hours of computer power

Nardine Taleb Staff Reporter

Maria Fazal Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University community is known for thinking beyond the possible. Each week, this column aims to capture a slice of campus life.

Q: Why did you decide to be pre-med?

A: I’ve always had a desire to do biomedical or medical things. I started out as BME and changed to pre-med freshman year after shadowing and seeing

Stephanie Kim/ Observer

what they did. It really turned me to helping people in that way and pursuing that career path. When I first started shadowing a neurosurgeon and seeing how he interacted with people, I felt that that’s how I wanted to be. I think neurosurgery is a system that you can get really involved in. I think you can have a field that’s very specific but gives you a lot of opportunities to problem solve.

Case Western Reserve University’s campus will be preparing for the buzz of Hackathon this weekend on the Quad, hosted by the Hacker Society. Hackathon is an event where students from other universities come together in one place to code, construct web applications, hack hardware or complete other creative projects for 24-36 hours straight.

Though students run on little to no sleep, the groups and individuals who work on projects often thrive off the excitement, energy and focus that comes with creating something new.

The best thing about Hackathon, Hacker Society President Adam Gleichsner adds, is the passion.

“Hackathons provide a great environment to shrink off your scholarly duties for a weekend and really immerse yourself into something that you’re passionate about,” he said.

Food and refreshments will be provided by the Hacker Society, and there will also be opportunities for participants to interact with students from other universities,

Event: Hackathon Location: CWRU Campus Date: Feb. 6-8

as well as network with companies that are sponsoring this event. In fact, Vertical Knowledge, a software company based in Ohio, will host CWRU’s Hackathon. Also, the Major League Hacking, the official league that oversees Hackathons all over the nation, has approved the event.

This Hackathon appeals to more than just computer lovers, though.

“We don’t want to be another Hackathon that churns out the same ‘Tinder for x’ or ‘Yo for y’ projects that seem to happen at every event, which is why we’re really excited to be working with think[box] this year to open up a whole new realm of hacking possibilities for all attendees,” Gleichsner said.

The event will commence with an opening ceremony Friday night, and on Sunday participants will demonstrate their projects and be awarded prizes. Hacker Society is welcoming all students to the event, and they can register at the HackCWRU website.

CWRU Thoughts

a&e 11

observer.case.edu

Matthew Davis (MEM 2013) “The MEM program allowed me to develop my experience beyond the typical undergraduate engineering curriculum.”

Playlist of the Week Teddy Eisenberg Staff Reporter

“Coming Home”—Leon Bridges In describing “Coming Home,” it is helpful to borrow a line from NPR Music’s recent piece on Leon Bridges: “The song sounds so much like Sam Cooke, a cardigan sweater may materialize on your back while you’re listening to it.” Nimble and fresh, Bridges’ immaculate attention to detail makes this retro-sounding tune warm and inviting like one of Sam Cooke’s trademark sweaters. It is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of modern rhythm and blues. There are surely great things to come from this Texas native.

Ashmita Singh (MEM 2010) “My MEM experience helped me kick-start my U.S. corporate career.”

“Hometown Hero”—Andy Shauf Swati Venkataman (MEM 2009) “The MEM program provided a unique keystone for my career.”

Mary Ann Tai (MEM 2006) “The MEM program is a great asset because of what it teaches you about leadership and communication.”

MASTER OF ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT DEGREE:

February 15 Application Deadline

Want to learn more?

Open House – Thurs. 2/12 Nord 400 from 6 to 7:30pm Learn from Industry Experts: What Can A MEM Do for You?

Painting cold, rustic landscapes that make six more weeks of winter sound inviting, Andy Shauf is a lyrical poet and music chameleon whose talent sets him atop the current mountain of singer-songwriters. Although his accent is Canadian and not British, Shauf’s voice recalls contemporary crooner Ed Sheeran and pop savant Regina Spektor. “Hometown Hero” and other sublime tunes can be found on “The Bearer of Bad News,” out Feb. 3 on Party Damage Records.

“Feel Safe”—All We Are Grooves rarely sound better or as intimate as they do on “Feel Safe,” one of the many standout tracks on All We Are’s eponymous debut record.

This Liverpool trio sound like three bands in one, morphing chillwave, modern R&B and pop into a uniquely soulful mix perfect for either the dancefloor or a late night drive. Fans of HAIM looking for a little more musical substance should check out “All We Are” on Domino Records, out Feb. 3.

“Rose of Sharon”—Title Fight Tempering its hardcore roots, “Rose of Sharon” finds Title Fight embracing a delightfully catchy melody inspired by the sounds of shoegaze, with shimmering guitars hiding the recessed vocal roar of Jamie Rhoden in a balanced musical ebb and flow. Whether or not the group’s new album, “Hyperview,” will resonate with Title Fight’s fiercely devoted fan base isn’t a huge concern; this new sound is sure to win over any fan of rock or pop music.

“Made My Mind Up”—Mikal Cronin “I won’t sound in what I need then… I’ve made my mind up,” sings a defiant Mikal Cronin. On the first single from “MCIII,” which is titled logically and chronologically, Cronin departs the gritty pop appeal of his last single, “Weight,” for smoother psychedelic pastures complete with a killer guitar solo. Expect “MCIII” on Merge Records this May.

featuring Robert Kenney, Sunniva Collins, Colin Drummond, and Gary Wnek (MEM faculty).

RSVP to Ramona.David@case.edu

Dinner and Discussion

Top 5 Reasons to Earn Your MEM 1) Earn while you learn with paid internship opportunities 2) Obtain a graduate degree in just one year 3) Individualized coaching 4) Accelerate your career growth and earning potential 5) Make yourself marketable — the engineer’s answer to an MBA Stop by the MEM office and mention this ad to receive a treat.

Retro Pick of the Week: “Mambo Sun”—T. Rex Marc Bolan of T. Rex is a titan of British glam, influencing scores of musicians from the 70s to present with his flamboyant lyrical style, crisp guitar playing and deliberately trashy rock. The first track off 1971’s “Electric Warrior,” “Mambo Sun” recalls the catchy simplicity of early rock and roll, imbuing it with an insatiable sexuality that creeps across this perfectly mixed track.

Ultimately, it is this back to basics approach that makes “Electric Warrior” such an infectious, invigorating listen today and an essential addition to every music collection or Spotify queue.

Find all these tracks online with our weekly Spotify playlist at observer.case.edu Teddy Eisenberg is a third-year programmer at WRUW-FM 91.1 Cleveland. He hosts The ’59 Sound, an exploration of rock music, every Thursday morning from 8-10 a.m.. and co-hosts the variety talk show Max and Teddy in the Morning at Night (Sometimes) on Mondays from 5-6 p.m. The crackle of vinyl warms him on cold Cleveland nights.

Photos courtesy npr.org, andyshauf.bandcamp.com, hillydilly.com, pitchfork.com, and wikipedia.com

12

a&e

2/6/15

A Rom-Com worth its while

Temi Omilabu Staff Reporter

“What If” shows the eclectic romance between Wallace and Chantry, without devolving into a mushy mess.

I have a small secret: I’m a huge sucker for romantic comedies. From “Annie Hall” and “When Harry Met Sally” to “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “Pretty Woman,” I’ve always found myself so engrossed and unabashedly situated in a perpetual state of “can’t even” by stories that outright seek to deviate from the cliché meet-cute. It should come as no surprise that I am disappointed to witness the genre carrying a universal stigma of plotless narrative filled with superficial characters, all due to rehashings of a formula tried-and-true.

Enter, “What if”, Michael Dowse’s latest release, which, while not a revolutionary in the field, manages to transduce a smart, self-aware script into a cutesy cinematic more than capable of avoiding the pitfalls of its rom-com blueprint. From the combination of instant chemical overflow of tag-team duo Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan to the rising detestability and raunchy humor of Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis, “What If” circumvents its fun albeit predictable story. The film manages, instead, to succeed in the greatest accomplishment of all: making viewers yearn for the characters to get together for viable reasons other than the need to wrap up the third act.

The film follows Wallace (Radcliffe), a jaded medical school dropout, who quickly finds himself in an awkward position with his best friend’s cousin, the adorkable animator Chantry (Zoe Ka-

to present off-Broadway social satire “Lobby Hero” premieres on Feb. 13

Courtesy IMDB

Winston Eng Staff Reporter

Eldred Theater

The famous production “Lobby Hero” premiered on March 13, 2001 in New York City, but this month, Eldred Theater is bringing the play to Cleveland.

The plot of “Lobby Hero” revolves partly around a 27-year-old security guard named Jeff, who oversees an apartment complex in Manhattan and his supervisor, William.

Jeff is a procrastinator who is miserably living with his brother and trying to pay off his many debts while suppressing his dreams of having a career in advertising. William, on the other hand, is much more stable and rigid. The plot unfolds when William’s brother is accused of murder and asks William for an alibi. A conflict between his inclination to help his brother and his weighty respect for the legal system consequently arises.

This clash between allegiance and truth is also probed by “Lobby Hero’s” remaining characters, Bill and Dawn, who are a pair of policemen. Dawn is a rookie, while Bill is experienced, yet corrupt.

Freshman Ren Weeden, who portrays the role of William, encourages the Case Western Reserve University community

Play: “Lobby Hero” Location: Eldred Theater Date: Feb. 13-22 Price: $5-$10 to see the production because of its special qualities.

“It’s more than just a comedy or drama… it’s a social satire,” Weeden explained. “With all of the events happening in the news, it is important to understand the complete impact that social issues have, and ‘Lobby Hero’ represents that, whether it be through the plot or characters.”

Other undergraduate actors include Nicole Corbin, Duncan Schulte and Jason Sleisenger, who fulfill the mix of characters within the play.

Weeden brings up the point that the play and its characters are relatable.

“My character, William, struggles to stay in control of his chaotic world and often gets overstressed just like most of us,” said Weeden. “These characters are real people going through real things, and it just so happens that we get a glimpse at their incredible lives. In that sense, ‘Lobby Hero’ isn’t just a play, but a mirror.”

Film: “What If ” Starring: Veale Center Date:Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan Rating: zan). Soon finding his instant connection blocked from further romantic development by Chantry’s long-term boyfriend Ben (Rafe Spall), Wallace decides to maintain a strictly platonic relationship, a cause he believes can answer the ageold question of whether men and women can only be just friends.

It must be difficult for Radcliffe to develop his reputation after his iconic status as THE childhood actor in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” franchise; however, in combination with his recent works—think “The Woman in Black” and musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”—he has demonstrated quite a fantastic range that is deserving of a blank slate. Radcliffe shines tremendously by providing a refreshingly honest and relatable character that produces an impossibly adorable pair with fellow lead Kazan, who through Chantry makes the word “unconventional” as endearing as the queen of quirky herself, Zooey Deschanel.

Let me conclude with an obvious observation: “What if” does not escape the stereotypical tropes. There are still comical misunderstandings and extravagant romantic gestures that are both successful and unsuccessful. However, it finds no need to do so. It’s charming. It’s irresistible. It’s without question, worth its while.

Little Italy 2187 Murray Hill Road (at Edgehill)

Bring this ad to our Little Italy location for 20% off your next “to go” beverage!

HIngetown 1455 W 29th St (in the Ohio City Firehouse)

a&e 13

observer.case.edu

Chocolate

galore

Kids Against Hunger and Chocolate Club co-host event Sierra Blanton Contributing Reporter Want to have a sweet time this Friday night? Tonight, Feb. 6, the first Chocolate Banquet will be held in the Thwing Ballroom at 6:30 p.m. It will be a sweet fest with all sorts of chocolate desserts, such as s’more bars, Oreo pops, chocolate pies, cakes, cookies and even a chocolate fountain.

Kids Against Hunger is hosting this event, with the help of the Chocolate Club. All of the proceeds from the event will go towards KAH’s Spring Packing Event, where they will pack 50,000 meals to join in the battle against hunger in the local community.

It will be formal to semi-formal event, where all guests will enjoy a dinner prepared by La Trattoria and listen to a guest speaker and a DJ. The guest speaker will be Sandra Beard, a representative from Cleveland Food Bank. She will share her experience

Play: Chocolate Banquet Location: Thwing Ballroom Date: Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m.

Price: $8/person; $14/two people and give more information with dealing with local hunger.

DJ Matt Moy will follow Beard, who will provide all of the music for dancing and an exciting atmosphere during the event.

This event is a fundraising opportunity for students to learn more about ways to fight hunger as well as enjoy themselves with music, dancing and of course, the delicious dinner and chocolate desserts.

Ann Payneau, KAH’s Marketing Director, is looking forward to the event.

“This is a great way for people to have fun and get [KAH] known,” said Payneau.

So, go check it out. Each ticket will come with five tokens to be used on any of the chocolate deserts of your choice.

And no worries, there is going to be a lot of chocolate to choose from.

Hoodie Allen to headline Springfest

Anne Nickoloff Arts & Entertainment Editor On Feb. 2, Springfest announced that hip-hop artist Hoodie Allen will be headlining this year’s events.

The much-anticipated headliner decision breaks away from previous genres in Case Western Reserve University’s concert lineup. For instance, last year, University Program Board’s (UPB) fall concert headliner, Passion Pit, lined up neatly in the alt genre with Springfest’s headliner Matt & Kim. The 2014 Welcome Back show featured alt-indie OK Go, and UPB’s 2014 Fall Concert brought in alt-pop Echosmith and rapper Juicy J. Now, hip hop’s coming to the stage.

Katie Broderick, co-chair of the Springfest committee, thinks Hoodie Allen, aka Steven Markowitz, will be an energetic performer.

“Hoodie is exciting, he’s fun,” said Broderick. “He’ll fit with the atmosphere of Springfest.”

In addition to Hoodie Allen, three opening bands will be chosen through UPB’s Battle of the Bands Spot Night.

Unlike last year, Springfest did not send out a survey to CWRU students to decide on the artist. According to Broderick, this may have been because there were fewer choices overall this year, and the committee was able to make the decision on its own.

Event: Springfest Headliner: Hoodie Allen Loaction: Frieberger Field Date: April 25

Though this was a slightly risky decision, Hoodie Allen is not the most shocking pick, since his name has appeared on not only Springfest’s survey last year, but also on UPB’s Fall Concert survey for 2013.

“The reason he’s always on the list is because he fits the budget and because he’s a college rapper,” said Broderick. “He puts on a good live show.”

Markowitz is known for his energetic stage performances. Running off the success of his latest album, “People Keep Talking,” released on Oct. 14, 2014, Hoodie Allen has creeped into popular radio play, especially with single “All About It,” which features Ed Sheeran.

He’ll have a little more room to move around this year, since Springfest is going to be held at Freiberger Field after being shuffled for two years due to the construction work on the Tinkham Veale University Center and Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center. Now, Springfest is back where it always used to be, even though the last performance in 2012 involved a downpour of rain.

“It’ll be amazing; it’ll be warm,” said Broderick. “I’m calling it now.”

Speakeasy

opening for TV legend Enio Chinca Staff Reporter Jay Leno’s announcement that he would be retiring from hosting “The Tonight Show” was a huge shock to many people.

However, he will be seen again by Cleveland soon, after recently releasing that he would be coming to Cleveland on Sunday, Apr. 26 to perform a show as part of his 2015 tour.

However, Leno will not be the only one onstage at Playhouse Square’s State Theater.

Opening for Leno will be none other than Case Western Reserve University’s own a cappella group, Speakeasy.

Speakeasy president Yousef Raslan is excited about the opportunity. “[At the] beginning of last year, we sent out emails to all major venues and restaurants, offering to perform. We got a few offers from restaurants which didn’t work,” he said. “Finally, Playhouse Square called and offered us a gig.

Master of humorous observations, Leno’s show is sure to be packed with witty entertainment. Even though he gave up his job as the host of “The Tonight Show,” his stand-up tour will incorporate many quirks from his

Show: Opener Speakeasy, headliner Jay Leno Loaction: Playhouse Square’s State Theater Date: April 26 Price: $35-$100 time at the show.

“I think this is a pretty unique opportunity.” said CWRU sophomore Yoofi Mensah. “I love Leno’s humor, and we rarely get comedians coming here.”

Currently, speakeasy has 11 members.

Their numbers used to be higher, but Raslan believes that a smaller group is better.

“We are trying to be more selective with who we let in. We are also writing our own music, so we can improve the quality of the group and become one of the defining a cappella groups in the area,” said Raslan.

This is sure to be a defining moment for Speakeasy. This gig will help the group spread its name throughout the a cappella world; even though they are not thinking much about it yet, Raslan was clear with the importance of the show. “This gig is too good to be true. It is the biggest gig we have ever had,” he said.

Beauty in the details CWRU art professor’s work shown in two simultaneous exhibitions

Maria Fazal Copy Editor

Case Western Reserve University’s own Christopher Pekoc has an exhibition on view at the Akron Art Museum.

But, considering Pekoc’s busy career, it’s no surprise that he has another exhibition going on at the exact same time. His other exhibition, “Hand Made 2,” runs through February at Tregoning & Co. Pekoc, who teaches creative drawing at CWRU, only shows a few glimpses of his true talent to his classes. He explained that some of his earliest drawings, which can scarcely be discerned from photographs, were portraits of his neighbors.

Before Pekoc gained fame for his beautiful works, however, he worked in a much different setting, one from which he still derives much inspiration.

“When I labored in the Cleveland steel mills during my mid 20s,” Pekoc explained, “I was awed by the visually spectacular displays of steam, sparks and red-hot ingots that glowed against the backdrop of the night sky.”

Although many of his earlier works were traditional drawings, Pekoc currently works in a different medium: stitch work. Pekoc transitioned to working with this medium in the 70s and 80s, during which he created several collages made from shapes cut out from magazines. These shapes acted as sketches for future paintings.

Pekoc said that, without collaging, he could have never evolved his current stitch work technique.

“Collage is particularly accident-prone due to the fact that the individual shapes can be moved about so easily,” Pekoc elaborated.

“This freedom of movement allows for a wide range of possibilities to be explored in a relatively short period of time.

“I have found this process to be very fruitful, and as a result collage has remained at the root of my creative efforts all this time,” he

Exhibition: “Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made” Location: Akron Art Museum Date: Now - April 26 Price3: Free added.

Pekoc’s work currently features an eclectic collection of items, including gelatin silver and Xerox prints, gold and shellac, punches, blowtorches and hand sewing machines.

The products are roughened, but beautiful pieces. There is a perfect destruction in the creation of most of Pekoc’s works. Some have compared him to Frankenstein, sewing together haphazard pieces and making them work in an efficient, undeniably whole piece.

Pekoc’s studio, which is located in Tremont, is similarly experimental. Its walls are coated with pictures, sketches and the like. In the midst of this organized chaos, Pekoc creates some of his best works.

“I find that many of my ideas flow from the unexpected visual surprises that occur when an accidental arrangement of shapes takes place. These ‘happy accidents’ often yield richer results than my rational efforts.”

Pekoc’s exhibition at the Akron Art Museum, “Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made,” showcases some of Pekoc’s best works yet. A particular highlight of the show is titled “Architecture of the Sky.” Largely, the piece is a half-naked blue man surrounded by insects.

However, the true beauty of the piece is in the details.

The piece is composed of silver squares and rectangles stitched together as the background. The blue figure almost seems to pop out at the viewer, with a single eye boring out from a half-covered face. His hands touch at his temples, as a swarm of insects clings on to his body and flies around his head.

Of course, with everything Pekoc does, the beauty is in the details. And you’ll have to see it to judge for yourself.

The exhibition will be on view until April

14

a&e

2/6/15

Pass the suds...

Mike Suglio Staff Reporter If you ever wanted to experience well-balanced, drinkable beers at a “Mom & Pop’s” brewery, then venture out to Chardon.

On a cold winter night, I drove far out east to the “snowbelt” capital of the world. Located within a shopping plaza was this hidden gem of a brewery: the Chardon BrewWorks & Eatery. The brewery first opened in 2010 in Chardon Square then moved to its bigger and better-designed space in 2014.

Upon entering one immediately notices old beer memorabilia and some Chardon historical pieces adorning the walls. Clearly, this is a brewery for locals who want to warm up with a beer or two.

I was greeted by Riley Neer, bartending behind a large wooden bar. Giant mugs and growlers hung from hooks above, while Flogging Molly played in the background.

Owners Michael and Donna Nedrow could not be present for this review. However, Michael talked me through my beer tasting experience via phone.

Of course, I started with the beer that started it all, the Donna Do Ya Wanna. Back in 1995, Mike first began brewing on his stovetop and decided to name his first creation after his wife, Donna. This brew is a light hefeweizen at 4.6 percent Alcohol by volume (ABV) and 11 International bittering units (IBU). I could taste and smell a very yeast-filled flavor with hints of banana.

Following this beer was the Pride of Geauga (P.O.G.) Maple Porter, named after the famous Cleveland beer, Pride of Cleveland (P.O.C.), from the historic Pilsener Brewing Co. Made with Chardon’s famous maple syrup, this beer has a nice maple finish, yet a strong alcohol presence, which makes the beer both sweet and strong. The maple syrup is left to ferment in the brewery before being used to make the 7.2 percent ABV and 25 IBU beer. With the clear Geauga and Chardon ties and of course great taste, there is no question why this is the top-selling beer for Chardon BrewWorks.

Closing out the original four beers Nedrow first brewed were the Working Man Pale Ale and the Ironworker India Pale Ale (IPA),

From Chardon BrewWorks & Eatery Brewery: Chardon BrewWorks Loaction: 200 Center St., Chardon, OH, 44024 Price: $0-$10 Rating:

Mike Suglio/Observer BrewWorks brings back the old-timey feel of family-owned businesses in the form of a brewery. both equally as popular as the Donna Do Ya Wanna and the P.O.G. The Working Man won a silver medal at the National Homebrewing competition in 2009. This 5.5 percent ABV and 41 IBU Extra Special Bitter (ESB) beer was not as bitter as most beers of its kind and actually pretty smooth.

The Ironworker IPA is one of the most popular beers sold at the brewery and was popular amongst the patrons playing cards behind me. This IPA is named after Michael’s father, who was an ironworker himself. Like the Working Man, it is smooth despite being a style of beer that often is not. Despite the lack of hoppy flavor, this beer is brewed with galaxy, centennial and amarillo hops. At 6.8 percent ABV and 63 IBU’s, this beer reminded me more of an American Pale Ale (APA) as opposed to an IPA. Taking a break from the beer, I learned more about Michael and Donna. Michael is a pilot by trade (hence, why he was unavailable

at the time), and Donna is a nurse. Together they started homebrewing in 1994. This dynamic duo wanted to further enrich the town they love, Chardon, by opening the first brewery, under the principle of making “drinkable” beers that everyone would enjoy.

The next set is the rotational seasonal beers, which are not always on draft as the four flagship beers are. The Muzzy Cream Ale was the best cream ale I have ever had.

Cream ale is one of two types of beer created in the United States. (The other is steam ale.)

Seeing that the only other cream ale I have ever had is the Genesee Cream Ale, my expectations for cream ales are rather low. The 4.7 percent ABV and 16 IBU beer had a delicious cream finish that was not overbearing or headache-inducing like the Genny Cream.

Cream ales are difficult to brew, because they are so simple that any mistake made in the brewing process is clearly identifiable. The name Muzzy comes from a 1980s Chardon

slang for stoners: a random name for an exceptional beer.

The White House Honey Ale was the weakest in flavor and taste out of the beers I sampled. Nedrow explained that the recipe he used is taken from when the Obama Administration chose to use the official White House honey to brew beer. The 4.1percent ABV and 30 IBU beer has a simple honey taste but is not particularly memorable.

My favorite beer of the evening was the Queen Isabella Hazelnut Brown Ale, which was brewed by assistant brewmaster, Mike Cerimele. The beer had a creamy finish with a clear hazelnut taste which gives the beer a “latte” taste to it. I was surprised to find that this beer was considered an “imperial” brown ale and had a relatively high ABV of 6.5 percent.

Closing out the beer samples, the Hopominable Snowmaster IPA was a standard double IPA. This winter warmer had an 8.1 percent ABV and a whopping 109 IBU’s, which reminded me of Great Lakes’ Chillwave. On the nitro tap was the Chocolate Pomegranate Milk Stout. This fruity and reddish milk stout was a nice surprise for the end of the samples.

Nedrow’s daughter was enjoying chocolate and pomegranate juice one evening, and this inspired the creation of this beer.

The food was usual bar food and paired well with the beer. The Maple Porter wings were made with the P.O.G. beer and had a nice spicy and sweet taste, but paled in comparison to most wings in Cleveland.

The beer cheese soup made with the Working Man beer was also enjoyable but not as memorable as the beer. Chardon BrewWorks is clearly a place to try homemade, local beer with food on the side.

If you like beer and tons of snow, Chardon BrewWorks is a great place to check out to get the full “Mom & Pop’s” brewery experience.

Bringing back fashion from 1920 Tiffany Cheung Staff Reporter Every year, the Class Officer Collective (COC) organizes Snowball, a tradition that began in 2002 and allows Case Western Reserve University undergraduates to dress up and dance the night away in a formal event held off campus mid-winter.

This year it will be held at the Marriott Hotel downtown on Friday, Feb. 20 from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. COC will provide shuttle buses for the event starting 10 p.m. at Thwing Center.

Each year the event is themed. Last year, Snowball had a masquerade theme.

This year COC decided the theme should be the 1920s. Sapna Sundar of the COC Snowball Committee is looking forward to the retro theme.

“We expect to see many flapper dresses and pearl necklaces. It is a very dressy event similar to prom,” said Sundar.

If you do not have a flapper dress or a 1920s dress, do not fret. There are many ways to throw together a snazzy outfit from what you have in your closet. For girls, look for a short and simple dress, or up the ante

and look for something with fringes, adornments and lace. If you don’t see anything, go around and ask friends, floormates, suitemates, etc. for something cute to wear.

It might be a great idea to mix it up and borrow clothes from friends when you are bored with your own closet.

Every girl knows that what make every look complete are the accessories. COC knows this as well, and they are giving away pearl necklaces and feathery flapper headbands to everyone who comes to the event.

For guys, wearing a simple button up with a suit jacket and nice slacks would be the way to go. If you want to be more creative and bold, you can wear a bowtie as well. In addition to the more feminine accessories, COC will be giving out chocolate cigars.

“People should not be discouraged if they don’t have clothes that fit the theme.

We want everyone to come. We are also giving away things that make any outfit complete,” said Sundar.

If you need another incentive to dress up and party like it’s 1920 at Snowball this year, COC will be giving out champagne glasses, taking pictures and having a

Event: Snowball Loaction: Marriott Marriott Downtown at Key Center Date: Feb. 20, 10 p.m.

Price: $12-20 photo booth at the event, so students could capture shots of the memorable night. Although students will not be served dinner at Snowball, there will be a lot of tasty hors d’oeuvres and drinks available.

Tickets have been on sale since Monday, Feb. 2. For the first week of ticket sales (Feb. 2 – Feb. 8), there is early bird pricing: $12 for singles and $20 for couples. Regular pricing for tickets will begin Monday, Feb. 9, when ticket prices rise to $20 for singles and $30 for couples.

Tickets will include food and transportation to the event. Annually, Snowball has been a huge event, and COC expects tickets to sell out quickly. You can purchase tickets at tickets.case.edu or the COC office in the Tinkham Veale University Center.

“COC wants this to be a dressy event that compares to prom, but they also want everyone to come out and have a great time,” said Sundar.

Sapna Sundar/Observer This year, Snowball’s giveaways include pearls and feather headbands; the perfect accessories for a Roarin’ 20’s-themed dance

fun

observer.case.edu

fun page | 15

Horoscopes Aries

Something good will come after this month is over… possibly your birthday?

Taurus

Don’t let anyone bring you down when you’re having a good time.

Gemini

At some point this month you will say, “Can it be summer already?”

Cancer

COMICS

Nutcase

Ivory Tower

Kevin Yong

Take a cue from the bus-riding black lab and brave the RTA this weekend to get some yummy treats from the West Side Market.

Leo

Take more time when you’re handwriting notes. That chicken scratch will be indecipherable in a week when you’re studying for the next test.

Virgo

You will succeed even though you procrastinated horribly.

Libra

Study up. You go Libra.

Scorpio

Watch out for scorpions. They are everywhere in this weather.

Ophiuchus

This week, you will finally learn how to pronounce, “Ophiuchus.”

Sagittarius

Watch out for that snow.

Capricorn

Get out and explore the world around you. If the squirrels can handle it, so can you!

Aquarius

Now’s the best time to binge-watch that TV show. Midterms aren’t until March. Get to it!

Pisces

Across 1. Dash 5. Put out 10. Desire 14. Website addresses 15. Middays 16. Half-moon tide 17. Sermon on the Mount 19. Small island 20. Nonclerical 21. Twangy, as a voice 22. Practical 23. Gist 25. Alleviated 27. Obtain 28. Timetable 31. Trail 34. Not earlier 35. Be unwell 36. Hearing organs 37. Modulator/demodulator 38. Charity 39. Genus of macaws 40. Planet 41. A friction match 42. Languor

44. Arrive (abbrev.)

45. Made of oak wood 46. Paddle-wheeler 50. Brusque 52. Gladden 54. French for “Friend” 55. Anagram of “Sire” 56. Applied mathematics 58. Anagram of “Loot” 59. Aquatic mammal 60. Away from the wind 61. Being 62. Ganders 63. Applications Down 1. Russian currency 2. Territories 3. Water soaked soils 4. Eastern Standard Time 5. Complete 6. Alcoholic 7. Fizzy drink 8. Not selected by voters 9. S 10. Together 11. Remainders

12. Effrontery 13. Type of sword 18. Not outer 22. End ___ 24. Prima donna problems 26. Throat-clearing sound 28. In an unfortunate way 29. Citrus fruit 30. If not 31. Secure against leakage 32. Cut back 33. Cantatas 34. Spectacles 37. Not less 38. Emanation 40. Rouse 41. Liberates 43. Bother 44. Clothing 46. Satisfies 47. Posts 48. Master of ceremonies 49. Ascends 50. French for “Head” 51. God of love 53. Tardy 56. Soak 57. Letter after sigma

Crossword Puzzle

‘Tis the month for snuggles.

Love what you do and yeah...

16

sports

2/6/15

The Jolly Scholar jolly.scholar @JollyScholar 216.368.0090 mpv3@case.edu MTW RF Sat. Sun.

11a – 12a 11a – 2a 12p – 2a 12p – 12a

Stuff the Stands for Blue CWRU Go to the Friday, February 6 basketball games to support our teams. Free milkshake coupons will be given out during halftime.

UPB x WRUW Present: RJD2 with PSTRCHLD There’s a special show in the Tinkham Veale Ballroom this Wednesday, February 11 at 9pm.

Come to the Scholar for the pre-game and the post-party.

Sports Standings

Tues

Trivia Night

Wed

Thurs

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Case Western Reserve

5

2

0.714

14

4

0.778

Chicago

5

2

0.714

13

5

0.722

Washington

4

3

0.571

15

3

0.833

Emory

4

3

0.571

14

4

0.778

New York U.

4

3

0.571

13

5

0.722

Rochester

3

4

0.429

7

11

0.389

Brandeis

2

5

0.286

7

11

0.389

Carnegie Mellon

1

6

0.143

10

8

0.556

Karaoke Comedy & Grad Night Happy Hour

Sat

Sun

40’s & Fridays

Charity Late Night

All You Can Eat Wings & Football

Conference

Women’s Basketball

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

New York U.

6

1

0.857

17

1

0.944

Washington

6

1

0.857

17

1

0.944

Chicago

6

1

0.857

12

6

0.667

Rochester

3

4

0.429

11

7

0.611

Carnegie Mellon

2

5

0.286

11

7

0.611

Brandeis

2

5

0.286

10

8

0.556

Emory

2

5

0.286

10

8

0.556

Case Western Reserve

1

6

0.143

7

11

0.389

Conference

Men’s Tennis

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Case Western Reserve

0

0

0.000

2

0

1.000

Brandeis

0

0

0.000

1

0

1.000

Rochester

0

0

0.000

1

0

1.000

Washington

0

0

0.000

1

0

1.000

Carnegie Mellon

0

0

0.000

3

1

0.750

Chicago

0

0

0.000

1

1

0.500

Emory

0

0

0.000

0

0

0.000

New York U.

0

0

0.000

0

0

0.000

Conference

Women’s Tennis

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Carnegie Mellon

0

0

0.000

3

0

1.000

Washington

0

0

0.000

1

0

1.000

Case Western Reserve

0

0

0.000

1

1

0.500

Brandeis

0

0

0.000

0

0

0.000

Emory

0

0

0.000

0

0

0.000

New York U.

0

0

0.000

0

0

0.000

Rochester

0

0

0.000

0

0

0.000

Chicago

0

0

0.000

0

1

0.000

Calendar Varsity Sport

Friday 2/6

Saturday 2/7

Sunday 2/8

Men's Basketball

Home vs. Chicago 9:00 PM

Home vs.

Washington St. Louis 12:00 PM

Women's Basketball

Home vs.

Chicago 8:00 PM

Home vs.

Washington St. Louis 2:00 PM

Swimming & Diving Jim Wuske Invitational @ Alliance Ohio 10:00 AM

Track & Field

Men’s Tennis

Fri

All

Wins

Wrestling

Calendar

Conference

Men’s Basketball

Pete Willson Invitational @ Wheaton, Ill 10:00 AM

Pete Willson Invitational @ Wheaton, Ill 10:00 AM

Home vs. Kenyon 7:00 PM

Home vs. Chicago 6:30 PM Home vs. Chicago 3:00 PM, vs.

Allegheny 6:00 PM

Women’s Tennis

Varsity Sport Swimming & Diving

Monday Tuesday 2/9 2/10

Wednesday 2/11

Thursday 2/12

UAA Championship (Diving) @ Atlanta 12:45 PM/ 5:30 PM

UAA Championship @ Atlanta 10:00 AM/ 5:30 PM

17

sports

observer.case.edu from Killers | 1 Looking ahead, the Spartans put their own unbeaten home record on the line against Chicago and a return matchup against Washington. Currently at 5-2 within the conference, it is entirely possible that this upcoming weekend will determine whether the Spartans have enough to pull out an unlikely finish atop a stacked UAA. Having pulled out tough victories against Washington and No. 23 New York University earlier in the season, the Spartans are also looking forward to a possible return into the Top 25 rankings after making the first appearance on the list in CWRU school history at the beginning of January. At 14-4 the Spartans are also pulling ever closer to the school record for wins in a season, needing three to tie and four to break with seven games to play.

The rematch for first place of the con-

Men’s Basketball

Editor’s choice

Swimming and diving win final tuneup

ference will happen tonight as the Spartans have slight deja vu as they host the University of Chicago Maroons. The rematch will be the second game of the basketball doubleheader as the women’s squad takes on Chicago at 6.

The games will be the headliners of the Neon Night promotion. All those in attendance are encouraged to wear neon gear as they cheer the Spartans to victory. Furthermore the night will include the traditional Provost Pizza Night, as all students will be able to get free pizza courtesy of Provost Bud Baeslack. Finally to top of the night free smoothies will be available to students courtesy of BlueCWRU and the Jolly Scholar. Everyone pack the student section and cheer on the basketball teams.

The showdown against Chicago is scheduled for this Friday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. in Horsburgh Gymnasium.

CWRU

89

Washington

78

CWRU

Spartans take weekend off to prep for UAA Championship

JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor

Washington

#

Player

PTS

AST

REB

BLK

TO

MIN

#

Player

PTS

AST

REB

BLK

TO

MIN

42

B. Klements

7

3

4

0

0

28

11

D. Fatoki

14

7

3

0

2

35

44

D. McLoughlin

25

3

4

0

4

36

20

L. SilvermanLloyd

2

0

0

0

1

30

50

C. Edel

16

1

3

0

1

29

34

N. Burt

25

4

10

0

1

31

2

J. Holman

10

5

2

0

0

31

35

M. Palucki

16

3

9

0

1

35

10

J. Person

16

7

6

2

2

24

5

J. Dean

0

1

0

0

1

6

11

M. Clark

2

2

1

0

1

9

15

D. Black

6

2

0

0

1

15

52 2

M. Styczynski

15

B. Ward

0

0

3

0

0

0

0

2 1

30 5

3

T. Seidman

0

0

0

0

0

6

12

I. Smith

0

0

1

0

0

3

15

T. Knox

3

0

0

0

0

10

21

E. Black

4

0

1

0

0

7

20

A. Minami

0

0

1

0

0

2

24

S. Boyd

3

1

4

1

1

15

21

R. Pelka

3

2

0

0

1

13

Team Totals

89

25

25

3

11

78

16

27

0

9

Team Totals

Intramural floor hockey tournament underway David Hoffman Staff Reporter It’s the heart of winter, and you know what that means: it’s hockey season, floor hockey that is. The intramural floor hockey tournament has begun, and the action is rapidly heating up. A quick summary of what has gone down so far: In the first round, #FISHTANK mauled Phi Kappa Psi 11-0. Zeta Psi advanced with a win over Delta Chi, and Phi Delt kept their season alive with a victory against Delta Iota Kappa.

In the second round, Team Zacher destroyed the BME SunDevils 16-2. Delta Upsilon moved on to the next round after defeating The Sports Fiesta 10-3. SigEp shut out Delta Chi 14-0 to stay alive, while Beta Theta Pi defeated Alpha Chi Omega 13-2.

Phi Kappa Tau knocked off Phi Gamma Delta to keep their title hopes alive. Round two action was completed on Wednesday night. Snakes and Vests squared off against #FISHTANK, Phi Kappa Theta faced Zeta Psi and Dental Dynasty clashed with Phi Delt. The intramural website has the results of the remaining contests.

Additionally, the consolation bracket began play on Wednesday night for the teams, who got knocked out early in the tournament.

The action began when Delta Chi took on Alpha Chi Omega and the BME SunDevils squared off against Phi Kappa Psi. As the playoff tournament progresses, more teams will throw their respective hats into the ring in the consolation bracket. Check back next week for the latest bracket updates.

Don’t miss as these teams vie for the title of league champion. Every game will be sure to contain the intensity of a game seven in the NHL, and you never know when a classic will break out. The tourna-

ment quarterfinals are just around the corner, with some great matchups on tap. Delta Upsilon will take on SigEp in a game featuring a couple of powerful offenses, while the mighty Team Zacher is slated to take on the winner of #FISHTANK versus Snakes and Vests. The victor of Phi Kappa Theta versus Zeta Psi will advance to face the juggernaut that is Beta Theta Pi, and unstoppable Phi Kappa Tau awaits the survivor of Phi Delt against Dental Dynasty.

Although the glorious hockey tournament will soon wrap up, there are plenty of intramural tournaments waiting in the wings.

Don’t miss it when basketball gets underway, and the players take the hardwood.

Adding to the intrigue, some of the leagues will feature official referees, adding another layer of strategy to the action. Plus, the campus battleship tournament will take place this Saturday. It’s a battle to determine the

Men

CWRU

209.5

Baldwin Wallace

68.5

The swimming and diving teams leave to Atlanta later this week, as they compete in their biggest meet of the season, the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship starting on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

In their final tuneup before the big competition, both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving squads pulled off solid victories over Baldwin-Wallace University.

The men’s squad handily beat the hosts with an impressive 209.5-68.5 victory. The victory was the Spartan’s eighth straight win this season and advances the team to an 8-1 record. Case Western Reserve University won 13 of the 16 events, led by sole swimming double-winner Oliver Hudgins.

Hudgins led the Spartans with first place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke races. Hudgins also swam in leadoff leg of the 200-medley relay for the Spartans with John Kilbane, Logan Smith, and John Seiler.

Connor Farrell also had two victories in the meet, with first-place dives off both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards.

The women’s squad also defeated the hosts, swimming to a 187-98 victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Three freshmen were double winners for the women. Cassandra Laios, Jennifer Eurich and Inez Moore all out-swam their opponents to bring in six victories for the Spartans. Laios touched the wall first in the 50-yard backstroke as well as the 100 back with times of 30.09 and 1:03.88, respectfully. Eurich swam her way to victory in the 100 and 200 free, and Moore placed first in the 50 free and 50 butterfly, finishing both in under 30 seconds.

The Spartans also won both relay competitions with Laios, Eurich and Moore all in on the 200 medley. Laios and Moore add fourth victories each in the 200 free relay victory with freshmen Jenna Krynicki and Abigail Dessart, finishing in 1:45.61.

Many top swimmers rested for the meet, with a few races running the shorter distances instead of the typical lengths (such as 50-yard free instead of 100 yards). This was done in order to allow for less fatigue come UAA play as well as to give younger blood competition experience.

Women

CWRU

187

Baldwin Wallace

98

last team standing—or floating in this case.

Finally, there will be a bowling tournament taking place at The Corner Alley on Feb. 15.

It might not be Thanksgiving, but you can bet

a turkey would still be a welcome sight to the bowlers. As Jeff Lebowski might say, “The dude abides.” Hopefully, the ball will abide for all that day.

Women’s Swimming Events Winning Time

Event

Winner

School CWRU

200 Yd. Medley Relay

1:55.29

Team A

1000 Yd. Freestyle

11:18.24

J. Miller

BW

200 Yd. Freestyle

2:02.46

J. Eurich

CWRU

50 Yd. Backstroke

30.09

C. Laios

CWRU

50 Yd. Breaststroke

33.21

B. Cain

CWRU

100 Yd. Butterfly

1:03.41

C. Ashbaugh

BW

50 Yd. Freestyle

25.50

I. Moore

CWRU

100 Yd. Freestyle

56.53

J. Eurich

CWRU

100 Yd. Backstroke

1:03.88

C. Laios

CWRU

100 Yd. Breaststroke

1:15.73

C. Manuck

CWRU

500 Yd. Freestyle

5:31.18

T. Johnson

CWRU CWRU

50 Yd. Butterfly

27.6

I. Moore

200 Yd. IM

2:18.16

C. Ashbaugh

BW

200 Freestyle Relay

1:45.61

Team A

CWRU

Men’s Swimming Events Event

Winning Time

Winner

School

200 Yd. Medley Relay

1:36.92

Team C

CWRU

1000 Yd. Freestyle

10:17.96

D. Hamilton

CWRU

200 Yd. Freestyle

1:49.95

B.Gerber

BW

50 Yd. Backstroke

26.22

D. Weibel

CWRU

50 Yd. Breaststroke

27.4

T. Thompson

BW

100 Yd. Butterfly

55.33

D. Kizek

CWRU

50 Yd. Freestyle

22.41

O. Hudgins

CWRU

100 Yd. Freestyle

47.77

A. Tam

CWRU CWRU

100 Yd. Backstroke

54.71

O. Hudgins

100 Yd. Breaststroke

1:00.32

T. Thompson

BW

500 Yd. Freestyle

4:56.23

A. Henning

CWRU CWRU

50 Yd. Butterfly

24.71

C. Allen

200 Yd. IM

2:01.29

E. Haufler

CWRU

200 Freestyle Relay

1:33.81

Team A

CWRU

Women’s Diving Events Event

Winning Score

Winner

1 Meter Dive

158.85

M. Fortune

BW

3 Meter Dive

221.95

M. Fortune

BW

School

Men’s Diving Events Event

Winning Score

Winner

1 Meter Dive

179.85

C. Farrell

CWRU

3 Meter Dive

277.50

C. Farrell

CWRU

School

The Spartans are taking the weekend off before returning to the pool in Atlanta at the UAA Championship hosted by Emory University. The competition will be the toughest test for the Spartans, as five of the men’s teams and six of the women’s teams in the UAA are ranked in the top 25. The action starts Wednesday at 10 a.m., with competition carrying through the weekend.

Intramural Floor Hockey 2015 Finals

Thurs. Feb 12, 9:30pm Court 2, Veale Center

Wed. Feb 11, 10:15pm Court 2, Veale Center

Team Zacher

#FISHTANK

Snakes & Vests

#FISHTANK

#FISHTANK

BME SunDevils

Phi Kappa Psi

Delta Upsilon

Team Zacher

Delta Upsilon

Wed. Feb 11, 9:30pm Court 2, Veale Center

Semifinals

The Sports Fiesta

SigEp

Delta Chi

Beta Theta Pi

Zeta Psi

SigEp

Phi Kappa Theta

Zeta Psi

Zeta Psi

Beta Theta Pi

Delta Chi

Alpha Chi Omega

Dental Dynasty

Dental Dynasty

Phi Kappa Tau

Phi Delta

Delta Iota Kappa

Phi Kappa Tau

Phi Delt

Phi Gamma Delta

18

sports

2/6/15

The stadium puzzle

Arko’s Cleveland Corner

Defense wins championships

Cavaliers inquire if county will help pay for area improvements

JP. O’Hagan in the NBA. They’ve controlled the glass, per 100 possessions with Shumpert on the Sports Editor

Cavaliers’ defensive efforts translating to wins Joey Arko Staff Reporter Newsflash: The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing defense, and they’re doing it for the first time all season. They’ve also ripped off 11 straight wins, making them the hottest team in the NBA right now.

Coincidence? The numbers provide an explanation.

In their first 39 games, the Cavaliers were allowing 100.1 points per game, placing them in the bottom half of the league in terms of overall defensive rating (19th out of 30 teams, to be exact). Instead of playing like the “super squad” most experts and fans predicted them to be, they more or less resembled a “doughnut” team, meaning their defense had a gaping hole in the middle. Opposing players had no problem driving past the Cavaliers’ perimeter defenders. Once they made it through, they often faced zero opposition at the rim, allowing them an easy layup or dunk. This happened over and over and over again; matador-like defensive efforts on the outside and zero rim protection on the inside. This was the storyline for the Cavaliers in its first 39 games.

Deeper statistics show the results of those lackluster efforts. As of Jan. 14, the Cavs ranked 29th in opponent field goal percentage at 47.1 percent. They were also out-rebounded by opponents on the defensive end 30.6 to 30.2 on average per game.

In comparison, when examining the defense numbers over the 11-game winning streak, it’s no mystery as to why the Cavs have found their recent success.

During the win streak, the Cavs have cut that 47.1 opponent field goal percentage all the way down to 41.8 percent, good for fifth

winning the rebounding battle 33.9 to 28.9 on average on a nightly basis. They’ve also leaped from 19th to 9th in the NBA in opposing ppg average, reducing the 100.1 mark they had been giving up in the first 39 games down to just 95.5 since then.

Case in point, the Cavaliers’ refreshed approach and focus on the defensive side of the ball has been translating to wins. Through masterful trades by General Manager David Griffin, they’ve filled that “doughnut-hole” in the middle of their paint with the 7-foot-1, 250-pound bruising center Timofey Mozgov.

They’ve also added guys that have thus far brought heightened effort defensively on the outside-in J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert.

For those who would scoff at the notion that J.R. Smith has actually been playing defense since his arrival in Cleveland, the Cavs have allowed 2.1 fewer points per game per 100 possessions with J.R. on the court. It may not seem like a lot, but 2.1 points could determine the outcome of the game.

On the other hand, no one has ever questioned Iman Shumpert’s defensive prowess on the perimeter. Throughout his young career, he has been known as a lockdown defender on the wing, and for good reason. In the small sample size since joining the Cavaliers, Shumpert’s opponents have shot 16.8 percent worse from behind the three-point line than their season average, as they’ve shot a paltry 17.4 percent with Shumpert blanketing them, via NBA.com.

While his minutes were initially very limited due to his recovering shoulder from injury, Shumpert has seen a steady increase in playing time since making his Cavaliers debut. This is very good news for Cleveland, since the Cavs have allowed 8.3 fewer points

court as opposed to when he is on the bench.

Center Timofey Mozgov has also done his job. Before his arrival in Cleveland, the Cavs were allowing opponents to shoot 62.7 percent inside the paint. Once-center Anderson Varejão went down with a season-ending injury, that number was only bound to get worse. Mozgov has since done his part to change that, as his height, size and affinity for shot-blocking has caused that percentage to plummet all the way down to 56.2 percent, according to NBA.com.

While the season progresses, there is absolutely no reason to believe these defense ratings will drop. The team should only develop stronger chemistry as they gradually become more comfortable with one another’s play style. As the team gels, its defense could become scary good. The offense will always be there, given the team’s supreme talent on that end of the ball.

As the saying goes, Defense wins Championships, and the Cavaliers have one goal.

If they hang their hats on the their defensive effort, something special just might happen here in Cleveland.

Joey Arko is a current senior at Case Western Reserve University working towards his degree in English with a Marketing minor. Aside from The Observer he also writes for CavsNation, submitting articles pertaining to the analysis of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Born and raised in a suburb just outside the city, his love for Cleveland transcends beyond just it’s sports teams. He also really loves Cleveland bars.

Women’s basketball struggles on the road Spartans return home looking to get back on track JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor The Spartans are still looking for answers. The women’s basketball squad has struggled on the road the past two weekends, dropping four straight games of University Athletic Association play.

This past weekend, the Spartans faced off against Washington University at St. Louis and the University of Chicago. The team failed to bounce back after narrow single-digit losses from the week before and fell hard against the two powerhouses, slipping to 7-11 on the season.

The Spartans kicked off the weekend against the Chicago, and once again, gave up an early lead in the loss.

The Spartans were led by forwards Kara Hageman and Berit Eppard, who both put up 12 points apiece in a 74-59 point loss.

The duo also excelled off the boards, as Hageman pulled down six rebounds, while Eppard grabbed seven off the glass and also added three steals to her stat sheet.

Despite the strong performances, Chicago put four players into double-digit points led by Elizabeth Nye’s game high of 19 points.

The Spartans started off strong, but the Maroons jumped out to a 10-point advantage with 3:09 left on the clock, when a Chicago layup made it 33-23. The Spartans were not about to give up, however, and pulled within six heading into the

locker room at the half. The second half, however, was entirely Chicago, as they coasted to victory.

Brooke Orcutt led the Spartans in their upset bid of nationally-ranked Washington on Sunday, but her impressive season hightying 23-point effort was not enough. The team fell to the hosting Bears 71-60.

Orcutt shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 75 percent from behind the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Eppard followed her strong play from two days earlier with her fourth career double-double, putting up 15 points and pulling down 10 off the glass. Hageman came off the bench to add nine points and four rebounds.

The Spartans once again started hot but

Women’s Basketball

faded down the stretch, falling behind in the first half, following a 14-3 run by the Bears midway through the first half. The Spartans once again fought back into striking distance by the half, going into the locker room down a mere two points, 33-31 following a big three from Jessica McCoy. Coming back out onto the floor, the Bears ran away with it, going up by as much as 12 points, three different times en route to the Spartan loss.

The Spartans will attempt to right the ship as they return home this weekend to face familiar foes. The Spartans are hosting both Washington and Chicago once again this weekend, the final matchup against these two teams this season. The redemption attempt starts Friday night against Chicago at 6 p.m. in Horsburgh Gymnasium.

CWRU

60

Washington

71

CWRU

Washington

#

Player

PTS

AST

REB

BLK

TO

MIN

#

Player

PTS

AST

REB

BLK

TO

MIN

12

L. Mummey

6

1

8

0

5

32

21

M. Gilkey

28

1

7

3

3

28

35

B. Eppard

15

4

10

0

6

34

12

K. Biewen

6

5

3

0

0

24

22

J. McCoy

5

3

6

0

0

27

15

A. Johanson

6

0

6

0

0

25

22

J. Thompson

4

4

0

4

4

23

23

M. Scheppers

4

1

3

1

1

28

10

A. Keane

0

2

5

2

2

17

20

N. Orr

15

4

4

1

1

28

31

A. Martinez

4

1

1

0

0

15

24 41

A. Germer B. Orcutt

0 23

2 3

0 4

0 0

3 3

23 39

2

K. Hageman

9

1

3

0

3

21

20

E. Reynolds

0

1

1

0

0

8

23

A. Roth

0

0

0

0

0

3

51

P. Naig

0

0

0

1

1

3

43

R. Beaty

2

1

1

0

1

13

55

S. Vukotic

4

1

2

2

2

9

Team Totals

60

16

33

0

21

71

19

31

14

14

Team Totals

It is an ongoing saga in sports; not directly tied to wins and losses, nor tied to the players or coaches, but still woven into the fabric of each sport and tied to how the fan experiences the sport in question. The stadiums, ballparks and arenas in which each game is played have become landmarks in their own right, and while there is constant competition to have the newest, the best and the brightest for fans, the question has always been how to pay for it.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are no different in their goal of balancing team success and improving the fan experience. Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski wrote a letter, posted on the Cav’s website, announcing the beginning of conversations with the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga county to develop Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers’ downtown home in the coming years. There are no concrete plans announced. However, The Plain Dealer has reported that the team has inquired if the Cuyahoga County government would provide public money to overhaul the Quicken Loans Arena.

This inquiry is indicative of American sports in today’s world. Public funding is a major contributor in building the newest stadiums across all major sport leagues.The mentality of allocated public funds to stadiums is that the sporting events bring in thousands of fans into the city. Here they spend money in the surrounding businesses, and the stadiums create hundreds of jobs. In all they bring economic growth to the cities in which these professional sport teams are located.

However, the issue arises when the question of how much the cities should put into a stadium for a privately-owned organization.

Taxpayer money has paid for some stadiums, entirely driving cities into debt while taking financial burden off of the owners of the team.

Also, there have been many studies that question the actual financial impact of sports teams compared to the multimillion-dollar price tag of the stadium. Furthermore, the demand for professional sports teams and the lack of supply of available teams per league means that sports teams are able to—at times—demand that the cities support the building of these projects or threaten to move to a city that will put forward the money for a new stadium or improvements on the existing stadiums.

This is the ugly side of small market sports team cities, the threat of their teams being moved perpetually hangs over their heads.

This is not an outlandish scenario, as just 20 years ago, it happened here in Cleveland. The Browns left the city when Arthur “Art” Modell moved the beloved team to Baltimore, because he felt that the city of Baltimore had the funding to build a first-class stadium; in Cleveland the Browns were operating in the decades-old Cleveland Stadium, out of which the Indians had recently moved, and into Jacobs Park, now Progressive Field.

More recently the Oklahoma City Thunder moved to the city from Seattle after the SuperSonics (the franchise’s previous name) attempted to persuade the Washington state government to provide funding to update Key Arena, and the government refused.

This is the ugly side of sports, and while the Cavaliers’ request likely will not spiral into such drastic measures, it is an issue which the residents of Northeast Ohio must not take lightly. Should their tax money be used to update the Q, or is the current agreement with the revenue from the recently renewed “sin tax” going toward not only the Cavaliers, but also the Browns and the Indians, enough public funds going toward Cleveland’s sports teams?

sports Spartans victorious Track and field teams beat Carnegie Mellon for first time since 2012 Men

CWRU

209.5

Baldwin Wallace

68.5

Women

CWRU

187

Baldwin Wallace

98

Women’s Track Events Event

Winning Time

Winner

School

55 Meter Hurdles

8.97

R. Tan

CWRU

55 Meter Dash

7.61

R. Tan

CWRU CM

1 Mile Run

5:32.95

S. Kelly

400 Meter Dash

1:01.03

S. Cook

CM

800 Meter Run

2:27.10

T. O'Neil

CWRU

200 Meter Dash

26.63

S. Spalding

CM

4 x 400 Meter Relay

4:13.28

Team A

CM

Distance Medley

12:45.29

Team A

CWRU

5000 Meter Run

17:56.59

K. Ruckstuhl

CWRU

3000 Meter Run

10:33.82

K. Aamoth

CWRU

Men’s Track Events Event

Winning Time

Winner

School

55 Meter Hurdles

8.10

G. Mlack

CWRU

55 Meter Dash

6.66

J. Chen

CM

1 Mile Run

4:28.31

C. Watro

CM

400 Meter Dash

48.90

T. Vandenberg

CM

800 Meter Run

1:57.97

M. Julien

CM

200 Meter Dash

22.72

T. Vandenberg

CM

4 x 400 Meter Relay

3:27.12

Team A

CWRU

Distance Medley

10:34.74

Team A

CM

5000 Meter Run

1:58.68

G. Degen

CM

3000 Meter Run

2:14.68

E. Cullinane

CM

Women’s Field Events Event

Winning Time

Winner

School

High Jump

1.60 m

R. Tan

CWRU

Long Jump

5.27 m

S. Spalding

CM

Shot Put

10.86 m

S. Spalding

CM

Weight Throw

14.60 m

T. Omilabu

CWRU

Triple Jump

10.46 m

A. Brown

CWRU

Pole Vault

3.20 m

C. Saccucci

CWRU

Men’s Track Events

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer The Spartans rise the Obelisk Trophy in victory last Saturday. The Spartans beat archrival Carnegie Mellon for first time since 2012.

JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor The men’s and women’s track and field teams have won the Battle for the Obelisk against arch rival, Carnegie Mellon University.

The women’s team won the indoor meet by a score of 81-55 and the men narrowly outscored the visiting Tartans, who scored 70-66, as both squads combined for a 151-121 defeat of Carnegie Mellon, and won the Obelisk Trophy for the first time since 2012.

The women were led by senior Rachel Tan, who won three events for the Spartans and was responsible for 18 of the Spartan’s points. Tan placed first in the high jump at 1.60 meters, the 55m hurdles and the 55m dash, with times of 8.97 and 7.58, respectfully.

The field team racked in the most points for the team, as junior Temi Omilabu hit first in the weight throw at 14.60m and junior Asante Brown won the triple jump at 10.46m. In addition junior captain Christen Saccucci out-jumped the pole vaulters, clearing the bar at 3.20m.

On the track junior captain Taylor

O’Neil won the 800m run with 2:25.25, and senior Kristen Ruckstuhl crossed the finish line first in the 5,000m run.

The men’s team victory was highlighted by a school-record performance in the 4x400 meter relay. The first place finish in the relay pushed the Spartans to victory, as the meet came down to the relay, the final event of the day.

The record-setting team was made up of juniors Devon Belew and Jonathan Freeman teamed up with sophomores Nathaniel Wahner and Nico EricksenDeris and crossed the finished in a time of 3:27.12, breaking the old mark of 3:27.75 by less than a second.

Three Spartans were double-winners in field events, each claiming 10 points apiece. Sophomore Graeham Heil hit a career-best mark of 1.95m in the high jump and won the triple jump at 13.31m. Senior Mark Kulinski cleared the bar in the pole vault at 4.40m and landed 6.28m from the line in the long jump. Finally, fellow senior Sam Reusser threw 13.72m in the shotput and 13.77m in the weight throw.

The Spartans are back in action next on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Jim Wuske Invitational in Alliance, Ohio. Action begins at 10 a.m.

Event

Winning Time

Winner

High Jump

1.95 m

G. Heil

CWRU

Long Jump

6.28 m

M. Kulinski

CWRU CWRU

School

Shot Put

13.72 m

S. Reusser

Weight Throw

13.77 m

S. Reusser

CWRU

Triple Jump

13.31 m

G. Heil

CWRU

Pole Vault

4.40 m

M. Kulinski

CWRU

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer A Spartan athlete shows off her CWRU pride with her Spartan tattoo.

20

ad

2/6/15