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SPORTS

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Men’s and women’s track win Crossplex Invitational

A&E David Bowie’s parting album is monumental

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page EMORY LIFE Q&A with Harry Potter professor, Catherine Nickerson

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ATLANTA SNOW FLAKES OUT

Weekend weather brings delays, delights for Emory students p. 4 The Independent Student-Run Newspaper of Emory University Since 1919

VOL. 97 ISSUE 6 January 27. 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS JANUARY 27, 2016

NEWS

NEWS

OPINION

4 slight snow causes winter weather woes

8 PANELISTS, STUDENTS DEBATE FREEDOM OF SPEECH

10 Our Opinion: an alternative to free tuition

6 presidential selection forums DRAW few students

9 police report

11 a chilling silence 12 should voting be mandatory?

7 Student social entrepreneurship team to compete in shanghai

13 holy grails of truth (they don’t exist)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

EMORY LIFE

SPORTS

14 bowie’s parting album is monumental, heartbreaking

18 IN THE RING WITH MELISSA QUERRY

22 eagles dominate emory meet

20 emory impact investing group

23 home sweet home: men best cmu, case at emory

16 ‘Star Wars battlefront’ awakens a lost franchise

21 samuel’s not-so-secret study spots

24 women split weekend home stand

17 ‘dirty grandpa’ is as dirty as it is original

Cover Photo

by

Tianzhang Shen | Contributor

EDITORIAL BOARD DUSTIN SLADE | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUPSHA BASU EXECUTIVE EDITOR Copy Chiefs Shalvi Shah Benazir Wehelie News Editors Anwesha Guha Emily Sullivan Opinion Editor Erik Alexander Arts & Entertainment Editor Julia Munslow Emory Life Editor Hayley Silverstein

KARISHMA MEHROTRA EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ZAK HUDAK MANAGING EDITOR

Sports Editor Jacob Durst

Asst. Copy Chief Michelle Lou

Photo Editor Ruth Reyes

Asst. Emory Life Editor Alisha Compton

Video Directors Hagar Elsayed Leila Yavari

Editor-at-Large Samuel R. Budnyk

Senior Digital Editor Tarrek Shaban Digital Editors Brandon Fuhr Morgan Roberts

Associate Editors Loli Lucaciu Annie McGrew Lydia O’Neal Ryan Smith

STEPHEN FOWLER EXECUTIVE DIGITAL EDITOR business and advertising

ALLEN HSIN | BUSINESS MANAGER BEN MOORE | SALES MANAGER BRYCE ROBERTSON | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Assistant Sales Manager: Brittany Fales Design Managers: Dami Kim, Alyssa Polskensky Sales Associates: Ifrah Khan, David Schupper, Celeste Leonard, Junior Hailu, Chris Diglio Office Assistant: Justine Schoenbart Business / Advertising Office Number (404) 727-6178

NEWS

ANWESHA GUHA AND EMILY SULLIVAN | EDITORS

Slight snow causes winter weather woes From ski trips to the Racial Justice Retreat, the Emory community scrambled to reschedule following Friday’s inclement weather Anwesha Guha | News Editor anwesha.guha@emory.edu

Photo courtesy of Tianzhang Shen, Contributing

01.27.16 xx.xx.2015

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he University closed at 2 p.m. on Friday until Saturday due to “anticipated severe weather conditions” and “to ensure the safety of the University community and to help avoid traffic congestion on the roads.”

Schools in Fulton and Dekalb counties dismissed early due to the National Weather Service’s winter weather advisory on both days. Emory Healthcare (EHC) remained operational as employees received updates on the EHC intranet and through email.

One of the consequences of the snowy weather was the cancellation of Emory’s Racial Justice Retreat — which was established to discuss the Black Students at Emory’s recent demands — scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.

Instead of an approximately four hour retreat with presentations and working-group discussions, there will be a three hour meeting on Friday, Feb. 26 with the original retreat participants to provide summaries and recommendations for the demands.

In an email to the participants of the retreat, University President James W. Wagner wrote that Emory Cam-

5 pus Life will create final draft plans by Feb. 15, which will be available online for a week to collect feedback.

“Advised by the results of the working groups’ efforts and our deliberations next month, we will move forward in intentional ways, investing the necessary time and resources and holding ourselves accountable, to make progress and implement solutions to this fundamentally important dimension of building true community,” Wagner wrote in the email.

The Panhellenic recruitment schedule was also delayed by two days, with the events on Jan. 22, 23 and 24 moved to Jan. 24, 29 and 30, respectively. Emory Panhellenic Society (EPC) President Olivia Czufin, EPC Vice President of Recruiting Adrian Rabin, Assistant Director of Sorority and Fraternity Life Arthur Doctor, Jr. and Assistant Dean for Campus Life Marlon Gibson decided that they could not hold a universitysanctioned event when the university was closed, even though the forecast was unclear.

“It’s hard for everyone to readjust schedules, especially with little notice,” Rabin wrote in an email to the Wheel. “However, everyone was safe, which was the

best outcome we could have hoped for.”

In addition, students who went on the Goizueta Business School skiing retreat had to extend their stay in Blowing Rock, North Carolina for a day due to unnavigable roads.

“The BBA advisors clearly had to make this call for safety reasons, but it was still an inconvenience for most students since we all planned to arrive back at Emory Saturday evening,” Goizueta Business School senior Rebecca Rubinstein wrote in an email to the Wheel.

“However, Emory [did] an amazing job dealing with the situation… The BBA program provided us with meals, optional buses to the ski slopes and buses to a local bowling alley.”

Luckily, life on campus and activities were not as extremely affected, especially since Emory prepared for the worst, said Senior Director of Dining David Furhman.

“We are so lucky and so fortunate to have so many staff members in campus dining who are so committed to our campus,” Furhman said. “It was incredible to see all of our folks step up. We’re lucky to have them.”

NEWS Presidential selection forums draw few students Mengyao Yuan | Staff Writer mengyao.yuan@emory.edu

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residential Selection Committee members met with Emory students last week in an open forum to gauge students’ hopes and expectations for the next University president.

Eight students attended the forum on Wednesday, Jan. 19, and three of them left without providing any comments. Of the 15 students who attended the forum the next day, two left without notice or commentary.

Last September, President James W. Wagner announced that he will resign after this academic year. In response, the University Board of Trustees appointed a 14-member Presidential Selection Committee to conduct a search for a successor to Wagner, according to a Nov. 13 University press release. The committee includes Emory University Trustee Chair John F. Morgan, Emory Trustee Gregory J. Vaughn and Student Government Association (SGA) President Raj Tilwa.

“The main purpose of this meeting is to get input from students … and to get different perspectives during the [presidential] search,” Tilwa said.

Elizabeth Cox, interim senior director of the Center for Community Engagement and Leadership, and David Furhman, senior director of Emory Dining, joined Tilwa to facilitate the forums.

Diversity Inclusion Students mentioned that a challenge Emory’s next president will be faced with includes the need to participate in a mix of student conversations across campus in order to better sympathize with student experiences.

College sophomore Jonathan Peraza pushed the discussion towards inclusivity on campus and explained his wish for a friendlier environment for minority students.

“I want to see more diversity inclusion on campus, where the administration can actively reach out to students with different backgrounds to listen to how they feel about their Emory experience,” Peraza said. “Rather than wait until students agitate to create attention like what black students did last semester, protesting on Clifton Road.”

Strengthening Campus Culture Other students voiced their desires for the next president to take opportunities to improve and strengthen Emory’s culture.

“Once I had the opportunity to meet President Wagner and he said, ‘Emory is like a stew, coming together for a mix of flavors,’ ” College senior Ryan Stevenson said.

“However, I think nowadays I can’t see Emory’s culture as what Wagner said.”

Stevenson suggested that the next president could better the school by promoting and participating in more cross-cultural conversations between different religious groups.

Some students also mentioned that they believe the current academic culture on campus should shift back towards the liberal arts.

“I think there’s a prevalent culture of pre-professionalism at Emory,” College senior Leah Michalove said. “Sometimes, it is hard to get people to do things together since there’s an intense focus on how to get a job after graduation.”

Michalove’s hope for Emory’s academic mission is that “we can truly investigate knowledge for the sake of knowledge and value knowledge as a community.”

Facilitating Faculty-Student Dialogue At the forum, as Cox asked students what they believe to be the competitive advantage of Emory, students overwhelmingly responded with the school’s faculty and environment.

“What makes Emory special is its faculty,” College junior Henry Chappell said.

“They are outstanding in their fields and are passionate about what they are teaching. Everyone I have seen is really dedicated to [helping] students learn.

The school could be made better with the strengthening of ties between students on Emory’s Oxford campus and Emory’s main campus, College sophomore Jake Cronin said.

“I definitely think that [an] Oxford education can be a competitive advantage for Emory, not only in terms of a unique curriculum but also [in] a special approach to liberal arts education — a more inclusive environment for students,” Cronin said.

Morgan said that the committee’s representatives were satisfied with the opinions shared in the open forum.

“We want to take opinions from faculties, alums, staff and, particularly, the students, to get opinions about aspirations of Emory to go forward,” Morgan said. “We aim to create an inclusive selection process.”

Despite the small number of students who attended the forum, for some, the event confirmed that they would have a voice in the impending presidential selection.

“I believe the presidential selection will integrate voices from the students.” Cronin said.

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Student entrepreneurship team to compete in Shanghai Sania Chandrani Conributing Writer sania.chandrani@emory.edu

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team of four Emory students has advanced to the regional round of the Hult Prize — the Clinton Global Initiative and Hult International Business School’s international competition to eliminate poverty in crowded urban spaces through social entrepreneurship. The team was selected to compete in Shanghai with about 350 others, who were chosen from over 20,000 undergraduate and graduate team applicants.

Each year, the Foundation challeng-

es students to solve a worldwide issue through social entrepreneurship, and this year the aim is to double the incomes of over 10 million people who live in poverty. College sophomores

Safiyah Bharwani, Victoria Umutoni, Rachel Citrin and College senior Rifat Mursalin came together to embark on this challenge because of their common interest in attempting to alleviate global poverty.

After identifying trash pile-up as an immense problem in slum areas, particularly in Dhaka, Bangalore, West Bengal and Maharashtra, Bharwani said the team is “considering using this trash to create a sustainable business, to increase the income of the slum-dwellers and to jumpstart the businesses in the area.”

The team proposed the implementation of machines that would both recycle street and river trash and provide employment opportunities for those who live in slums, Mursalin said.

The team’s focus is to determine root issues within crowded urban spaces and to identify a small group of people who can use social entre-

preneurship to “jumpstart their income and improve their quality of life,” Bharwani said. Once the project works in one location, the team hopes to scale their idea and apply it to larger groups.

They also intend to pay attention to

the ways in which education can elevate people out of cycles of poverty.

“Social entrepreneurship attacks the problems of the developing world much better than many other [methods] because it tries to create a sustainable model for developing communities,” Bharwani said. “It’s basically turning around businesses as they usually work because not only do you have the bottom line where you have to be sustainable, but you also have to have the socially profitable bottom line where you are trying to help people.”

As of 2014, the UN-Habitat estimates that over 54 percent of the

global population live in urban spaces while 863 million people live in slum

conditions. One of the teammates, Mursalin, connected personally with this theme.

“I’m from Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the most crowded spaces on earth,” he said. “Growing up in this environment showed me how that can limit and stunt the growth, economically and socially, of a society.”

Raising incomes is a “very crucial need,” which can result in improved healthcare, infrastructure and the like, he said.

Regardless of the competition’s results, the teammates plan to continue working toward their goal of alleviating poverty.

“In the long run, we want to help not only improve incomes even more exponentially than doubling them but also [provide] a better quality of life that would last for generations,” Bharwani said.

(left to right) College sophomores Rachel Citrin, Victoria Umutoni, Safiyah Bharwani and College senior Rifat Mursalin | Julia Munslow, A&E Editor

NEWS

ANWESHA GUHA AND EMILY SULLIVAN | EDITORS

Panelists, students debate freedom of speech Namrata Verghese | Staff Writer

“I

namrata.susan.verghese@emory.edu

t’s one thing to say ‘No one’s in favor of hate speech,’ but what is it?” Emory University School of Law Professor Tom Arthur asked at Emory’s first Freedom of Expression forum.

This question formed the crux of the Jan. 26 evening panel and discussion held in Winship Ballroom and proved to be an extremely controversial topic, illustrating the campus-wide disagreement on the issue of free speech.

Ed Lee, Emory University director of debate, led the panel of Emory University School of Law Professors Tom Arthur and Alexander “Sasha” Volokh, and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) Director Azhar Majeed. After responding to questions from Lee, the panelists opened the floor up for questions from and open discussion with the audience, in which many opposing viewpoints surfaced.

The Panel “Think about epithets,” Arthur said. While epithets, such as the N-word, could be considered fighting words, they are protected by the First Amendment.

Majeed emphasized that because some “hate speech” is constitutionally protected, it can be difficult for universities to know when to regulate it on forums, such as the smartphone application Yik Yak.

“Even if it’s particularly nasty and targeting individuals or groups, that doesn’t rise to the level of actual harassment, discrimination or disruption of the educational process,” he said.

Nonetheless, Majeed said that it is important for universities to find the line between protected speech and unprotected speech, adding that credible threats to safety or well-being should be regulated.

Arthur disagreed with Majeed, saying that protected speech cannot be regulated without severe consequences “At some point, people will be afraid to say anything, because you don’t know what hate speech is.”

Volokh said that private universities should be able to choose their own unique freedom of expression policies.

“We won’t figure out which policies are good and bad unless we can debate these issues without having to worry that we are going to be thrown into jail or kicked out of the University, he said. “ That is absolutely essential.”

Volokh added that restricting viewpoints equates to “essentially shutting down the life of the mind. You are saying that you can think about this issue; here’s the viewpoint you can think about it from.”

The Discussion Business School junior Lolade Oshin, a representative of the Black Student Association (BSA) at Emory, ramped up the discussion when she took the floor after the panel opened up for discussion.

“The reason why I’m here at Emory, predominantly, is because I want to make the world a safer place for people who look like me,” she said. “I want to work to change the definition of terms like racism, freedom of speech, etc., because I’m tired of these terms that affect my life every day being defined by people who don’t know the effect of them.”

She turned to Frank Lechner, professor of sociology at Emory who was sitting in the crowd, and asked if he wrote a recent editorial for The Emory Wheel. In his Dec. 1 editorial, Lechner wrote that the University lacked important evidence to assess claims made by the Black Students at Emory.

“Yeah. Not a fan of it,” Oshin said. “I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it because it made me not want to get out of bed.”

Then, pointing to a student across the room, she expressed how a comment the student had made at a Yik Yak hearing triggered her.

After some silence, Oshin said, “It’s uncomfortable,

Students and administrators speak at Freedom of Expression open forum in Winship Ballroom. | Ruth Reyes, Photo Editor

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01.27.16 right? ... That’s what it’s like to be black at Emory. Every single day, people are attacking you. They may not be using your name, but they’re talking about you.”

Majeed responded that he fears that stripping someone of their First Amendment rights may backfire, pushing them to become more bigoted.

Arthur and Volokh argued that the students calling for censorship are overly sensitive and unrealistic.

“You’re going to graduate, you’re going to go out into the real world, and who’s going to be out in the real world? President Donald Trump,” Volokh said.

However, College sophomore Deandre Miles-Hercules responded that students need to have personal responsibility.

“If you want to say something stupid and ignorant, that’s fine – say it on Facebook. If you stand that strongly behind your opinions, say it on a public forum,” he said.

Miles-Hercules said the forum’s approach to the issue was too semantical. “It’s about making people’s lives better, not looking at this policy, regulation and law school terminology,” he said. “It’s about people, and let’s keep it that way.”

POLICE REPORT The crime report is a selection of police-related incidences that have directly affected the Emory community in the prior week.

Compiled by Brandon Fuhr | Digital Editor brandon.spencer.fuhr@emory.edu

On Jan. 17 at 5:08 a.m., the Emory Police Department (EPD) responded to a call regarding a suspicious individual at Smith Hall. An unknown male was knocking on doors and entering rooms.

When officers arrived, they found the individual in the women’s restroom on the first floor. The individual appeared to be very intoxicated and was unable to find his room. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived on the scene and transported the individual to Emory University Hospital.

On Jan. 18 at 1:34 a.m., EPD responded to a report of suspicious activity at Harris Hall. An RA reported the odor of marijuana coming from one of the rooms within the building. When officers arrived at the scene, they met with the individual who resides in the room from which the scent was coming. Officers determined that the student had an outstanding warrant for failure to ap-

pear in court. The student was taken into custody and transported to DeKalb County Jail. Campus Life was notified.

On Jan. 19 at 12:33 a.m., EPD responded to a call regarding an individual smoking marijuana in the third floor study room of Turman Hall. When officers arrived on the scene, they met with an RA at the location. Inside the lounge, officers found an empty pill bottle and a green leafy substance scattered on the carpet. Officers were unable to collect any of the substance for testing. The student involved in the incident was not charged. The case was turned over to Campus Life.

On Jan. 20 at 2:24 a.m., officers noticed suspicious individuals outside the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building (WSHCAB). Officers detected the distinct odor of burnt marijuana as they approached the individu-

Ruth Reyes, Photo Editor

als. After speaking with the individuals, officers were able to determine that they were students. The three students denied smoking marijuana. Officers also found a roach, commonly associated with a marijuana cigarette, at the location. Officers did not press any charges as there was not enough unburned marijuana in the roach to test. Campus Life was notified of the incident. According to EPD, the area at which the individuals were smoking is commonly used to smoke marijuana.

On Jan. 20 at 1:07 p.m., EPD responded to a call regarding suspicious activity at 17 Eagle Row, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house. The victim reported that he left for class at 9:50 a.m. and when he returned, his Toyota Camry was covered in mustard and pine straw. He cleaned the vehicle before officers arrived. There was no permanent damage to the vehicle.

On Jan. 21 at 4:21 p.m., EPD responded to a call regarding solicitation at the Starbucks in the Oxford Road Building. A 50 year old male had a lot of jewelry spread across a table. The store manager told the

individual that he wasn’t allowed to sell jewelry there. The individual packed up his items and finished his beverage.

On Jan. 22 at 1:36 a.m., EPD responded to a call regarding suspicious activity at the Peavine Parking deck. When officers arrived on the scene, they found individuals removing booted tires from a grey Acura. The individuals were replacing the booted tires with other tires so they could drive it.

The car had been booted because there were numerous unpaid parking citations associated with the vehicle.

On Jan. 23 at 1:12 p.m., EPD received a call regarding a burglary at a Clairmont Tower apartment. The incident occurred during winter break, between Dec. 14 and Jan. 12. The student said that he left the building and left the door to his apartment unlocked. When he returned, the room had been cleaned and reorganized but his golf bag, floor fan and seven books were missing. The case is under investigation.

OPINION

ERIK ALEXANDER | EDITOR

Staff Editorial

An alternative to free tuition D

emocratic presidential candidate and former Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a popular candidate among students, has pushed for universal free tuition at the nation’s public colleges and universities.

We applaud Sanders for bringing the issue of escalating tuition costs to the forefront of the political agenda, which other candidates from both parties have failed to do. We support his pledge to lower interest rates on college loans and to allow students currently in debt to refinance their loans at lower rates. But when it comes to free public college tuition for all income levels, we ask students (and voters) to look past the sweeping rhetoric and question the unintended consequences of such an action before “feeling the Bern.”

First and foremost, this proposal would subsidize tuition for upper-class students, for whom college is relatively affordable, while having little effect on those who already receive need-based aid. There is a reason for selective pricing at American universities and for the “expected family contribution” component of financial aid applications. Wealthier students cover the costs of the lower income students. Families who can afford to pay for college ought to.

Sanders’ plan also doesn’t focus on some of the most burdensome collegiate costs: room, board, textbooks, food and other necessities. Why would we give wealthier families a break while ignoring the basic yet unattainable needs of others? Instead, the government should increase the volume of state and federal grants for lower- and middle-income students instead of buttressing those who never need to worry about making ends meet.

On top of that, universities have plenty of areas to cut costs and increase their own need-based aid offerings. The number of non-academic administrative and professional employees at colleges and universities in the U.S. has more than doubled in the past 25 years, according to an analysis of federal figures conducted by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and the nonprofit American Institutes for Research. (Emory, though a private institution to which Sanders’ policy wouldn’t apply, has seen a 180 percent increase in administrative employees and a 135 percent increase in professional staff but only a 129 percent increase in enrollment, according to the analysis).

In addition, free tuition at public schools would likely increase the volume of applications to those schools. This would be, for the most part, a positive effect. As economics students can tell you, the Law of Demand states that as the price of the good decreases, the quantity demanded increases. In this

Illustration by Lydia O’Neal | Associate Editor

case, a higher influx of applications to free public institutions would make those institutions more competitive, as they could only afford to accept a set number of students with free tuition.

But what would this mean for private colleges? Like private high schools or college preparatory schools, they would likely become enclaves for those who can afford to attend. Students complain today about the prevalence of obvious wealth on our campus. Would a large portion of Emory’s economically, socially, ethnically and racially diverse character be drawn away by the lesser financial hardships of free tuition? Who would still pay the $45,700 (not including housing, fees, textbooks and food) it costs to attend our university? How would this new average (skewed wealthy) “expected family contribution” affect tuition rates? These are the questions that remain to be seen and we hope to have answered during the ongoing national discussions about college tuition.

On top of providing additional grants for students who need them, we propose that federal and state governments use measures of academic performance, such as GPA, to ensure that students take full advantage of needbased aid. While many regard a bachelor’s degree as the modern iteration of a high school diploma, it should remain as challenging and achievementoriented as it is now — at any price. So let’s bring the price down for those who could use the financial help. Education is not a right, but an obstacle in the pursuit of a higher quality of life. Money should not be an obstacle.

The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s editorial board.

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A chilling silence Alex Reibman College Senior Atlanta, Georgia

O

scar Wilde once said, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Wilde’s wisdom reminds us of the importance of anonymity: it gives a voice to those who are too afraid to speak. From the early days of the American Revolution to the recent triumphs of gay rights activists, history has shown us that the voices of the most marginalized are the voices most worth protecting. These voices know that, debate, and education were necessary to win their causes, and for that they needed the freedom of speech. The essence of free speech, the freedom to anonymously express ideas and opinions without censorship, is key to a flourishing social narrative. This includes protection of minority opinions regardless of whether or not they are unpopular or uncomfortable.

Of course, not all speech should be permitted. Unlike expressions or declarations of opinions, some speech acts carry meanings beyond their words and are subject to restrictions. Namely, threats, slander, libel, obscenities, and “fighting words” that directly incite violence or harm do not qualify as free speech. These belong to a class of words, as stated by Justice Murphy in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, whose “very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace… Such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality,” the Justice continued.

But the right to free speech is now under attack by student protesters who misunderstand the meaning of free expression. A list of demands made by a group called Black Students of Emory University has called to restrict access to a platform for free and anonymous expression. Among the demands is a request to censor, or “geofence,” the online anonymous app Yik Yak. Specifically, they demanded that Emory “formally request that Yik Yak, Inc. install a geofence … in order to protect our students from subjection to intolerable and psychologically detrimental material.” Emory University has responded to this specific demand by creating a task force to examine the feasibility of censorship. This suggestion that censorship is a legitimate course of action

Graphic by Erik Alexander | Opinion Editor

is outrageous, and we must take a stand against it.

According to the list of demands, “it is impermissible to allow racist students to terrorize Black people on any form of media and the anonymity that Yik Yak provides is a breeding ground for behavior of that sort.” They complain that such a platform for free speech fosters “intolerable and psychologically detrimental material.”

The Black student activists who wrote the demands voice many legitimate concerns, but no claim to victimhood should ever be used as an excuse for censorship.

In particular, some Black student activists contend that anonymity removes the consequences and accountability of speech. Anonymity may be used to spread hurtful rumors and messages, but at the same time, it is a fundamental component of free speech. It gave America’s founders the strength to fight tyranny.

It gave abolitionists the courage to speak for freedom.

And it continues to grant safety to those who cannot speak or criticize ideas without drastic repercussions.

Attacking Yik Yak just because it is anonymous is still an attack against our right to free expression. Countless American men and women have risked their lives to protect this constitutional right. Free speech is fundamental to every free and functional democracy. This is not something we can lose so easily to political correctness. Racist comments may be contemptible, but censorship will not solve these social woes. The censorship of disagreeable remarks is truly a pathetic course of action.

If we want to improve our society, especially for minorities, we must protect free speech. We cannot begin to convince others of the faults of racism if there is no debate. Free speech protects every viewpoint. If we cease the rights of others to speak, we also end the ability to change their minds. There is no clear solution to ending bigotry, but debate and education facilitated by free speech is a step in the right direction. Racism and intolerance are important problems to discuss, but we cannot begin to debate if there is no debate allowed.

Yik Yak may not be the best platform for social discourse, but it is still an outlet of free speech worth protecting. In public, political correctness often hampers the discussion of many sensitive issues. In contrast, the anonymity of Yik Yak allows for an open platform where

students can express themselves freely. The majority of posts on Yik Yak are mundane, but there are still many considerable discussions about controversial issues that occur. Yik Yak is a voice for students who are otherwise unable to speak their minds. Hurtful ideas occasionally leak through the system, but it is not uncommon to see anonymous users rebut those ideas. There are certainly better debate platforms than Yik Yak, but social media like Twitter proves that you can still have robust conversations with 140 characters.

The legal exceptions to free speech also obviously apply to Yik Yak, but the majority of comments on Yik Yak include neither “fighting words” nor direct threats toward others. Yik Yak does not tolerate illegal speech and continues to make efforts to eliminate it. Violations are either automatically removed by the application’s algorithm, or they are reported to authorities. This call for censorship over “intolerable materials” is an overthe-top outcry over hurt feelings. Although the student protestors can fairly make the point that threats should not be prohibited, hurt feelings do not preclude rights.

Freedom of speech is necessary to advance any civil discourse. Bad ideas must be challenged in the intellectual arena. If we value social progress at all, we cannot censorship.

As an institution of higher education that claims to value free speech, Emory should be ashamed for considering this course of action. Emory’s mission statement grounds itself in the ideas of free speech, academic freedom and intellectual diversity. Our greatest strengths come from a diversity of opinions. As a private institution, Emory has the legal ability to censor us, but this censorship would contradict the values that higher education claims to uphold.

Censorship is not the solution. Censorship is a despicable and petty tool of political suppression. It is the apparatus of every tyranny, and it is the most antiintellectual idea that persists in our culture today. The solution to social ills must come from debate and social discourse. If we sacrifice free speech, we sacrifice a right that predicates all other freedoms. In the words of Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo, “the freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom.”

OPINION

Should voting be mandatory?

I

Zack Ashley | College Freshman |

In a panel by CNN following the most recent midterm elections, contributors including Donna Brazile, Gretchen Helmke, Bonnie Meguid and William Galston argued that voting in the United States should be compulsory, pointing specifically to low voter turnout in the last midterm election. While I admire these contributors’ enthusiasm, I don’t believe that a mandatory voting law would be best for our country.

The right for every citizen of the United States to vote is an essential part of our democratic system. As a nation, we should always strive to make it as easy as possible for all citizens to have the chance to vote. That being said, I don’t think one necessarily has to vote just because we have the right to vote.

I believe it’s my responsibility as a citizen to remove myself from the voting process if, come election day, I feel like I don’t know enough about the candidates or simply feel like I can’t definitively support one. I most definitely should not be compelled by law to vote for someone that I don’t support completely.

Voting for the sake of voting isn’t true democracy, and it isn’t an accurate representation of what the majority of our country wants. Just as laws preventing certain people from voting misconstrues an elected official’s mandate, so too does forcing those who have no inclination, or enough knowledge regarding the election, to vote.

As someone who has recently gained eligibility to vote, I have definitely felt a sense of societal pressure to be excited about my right to vote. Fair enough. It is

exciting to feel like I’m a part of the process in choosing the next leader of the free world. It’s exciting to feel like I have some sort of power as a citizen, even though a single vote is probably insignificant compared to the U.S. population of 300 million people.

However, I believe it’s important to remember the responsibility that comes with this right.

“Voting for the sake of voting isn’t true democracy ... ” If I do vote, I want to be certain of who and what I’m voting for before I endorse them by ballot. I’d hope that other citizens do the same. Yes, one vote out of millions may seem rather insignificant, but I don’t see that as an excuse to simply throw my vote away. I’d hope that others don’t do the same. Voting for the sake of voting en masse gives an inaccurate picture of a country’s desires, as does abstaining from voting despite having a strong inclination toward a candidate. However, voting certainly should not be forced upon everyone in our country.

In an ideal world, everyone would be educated about the candidates and then develop a strong inclination toward one. Ideally, everyone would be reg-

New York, New York

istered, know with certainty who they’d want to represent our country and would vote. This ideal world would give our next president the clearest mandate to lead us forward.

Unfortunately, this utopia does not exist. Not everyone has the time, or maybe even the interest, to learn everything about each candidate. Additionally, many people may simply not care for anyone who is running, which is certainly a possibility with the current pool of candidates in the presidential race.

So come Election Day, I may decide that I don’t feel strongly enough about any of the candidates and not vote at all. And in that case, I will sit back and enjoy the spectacle of the electoral process without feel the slightest tinge of guilt.

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Erik Alexander | Opinion Editor

01.27.16

13

Holy grails of truth (They don’t exist)

Olivia Shuler | College Freshman |

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ou use Wikipedia. Somebody asks you what Wikipedia is, and you say, “Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia that anyone can edit.” This is what everyone says, because beyond this simple definition, we (generally) understand very little about what Wikipedia is and how it works. Something that “anyone can edit” can seem very alarming. This often leads people to deem Wikipedia an invalid resource because of the limited depth of our understanding of it.

But don’t feel bad; information regarding how the site works, how it’s governed and how its quality is ensured is both complicated and difficult to find. Wikipedia, in and of itself, is complicated (but that doesn’t mean it’s invalid).

A bit on how Wikipedia works: When a new page is created, it enters a new-page feed for review by the site’s administrators. Most new pages are deleted for various reasons, including nonnotability – the topic is not notable enough to have an encyclopedia entry, e.g., your brother (unless, of course, he did something important). In an article published by The Atlantic, historian and writer Marshall Poe details how he attempted to create his own biographical Wikipedia page. Almost immediately, the page came under scrutiny from one of Wikipedia’s administrators, who stated he was not notable enough to have a page. But if you Google Marshall Poe, you’ll notice that he does, in fact, have a Wikipedia page. After the initial challenge to his notability, other Wikipedians did some detective work, ultimately finding that Poe had written several books about early modern Russia. So a page is created.

“Anyone” can edit it? Let’s take the page about oranges, for instance. What will happen if I try to write that oranges are actually blue? First, the page about oranges is semi-protected, meaning that it can’t be edited by anyone whose Wikipedia account isn’t confirmed or “autoconfirmed” (“at least four days old and has at least ten edits to Wikipedia”). There are lots of different protection levels for pages, including full protection, which only allows administrators (there are fewer than 600 active administrators) editing privileges; these protections are the first line of defense against vandals. But let’s say I’m autoconfirmed and manage to make the edit. Immediately, the page’s “watchers” will be notified. Wikipedians can add pages to their “watchlists” if they have particular interest in the subject or simply want to volunteer to oversee the page, and they can choose to be notified as soon as the page is modified. The orange article currently has 251 watchers (you can find out the number of watchers for any page

Atlanta, Georgia

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by

Olivia Shuler

by clicking “View History” and then “Number of watchers”), meaning that 251 people (assuming they all chose to receive updates) will receive an email and (like any sane person) immediately revert the page so that it says oranges are orange.

This doesn’t mean that the watchers are necessarily orange experts. It would be close to, if not completely, impossible to have a resident expert for every subject that Wikipedia has a page about. It’s possible for non-experts to deem the information acceptable or not because Wikipedia is not a primary source but rather a compilation of knowledge from other sources; all information presented by the site must be verified against other sources and cited. Most edits and reviews are done by a close knit group of about 600 to 1,000 Wikimedians who know each other, are in constant communication and really care about the site, according to the site’s cofounder Jimmy Wales in a 2013 TEDTalk.

In the same talk, Wales stated that only about 18 percent of edits are made by anonymous users. “Anyone can edit” does not mean it’s a hooligan’s paradise where anyone can write whatever they want.

Most changes are invisible to readers who aren’t logged in until reviewed – the last change made to the oranges article was reviewed by 27 different watchers.

Unfortunately, falsities do slip through the cracks, particularly on obscure pages that have few watchers and lack of readily accessible ways of verifying information. In 2005, the journal Nature evaluated Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica versions of 42 science-related articles, finding that Wikipedia had a total of 162 errors. How many did Britannica have? 123.

This is the most important thing to consider because, no matter what your opinion of Wikipedia is, the fundamental reality is that it – like Britannica, your textbooks, your professors, your mom, the New York Times, Fox News, Merriam Webster, dictionary.com and so on – is just a source of information, provided to you for free because its founders believe that knowledge should be accessible, constantly updated and free to everyone. It’s not the Holy Grail of truth, nor does it claim to be. If you claim that Wikipedia is invalid because it has errors, then that means literally everything (including Encyclopaedia Britannica) is invalid. Our job, as intelligent seekers of information, is not to blindly consume, but rather to take what’s presented, verify it and decide for ourselves if it’s valid.

Graphic courtesy of Wikipedia

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

JULIA MUNSLOW | EDITOR

Bowie’s parting album is monumental, heartbreaking Olivia Shuler | Staff Writer olivia.shuler@emory.edu

Courtesy of davidbowie.com

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Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who crashlanded on Earth, in The Man Who Fell to Earth. | Courtesy of British Lion Films

Bowie in The Thin White Duke. | Courtesy of davidbowie. com

ailed by the Times as potentially the “oddest work yet from [Bowie],” and by Rolling Stone as his “best anti-pop masterpiece since the seventies,” it’s no secret that David Bowie’s Blackstar has ignited some and bewildered others. A jazzy, densely artistic diversion from much of his earlier work, Blackstar (and its seemingly cryptic lyrics) was baffling at first. However, Bowie’s unexpected death on Jan. 10, two days after the album’s release on his 69th birthday, snapped much of its meaning into gravely clear focus.

As for Blackstar’s tracks, there are only seven, and each is radically different and uniquely artistic in its own way. The lyrics of the musically sparse “Girl Loves Me” are written in a combination of Polari, a slang lexicon associated with the 20th century gay subculture in Britain, and Nadsat, a language used by teens in Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. “’Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” is saucy and hasty; “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime),” is a fantastic rework of the noir ballad originally released on Bowie’s compilation album, Nothing Has Changed.

The title track, “Blackstar,” is its own beast. The song is 10 minutes long, set to a perplexing video in which a young woman stumbles upon a discarded space suit and, finding a jewel-encrusted skull inside the helmet, engages in what appears to be pagan worship with a group of other women. Other strange things happen, and the lyrics are just as perplexing: “How many times does an angel fall?

How many people lie instead of talking tall?

He trod on sacred ground, he cried loud into the crowd (I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar, I’m not a gangster)” Countless rumors are circulating around the internet regarding its meaning. Some insist it’s about Earth’s imminent collision with the supposed Planet X (aka Nibiru), and the album’s saxophonist, Donny McCaslin, said, “He told me it was about ISIS.” The ISIS claim was news to Bowie’s producer, and one Redditor suggested that McCaslin might’ve misunderstood Bowie’s reference to the Egyptian goddess and protector of the dead, Isis. “Blackstar” appears to be the kind of surrealist, cryptic work that demands an intimate, if not private, understanding of the artist in order to fully decipher the song.

Other tracks on Blackstar are notably less cryptic in fact, quite the opposite in light of Bowie’s recent passing. Throughout “Dollar Days,” which is full of the jazzy saxophone that flows through the album with varying prominence, Bowie rasps: “I’m dying to Push their backs against the grain And fool them all again and again I’m trying to …

Don’t believe for just one second I’m forgetting you I’m trying to I’m dying to” It’s lyrics such as these that’ve become so emotionally charged since Jan. 10, as we’ve literally watched the

01.27.16

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What’s with the album title?

Courtesy of davidbowie.com

There are many proposed theories and no clear answer, not even from the album’s producer, Tony Visconti; my personal theory is that “Blackstar” is an intersection of two things. First, (the obvious one) the color black’s association with death combined with the idea of Bowie as a “rock star.” Second, Bowie’s Blackstar may be a direct reference to an Elvis Presley song called “Black Star.” Bowie was a known Elvis Presley fan, once stating that, “He was a major hero of mine. And I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something.” Here are some of the lyrics of “Black Star”: “Every man has a black star/A black star over his shoulder/And when a man sees his black star/He knows his time, his time has come.”

Bowie in the iconic music video for “Life on Mars?” | Courtesy of Universal Music Group

Bowie in famous 70s persona “Ziggy Stardust,” an alien sent to Earth to deliver messages in the form of rock n’ roll. | Courtesy of davidbowie.com

Courtesy of Universal Music Group

meaning of lines like “Don’t believe for just one second I’m forgetting you” transform from lyrics in a song to part of an artist’s deliberate last words to his fans.

The music video for “Lazarus” features Bowie in an infirmary bed, gauze over his eyes, as he sings, “Look up here, I’m in Heaven” and, “This way or no way/You know I’ll be free/Just like that bluebird.” Knowing what we know now, hearing Bowie sing these words and seeing him unable to rise from a (albeit stylized) hospital bed is nothing less than heartbreaking.

While many artists write lyrics that apply to our lives and hold meaning for us, it is a rare treasure to glimpse the candid humanness of an artist as we do with Bowie, listening to his thoughts regarding his own death — essentially listening to him deliver his own eulogy. It’s painful, yet beautiful, to hear Bowie’s words in Bowie’s voice and know exactly what they’re referring to.

The album ends with “I Can’t Give Everything Away,” which has a warm, loving sound and its most musically beautiful track. In the beginning, it features harmonica

taken from Bowie’s “A New Career in a New Town,” a 1977 song about starting out fresh, and thus seems to suggest the idea of moving on.

There’s no doubt that Blackstar is a monumental finale to a monumental, five-decade career which bestowed that cherished Bowie-weirdness and classics such as “Space Oddity,” “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” “Heroes,” “Let’s Dance” (a personal favorite),”Under Pressure” (a collaboration with Queen) and so many, many more upon the world.

In a Facebook post following Bowie’s death, longtime collaborator and producer Tony Visconti wrote, “His death was not different from his life — a work of art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift.”

This, even beyond the album’s musical quality and ingenuity, is what makes it truly beautiful: a parting gift that shows us Bowie himself coping with his own mortality, letting us into an otherwise vulnerable, private world so that we could be part of his final emotional journey. That’s quite the gift.

Bowie in famous thunderbolt make-up from the Aladdin Sane album cover. | Courtesy of davidbowie.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

READ UNABRIDGED AT EMORYWHEEL.COM

‘Star Wars: battlefront’

Awakens a lost franchise Brian Savino | Video Game Critic

A

Courtesy of EA

bout ten years ago, LucasArts developed and released Star Wars: Battlefront II, which became one of the bestselling games from the Star Wars franchise. Despite its commercial success and positive reviews from both critics and gamers, any plans for a third installment in the game series were thrown away due to a change in leadership at LucasArts.

Of course, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron were released in 2007 and 2009, respectively. However, these games, created solely for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) system by LucasArts, were barely even regarded by the gaming community, as the controls did not work well on the handheld PSP and game mechanics were lacking.

Therefore, fans of Battlefront II were left disappointed and without closure, wondering why the game developers would scrap the idea of a future console game, and instead release an awry version on the PSP. However, in 2013, the Star Wars YouTube channel released a video titled “Star Wars: Battlefront Teaser Trailer.”

People couldn’t believe their eyes. It had been years since the release of Battlefront II, and all hope seemed to be lost for any release of further Battlefront games. The seemingly random timing of the teaser trailer could be easily explained by two factors: one being that Star Wars: The Force Awakens film was due to debut across the world in December 2015, and the other being that DICE, the creators of the Battlefield series, were to be the new creators of the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront.

From the beginning, DICE knew that they would release the game prior to the release of the seventh Star Wars film. With this huge weight on their shoulders, DICE sought to create a game that would satisfy the demands of old Battlefront II gamers while incorporating groundbreaking innovations and gameplay. Technically, DICE’s installment did not have any commercial or storyline connection to LucasArts’ version of the games, so making an innovative game while pleasing original Battlefront gamers was a tough goal.

brian.savino@emory.edu

However, DICE managed to take strong steps towards this vision. The team created an open multiplayer beta, which helped them weed out weapons that were too powerful or too weak and tweak glitches that could have ruined the game had players not exposed them. Star Wars: Battlefront was released in November 2015, making gamers’ dreams come true.

But when the final version of DICE’s Battlefront dropped, many were confused about where the variety in weapons, maps and almost everything else was. The game included new twists, such as the CA-87 shock blaster, the shotgun and the RT-97C, a long range heavy weapon (much like a light machine gun). DICE included at least one of each type of weapon in the game but didn’t add more than what was necessary, which nowadays is quite unusual in video games considering the power of the new generation of consoles, gaming PCs and laptops. They did, however, add the most essential weapon in anything regarding Star Wars: the lightsaber. And who better to wield a lightsaber than the heroes and villains of the Star Wars universe?

Thanks to the vibrant world of Star Wars, there are many of these heroes and villains. The characters of the fictional universe, with their unusual outfits, weapons and personalities, are what make the game so unique. But DICE only added six characters to their installment of Battlefront, including Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. Once again, the developers added the absolutely necessary elements.

Hopefully, DICE brings more characters to the game via downloadable content (DLC).

Even the maps and planets in the game are lacking. There are only 12 locations, some of which are on the same planets.

DICE said they will release 16 new maps with DLC, but the money that has to be put into a season pass for the content may not be worth it, as it costs a hefty $50 to simply add a few extra things to a $60 game.

Plus, DLC will likely not include extra vehicles, which are also said to be lacking. Each map has its own set of unique vehicles (if any) — some don’t because of

the map being too small for any vehicles.

The overuse of vehicles on a small map — a staple throughout video game history — can cause too much madness and even render a map unplayable. Because maps in Star Wars: Battlefront are so small, there is, therefore, an absence of vehicles. With upcoming DLC, hopefully DICE will add more vehicles to create a balance between large and small maps while simultaneously bringing more unique vehicles from the Star Wars universe.

The only part of this game that can be considered finished is the multiplayer game modes. The excruciating lack of maps, vehicles, weapons and protagonists make for a game that does not have a single player that can be played over and over and still be enjoyed by the gamer.

While DICE proved their competence in creativity and balance in the multiplayer modes, they’ve yet to show this same capability in the rest of the game. Some believe that EA does a terrific job of recreating the Star Wars world and feel of the original game. However, fragments left out in development, such as space combat and classic maps, leave some veteran players wanting more — it doesn’t feel as strong as the original Star Wars: Battlefront. It’s possible that DICE was so intent on getting the game out before the film to improve commercial success that they rushed the game and left out key elements that would have made it just as strong, if not better, than LucasArts’ Battlefront II. This is not to say that this game is absolutely terrible. The team made great use of the new generation of consoles and PCs by making the superb graphics, and the motion and gameplay mechanics are smooth and simple, making for a pleasing experience.

These positives are not enough to cancel out what is absent from this game, but it does make it clear that the game has the potential to be the best one in the franchise. Ultimately, DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront has not yet lived up to the expectations of many fans of the franchise. But the developers could turn things around with some huge additions in DLC.

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01.27.16

‘Dirty

Grandpa’ is as dirty as it is original

Vikrant Nallaparaju | Film Critic

Grade: D

vikrant.nallaparaju@emory.edu

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like to think of myself as a film fan of extremes. When I walk out of a theater, I either liked or disliked what I just saw. Even if I have conflicting feelings about parts of a film, I generally know which direction my thumb would be facing if I were asked to rate it on the spot. However, there are some instances in which I walk out of a film wondering if I even watched anything at all. Such is the case with Dirty Grandpa, the latest in a long line of bland, by the numbers Dan Mazer comedies (The Dictator, Borat) built around one inherent joke that wears out its welcome in the first act and that you forget ever existed by the end of the third act.

Dirty Grandpa follows Jason Kelly (Zac Efron), a junior associate at his father’s law firm who is about to get married to one of his father’s colleagues’ daughter.

When his grandmother dies just a week before his wedding, he’s forced to drive

Courtesy of Lionsgate

such a cash grab role is good for a chuckle when watching the trailer, but it quickly becomes evident that De Niro is just walking through the role so that he can get his paycheck. Rather than Taxi Driver or Raging Bull De Niro, we get Meet the Fockers De Niro, a great actor coasting through a middling comedy to get his next gig. De Niro spent the last decade of his career making disposable comedies like this (Little Fockers, The Intern), but this role might be his most poorly chosen yet. We as the audience are supposed to sympathize with his journey as an old man trying to feel young again after his wife’s passing, but instead, the character just comes across as a pervert and a public nuisance.

Zac Efron continues to show promise as a young actor despite the thankless role he has as the wet blanket to De Niro’s bacchanalian senior citizen. Efron exudes a natural likeability reminiscent of actors

him in hot water with the police. At one point, Dick’s partying antics lead to Jason ending up in jail for a night, but the film plays it off as yet another one of grandpa’s wacky antics even though his actions are, in actuality, completely irresponsible and dangerous. Efron essentially plays the Cameron to De Niro’s Ferris Bueller, minus Bueller’s infectious charisma and John Hughes’ sharp writing.

The film also plays like a mashup of every other “opposite personalities paired together” comedy we’ve been inundated with in the past decade.

The hijinks delaying the characters on their road trip are reminiscent of Get Him to the Greek. A character trying to reconnect with his youth in the face of his career parallels A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. The partying spiraling out of control from The Hangover gets name checked. All of these plot similarities only serve to remind me that I could be watch-

While they were aiming to be George Carlin, it feels more like The Hangover Part II... his grandfather, Dick Kelly (Robert De Niro), to Boca Raton, Florida to fulfill his grandmother’s dying wish. Little does Jason realize that his grandfather has a much wilder side, and their drive quickly becomes a wild road trip of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Unfortunately, Dirty Grandpa’s greatest sin is that its premise is funnier than anything the film actually does with it.

Casting an Oscar-lauded veteran like De Niro (The Godfather II, Raging Bull) in

like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt early in their careers and it’s hard to dislike him, even when he’s playing a stick in the mud character, as he is here.

Unfortunately, Efron’s character is what’s inherently wrong with the film’s premise. The film attempts to build Jason as being too uptight and obedient to his father, yet his actions in the film are completely justified. Jason is constantly trying to keep in line with the law, but his grandfather’s debauchery keeps landing

ing much better films rather than something that comes across as very clichéd at this point.

In lieu of attempting something original or unexpected with its plot developments, Dirty Grandpa instead offers scene after scene of lewd jokes that are about as edgy as they are funny.

Every joke is built around some kind of sexual innuendo or reference to genitals without actually building a punch line around these references. There also seems

to be an odd undercurrent of jokes that rely too heavily on homophobia and rape that borderline uncomfortable at times. I would venture to guess that the filmmakers felt that this would make their comedy edgier, but my only reaction while watching it was one of “Did they really just say that?”

While the rest of the audience was howling with laughter, I met every joke with a raised eyebrow and embarrassed chuckle.

In essence, while they were aiming to be George Carlin, it feels more like The Hangover Part II, a film attempting to break the politically correct taboo but just comes across as mean-spirited and out of place. Even the other characters seem uncomfortable with De Niro’s character’s comments, as if they’re at Thanksgiving dinner and their estranged uncle starts making racist jokes and they’re forced to wave it off as him “being from a different time.”

I wish I could muster more of a reaction to Dirty Grandpa, but it’s really just that forgettable of a film. It fails to bring anything new to the table while cannibalizing its predecessors without a fresh perspective to the tired buddies on a road trip comedy template.

The best comedies are those that have something deeper going on beneath the surface, but Dirty Grandpa is really just as shallow is it looks. If films like National Lampoon’s Vacation and Caddyshack are the filet mignons of comedy, then Dirty Grandpa is the equivalent of a Big Mac, a completely empty experience that will leave you hungry for something better a few hours later.

EMORY LIFE Professor Spotlight

HAYLEY SILVERSTEIN | EDITOR ALISHA COMPTON | ASST. EDITOR

Catherine Nickerson Alisha Compton | Asst. Emory Life Editor alisha.bhatia.compton@emory.edu

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nglish Professor Catherine Nickerson grew up in Boston, Massachustes and went to Yale for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. After receiving her PhD in American Studies in 1991, she moved to Emory in 1992. Nickerson created the Harry Potter in America class in 2012 and has been teaching the course ever since. This application-based class is made specifically for the students who grew up reading the books. It was born out of her love for teaching and her fascination with the intensity of the Harry Potter fan culture.

What do you research and what made you want to research it?

My main research has been in crime fiction/ detective fiction, and I am really interested in it because it seems like a really significant way that we, both authors and readers, talk about and think about where dangers are in society. The way detective fiction talks about it is really interesting to me because it sets up this idea that there is stuff going on we don’t really understand. Sometimes the most obvious kind of eruption of that is a crime. The classic structure of a detective story is that you find a dead body, and the detectives come in and they have to figure out who did it and why they did it. But along the way, generally, they not only solve that crime, they also discover a whole bunch of other stuff that may or may not be related to the crime — a whole bunch of other secrets. I mean that’s how a Law & Order episode works, right? They start investigating the husband of the woman who has been killed and they find out he’s been cheating on her, has a drug habit and has been embezzling money from his company. All of those or none of those might be relevant to actually solving the

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murder. It may turn out he didn’t do it at all. It sets up a kind of a world in which there are people who keep a lot of secrets. There a lot things going on that we don’t understand. There are a lot of connections between ordinary people and big structures like businesses, like politics, like institutions. So that part of it, I think, is what really interests me.

What has caused you to grow into the researcher and professor you’ve become?

It was doing my senior project [as an undergraduate]. I mean, the seeds must have been there before that, but as undergrad I was an American Studies major and I did a lot with literature, but I’m really interested in interconnections of history and literature in American culture. So, I was an American Studies major, and we weren’t required to do a thesis for that major, but I really wanted to and so my thesis was on African American women writers. I so enjoyed the process of doing something new that no one had done before, reading the background stuff and coming up with my own ideas. I enjoyed it so much that that was when I realized I wanted to go to grad school. Before that, because I come from a family of teachers, I was like, “Anything, anything but becoming a teacher.” I really thought that wasn’t what I wanted to do, but doing my honors thesis really is what turned me on to it.

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What inspires you to teach now?

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First of all, it’s just a lot of fun. At a basic level, the high point of my week, of my day is the hour or two I spend in class, three hours in the case of a graduate seminar. But the 75 minutes twice a week, three times a week with students, I really look forward

to it. It’s a lot of fun to me. I really enjoy the energy.

I really enjoy being surprised. I don’t lecture all that much, I do little mini tangents and disquisitions, but mostly I want to set up an atmosphere where students have interesting things to say because I just really enjoy a good conversation and with Emory students that’s really pretty easy to make happen. So that’s the self-indulgent part; I just really enjoy it. I think I just am someone who constitutionally feels like life matters in helping other people, and teaching is a helping profession. The time I spend with student papers I’m not trying to just say, “You’re wrong” or “This isn’t good enough,” I’m trying to say, “This could be better.

Here’s a place where maybe your errors in grammar or just a weak sort of expression is getting in the way of your ideas really shining.” I think it’s just enjoying the subject matter, enjoying conversation with people and also just feeling like the meaning in life is what happens between people and, for me, that has a lot to do with helping people.

What is it that inspired you to create the Harry Potter class?

I first taught it spring of 2012. I discovered the books as a mom, reading them to my kids, and I also kind of discovered the intensity of the fan culture around the books. It hit me that this was the generation that grew up with the books and grew up with the experience of, at least many of them, coming out one by one, of having to wait for a book. Being able to talk about their childhood or talk about the chronology of their life in terms of the books. The summer before I taught that class was the last of the Harry Potter movies coming out so it seemed like it was the end of something. It turns out it’s not. It turns out [J.K] Row-

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01.27.16 ling is much more generous than that and is adding bits and things and there’s still more new stuff coming out to talk about like the black Hermione, the various plays that she is doing and the new sequels, which is all fantastic as far as I’m concerned. But at the time it felt like this was a time to reflect on what this phenomenon was in terms of this really intense experience of a story that people have had.

What does the Harry Potter class entail?

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We read all of the books and I make each student when they apply to the class, promise that they will actually reread the books, which usually isn’t difficult to make people do. Generally there’s 14 weeks and there’s seven books so you can kind of imagine how that plays out. We spend two weeks on the longer books, and one week on the shorter ones, the first three. We also do supplemental articles. There is actually a large number of scholarly pieces on the Harry Potter books and so we read essays and articles.

We’re reading almost all of [a book that is a collection of essays written by students on the books] and then some other pieces that I’ve gathered from various other places. Students are free to talk about the films. We do talk about a couple of the films. Probably “Prisoner of Azkaban” the most because the first two movies are very literal presentations of the content of the book and it’s only with the “Prisoner of Azkaban” that you can see some more interesting stuff going on cinematically. Using the medium of cinema to think about what’s a way a film could help us understand this world rather than just being almost like a play, a straight-on, head-on “let’s take scenes from the book and put them into the film.” We don’t do as much with the films because of time, but certainly students write really interesting essays about the films and that’s totally open.

How do you think your family and your home life has influenced your teaching and your life here?

My kids are now 16 and 13 and certainly being a mom of a teenager has made me really understand how difficult certain aspects of learning are for some students. It has nothing do with students being stupid or not trying. For example, sometimes teachers, say, in an English class, make a really big deal about things like getting up in front of the class and reciting a poem which you can certainly see why it’s connected and why it would be a worthwhile project, but on the other hand for some people that is just like death, to have to stand up in front of a class and recite. It is so upsetting that they spend two days, three days before worrying about it. Maybe even coming down with psychosomatic illnesses in response. Or just being too freaked out with a migraine or an anxiety attack to even go to school. Even if they are at school, they’re so upset by this that they miss out [on] the whole day before leading up to the class where they have to get up and present. It’s just not worth it. It’s

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just not worth it to make that such a big deal. I think I’ve just becoming more understanding of that. For instance I no longer require group projects. Kind of coming out of that same ethos of just that it’s a great idea, but when people hate it, they really hate it. So you can build it in as an option. One of things you can do in this class is get together with some of the people in the class and do a presentation, but not required by everybody. So it’s just brought home to me the idea that you want to give people different ways to show what they’ve learned if that’s important to you or just to engage with the material.

How has your time at Emory affected you?

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Well I’ve been here since 1992. It was my first job out of graduate school. So it’s kind of like all my growth, from beginning professor to now, has happened here so I can’t even say how much is Emory and how much is just growing up and growing into middle age. Besides the students, because the students are a very intense part of my time at Emory, but I’ve also worked with some people since 1992. So I have these rather long term relationships with other faculty members and relatively short term ones with students. Generally it’s one semester, and then I don’t see them again ever. Emory has just attracted really fantastic people and Emory has taught me to stick to my beliefs, stick to the things I care a lot about. I have colleagues at other universities who are like “Oh, I would love to teach a course on Harry Potter, but they would laugh at me. I wouldn’t dare do it.” I think Emory got enough of a sense of, I see it as a little bit of a Southern thing of understanding the offbeat a little bit, the stuff that’s not totally mainstream. I remember talking to some colleagues before I first proposed this class saying, “If you think this is a really stupid idea, tell me now before this goes into the course catalog.

If you think this is a bad idea, it’s going to be a disaster, I’m going to look like a fool, it’s going to bring negative publicity to our program,” and they were all like, “No, no. Do it, Do it.” I think that’s probably how Emory has affected me. Just in realizing that you can do things that you feel instinctively, because of who you are, are going to work and even if people don’t totally understand why you’re doing it they’ll kind of back your play.

What brought you to Emory?

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Emory was where the job was so that was why I came. I was intrigued by the South. I really love Southern literature and I was really intrigued by Southern culture. And I believe, as a premise, that you should live outside of your home region for at least some portion of your adult life just to get a different perspective on things. I came here with that kind of sense of adventure, [that] this is something really new, and it has been, and obviously very congenial because I’ve stayed.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

EMORY LIFE

Courtesy of Emory Impact Investing Group

Business school nonprofit provides loans to local microbusinesses Alisha Compton | Asst. Emory Life Editor

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he Emory Impact Investing Group (EIIG) is a nonprofit that strives to close the economic gap in historically disadvantaged areas by providing loans to small businesses that could not receive them otherwise. Goizueta Business School Professor Peter Roberts was unable to invest in a coffee shop in Nicaragua due to the risk of overseas investing and thus called for students to implement impact investing on a local scale, resulting in the creation of the EIIG. “[Roberts] found that the difference [between rich and poor areas] is economic opportunity, but it’s not big business,” Goizueta Business School senior and cofounder of EIIG Brandon Walker said. “It’s quantity of micro businesses, businesses with four or less employees. They found that there’s a 30 percent gap between rich and poor areas. Our group is attacking that gap.”

This group of students vets individuals that have gone through the Goizueta Business School’s “Start Me Accelerator” which is a series of classes that allows entrepreneurs to learn the steps to turn an idea into a business.

“It’s basically a cohort of about 15 entrepreneurs for about 14 weeks,” Goizueta Business School junior and EIIG CEO Casey Rhode said. “And last year they ran two [Start Me Accelerators]. So we went to those sessions and we identified an entrepreneur Nicole Massiah, from that group that we cycled into.”

Massiah is a single mom who runs Krumbz, a retail bakery in the East Lake community of Atlanta that offers everything from 3D cakes to cake truffles.

“Not every entrepreneur, not everyone that starts a business, has the same amount of esteem, if you will,

alisha.bhatia.compton@emory.edu

and confidence,” Massiah said. “If you have a group of students that you know are learning alongside you, the process is a little less intimidating. So I think it will help the community because they can see the students as not as threatening as maybe a Fortune 500 mentor.”

EIIG has evaluated over 30 entrepreneurs, but has only invested in Massiah’s company thus far.

“We just thought that she fit, needed the capital more than anyone else and could do the most with that capital,” Walker said. “The other two we’re evaluating are a law firm that provides reduced-fee legal services for immigrants and a night care that would allow immigrants in the Clarkston area to leave their children overnight so that they could work to provide more for their families. It’s exciting to work with these really talented people. We’re learning everyday about what it means to be a business person.”

Rhode agreed that in addition to helping businesses that need capital, being a part of the group is helping its members.

“First of all it’s amazing to interact with these entrepreneurs,” Rhode said. “I think we’ve learned so much from them. Just the day to day of how do you run a business, how do you start a business is something that even in the business school here you don’t get.

When they talk about entrepreneurship here, it’s like a lofty idea of ‘oh Facebook’ kind of a thing. Versus the nitty gritty of ‘I’m trying to run a bakery out of my home.’ That entails so many challenges.”

The group raises donations in order to have the capital to provide loans to the entrepreneurs that they identify and ultimately work with.

“I’m extremely impressed by their ability to raise capital,” Massiah said. “They are just the epitome of

seeing a problem and recognizing that it needs a solution and having the gumshoe to go out there and to help be a solution to the problem. Less experienced entrepreneurs struggle in how to raise capital. They’re trying to resolve that problem and I think it’s terrific.”

The donation aspect of EIIG allows them to be riskier with their money than banks. This is because banks have to meet certain monetary standards to satisfy their shareholders, whereas the goal of EIIG is to revitalize areas around Atlanta that have been left out of economic development, rather than make money.

“We have a pretty long due diligence process as far as evaluating them, and then we continue to work with them after we’ve lent to them in a consulting aspect,” Rhode said. “So that helps to mitigate some of that risk. The reason we are here is because banks wouldn’t do this—because it doesn’t necessarily make the most financial sense and that leaves these people excluded and unable to start their business. Someone needs to fill that gap and that’s what we’re hoping to do.”

According to Massiah, the consulting work EIIG does with its entrepreneurs is, for some, just as helpful as the capital they provide.

“What they’ve been doing, which has been beneficial, in our regular meetings is inquiring as to what goals and objectives I have,” Massiah said. “They’ve been instrumental in trying to help me achieve some of the goals. For instance, trying to help me provide a mechanism for our customers to order online.”

The group takes student members on an application basis, and is hosting an open event on Jan. 28 in the Goizueta Business School, for which they are bringing in two entrepreneurs that will talk about how impact investing helps them run successful businesses.

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01.27.16

Samuel’s not-so-secret study spaces Samuel R. Budnyk | Associate Editor samuel.ross.budnyk@emory.edu

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n Fall 2013, when I was but a freshman, an article in the then-Student Life section of the Wheel, written by my Orientation Leader Lane Billings, offered a wealth of information to that young, bearded Sam who wanted to escape the dark, dank halls of Dobbs to study and do homework in his (little) free time. This article, “Lane’s Secret Study Spots,” became my bible of dorm escaping. Can’t find a spot in the overpopulated stacks? Hit the (now defunct) Pitts Theology Library. Want to take a nap on campus? Sleep in the (now office-ized) Schwartz Center’s music student lounge. The places it listed were underused and easily accessible, but, sadly, for several the ship has sailed. I hope to detail here, then, the current state of the (not entirely) secret study spots.

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Perhaps the most popular option on this list, the current Candler School of Theology building replaced the quad-facing, somewhat mustily historic library that occupied the earlier list.

It is a stunning, clean building that houses study spaces throughout, including some comfortable chairs on the ground level (entrance on Dickey Drive) and numerous other seating areas spread throughout the building.

The building’s patio in the space behind Cannon Chapel and next to White Hall is probably my favorite outdoors space on campus, because when it is warm and sunny there is no place with chairs or tables as comfortable.

Study rooms do exist in the (new) Pitts Theology Library, as well, on the second floor of the building. These need to be checked out, but they are chock full of modern amenities, including WiFi (a luxury its predecessor effectively did without).

Schwartz Center Lounges Probably nearest and dearest to my heart are the options in the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. The former music student lounge on the third floor, which faces Highland Bakery and the Goizueta Business School, is now a professor’s office, but that is not to say that students are out on their luck if they hope to sneak a nap as they are waiting for their Financial Accounting exam.

On the third floor, the theater student lounge is on the western end of the building above the dance studio. There are two musty, somewhat lumpy couches and a couple of tables.

Occasionally populated by music students missing their former home or members of the theater department holding a meeting, one can go hours without seeing anyone, making it perfect for a dimly lit nap.

If one were to go down the stairs connected to this lounge, one would find the dance student lounge (or, alternatively, if one walks past the dance studio and turns to the right it will be on the left at the end of that short hall), another comfy performing arts student lounge.

While this one definitely gets more traffic (it always looks clean and with somewhat up-to-date announcements posted), it is also more often than not completely empty.

The lounge also has a window, offering some natural light in contrast to the theater student lounge.

Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library While not particularly secret to those that make the trek out to the Rollins School of Public Health/Bio building side of campus, this library often has many open desks and comfortable chairs as well as computer workstations.

Located just on the other side of the bridge from Longstreet-Means Hall, many students view it as too far of a trek to be worth it, but for those that enjoy a little walk or live in the nearby Woodruff Residential Center it can be a blessing worth looking into. The couches here are pretty hard to beat.

Law School Library Mentioned on Lane’s earlier list, the law library has not changed too terribly much in the intervening years. It features broad windows, plenty of natural light and a sense of decorum that leaves the place utterly silent and devoid of riff-raff.

Undergraduates rarely venture in here, but those that do quickly appreciate the change of pace from Woodruff Library’s regularly scheduled sorority girl conversations.

The chairs are fantastic, the place is clean and no one will bother you.

SPORTS

JACOB DURST | EDITOR

Eagles Dominate Emory Meet

Williamson sets new school record, Brown and Hoberman shine Oliver Rockman Staff Writer oliver.s.rockman@emory.edu

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he Emory men’s and women’s track and field teams hosted the Emory Crossplex Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. last weekend, in which both teams were able to capture first place in a field of around 20.

“Across the board, performances were strong,” Emory Head Coach John Curtin said. “I don’t think we had any surprises. People showed up and competed hard which led to some very impressive performances.”

Senior Julie Williamson led the way for the women’s squad, setting a new school record with her first place time of 2:13.98 in the 800m run.

More impressive, she did so with a time modified to account for potential speed added by the banked turns at the Crossplex, Curtin said. He praised Williamson’s performance, and expects even more from her as the season progresses.

“I’m thrilled for Julie, to see a kid come as far as she has is fantastic,” Curtin said. “There’s more there, she’s going to run faster.”

Curtin elaborated on the high level of Williamson’s performances this season, and how he expects her to continue on the same path.

“If Julie can run another second faster, she will be safely in the indoor national champion-

ship field and likely to earn AllAmerican honors. I know that’s her ultimate goal,” Curtin continued.

400m dash.

Freshman Dilys Osei placed sixth in the 60m hurdles, and ran the fastest split for the first

especially sophomore Max Brown, who won the 800m run (1:55.17) and took second in the 1-mile run (4:18.06).

Senior Julie Williamson won the 800m at the Emory Crossplex Invitational in Birmingham (Ala.), this past Saturday, setting a new school record in the process. Her time of 2:13.98 was nearly two seconds faster than Emory’s previous record, held by Stephanie Crane at the 2013 UAA Indoor Championships. Given how early it is, and Coach Curtin’s belief that she will continue to improve as the season progresses, she could challenge the UAA record of 2:12.43 by the end of the season | PHOTO COURTESY OF EMORY ATHLETICS

Other notable performances for the women’s team included junior Sophie Cemaj’s victory in the 5,000m run with a time of 18:41.83, as well as the second and fourth place finishes of Erica Goldman (58.50) and Ariana Newhouse (1:00.75) in the

place 4x400 relay team (4:01.08) with freshman Hayler Moyer, junior Elizabeth Magno and freshman Dani Bland. Bland also finished seventh in the 200m dash with a time of 25.99.

The men’s team had its share of strong performances as well,

“Max really stepped into the foreground at this meet,” Curtin said of Brown.

Sophomore Benjamin Rogin placed third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.56, and fellow sophomore Daniel Pietsch’s time of 49.02 was the third fast-

est in the 400m dash.

The 4x400 relay team of Pietsch, senior Spencer Koh, senior Adam Rabushka and junior Ian McIsaac placed third with a time of 3:21.74.

The Eagles, on both the men’s and women’s sides, also turned in many strong performances in the field events.

For the men, senior Max Hoberman’s 14.36m triple jump, which earned him second place, broke the meet record for the event, and is the sixth furthest in Emory history.

Fellow seniors Jacob Siegel and Spencer Koh performed well in field events; Siegel’s shot put of 13.39m took third place, and Koh’s 4.25m pole vault earned him second place.

For the women, sophomore Kora Dreffs placed seventh in the shot put with a throw of 10.73m, and senior Alexandra Aiello had a long jump of 5.00m that earned ninth place.

The Eagles will return to competition on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29 and 30, at the Bob Pollack Meet hosted at Clemson University (S.C.). Curtin expects the short break between meets to be a challenge for the team.

“We don’t have a lot of time to recover between Sunday and Friday,” Curtin said. “We have short recovery and preparation time this week, which presents a challenge.”

01.27.16

Home sweet home

Men best CMU, Case at Emory

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Avery Yang

Asst. Sports Editor avery.yang@emory.edu

Junior forward Jonathan Terry (LEFT) pulls up for a shot against Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) in Friday’s 75-61 win.

Sophomore guard Whit Rapp (RIGHT) and senior forward Davis Rao (FAR RIGHT) 3+.' 0$! +û!*/! # %*/0 0$! .0 */ċ ħ WENYUN FAN, CONTRIBUTOR

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mory men’s basketball team won both of their games this past weekend against Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) 75-61 on Friday night, and Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) 86-82 on Sunday night.

Due to an 18 point performance from senior forward Davis Rao and a 13 point performance from junior guard Jonathan Terry, the Eagles were able to hold off the Tartans.

The game was close in the opening minutes, but Emory pulled ahead towards the end of the first half and never looked back. The game was tied 22-22 with 4:01 remaining in the first half, but the Eagles pulled together and scored seven straight unanswered points with a three-pointer by Terry and four points from sophomore guard Will Rapp. From that point on, the Eagles never fell behind, eventually winning the game by 14.

The Eagles won on Friday night over the Spartans through superior shot selection and, in turn, a higher field goal percentage. The Eagles shot 27 of 64 (42.2%) from the field, while the Tartans were only able to muster up a measly 33.9% from the field during the game.

What the Eagles lacked in rebounding edge, giving up 42 rebounds to their 34, they made up for by turning the ball over less (16 compared to six) and limiting the

Tartans to lower percentage shots.

Case Western Reserve provided a much bigger challenge.

While the first half, in which the Eagles held a halftime lead of 40-36, didn’t prove to be very interesting, the second half was quite the opposite.

The Eagles took the game’s biggest lead, at 60-48, with 11:07 left in the second half, but the Spartans proved to be a resilient bunch. After maintaining a sizable lead for the majority of the game, the Eagles allowed the Spartans to come back and take an 82-81 with 43 seconds to play.

Nonetheless, the Eagles managed to come through with a win. In their next possession, the Eagles retook the lead with a three-pointer by Terry. The three left him with 24 points on the night, and ended up being the night’s game-winning basket.

Terry was helped by sophomore forward Adam Gigax, who put up a good allaround performance with 21 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Will Trawick contributed to the win as well, putting up 15 points to go with 10 rebounds on the night.

The Eagles hit the road again next weekend. They will play on Friday, Jan. 29 at the University of Chicago (Ill.) and Sunday, Jan. 31 against Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).

SPORTS Women split weekend home stand Avery Yang Asst. Sports Editor avery.yang@emory.edu

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he Emory women’s basketball team split the weekend’s home games, beating Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) 66-52, but falling to Case Western Reserve University (Oh.) 62-76. The Eagles are now 10-6 overall, with a disappointing 1-4 record in University Athletic Association conference play.

The Eagles started the weekend off strong with a dominating win against the Carnegie Mellon.

After a three-pointer by Emory junior guard Fran Sweeney with 4:32 left in the second quarter gave the Eagles a 21-20 lead, the Eagles never gave up the lead. The Eagles won the contest with a clean perimeter game. The Eagles shot 25 for 68 from the field (36.8 percent) while CMU shot 21 for 50 (42 percent). The Eagles, however, sunk more threepoint shots, shooting five for 15 (33.3%) as opposed to the Tartans’ three-point field goal percentage of 20%. The Eagles were able to capitalize on Carnegie Mellon’s 21 turnovers to pull out the game.

Junior guard Michelle Bevan scored 21 points in addition to five rebounds, while sophomore center Dumebi Egbuna, pulled down 11 rebounds, despite scoring no points.

Junior guard Shellie Kaniut added 14 points, five steals, three rebounds and two assists. Sweeney and senior guard Ilene Tsao rounded out the doubledigit scorers with ten points each.

“We always try to get them to turn the ball over,” Head Coach Christy Thomaskutty said. “We are an undersized team, so that’s what we always try to kind of do.”

The Eagles’ second game of the weekend, wasn’t as easy as the first.

Despite the Eagles’ lead at the half of 32-25, Case Western scored 51 points in the second half while the Eagles’ added only 30. Their strong second half eventually brought the Spartans victory by the score of 76-62.

With 9:29 left in the third quarter, the Eagles held their largest lead of the night. However, the Eagles soon lost their hold on the game. The Spartans proceeded to piggyback sophomore forward Kara Hageman’s eight points in five minutes to go on a 14-0 run, which put them up 39-38 with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter.

The Spartans held that lead until the Eagles tied the game up off Sweeney’s jump shot with 5:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. A prompt layup made it 57-55 Spartans, and Case Western held the lead for the rest of the night.The Eagles were plagued with shooting woes throughout the game.

In many of the major Case Western Reserve runs, the Eagles couldn’t seem to get the ball in the basket while allowing their opponents to knock down high percentage shots in the paint.

During crucial moments in the game, the team

Sophomore forward Mikaila Schmitt (RIGHT) goes up for a layup against Carnegie Mellon this past week!* ċ ħ PERRY ONAKA, STAFF

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01.27.16 was unable to come through. After tying the game at 55, the Eagles gave up an 11-2 run while shooting just one for nine from the field. Additionally, during the Spartans’ momentum shifting 14-0 run in the third quarter, the Eagles shot a meager zero for seven from the field.

Despite the team’s tough loss, freshman center Ashley Oldshue and junior guard Shellie Kaniut came through off the bench to provide their team with much needed minutes and points. Each of the two scored 11 points on the game.

“I thought it was pretty much an even game,” Thomaskutty said. “They came at us hard and we never really got our feet back under us. They made some big threes.”

When asked, Thomaskutty said that her team needed to focus on their consistency going forward.

“We just haven’t played a complete game together yet. We just need to get 40 minutes of consistent play.”

Emory will return to action on Friday, Jan. 29, when they play at the University of Chicago (Ill.). As a part of their weekend road trip, they will also face Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) on Sunday, Jan. 31.

Senior guard Ilene Tsao (LEFT) drives against Carnegie Mellon in Friday’s win. Junior forward Michelle Bevan (RIGHT) lays the ball up in the same game. | PERRY ONAKA, STAFF

RECENT GAMES MEN’S BASKETBALL WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

W, 86-82 vs. Case Western Reserve L, 76-62 vs. Case Western Reserve 1st out of 19 at Emory Crossplex 1st out of 18 at Emory Crossplex L, 157-137 vs. Delta State University W, 178-120 vs. Delta State University

Tianzhang Shen, Contributing