Lamie hits 300 wins The invisble hand
Love eternal
SPORTS
PHOTOSPREAD
Basketball leads PAC rank
An inside scoop on the man behind Glance
COMMUNITY
The
@Collegian_GCC @gcc.collegian The Collegian: The GCC Newspaper Friday, February 14, 2020
A peak at the lovebirds of Grove City
Collegian The Award-Winning Grove City College Student Newspaper
‘Bachelor’ boys
Vol. 105, No. 13
Filling the Okie video gains star attention pulpit Alicia Beaujon Contributing Writer
Anna DiStefano
When the Omicron Xi fraternity began hosting watch parties for “The Bachelor,” they never expected to gain nationwide attention for it. “It mostly just started as a way to watch and laugh at the stupid drama of ‘The Bachelor,’” junior Scott Hangliter said as he explained how the group’s Bachelor pool works. “You pick your top three: who you think is going to be first, who you think is going to be second, who you think is going to be third. And you write it down with your name.” According to the fraternity members, who call themselves the Okies, their Jan. 20 viewing party had more people than usual, doubling the group in size. “Eventually the tension and the hype kind of built to the point where a bunch of guys just pulled out their phones,” junior Karl Heiser explained about the video that went viral. After reviewing the video the next day, the group decided to share it with the pop culture blog Barstool Sports. Within just a few hours, Hangliter signed away the video rights and watched it appear on the Barstool Instagram, Twitter and TikTok accounts, each of which has several million followers. Soon after, “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison had reposted it with the caption, “This is what we call BNE Bachelor Nation energy!” “The entire day when it got posted was just chaos,” Hangliter said. “It was nuts. Our group chat was blowing up, people on the hall were freaking out because ‘The
The college is searching for a new chaplain to lead the evolving chapel ministries program and fill the vacancy left by Rev. Dr. Stanley Keehlwetter two years ago. The chaplain, also referred to as the Dean of the Chapel, reports directly Weaver to the president and is responsible for leading the chapel program and supporting the Christian community on campus. “Above all else we are looking for someone who loves college students,” Interim Dean of the Chapel Dean Weaver ’88 said. “He or she needs to be able to care for and shepherd the diverse faith traditions within a Christ-centered community.” About 70 people have applied for the open position. The search team, co-chaired by Weaver and Vice President of Student Life & Learning Larry Hardesty, is in the beginning stages of narrowing down the applicant pool. Weaver shared that their goal is to name the new chaplain by commencement. The new chaplain will take over for Weaver, who has served in the interim role since Keehlwetter retired from his full-time role at the end of the 2017-2018 academic year. Weaver shares his responsibilities with his full-time job as senior pastor at Memorial Park Church in Pitts-
News Editor
THE COLLEGIAN
The Omicron Xi fraternity recently went viral after an instagram video of the group watching “The Bachelor” was reposted on host Chris Harrison’s social media. Bachelor’ contestants were commenting on the video, and then Chris Harrison reposted it, and then Peter the Bachelor reposted it.” The video not only caused the fraternity to go viral, but it also put several of its members in direct contact with “The Bachelor” contestants.
Memorializing Holocaust research David Zimmermann Staff Writer
This past Sunday, Andrew Kloes ’07 presented new research findings regarding the Holocaust at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh. There he discussed the most recent findings as well as the archival sources and historical Kloes research methods from which he gathered his information. After graduating from the College with a major in history and minors in religion and German, Kloes pursued his master’s degree in church history at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. Soon after, he traveled to Scotland to gain his doctorate in the history of Christianity at the University of Edinburgh. With experience in research and teaching, Kloes
has written several articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and has taught classes at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester. As a federal contractor, he currently is a contributing historian to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 19331945.” As the basis for his research, the Encyclopedia details over 44,000 detention sites and concentration camps the Nazis used to imprison and murder Jews during World War II. “Through our research, we seek to provide the most accurate descriptions possible of the places where six million Jewish men, women and children were murdered and where millions of other people in Europe and North Africa suffered and died,” Kloes said. “Our goal is for RESEARCH 3
According to Heiser, there was another video that was taken from a different angle which he sent to contestant Mykenna Dorn. “I just wanted to see if she would see it, and she responded to me within like two minutes,” Heiser said. Another contestant, Sarah
Coffin, was in contact with “The Bachelor” producers about FaceTiming the fraternity during the next week’s watch party, but the show had restrictions. The responses to the video were mixed. BACHELOR 3
CHAPEL 9
Chilling in the dorms
ANNA DISTEFANO
Some buildings were without heat Wednesday night after a leak caused the College to temporarily shut down a line that conveys heat from the Central Plant to campus. Affected areas included Hopeman, Lincoln, MAP North, Crawford and the library. Students learned of the issue through a campuswide email that rivaled the skunk warning of September. The email advised students to “demonstrate character in the midst of adversity” and that housekeeping would be delivering extra blankets to the affected residence halls. Junior Elsie Becker, an RA in the heat-less MAP Annex, distributes blankets to her residents juniors Sarah Gorog and Sara Walker.
Editorial
Page 2
The award-winning Grove City College student newspaper, Feb. 14, 2020
From the Editor’s desk
Love at first sight Grace Tarr
Editor-in-Chief What is there left to say about love? When I look through the pages of this week’s paper, I see reminders of what love truly is. This week’s Perspectives has an article reminding us that love is a much greater word than how we sometimes flippantly treat it. The section also exposes counterfeit love and the lie of pornography. The Photospread is full of pictures of familiar campus faces and their sweethearts. Likewise, Community offers a new campus initiative to make mingling between guys and girls more comfortable on campus. Even the Okies are up to their shenanigans watching “The Bachelor.” There seems to be no more to say about love. All I can add is my own story about love at first sight. Not the valentinesdrenched kind from a 90’s romcom, no, this is a love story about my sisters. I am the second of four girls. This is only a surprising fact if you know that for the first 16 years of my life, it was just my sister Elly and me. But then, five years ago, our parents decided to adopt. When I look back, the first moment I really knew that love at first sight is possible was when I first met my twin baby sisters in Uganda. It was 2016 and the twins, Margaret and Ruthie, were
two years old. The first thing I remember seeing was their little heads peep around the wall of the orphanage. We typically divide all human history in B.C.E and A.D. – but my life was divided the moment I first saw them. Somehow, in an instant, I loved them. Not a moment of hesitation or consideration was needed. Inexplicably, that instant love has not only remained but has somehow grown. I didn’t know I could love anyone as much as I love my sister Elly. Somehow, my love for her didn’t diminish, as if love were static and must be divided between our loved ones. Instead, love multiplied. When I read the Bible, I am struck by how God’s heart is bent towards adoption. Not only is his heart set on adoption, He is intent on adopting us even though He must go even further and adopt us out of sin. I am a Gentile and a sinner, and yet God calls me His daughter. It is perhaps natural that a family could love and cherish two innocent little children and welcome them into their family. But God’s love for His children is so great that He sent His only Son to die so that we might be adopted. People sometimes comment on how much love our family has given to the twins. It’s really the other way around. It is because of my sisters that I can comprehend on any level the love of God. To my sisters, I love you to the moon and back.
Collegian Staff Editor-in-Chief
Copy Chief
Managing Editor
Business Manager
Section Editors News
Copy Editors
Grace Tarr Paige Fay
Anna DiStefano
Community Fiona Lacey
Perspectives Josh Tatum
Entertainment Nora Sweeney
Sports
Connor Schlosser
Photo Chief Wes Kinney
Britney Lukasiewicz Davis Miller
Natalie Dell Claire Josey Michael Martin Lauren Ness Elizabeth Schinkel Caleb West Joanna Thorpe
Morals > money
Universities lead the charge in responsible investments Joshua Tatum
Perspectives Editor Last Wednesday, Harvard University, after student action, voted to join the University of California in divesting endowment funds from fossil-fuel-related assets. The next day, Georgetown University similarly divested from fossil fuels and pledged to seek investments in renewable energy. The endowments and pension funds of these three total about $136 billion. This is part of a larger trend among corporations, banks, universities and other institutions to divest from coal, oil and gas – divestments which now total $11 trillion, according to 350.org. These decisions are one part a reaction to the environmental impact of such firms, and one part a growing recognition of fossil fuels as a long-term financial risk. For the record, most of Grove City College’s $125.6 million endowment is managed by Commonfund, an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) firm. In 2019, Commonfund received a Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) score of “A” for its consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. This, however, points to the larger issue of responsible investing and incentivizing evil. Corporations, contrary to popular belief, are not necessarily beholden to their customers. This ideal of the all-wise customer who will hedge the evil of such firms by their individual consumption or abstention is absurd. Rather, it is C-suiters and shareholders who hold the leash. The East India Company’s opium trade of the 19th century, for example – which caused millions of Chinese
Staff Adviser
Nick Hildebrand
The Collegian is the student newspaper of Grove City College, located in Grove City, Pa. Opinions appearing on these pages, unless expressly stated otherwise, represent the views of individual writers. They are not the collective views of The Collegian, its staff or Grove City College.
Green Eyeshade Award the
This week’s Green Eyeshade Award goes to... Anna DiStefano for her abundant wit and willingness to serve the staff in multiple capacities. Her Chutzpah energizes the newsroom and makes her an invaluable member of The Collegian team.
DiStefano
Karp and his shareholders of moral culpability if an AIeyed drone mistakes a bunch of Iraqi schoolchildren for ISIS militants. In a way then, Clearview AI and Peter Thiel represent that double coincidence of an evil corporation and an uncaring shareholder. It’s just that in this case, unlike most shareholders, Thiel is a multi-billionaire. In the example of Clearview AI (and Project Maven for that matter), it took a number of highly-skilled software engineers to bring the application to life. Grove City College students will surely go on to create and work at many profitable firms after graduation. Future software engineers in particular, who wield so much power in creating the technological milieu and in choosing which technique will, as Neil Postman put it, “play out its hand,” have a special obligation to resist evil. It took 3,000 Google employees, for example, to get Google to pull out the Pentagon’s Project Maven project. Too many will internalize the Nuremburg defense (“I was just following orders”) to their last breath, but remember, you can always petition, protest, strike or, as a last resort, quit. The ordeal of the shareholder, however, is less extreme. In the case of Harvard University et al. the reallocation of investments is no hard task and is in fact rather prudent, considering that the S&P 500 Energy Sector has only risen by 1% in the past 10 years. Such divestments will have a favorable weaning-off effect as investors gradually transition towards investing in renewable energy and it is good that colleges and universities are leading the charge.
This week in Collegian history
Dorms and dances
Staff Writers
Katheryn Frazier David Smith Mackenzie Stine Mallory Trumbull Jules Wooldbridge David Zimmermann
customers to get hooked on smack and resulted in the First and Second Opium Wars to keep trade lines open – was surely very profitable for its shareholders. To set the matter plainly, most follow the oft-echoed corporate dictum that the goal of a firm is to “maximize the shareholder’s wealth.” Take Clearview AI and Hoan Ton-That for example. Clearview AI is a company which, after scraping about three billion images from Facebook, YouTube and Venmo, built a facial-recognition AI which is now used by over 600 local law enforcement agencies. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the other hand has said, “we built that technology [facial recognition] and we withheld it,” citing its ability to be used “in a very bad way.” Ton-That’s inkling to make such a technology is evil, yes. But that evil has no power without cash, which in this case was $200,000 handily provided by one Peter Thiel, a financier behind Facebook and big-data firm Palantir – two evil companies. Palantir, for example, has a contract with the Pentagon called Project Maven to build AI which will allow drones to identify potential targets. Google pulled out of that contract in 2018 after employee backlash. In 2015, Palantir was valued at about $20 billion. The powers that be in such companies have, of course, their own ways to internally justify such evil. Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, for example, in a defensive op-ed for the Washington Post, wrote (in essence) that their good outweighs their evil and criticizes Google’s withdrawal from the Project Maven contract as a usurpatious “stiff-arming” of the authority of elected government officials, which would conveniently relieve Mr.
Jules Wooldridge Staff Writer Feb. 16, 1930 Memorial News The boys in each section of Memorial take the time each week to submit an update on the goings-on of their halls. Here are some highlights: “It is rumored that the Fifth [section] has become too rough for Henry Weis. After nearly losing his right ear, Henry stated that he contemplated going back to the first section where peace reigns.” “‘Bob’ Reld stayed in Thursday night and whittled a paddle for one of the sorority pledges of the campus. ‘Joe’ Wherry can guarantee its effectiveness.” “Bartlebraugh is astounding the members of the sec-
tion by studying. We always thought that the men from the First didn’t need to study. Perhaps it’s the new [Fourth section] environment.” “We had a visitor several nights ago. The visitor was the black and brown dog that has taken the campus by storm. We found it to be house-broken but not hallbroken.” Feb. 14, 1940 Land Cleared For New Men’s Dormitory It is hard for us modern Grovers to imagine campus with any other layout than the one we now enjoy. However, campus was certainly not always this way. This week in 1940, it was announced that a shiny new building would be going up between Hopeman
and Ketler; this building, of course, was Lincoln. Estimated at a cost of $200,000, it was made possible by donations from various friends of the college, which may explain why it was named after the former U.S. President and not after someone affiliated with the college. Feb. 15, 1950 - Cupid’s Casual Capers Captivate Campus Cuties With Romance, Music Happy Valentine’s Day! This holiday in 1950, the sophomore class sponsored that semester’s first dance, a Valentine’s themed shindig called “Cupid’s Caper.” The featured musician was Eddie Frazier and His Plantation Orchestra, playing fire tracks like “Everything Is Hotsy Totsy” and “Cheatin’ on Me.”
News The Collegian,
Feb. 14, 2020
Page 3
When the shoe drops
Open hours tops Student Life’s list of violations Gabrielle Capaldo Contributing Writer
Grove City College’s Student Life & Learning Office created an internal document at the end of last semester showing that the top student conduct violations of Fall 2019 involved open hours and alcohol policies. According to the report, there were a total of 39 student conduct incidents that took place on campus. Fourteen incidents were failure to abide by open hour procedures and 12 incidents involved violations of Grove City’s alcohol policies. Each case involved multiple people, totaling 81 students filed for misconduct. Less common violations included four cases of students intentionally making false statements, three cases of students going to facilities without authorized access, one case of circulating false reports, one case involving the possession of illegal drugs and a few more that remain confidential. According to Joseph Cire-
lli, Assistant Dean of Student Life, this is the first time Student Life has compiled a report this expansive. However, he guarantees open hours has always been the number one violation. Student Life decided to create this report to evaluate how effective disciplinary measures are in helping students abide by Grove City’s community standards. Cirelli explained that 95 percent of students who undergo the disciplinary process do not become second offenders. “One of the reasons we enforce consequences is to change behavior,” Cirelli said. “If behavior doesn’t change, we look at the consequences.” In order for a violation to be counted as a student conduct case, a student must have violated an open hours policy three times or committed a serious violation, such as an alcohol standard, only once. The report is a summary of incidents requiring students to undergo disciplinary actions.
Financial planning
Building credit
Karsten Lagerquist Contributing Writer
Why should we care whether our credit score is 400, 700 or if it even exists? If you have “built good credit,” you have established yourself as a financially responsible individual who makes payments on time. A higher credit score indicates that you are the type of person that a bank, credit card company or other loan issuing entity can trust to pay back funds. Your score can alter your ability to get car loans, mortgages and insurance policies in the future. Whether these activities seem distant to you or not, your actions now undoubtedly can affect them for good or for worse. Building up a history of on-time payments is key to increasing your credit score. As college students, that might seem unrealistic. After all, we don’t have many regular payments to make, much money or a credit history. It seems like an endless loop – no history, no card, no history. There are some ways to get started, though. The first is a secured credit card. The card is ‘secured’ because you deposit an amount equal to your credit limit (how much you can spend with the card) first so that if you don’t pay, there is money that the card company can take as collateral. It keeps you accountable and minimizes the risk for the card issuer.
BACHELOR
continued from 1 Word began to spread that the students involved were asked to be on “The Ellen Show,” but the rumor was quickly denied by Heiser. “I don’t know where that started, but there is some truth to the fact that there were some people in
A second option is to apply for a card with a cosignor. A co-signor agrees to be responsible for your credit if you stop paying. This option carries extra responsibility and trust, but it can be a bit more flexible than secured cards. Credit is a double-edged sword. When managed responsibly, it can be a boon. If let out of control it’s easy for it to come back to bite. Discipline and restraint are the name of the game! First, don’t carry a balance on your account unless you absolutely must. Cards may not require you to pay off your monthly balance. However, this should be a priority because once you start to be charged interest, things get expensive quickly and you could begin to live beyond your means. Second, try to get only one card. Applying for all sorts of credit streams looks bad to an outsider. Focus on using one line of credit well. Finally, try to use your card for small, regular purchases. Having a card and being scared to use it does you no good. If you get in the habit of using it for a few small, regular charges (a WSJ subscription or gas), you can form the right habits of living within your means, while still reaping the benefits of a credit card. Credit might seem confusing, but the key is to build a trustworthy reputation over time by making payments (even small ones) regularly. touch with us about various things,” he said, mentioning the name of the TV show’s host. “It got back to us that Chris Harrison really liked the video.” Hangliter, who took the video, said he gained between 200 and 300 Instagram followers the day it was posted. He then explained that a
Sophomore Kyle Heim self-disclosed that he underwent the disciplinary process after being caught drinking on campus when his roommate posted a video of one of them drinking a beer on social media. According to Heim’s violation assessment form, he was fined $100, suspended for a week and required to undergo alcohol safety training. The violation assessment also states if Heim is caught with alcohol on campus again, he will be suspended indefinitely and will need to wait a year until he can reapply.
“The consequences are really harsh, but it gets the school’s point across. I wouldn’t drink again on campus,” Heim said. According to the Vice President of Student Life and Learning, Larry Hardesty, the amount of violations at Grove City are relatively low. “When I came from my previous institution, the first year that I got here we had fewer total incidents at Grove City than we did the year before at my previous institution. My previous institution was half the size.” Nevertheless, students are dissatisfied with the school’s
policies. “I think the open hours rules are dumb,” junior Josh Tricarico said. “Open hours should be an everyday thing with a larger span of time.” But according to Student Life, these rules are in place to protect students. “It’s not about restrictions,” Cirelli said. “It’s about giving life to the community.” “We never live without rules,” Hardesty said. “Because life is full of rules, the question is not if there is an absence of rules, the question is if we have the character to be able to live within those boundaries.” Student Life believes that these policies serve as healthy boundaries to aid students in making good decisions. They trust that the consequences for every incident in that report was necessary for that student. “Without boundaries our community won’t flourish,” Cirelli said. “After all, a river without banks is just a flood.”
Local politics roundup
Hot topics in the dead of winter Elizabeth Finnegan
Michele Brooks’ War With the DMV Recent legislation requires citizens to get a Real ID by Oct. 1, 2020 in order to board planes and enter federal buildings unless citizens present their passport or military ID. This law has had the unintended consequence of making DMVs significantly more crowded and overrun than usual, according to the New Castle News. Many people in Mercer County have complained that the lines are especially long in local DMVs and that the wait to get a
Real ID can take hours. Michele Brooks, the State Senator for the 50th District of Pennsylvania, has taken it upon herself to help solve this problem. This comment was her response to one local DMV, which had a line of over 70 people waiting outside before it had even opened. Brooks is fighting to diminish this problem by extending the DMV’s hours and giving them more equipment to try to expedite the proBrooks cess. While she is working to fix this problem for now, try to go to the DMV on one of the warmer days: the line tends to extend out in front of the building. Stay tuned for more local politics, with the special elections coming up in March and primaries starting soon!
the Encyclopedia to be both a memorial to the victims of Nazism and an academic reference to facilitate more in-depth research on the Holocaust.” According to an interview with the Pittsburgh TribuneReview, Kloes said that the encyclopedia, once completed, “will be the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the Nazi camp system in existence.”
Appreciative of his time at the College, Kloes thanked Dr. James Bibza, Professor J. Harvey Cole and Dr. Gary Smith. “They and other College faculty helped me to develop as a researcher and writer,” Kloes said. After his undergraduate years, the three highlights of his professional career have been publishing his doctoral dissertation with Oxford University Press, publishing an article in the Harvard Theological Review and be-
ing elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Kloes offers students looking to go into a research career a word of advice. “If a student is interested in historical research, they can best prepare by reading very widely in their areas of interest and by learning to read other languages,” Kloes said. “It is so important to be able to read documents in their original language and what other scholars are saying who do not write in English.”
wine company contacted him offering free wine and asking him to promote their product at the fraternity’s next viewing party. “Obviously we can’t have it on campus,” Hangliter said, “So, I sent them the address of my friend’s house and they shipped it.” He made sure to clarify that he kept his account pri-
vate, saying, “I’m definitely not trying to be an influencer.” Overall, the video was wellreceived, but some responses were less positive. Many people commented calling them names or claiming that the video was staged. “It’s just white noise,” Heiser said. “I don’t even think this is something we
would fake.” Once all the hype over the video has died down, the Okies will continue to throw watch parties every week. “It’s the definition of 15 seconds of fame,” Heiser said. “Like, nobody is going to care about this tomorrow at all. It was just a funny thing that we can look back on and remember.”
Contributing Writer
With all of this buzz around national politics, we thought we’d take a step back and explore two of the big items in local politics happening here in Western Pa.: Tedd Nesbit Resigns Mercer County’s Representative Tedd Nesbit, a traditional conservative who had been serving in the state House since 2014, resigned on Jan. 3 to take a seat on the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas. He was elected to this seat in the November election. Nesbitt, a long-time representative of Mercer counNesbit ty, faced DUI charges at the beginning of last year. Since his resignation left
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continued from 1
a vacancy, special elections will be held on March 17 to fill his seat in the state legislature. However, since Nesbit’s term was set to end later this year, primaries will also be held in late April to pick nominees to run in the next cycle for Nesbit’s former state legislator seat.
Community The Collegian,
Feb. 14, 2020
Page 4
Student directory seeks new head Kylie Jasper
Contributing Writer A plethora of faces are instantly available on Grove City College’s student-identification webpage, Glance, but there is an important face behind-the-scenes that is responsible for many of the page’s innovations and capabilities. Meet senior, David Corbin, the manager of Glance for the past four years. Throughout Corbin’s tenure, the Glance webpage has received more than 2.8 million views. As a freshman back in 2016, Corbin found himself preparing to take over the task of managing Glance. At that point in time, Glance was not as user-friendly for mobile phones, nor as sleek in design. Corbin’s creative juices began to flow. Dissatisfied with the time-consuming process of
manually entering each student’s information into the system, Corbin, along with Glance’s manager in 2016, decided to make some updates. “I got access to the server, which is hosted in the TLC. So, on my own time, I created what we now see as Glance from scratch,” Corbin said. “I kind of started from the beginning and re-coded it. With the same intent in mind as the older version, I tried to solve the same problems, but with keeping the users in mind.” Now, most of his responsibility lies in gathering and entering new-student data into the system, as well as adjusting the information of current students. It still takes a lot of time, but because of his technical revamping, Corbin never has to manually enter every single piece of a student’s information (a laborious task all pre-
vious managers of Glance have had to do, bless their hearts). Even so, there is still nuts-andbolts work for Corbin to complete. “Throughout the semester people will email me and will say ‘my room number is wrong’ or ‘my name is spelled wrong’ or they need something changed for them. So, there’s just small changes like that I can hop on and fix,” Corbin said. Oddly enough, Corbin doesn’t receive the gender of the students in their information. This complicates the fairly stream-lined operation only slightly. “Gender is something I have to guess,” he says. “How gender is determined now is by looking at census data. So, what I do is download a record of the U.S. census because it has a gender-toname ratio.” But even the good ‘ole census
Craig returns Scott Amon
Contributing Writer Professor of the English and Theater Department, Dr. Betsy Craig took her sabbatical last semester, having worked at the college for over 40 years. To secure a sabbatical, says Craig, a professor must have taught at GCC for several years. The professor then Craig submits a highly detailed research proposal to the Sabbatical Selection Committee. The Committee only grants a few sabbaticals per year, which makes Craig one of the few professors to go on a sabbatical. “A sabbatical is not a vacation!” Craig said. “I can’t tell you how many students thought I was taking a type of vacation.” Craig’s sabbatical began in the summer of 2019 when she traveled to Lisbon, Portugal to deliver a speech at the International Society of Arts in Culture conference. From there, Craig traveled to New York City to continue researching and writing her book on One Person Plays. Her book is “based on historical figures that have been commercially successful on Broadway and Off-Broadway.” If that were not enough, Craig also traveled to London to research Edward R. Murrow, “an important 20th century journalist who contributed a great deal to. . . the successful outcome of the
war [WWII].” Craig admits that she may have undertaken too much for her semester-long sabbatical. “I certainly bit off more than I could get accomplished in a single semester.” When she was not researching abroad, Craig was set up in a vacant office in Rockwell Hall where she poured over her research materials. Frequently, Craig did not speak or interact with anyone throughout the day. “It was a little lonesome at first… But I learned to really embrace the solitude.” The quiet helped her to realize how much she enjoyed her research, “I knew I always liked to research, but I didn’t realize how much. I loved doing what I was doing.” Craig was not only exercising her mind, but also her muscles. She decided to complete a triathlon before her sabbatical was completed. In December, Craig completed her first triathlon in Key West, Florida. “It was kind of a parallel journey for me. I was exercising my mind in new ways and I wanted to do that physically as well.” Craig said. “And if you ever want to complete a triathlon, do it in Florida.” While Craig enjoyed her sabbatical, she did miss some aspects of being a college professor. “Of course, I missed the community—particularly of my colleagues in the English Department. They sustain me—probably more than they know.” Craig also missed the excitement of directing and
putting on the Fall musical, but “it was nice to go to bed at a regular hour.” Craig enjoyed her sabbatical and was excited to start the spring semester and see some familiar faces. She describes the first couple of weeks back, though, as a “pretty hard reality check.” Craig enjoyed researching her topics so much that she was eager to continue researching on the side during the academic year. Due to her hectic schedule and a case of pneumonia, Craig has not been able to find much time to spare. “Finding the time to carve out research these first few weeks just hasn’t happened. But I am determined to make it happen,” Craig said. Most of her time is now filled with teaching theatre classes and directing two plays, or as she terms it: “trying to get a 747 plane off the tarmac in a vertical lift.” Still, she is planning to resume her research projects in her future spare time. Though this is Craig’s first sabbatical, she sees the value of taking one and encourages other professors to apply. “I think sabbaticals are very important for professors,” Craig said. She is interested in applying for another sabbatical but has to wait at least seven years before reapplying. In the meantime, Craig is interested in furthering her research by interviewing actors and playwrights for her book, with plans to travel to Oregon, El Paso, Boston and New York.
is wrong sometimes. Usually once or twice a semester, Corbin receives the fateful email from a student, informing him that their gender on Glance is incorrect. Other than the initial grunt work, though, Corbin’s involvement with the webpage is mostly hands-off. Corbin refers to Glance as a sort of “creative project” he’s involved GLANCE 10
Unity week leaves questions Fiona Lacey
Community Editor Pledge week for Grove City College students has come to a close, but the conversation questioning its principles continues to unfold. Dubbed “Unity Week” by the Student Life & Learning Office, pledge week attempts to offer challenging yet unifying experiences that bring together each Greek brother and sister. Greek groups creating unity is not the question. What students really question is the way in which they reach unity. “I understand the idea of sororities,” sophomore Amanda Mayer said. “But I am conflicted as to why pledge week practices the opposite traits girls are trying so hard to be a part of.” “I recall making the mistake of sitting with a friend who was pledging at lunch,” Mayer continued. “She and her group ignored me the entire hour. I figured out later they were told not to talk to me.” It seems not only girls suffer from the absurd practices of pledge week; guys do as well. Adam Cramer, junior and independent, wants to note that pledge serves an important role on campus, but is soon distorted by other motives. “It appears that male pledge often encourages new members to perform wrongful actions, like stealing other people’s paddles or creating a large phallic snow sculp-
ture on Lincoln lawn,” Cramer said. “I think our Greek groups may want to consider what ideals they are promoting with their pledges.” Pledge can not only be harmful but can contradict with the Christian teaching of Grove City College itself. Paige Stitt, an active member of the Gamma Sigma Phi sorority, adds to this idea. “I am in a sorority and I love it; I really do. But I have some serious issues with pledge.” It disturbs Stitt that “so many actives on campus, who hold to Christian values, have convinced themselves that what goes on during pledge is not an issue.” Though Stitt noted that pledge can be a good thing, especially when it reforms itself, “we are being dishonest with ourselves when we deny that we often drop our Christian lifestyle and standards for two weeks during pledge.” Active Theta member, Maddie Graner, remembered how hard pledging was as a freshman, even though, as a senior, she stands by her sorority’s traditional pledge activities. “It was really exciting to find out you got in, and then right away we had to ignore our friends,” Graner said. “It was really hard.” Graner would like to note that her sorority has made a lot of changes to their pledge activities since then but have kept the traditional ones intact.
The Collegian,
Feb. 14, 2020
Page 5
7 questions with...
Dr. Carl Trueman A blind dating system started by GCC students, Grover Crossover, aims to encourage a casual dating environment on campus.
UNSPLASH
Grovers cross over Blind dating service fills a need
Katie Leon
Contributing Writer No date for Valentine’s Day? You wouldn’t be alone. While it is believed that Grove City College produces as many marriages as it does well-rounded individuals, students seem to agree the dating culture isn’t as perfect as one might imagine. That’s why two students created Grover Crossover. Sophomore Fiona Lacey and junior Paige Fay developed the idea based upon a perceived campus need. “It’s difficult for men and women to meet on campus due to the expectations and pressure surrounding relationships,” Fay said. “We wanted to create a stigmafree environment that would encourage friendship and fellowship between the genders through casual dates and group get-togethers. The random selection process also helps break stereotypes by introducing people that may not otherwise have met before.” Lacey echoed these con-
cerns saying, “I got really frustrated with how guys and girls interacted on campus. It’s either too much handholding or not any at all.” “Grover Crossover is a blind and casual dating system,” their email said, which was sent to a pool of random students last week. The program sets out to provide “a casual way for young men and women to get to know each other.” (Editor’s note: Lacey and Fay are members of The Collegian’s editorial staff. Per the newspaper’s guidelines, they were not part of the assignment or editing of this story.) Responses came in quickly. Pairs are matched and the first event is to take place tomorrow, Feb. 15. Grover Crossover is a purely student-run program that creates random couples from a short list of willing participants providing the couple with casual date ideas—like coffee or a basketball game. “The atmosphere is very pushy towards securing the (engagement) ring before
What’s the first thing you listen to when you get in the car? Frank Sinatra. What book are you reading for fun? “Witch Wood” by John Buchan. What is a piece of advice, quote or verse that you identify with right now? Has to be something from George Orwell, a hero of mine: ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’ What is the best Restaurant to go to with your family? Timber Creek if my sons are in town, Clifford’s if my wife and I are by ourselves and want to have a special night out. What movie makes you cry? I don’t cry much, being a typical emotionally stunted middle-class Englishman. But “Brief Encounter” (1945 version) is heartbreaking and always brings a tear to my eye. What’s one thing you are looking forward to today? A gin and tonic. What virtue do you hold in highest regard? Prudence. I’m not a great risk-taker, I’m afraid.
your time here is up,” junior Hailey Seibel said. She, like many on campus, has found that students tend to put too much emphasis on marriage in the beginning stages of a relationship. Senior Joshua Wakefield comments that the current dating attitude puts too much pressure on relationships, and “a lot of people put themselves out a little too far.” Wakefield notes that many students seem to jump into serious relationships because they genuinely value and desire the Christian idea of family life. However, Wakefield explains that “an explosive start will lead to an explosive end.” Grove City College campus opinion on the dating culture is not unanimous, though. Not against the idea, but not sold on its success either, Assistant Dean of Student Life, Joseph Cirelli, notices that students generally “want to be in committed relationships, and when they start dating, they usually want to be confident.”
Cirelli remarks that these are great “indicators of community” and show that students are “thoughtful and engaged students who want to value relationships in a world that doesn’t.” Sophomore Isaac French agrees, “You should at least have a general read on their personality.” Others, though, like sophomore Sunni Missouri and freshman Abbey During, think that “it could be a good time” and successful within the student body. Sophomore John Paul Roboski, like many of the others who thought the program could receive a lot of interest, says it’s “important to meet different people” and be able to do it without the pressure of a serious commitment right away. Grover Crossover will continue to run as long as students participate. E-mail grovercrossover@outlook. com to sign up for the next round.
14. Mode or median alterna-
33. Deodorant targets
47. Pig alternative
tive
34. Clarinetist’s necessity
48. Buffett birthplace
20. Reciprocal of cos
35. Brexiter’s option
49. Frosted Flakes feline
21. Twentieth Semitic letter
37. Teepartialer
50. Like 150 proof liquor,
24. Flipped when angry
40. Fee follower
for example
25. Fo follower
41. Intl. rel. think tank
51. Drops the ball
26. Not many
42. “The cow says ‘___’”
55. Eeyore, for example
27. Fretboard clamp
43. Lustful
56. The “I” in A.E.I. (Abbr.)
30. Be in the red
45. Bygone music mediums
58. Young chap
31. Number one
(Abbr.)
60. Victoria’s Secret prod-
32. Caribou kin
46. Didn’t hit, in blackjack
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Collegian Crossword Josh Tatum
46. Intervisitation necessity
Perspectives Editor
52. Hanks or Selleck 53. Black Diamond doers
ACROSS
54. Malek of “Mr. Robot”
1. Like day-old cheerios
fame
6. German “the”
57. ____ fixation
9. Sit down sloppily
59. Petri dish gel
13. Sleep sound
60. B element
14. “Of ____ and Men”
61. Slips, trips, and falls
15. Noose necessity
agcy.
16. Phillips fastener, for one
62. Commie colors
17. Bigheads
63. Cow hind-end cuts
18. “Your turn,” over radio
64. The “D” in D.O.A.
19. Spotted
65. Of liquor, unsweet
20. Captain Morgan, for ex-
66. Liability’s opposite
ample 22. Slip up
DOWN
23. Cupid’s February 14
1. Gas leak sound
feast
2. “____ there was a way”
26. Caustic
(Golden Slumbers lyric)
28. Conflagration residue
3. Bill Buckley adversary, fa-
29. Like distressed denim
mously
30.
4. Killer Rabbit vanquisher,
Intervisitation, more
commonly
for example
36. Clean Water Act agcy.
5. Red-berried Tree of Death
37. “I would soon have
6. 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, for example
_____ in the silence of
7. Food poisoning bacteria
death.” Psalm 94:17
8.
38. Alternative to com or
(physics)
org
9. Ace
39. Betrothed baptism site
10. Adored
42. Tyler Perry’s recurring
11. “The Magic Flute”, for
role
example
44. The Cyclones’ sch.
12. Mason of tele-lawyering
45. Contra-tragedy
fame
________
frequency
Follow us for the solution!
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@gcc.collegian
The Collegian: The GCC Newspaper
Perspectives The Collegian,
Feb. 14, 2020
LOVE Page 8
More than a feeling
Noel Elvin
Contributing Writer
HYPERBOREA.ORG
In the English language, the word “love” is stripped of so much depth. It is used in adoration of our significant other, our friends and family, our pets, even our favorite foods and TV shows. It is brain boggling that the same word used to express care and adoration of one’s significant other is also used in expressing “I LOVE this steak!” In Greek, four different words express what the English language encompasses into the one word “love.” The first Greek word is eros, which embodies desire. It is used to describe sensual and romantic love. Second is philia, commonly defined as brotherly love or friendship. Storge is an instinctive love, such as that of a parent towards a child. Finally, the greatest love of them all is agape: God’s love towards man, which God lavishes on us freely. Out of the 313 times that love is used in the Bible, 259 are agape. It is a shame that the English language reduces such a beautiful, diverse word to a broad definition that stoops down even to the love of fried
chicken. In English, the primary definition of love is “an intense feeling of deep affection.” It is as if a word for the love of God towards man does not exist in the English language. God’s love is deeper than physical desire or the appreciation of a friend. Agape is more than a feeling; agape love is an action. In Luke 6:35, Jesus commands mankind to “love [their] enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” This type of love is not easy. It is not a feeling. It does not come with instinct as “storge” does, or as friendship like “philia.” This type of love is a pure action. It takes intention. This is agape. Agape is self-sacrificing, as Christ sacrificed His life. It is unconditional since God loves us no matter how many times and how badly we fail Him. In her book, “In His Image,” Jen Wilken expresses that “agape is offered free of need, extended by a person whose greatest need has been met in Christ and originating in a God who has no needs whatsoever.” Humans offer love out of the need for relationships – the need for sensuality. But what could God ever need
from humanity? God offers agape, never expecting anything in return. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 portrays agape fully. “Agape is patient, agape is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Agape does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Agape never fails.” If love never fails, then only God truly loves; yet, we are called to be like Christ and to love with agape love. Valentine’s Day emphasizes sensational love: red, pink and white love. Love that is a fluffy and warm. It emphasizes eros. But, commonly when two people marry, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is read because they seek a love that exceeds just physical admiration. They yearn for a love that will never fail – agape. While Valentine’s Day can make some people feel alone, God has gifted the world with his awe-fulfilling, never-ending and all-sufficient love. He dedicated a specific love for you and for me. God gave us agape, God’s love for man.
A different drug: an evil worth fighting Clark Mummau Contributing Writer
Last December, four U.S. Representatives sent a letter to Attorney General Barr calling for increased prosecution of obscene pornography. Presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted last September, “As a parent of young kids I believe rampant access to pornography is a real problem.” This outcry is not new. In April 2011, 41 U.S. Senators sent a letter to Attorney General Holder saying, “We write to urge the Department of Justice vigorously to enforce federal obscenity laws against major commercial distributors of hardcore adult pornography.” These politicians are right. Pornography is a problem that needs to be seriously addressed because of its causation and ties to personal,
CHAPEL
continued from 1
burgh. According to the job description, whoever comes to campus this fall will be here full time. This arrangement will allow the chaplain to “be fully focused on the needs of our college students,” Weaver said. Weaver hopes that whoever is named will build relationships across all aspects of campus during his or her first semester. Programming for the fall is already underway, so the new chaplain will
relational and societal problems. According to Pornhub’s 2019 annual report, 61 percent of its users aged between 18 and 34, millennials, and 80 percent of the site’s visits are from smartphones and tablets. The American Psychological Association estimates the percentage of males that consume pornography ranges from 50 to 99 percent, while female consumption ranges from 30 to 86 percent. Because of porn’s ubiquity, we must pay attention to its many effects. Frequent porn usage is linked with erectile dysfunction and decreased sexual desire, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information reports. It also leads to a decreased reaction to sexual stimuli, meaning more extreme sex acts are needed to elicit the same responses. A 2018 study by Samuel Perry and Andrew L. Whitehead explained that consumers of porn, especially religious
consumers, are more likely to experience shame, guilt and depression due to cognitive dissonance. Consuming porn severely impairs existing relationships because porn does not show real sex, and what they often show is violent and exploitative. A 2019 study by Debby Herbenick et al. found that close to 25 percent of adult women reported “scary sexual situations,” with lower percentages for adolescent women, adult men and adolescent men. The report explains that many of these experiences are the result of partners practicing violent acts frequently shown in porn such as strangulation, rape and incest. Porn “rarely includes affection, intimate relationships, [or] expressions of love,” Dr. Ana Bridges of the University of Arkansas said in a 2010 study. When these attitudes towards relationships are acted out in the real world, relationships are torn apart. The most searched terms
on Pornhub in 2019 were all degrading, objectifying and perverted. They included ethnicities and family relations, such as “step-mom” and “sexual acts.” The 12 most searched term was “teen,” and 15 was “public,” the website reported. Every term listed shows a perversion of God’s design for sex, with even innocuous terms becoming fetishized for people’s sinful desires. Many studies establish a link between human trafficking and pornography. People are trafficked into making pornographic films and countless others are forced to watch porn in preparation for their future sex slavery, an article by Robert W. Peters, Laura J. Lederer and Shane Kelly reports. Clinical psychologist Melissa Farley says that prostitution and pornography are “symbiotically related,” referencing how porn-viewers often treat prostitutes as objects on which they can practice sexual acts seen in porn.
No matter how the situation is presented, pornography is a societal evil we must fight. Even though viewing it feels good in the moment, it creates objectifying and dominating mindsets among consumers. By increasing the demand for porn, consumers also feed the human trafficking industry and promote further ethnic stereotyping and division. Because of pornography’s many negative effects, politicians are right to stand for increased enforcement of obscenity laws. However, we must do more than wait for the government to implement change. More than likely, you or someone you know closely currently struggles or previously struggled with an addiction to pornography. As Christians and members of a community on campus, we must support each other during the healing process with prayer and accountability.
not need to create content immediately. The very approach to content creation has evolved in this interim period. Pivoting from what Weaver called a “programmatic” chapel experience, the campus ministries team has worked to find ways to integrate all aspects of campus while considering student feedback. “Last year we heard students talk about this incredible need for more understanding of diversity,” Weaver said. “This whole semester we have integrated things about creativity and
diversity and a greater view of God’s kingdom.” Junior Courtney Mattey has noticed the program’s responsiveness to students. “I think the chapel staff is really making an effort to connect with students and make chapel more applicable and appealing,” Mattey said. She also agrees that diversity is a much-needed discussion topic. Other changes have been more practical than contentbased, like the ability to scan for chapel credit upon entering Harbison as opposed to charging the nearest chapel
scanner at the words “chapel is dismissed.” Citing the rush she felt to get to her 10 a.m., junior Erin Greer said she appreciates the new scanning system, and that “there is still some backup, but the crowds seem to exit at a more steady pace.” These changes are just a few aspects of the chapel program that the new chaplain will inherit. With an onboarding process tentatively slated for this summer, he or she will likely welcome students back to the college at the beginning of the fall
2020 semester. Weaver is grateful for the time he has spent in the interim role and hopes that the new chaplain will continue to focus on the integration of faith and learning—something that he believes sets Grove City apart from other institutions. “If we could end with a high-quality candidate who loves college students and is here full time to really look over their spiritual needs, I’ll feel like I can leave on a high note, and I’ll be really happy,” Weaver said.
The Collegian,
Feb. 14, 2020
Page 9
‘A tremendous accomplishment’ A review of ‘Antigone & the King’
Dr. Mark Hendrickson
Former Professor of Economics For those of you too busy to read a whole review, here is the condensed version: Wow! The completely studentproduced musical “Antigone & the King” was a tremendous accomplishment. I can picture an ad for it in the papers containing the following snippets from various reviews: “emotionally powerful,” “an inspired reinvention of a classic,” “poignant and thought-provoking,” “a theater experience that touches heart, mind, and soul.” If you liken a stage production to a car, you know that you need four good tires for the vehicle to move ahead smoothly. The “four tires” in theater are the script/book/ music, the acting, the directing and the staging (costumes, set, lighting, etc.), “Antigone & the King” got it right in all four phases. Seniors Noah Gould and Micah Mooney, co-creators, brought new and refreshing life to an old story. One example, by lightening the story up with some humor, they rescued the audience from having to wallow in lugubriousness without in any way diminishing the tragic elements. The writers also captured the ambiguities of trying to do the “right” thing. King Creon ended up looking like the villain, but was he really an evil man? In the first act, after all his people had lost during years of war, he wanted nothing more than to ensure a stable peace in which his people could flourish. His intent was noble, but alas, he committed the deadly mistake of relying primarily on flawed human reasoning and stubborn willfulness. Without going into more detail, suffice it to say that this script succeeded
JOSH WANEK
grandly in weaving together the complex issues and often competing needs of war and peace, law and justice, individual happiness and social harmony and humankind’s ever-present need for divine guidance. A quick comment about the songs: The challenge in writing a musical is how to use the music to enhance the emotional response of the audience without bogging down the storyline. Most of you have probably attended a musical that felt like, “We interrupt our story to do a song and dance, so stay tuned and in four minutes our story will resume.” That wasn’t the case with “Antigone & the King.” Every song served the story well and never weakened or slowed the development of the plot. Now, the acting: There wasn’t a weak link in the cast. None of the actors ever broke character, and each had the perfect emotional pitch for the character(s) they played. In regard to the previously mentioned humor, junior Katarina Meikrantz, sophomores Ally Tebben and Olivia Kane were delightful as
the muses. They played other miscellaneous supporting characters, too, but the opening sequence – in which a couple of them acted like immature 12-year-olds or ditzy airheads (OK, Boomer, the reviewer says to himself: GCC students surely have a different way of saying this today) – those scenes were hoots. Sophomore Ben Cooley brought the house down with his inspired portrayal of a cranky old prophet (who might have been pagan, but in some ways evoked some of the Old Testament prophets). Junior Spencer Simpson captured the pathos and emotional anguish of a good young man who genuinely wants to honor his father while marrying the love of his life (Antigone), but whose dreams die on the funeral pyre of the inflexible purpose of his father, the king, to bring peace, order, and prosperity to the people of Thebes. Michael Kolker as King Creon managed to make his scowl more intense in each scene as the play headed in-
exorably toward its tragic ending. I was actually relieved to see him put off that dark visage and smile after the play was over, because he had been so convincing that I thought the scowl might stick. Junior Sarah Dawson embodied both in countenance and posture the uprightness of Ismene, Antigone’s wise and virtuous sister. Junior Shannon Migliore brought a Mother Earth warmth to her portrayal of Euridice, Creon’s wife – a good woman who wanted to keep her family safe and happy, and who yearned (in vain) to keep the pressures of governance from invading the family hearth and stealing away its treasures. Sophomore Zoe Goncz danced beautifully as young Antigone, and freshman Clark Mummau handled his role as a corpse with great aplomb. And then there is the title character, Antigone. Junior Meghan Walsh was (apologies for being so unoriginal) completely awesome. She was luminous. From her own soul, she had a transpar-
ency for purity, courage, innocence, vulnerability (the way she teared up in a key scene was deeply moving) and especially her deep spirituality that led her to choose loyalty to the gods and death rather than disobedience to the gods and the best of good lives on Earth. Her heroic stance evoked thoughts of one of the most heartrending of all Bible stories, that of Jephtha’s daughter (Judges 11:30-40). I’m out of space, so let me quickly salute director junior Anna Porter for her skill in moving the story along at just the right pace without a lull or stumble, and for enabling her actors to flourish in their portrayal of their characters. The costumes were great, the lighting appropriate and the minimalist sets succeeded in giving outline to the locations without cluttering up the stage. Well done, everyone! Proud of you and very grateful to have seen your superb production. Dr. Mark Hendrickson is a retired Adjunct Professor of Economics at Grove City College.
He’s not one of us, shame on us
Dr. Caleb Verbois
Professor of Political Science Mitt Romney has been attacked for a long time. In 2012 Barack Obama campaigned against him with the slogan, “Mitt Romney. Not one of us.” Obama’s campaign was trying to distance Romney, the wealthy financier, from the economic conditions of middle America, especially factory workers. But the phrase was recognized as harkening back to segregationist dog whistle campaign ads in the 1950s and 60s. There was substantial irony in the fact that Obama, who had often had to deal with racially coded accusations that he was not born in America or was a Muslim, used similar language to dismiss Romney, who has faced plenty of prejudice for his Mormon faith. What is perhaps more surprising is that Romney, who just eight years ago was the Republican nominee for president, now has people
in his own party calling him “Mittens” and “Willard” to demean him for being weak, and demanding he be cast out of the Republican Party. For what? For voting his conscience. For taking his oath to exercise “impartial justice” in fulfilling his constitutional duty seriously. In his speech explaining his vote to impeach President Trump, he detailed his understanding of the constitutional standard for impeachment and explained why “high crimes and misdemeanors” has almost universally been understood to include more than legal crimes. But more importantly, he ended his speech with the recognition that his vote would not change the outcome but that he still had a moral and constitutional obligation: “With my vote, I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability, believing that my country expected it of me. I will only be one name among many, no more or less, to future generations of Americans who look at the record of this trial. They will
note merely that I was among the Senators who determined that what the president did was wrong, grievously wrong. We’re all footnotes at best in the annals of history. But in the most powerful nation on earth, the nation conceived in liberty and justice, that is distinction enough for any citizen.” Romney is right of course, to suggest that ultimately, we should all do what we think is right, even if it is not easy. He is also right to recognize that we are all footnotes in the annals of history. But he is wrong to suggest no one will remember his vote. Romney is the first Senator in American history to vote to impeach his own party’s president. No other Senator did that with Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, or Donald Trump. And that will be remembered. But how? In the final 2012 presidential debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, each candidate was asked what the greatest foreign threat was to America. Romney, with some reason, said Russia’s grow-
ing power and ambition should be our greatest concern. Obama mocked him, charged, “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.” Obama’s line got a lot of laughs. It was a great example of his quick wit, and of his often unfortunately thin level of analysis. But the aftermath of that election, and of Donald Trump’s election in 2016, should have taught us that Romney was right. Indeed, given how much energy Democrats have spent on various conspiracy theories of the Russians enabling Trump’s presidency, Romney could be forgiven for wondering when he’ll receive an apology from the 44 president. Maybe one day. And maybe one day, we will look back on President Trump, his impeachment and behavior, and apologize to Mitt Romney as well. In the meantime, Romney’s own example of how to behave publicly with those one disagrees with is instructive, especially in comparison with the behavior
of Donald Trump, who, the day after the Senate voted to not impeach him, showed up at the National Prayer Breakfast more interested in attacking his political opponents “who use their faith as a justification for doing what they know is wrong” than in praying for the nation. Conservative scholar and Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks opened up the breakfast encouraging each attendee to practice the Biblical teaching to “love your enemies.” Trump’s direct response to Brooks was “Arthur, I don’t know if I agree with you, I don’t know if Arthur is going to like what I’m going to have to say.” Trump clearly does not understand the concept of loving one’s enemies. In a political moment dominated by Trump’s refusal to ever apologize and continual mocking of his opponents and a Democratic Party marked by conspiracy theories, primal rage and disdain for Trump supporters, it is probably true that Mitt Romney is not one of us. All the worse for us.
Entertainment
Page 10
Feb. 14, 2020
Swift’s private life revealed Taylor Swift’s new documentary, “Miss Americana” is an in-depth look at the private life of the star and the inner struggles of building her empire.
CINEMABLEND.COM
‘Miss Americana’ documentary hits Netflix Katheryn Frazier Contributing Writer
Approval. Misogyny. Politics. These are just some of the topics that “Miss Americana”, better known as Taylor Swift, addresses in her newest Netflix documentary which emphasizes the stark difference between Swift’s extravagant performances and raw behind-the-scenes life. Swift began to write songs at the early age of 13 and was first signed to a major music label two years later. Now at 30, Swift has chosen to open Pandora’s box and reveal the intense pressures that she has faced during her lifelong career in the music industry. The theme of “approval” was
the first glaring topic that the pop star opened with as she felt it was the benchmark to gauge her self-worth. “Those pats on the head were all I lived for. I become the person who everyone wanted me to be. You get to the mountain top and you think ‘Oh God what now?’” Swift said, “I had to deconstruct an entire belief system for my own personal sanity.” Additionally, Swift confessed that she had developed an unhealthy relationship with her body. All the images she viewed from the media decried her imperfection. At one point the star even started to starve herself, believing that it was more of a norm in pursuit of maintaining an image rather than
an unhealthy action. Body image has increasingly become an issue with celebrities like Demi Lovato, Lindsey Stirling and countless others who have struggled with acepting their body. Swift’s personal life seemed to intensify as a sexual harassment case came into light during 2017. The singer countersued a former radio DJ who she claimed inappropriately groped her years prior to the allegations. Swift would go on to win the case but stated that she did not feel she actually won as she had to keep defending herself against an opposing party and probing media. Politics were another critical issue that was addressed as Swift claimed that the mu-
New music Friday
Samantha Funderlich Contributing Writer New Music Friday included great new releases from John Louis and Green Day, but I am still stuck on releases from Harry Styles and Halsey over winter break. Though the two are considered pop releases, they make starkly different statements for each of the artists. Harry Styles’ experimental pop album “Fine Line,” is an entirely new sound for the One Direction alum. I would say that this album is a great addition to anyone’s Spotify library. Specifically, songs such as “Gold,” “Adore You” and “To Be So Lonely” are all carefully crafted and unlike others in the genre. “Fine Line” is a psychedelic heartbreak in 2020. His clothing seems to match his music and leaves the listener to view Styles as an auteur. “Manic” by Halsey is another recently released pop album. I think its intentions are far from those of “Fine Line.” “Manic” is a fun album to dance to or to cry with in your car, but I am stuck on one question— does the album actually show any growth from Halsey? Returning to previous re-
leases from Halsey, I am not sure we could find any real change in her soundscape. The last three albums from this artist seem simply to be another female artist sharing her feelings and angst. The first song, “Ashley,” left me thinking Halsey may be going a different direction, but I was left waiting. Halsey’s songs “Graveyard” and “You Should Be Sad” are on my heavy rotation playlist, but I found myself pretty disappointed in the music video for “You Should Be Sad.” I was expecting more of a women’s empowerment video, while all she released was censored pornography. She is supposed to represent female liberation but allows herself to fall into the stereotypical sex icon pop music tries to sell. There is no problem with Halsey’s music: there are catchy melodies, relatable lyrics and modern themes. Listeners would not be able to tell that there are five years between “Badlands” and “Manic.” The layered vocals, synthetic kick-drum and angsty lyrics can all be attributed to the anti-popstar’s success. Fans want to hear the hypnotic dance tunes and the rap features from her first album. But I
believe Halsey should continue to be the same trend setter from 2015 as opposed to living off previous trademarks. This is demonstrated in how the album may have her “most personal lyrics yet,” but how much does this actually affect the listener’s experience if they feel as if they have already heard the album various times over the last half decade? Looking to artists such as Jon Bellion, Charlie Puth and OneRepbulic, they show immense changes in artistry. Jon Bellion is a trend setter with his crazy loop sounds found on his “Human Condition” album. Change is required for an artist to gain new fans and allow artists new ways to convey this repeated heartbreak. Five Seconds of Summer is another great example of this. They began as a young boyband and have grown together to release pop-punk rock hits. The transition feels seamless and natural for them. Even their clothing style and music videos have evolved, making them successful worldwide. This should encourage Halsey to continue her growth—predictability does not sell in the music industry. Who wants to be placed into a genre box?
sic industry had persisted that she stay silent on the topic in fear of causing a dip in sales. However, Swift felt charged to make a difference in 2018 by publicly siding with Tennessee’s Democratic Senate candidate, Phil Bredesen. The singer additionally stated that she felt the opposing Republican candidate did not advocate for sexual assault victims or the LGBTQ community. Swift has also spoken out against President Trump. The documentary has so much more to unpack. As the pop singer’s mother undergoes cancer, she elaborates on the Kanye West debacle, and has had to find ways to constantly rebrand herself to stay relevant. Despite multi-
GLANCE
ple Artist of the Year Awards, Grammys, and other awards it is clear that even Taylor Swift can become unhappy. “Miss Americana” similarly hits upon the specific pressures of the music industry as teenage stars grow up in the business like “Chasing Happiness”, the Jonas Brother’s documentary. Although, it sets itself apart from “Chasing Happiness” by highlighting specific problems that women face in today’s hypermedia society. Lover her or hate her. Swift’s story is human, and any watcher would be hardpressed to not empathize with some part of her life.
another student cast their own unique vision and ideas continued from 4 in order to improve Glance even more. with on the side, but not the While Corbin takes his remajor focus of his whole life. sponsibility seriously, he also He has managed to keep his knows how to have fun with involvement with the web- the webpage. According to page on the down-low the Corbin, there has been a trapast four years. dition passed on through the “I’ve never wanted this years that every April Fool’s to be something I’m known Day, the Glance web page for,” he said. “I really hope it showcases a random or weird just benefits the community, feature. For example: changand I’m behind-the-scenes. ing every student’s photo to Some of my friends don’t a picture of Nicholas Cage. even know I do it. I don’t talk True story. about it very much. It doesn’t “So, one year I added the come up in conversation very ‘I’m Feeling often.” Lucky’ butCorbin is “I’ve heard of people ton for the currently on meeting through day,” Corbin the look-out Glance and getting laughed. “And for a student I left it there, to replace his married later, and I kept managerial which is so crazy to tracking how role after he think about.” many people graduates in were using it, the spring. and it was a lot of people, so “I’m looking for someone I just left it. It wasn’t hurting who is not only technical, but anything.” someone who is responsible,” And who knows how many Corbin says. “Glance is someRing by Spring couples have thing that a lot of people use Corbin to thank for their love and it’s easy to make a joke story? out of it, but it’s important to “I’ve heard of people meetthe students and faculty. So, I’m looking for someone who ing through Glance and getis mature enough to take it ting married later, which is seriously and give it the re- so crazy to think about,” he says. “But obviously, Glance spect it deserves.” Corbin is also hopeful that is a very small piece of people his replacement will bring getting into a relationship.” At the end of the day, their own creative razzledazzle to the webpage. In Corbin feels that Glance has the same way he redesigned made a positive impact on Glance four years ago, connecting the college comCorbin would love to see munity.
The Collegian, Feb. 14, 2020
Page 11
Secure on top Men lead PAC standings
Connor Schlosser Sports Editor
Men’s basketball head coach Steve Lamie earned his 300th win as the commander-in-chief of the Wolverines. It’s Lamie’s 21st season as head coach and will continue to build on his historic career with the College. The men’s basketball team have made it 11 straight victories in their triumph over Penn State Altoona winning 78-68. With the win, the Wolverines position is ever more secure at the top of the President’s Athletic Conference with a strong 12-2 conference record. It was a back and forth matchup, with the game in the hands of either side down to the final minutes. Altoona kept Grove City honest all game long not allowing the Wolverines to get comfortable in their lead. The Wolverines second half was ten points more productive than their first however, scoring 44 in second. It was senior forward James Wells who showed up Wednesday as the primary scoring option for the Wolverines. “Big Game” James piled on 20 points pulling down six boards in the process. Junior guard Erik Meiners chipped in 18 and distributed a team high three assists. Junior guard Justice Rice dropped 17 and dished out three assists. Rice, junior forward Joe Meola and sophomore Josh Brown matched Wells’ rebound total each collecting six. Last week, the boys in crimson traveled to the “Birthplace of College Basketball,” taking on conference rival Geneva last Saturday, collecting a key 76-71 win. Senior guard Nate Peters, who had a season-high performance of 26 points joined
Sports at a Glance
News Men’s Tennis
The men’s tennis team opened their spring season Wednesday against Otterbein, falling 7-2. The duo of sophomore Karsten Lagerquist and freshman Ryne Talko gave Grove City the only score in doubles, while Lagerquist was the only to score in singles.
Men’s Track and Field
Sophomores Jeffrey Eide and Melvin Sanchez each recorded fourth place finishes in 5000 meters and high jump respectively. GCC
Senior guard Nate Peters jumps for a layup during a game this season. This week Peters became the 30th men’s basketball player in college history to break 1,000 points. senior forward and team- forward Chris McKrell each mate James Wells to become distributed three assists the 30th player in Grove City throughout the game. College men’s basketball hisGeneva senior forward tory to break 1,000 points. Nick Rusyn tallied a doublePeters broke 1,000 after a double with 15 points and 14 two-handed slam late in the rebounds. contest. The men’s team looks comThree other Wolverines fortable with where they are contributed double digit in PAC standings, topping points in Peters’ historic the list. Only three games regame. Wells tacked on 15, main for the Wolverines. while junior guard Justice The Wolverines will face Rice added 11. Freshman for- off against Thiel at home toward Joshua Bryan chipped morrow. In their last meetin a season-high ten points ing the Wolverines snuck in the Grove City victory. past the Tomcats by only a Junior forward Joe Meola bucket, winning 71-69. If the ripped down ten boards lead- contest is anything like the ing Grove City in rebound- previous, it should be a close ing. Wells, Meola and junior matchup.
In 2018, the CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon, announced something new was coming to the game of football. “We’re going to give the game of football back to fans,” stated McMahon. “It’s professional football re-imagined. The new XFL will be fan-centric with all the things you like to see and less of the things you don’t. And no doubt [we will have] a lot of innovations along the way. We will present a shorter, faster paced, family-friendly and easierto-understand game. This is not the first time McMahon has championed his endeavor of an “XFL.” In 2001 The XFL had its original start but ceased operations later that year after poor viewership. Now it’s 2020. This gambit by McMahon is now resurrected with the first string of games already in the books with all eight teams playing in their debuts last weekend. Eight cities have claimed their own piece of the new XFL in housing their respective teams. Los Angeles, New York, D.C., Dallas, Houston, Seattle and even smaller market cities like St.
Results
Men’s Basketball (14-7) W, Geneva (76-71) W, Penn State Altoona (78-68)
Women’s Basketball (20-2) W, Geneva (85-56) W, Penn State Altoona (100-56)
L, Otterbein (7-2)
XFL Examined Sports Editor
Senior Abbey Collins took second in the triple jump, while junior Emma Lizewski earned fourth behind Lizewski in the triple jump. Senior Heidi Hoffman took fourth in the 3000 meters.
Men’s Tennis (2-4)
National sports column
Connor Schlosser
Women’s Track and Field
Louis and Tampa Bay have gotten involved in the new startup league. NFL players like Robert Griffin III and Brandon Marshall complimented the League in its debut highlighting how fun it was watch, but also how interesting the rules are compared the pros. One notable difference in the XFL is scoring after a touchdown. The scoring team will have the three different scoring options: a two-yard line drive for one point, a five-yard line drive for two points and a tenyard drive for three points, but with no extra point kick available. This is just one of the many unorthodox changes that the XFL has made in attempt to make the football more enjoyable for fans. The XFL is composed of several players who have formerly had careers at the college and NFL levels. Steelers fans will recognize former quarterback Landry Jones leading the Dallas Renegades for example. But will the XFL outlast its 2001 launch? Musician and actor Ice Cube launched the moderately popular “Big3” 3-on-3 basketball league for retired NBA players. The Big3
league was launched in 2017 and is still going strong with its adapted rules and regulations. As an NBA fan, I can say the Big3 relies on its players for popularity. Big3 has reeled in retired stars and notable figures like Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Nate Robinson, Stephen Jackson, Josh Smith and Corey Maggette to name a handful. As a fan it’s enjoyable to see the guys who formerly made their mark on the court still get out there and show the world that they’ve still got it: nostalgia is a big draw for Big3. But can the XFL replicate any of that? The NFL is a more physically taxing league than the NBA. Less NFL players will be able to compete simply due to faster deterioration of the body. As for nostalgia, bigger names than just Landry Jones will be required to make it more appealing for NFL fans to be drawn in. If the XFL wants to stick around, it will need to tap into the nostalgia of NFL stars past to survive. If a league for the best football already exists, why would you watch a makeshift league of no-name players with wildly different rules. It’s not much of an incentive for me.
Upcoming Swimming & Diving Feb. 13-15 vs. PAC Championships
Men’s Basketball Feb. 15 vs. Thiel, Feb. 19 @ Westminster
Women’s Basketball Feb. 15 vs. Thiel, Feb. 19 @ Westminster
Men’s Tennis Feb. 15 vs. Earlham, Feb. 15 @ Ohio Wesleyan
Men’s & Women’s Track and Field Feb. 14 @ Baldwin Wallace Invitational
WOLVERINE WEEKLY HONORS
Nate Peters Senior Guard 1,000-point career record
Sports The Collegian, Feb. 14, 2020
Page 12
Wolverine women win big Connor Schlosser Sports Editor
The women’s team added another to the win column Wednesday in a big lead victory against Penn State Altoona 100-56. The Wolverines now own a 12-2 President’s Athletic Conference record ahead of their final three games. In the first three quarters, it was all Wolverines. By the end of the third, the Wolverines owned a 78-35 edge over Penn State Altoona. The Nittany Lions were able to stop the bleeding in fourth quarter falling short of matching the Wolverines point output 22-20. But it was too little too late for Altoona. The Wolverines collectively outshot Altoona 52.7 percent to 37.7 owning the clear offensive edge. Senior forward Kate Balcom put together a solid performance tallying 26 points, three assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Junior guard Jess Bowen contributed 16 to the 100-point total and swiped a game high of five steals. Freshman guard Emma Vezzosi was the other Wolverine to make double digit points with 16. Many of the Wolverines’ victories have been by significant margins. The women shot down historic rival Geneva in an 85-
GCC
Senior forward Kate Balcom passes the ball to a teammate during this week’s game. Balcom scored 26 points, leading the Wolverines to a 100-56 victory against Penn State Altoona Wednesday. 56 rout last Saturday. It was instant offense for the Wolverines immediately after tip-off, going on a 31-9 run in the first quarter. After setting a strong precedent, Grove City never let their foot off the gas outscoring the Golden Tornadoes in three of the quarters. The offense was guided
by Vezzosi’s 18 points, who drained four three-pointers. Vezzosi won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III South Rookie of the month for January and has consistently contributed in point production throughout the season. Balcom chipped in 17 points in the contest, while
Bowen and sophomore forward Allison Podkul contributed 14 and 11 respectively. Balcom led the Wolverines in rebounds with six and Bowen led in assists distributing five. The Wolverines have not lost to Geneva since the 2013-14 season and will look to continue that dominance
in the future. Grove City is set to face 0-12 Thiel tomorrow. In their last matchup, the Wolverines absolutely dominated the competition slaughtering Thiel 94-27 in their biggest blowout victory of the season. Thiel should be merely a speed bump in the Wolverines path to playoffs.
Heroes behind the Heroes:
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
Joanna Thorpe Staff Writer
Whether cultural icons or familiar faces, our heroes inspire us to excel in strength, ability and character. Those we admire influence our lives in very meaningful ways, and we respond with dedication. Within Grove City’s athletic programs, swimmers exemplify this dedication in their daily training and long-term preparation: many of them can thank their heroes for the encouragement that has meant so much along the way. When asked about admirable figures growing up, junior James Hancock attributed his interest in swimming to his father, who also filled the roles of coach and mentor throughout his childhood. “My Dad is the one who really got me interested in swimming. At an earlier age I didn’t like swimming at all, but after watching my younger brother Mac (who is also swimming at GCC) start to swim, I really wanted to follow him and give swimming a try. It wasn’t until high school when I got to swim on my school’s team that I really started to enjoy swimming. Both my Dad and my other high school coaches, Coach Rios and Coach Jason, encouraged me to make big improvements during my four years, and created a great team atmosphere which made coming to practice the best part of my day,” Hancock said. “I’ve always looked up to my Dad who has coached me
GCC
Senior Ben Slate dives into the pool, starting a race off strong. Slate has consistently been one of the Wolverine’s top performers, earning PAC Men’s swimmer of the week twice this season. in both baseball and swimming. My Dad is the one who gave me a love for competition at an earlier age. He has been my little league baseball coach multiple times and coached my high school swim team for a couple years. My Dad has always shown me what it looks like to work hard and set goals, but more importantly he has given me a good perspective on how important it is to value the people and friendships sports provides.” According to senior Ben Slate, many surrounding influences motivated him to pursue swimming, but his family remains the most memorable proponent of all. “The only reason I started swimming is because I hated not being in the water while watching my sister’s swim meets (thanks, Addie). Once I joined the team, I discov-
ered I actually liked swimming. Since then, many people have poured into and encouraged me, but none more than my family. My parents are my biggest supporters and show me what it means to honor God in the way I compete,” Slate said. Along with support at home, Slate credited his first coach and neighbor for inspiring him to be a better athlete and considerate of others in competition. “My first coach, Paul Trivette, is someone who exemplifies what it means to work hard and for the right reasons. He always showed me that the person is more important than their athletics and was the first person to encourage me to pursue college swimming,” Slate explained. Likewise, Slate said, “My neighbor, Bill Hottinger,
was someone who enjoyed being active for the sake of a healthy lifestyle. Even at the age of 80, he was biking, running and competing in sports. He always showed me being active is fun and the impact you make on the people around you is the most important part of any sport.” For freshman Rachael Wallace, the rewarding words of a respected coach and the encouragement of her mother motivated every lap. “My Coach Steve was a very big inspiration for me from when I first started swimming. I looked up to him for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was that he was a very respected and very calm person. He wasn’t the kind of person to give out a compliment unless you deserved
it, and he would always tell it how it was. If you didn’t swim well, he would tell you! But it was because he was so hard on all of the swimmers that we always worked hard and strived to be better. And when he did come up to you and say, “That was a good swim,” you knew you had done something right and that all of your hard work had paid off,” Wallace explained. “I have known a lot of wonderful people, but my mother would definitely be my role model. She is a very hard worker and always pushes me to be better and to work harder.” Though many people inspire and encourage us throughout our lives, those who provide dependable support and love are the most notable heroes that we never really forget.