Kentucky Kernel: October 5, 2020

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Monday, October 5, 2020 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971 www.kykernel.com @kykernel @kentuckykernel

SCHOOL FROM HOME A job you don’t turn down

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Who won the debate?

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Mississippi State preview

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Monday, October 5, 2020

sports

Men’s soccer off 10 3-1 start

By Barkely Truax sports@kykernel.com

The Wildcats are rolling.

Four games into the season and the University of Kentucky men’s soccer team stands at 3-1. Despite their loss, they are ranked No. 4 in the country in the latest polls.

The season didn’t start the way the Wildcats had planned, falling to Notre Dame 1-0 in the opening game.

UK was outshot 13-9 against the Fighting Irish but was able to outgun Notre Dame on goal 4-3. Kalil ElMedkhar and Brandon McManus recorded one shot on goal each while Eythor Bjorgolfsson totaled two shots on goal, and overall.

The game was knotted at zero until a goal was scored off a corner kick from Notre Dame’s Aiden McFadden.

The loss was tough for the Wildcats, but they had to move on quickly because less than a week later, the Duke Blue Devils made their way into Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex for Kentucky’s home opener in a first time ever meeting between the two programs in men’s soccer.

UK had its way with Duke in this matchup, defeating them 4-2. Four different Wildcats put the ball in the back of the net for Kentucky. Aimé Mabika, ElMedkhar, Bailey Rouse and Daniel Evans scored their first goals of the season while Robert Screen assisted on two goals and McManus, Colin Innes and Marcel Meinzer were credited with one apiece.

Controlling the game completely, Kentucky outshot the Blue Devils 18-6 overall, something they were hoping to replicate going into the third game of the season against in-state rival, Louisville – and that’s exactly what the Wildcats did.

Kentucky won 3-1 and was led by sophomore forward, Bjorgolfsson, scoring two goals on three attempts against the Cardinals. The Wildcats continued their shooting onslaught for the second game in a row, outshooting Louisville 17-9 overall and 7-3 on goal. Kentucky now has a three-game winning streak over Louisville in Lexington.

On top of Bjorgolfsson’s first two goals of the season, Mabika scored on a penalty kick late in the game to seal the win and give himself his first goal this season as well.

On top of his goal, Mabika was credited for one assist as well as Evans.

The Wildcat’s latest matchup came against Central Arkansas this past Friday for their third-straight home game.

Kentucky found themselves trailing early, giving up a goal in the sixth minute from the Bear’s Kasper Anderson.

On the verge of being upset, the Wildcats found the spark the needed in the 73rd minute as junior Mason Visconti scored the equalizer to send the match into overtime.

ElMedkhar and Leon Jones were credited with the assist.

Six minutes into the overtime period, Kentucky was set up with a corner kick by Brock Lindow, who miraculously scored off his own corner kick, striking the ball into the upper-right hand corner of the goal, just barely

out of reach of the Central Arkansas goalkeeper, Sebastian Thomsson for the win in an overtime thriller.

Kentucky has defended their home field handily this season, going 3-0 so far to start the year and 3-1 overall.

Nine goals have been scored in four matches for the Wildcats. Bjorgolfsson and Mabika lead the team in scoring with two goals apiece. Kentucky has recorded 57 shots this season – 20 (0.35%) of those shots have been on goal.

They average just over 14 shots and two goals per game (0.158%).

Assists have been credited ten times this season. Kentucky has scored assists through three games this season due to the season opening shut out at the hands of Notre Dame. Screen is the team’s assist leader with two – both of which, were credited against the Duke Blue Devils.

Goalkeeping has been a strength for Kentucky through the first four games. The Wildcats are averaging two saves per game and saving eight goals overall this season.

Enrique Facusse and Ryan Troutman have split time this season as UK’s goalkeeper. Troutman leads the pair with five of the eight goals saved credited under his name while Facusse has three.

With expectations high for Kentucky this season, they have not disappointed so far. They’ve bounced back from the season opening loss and have been rolling ever since.

Kentucky plays Mercer next on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington and will be available to watch on ESPN+.

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Monday, October 5, 2020

LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

kentuckykernel

CONTACT Editor-in-chief: Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

UK POLICE REPORT STALKING INCIDENT According to a crime bulletin sent out

by UK police, a student reported a stalker to campus police.

The report was received by UKPD on Sept. 28 and the crime bulletin was published the following day.

According to the police, the suspect initiated a “a series of encounters that cause a substantial amount of distress and fear” for the victim. The suspect is known to the victim.

The email sent to students about the incident also included tips for students who find themselves in a similar situation, such as keeping evidence of harassment or stalking, such as screenshots of emails and texts and photographs of any property or bodily damage caused.

Students can report any instances of sexual assault or harassment to the Title IX office over phone (859-257-3574) or email (https://www.uky.edu/eeo/).

DORM VISITOR RESTRICTIONS TO CONTINUE INDEFINITELY After two rounds of postponing visitor restrictions to dorms, UK Housing has announced that the restrictions will continue for the foreseeable future.

The restrictions prohibit all visitors; had the rules been loosened, students would have been allowed a maximum of two visitors, so long as the visitors were non-symptomatic and also UK students.

“We want to be clear that these restrictions are not meant to be a punishment.

They simply are another measure we’ve taken to ensure the health and safety of the

community,” said the email sent to students on Sunday.

The visitation policy was initially scheduled to be relaxed on Sept. 7, and was then postponed until Sept. 21, when UK Housing sent another email saying visitation would be restricted for at least another two weeks.

The email sent to students that announced the continuation of the restricted visitation also included links to campus community services and the UK Counseling Center.

Managing editor: Michael Clubb

LAST WEEK’S COVID-19 TOTALS LOWEST OF THE SEMESTER AMONG UK STUDENTS

Opinions editor: Sarah Michels

In the week of Sept. 27 through Oct. 3, 106 cases of COVID-19 were reported among UK students, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.

106 is the lowest weekly total of any week since the semester began on Aug. 17; the second lowest week was the first week of classes, when 174 cases were reported.

The new low followed a decrease in weekly totals from the previous two weeks, which had 371 (a tie for most weekly cases) and 260 cases reported total.

Newly reported cases each day varied from 10, a single-day record low, to 28.

Daily new cases among UK students averaged 23 percent of all new cases reported daily in Lexington.

Photo editor: Tori Rogers

editor@kykernel.com News/features editor: Lauren Campbell news@kykernel.com Asst. news editors: Haley Blackburn Emily Girard Sports editor: Braden Ramsey sports@kykernel.com

opinions@kykernel.com Asst. Opinions editor: Gillian Stawiszynski

Designers: Mya LaClair Ryder Noah From Social media manager: Sarah Simon-Patches KENTUCKY KERNEL OFFICES 340 McVey Hall University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506

— STAFF REPORT

On the cover: JACK WEAVER | STAFF Franky Sanchez poses for a portrait on FaceTime on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.

Data from the Lexington Fayette County health department’s daily updates as of Oct. 3.

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Bron Bourque, a UK freshman, poses for a portrait on FaceTime on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.

every hour. every day. kykernel.com

fall 2020 | 3

Monday, October 5, 2020

sports

A job “you just can’t turn down’: New cheer coach trio to write own story

By Sarah Michels sports@kykernel.com

As her U-Haul pulled up to move her into her new home in western Kentucky, Ryan O’Connor got a call from UK. She couldn’t say no.

UK had called to offer O’Connor the job of head cheer coach, a position that was vacant because the previous coaching gation.

O’Connor had just accepted the head cheerleading coach position at WKU in March, moving her family to Bowling Green during quarantine. The UK coaching job opened in May. “I’m not even going to tell you that this was a dream job because I never even dreamed that it would be open, that I would have the opportunity to have this job,” O’Connor said. “I didn’t know that the stars could ever align.”

NATALIE PARKS | STAFF Head cheerleading coach Ryan O’Connor watches the cheer team perform during a pep rally on Friday, October 2 in front of William T. Young Library on the University of Kentucky’s campus.

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But they did, and two months later, O’Connor was in Lexington holding virtual tryouts for UK’s 2020-21 cheerleading squad.

O’Connor, a lifelong Kentucky fan, cheered for UK from 2008-2009. However, she decided to transfer to the University of Alabama her sophomore year.

After graduation, O’Connor decided to move on from cheerleading, despite multiple graduate assistant coaching offers.

Instead, she moved to Memphis for an editor position at American Cheerleader magazine.

Nine months later, she had quit her job, packed up her things and moved to Birmingham— the editor job wasn’t what she expected. The University of Alabama-Birmingham was looking for a new coach.

The only problem? She didn’t have the job yet.

“I thought it would make me a better candidate,” she said. “Thankfully God took care of me.”

O’Connor spent four years at UA-B, meeting her husband along the way. But she wanted to coach in the SEC. In 2017, she accepted a position at Ole Miss, where she stayed for three years.

However, after having her son in early 2019, she almost quit coaching entirely.

“I was kind of like, I just want to move to Lexington, I want to be back where my family is,” O’Connor said.

She had already accepted the fact that moving meant her coaching career was over when WKU offered her a job. A few months later, UK also had an opening, and O’Connor applied. She said WKU was “incredibly supportive” of her decision.

“It is a job you just can’t turn down,” she said.

The timeline was quick. Typically, the UK squad would have been selected by April, but this year, virtual tryouts weren’t

NATALIE PARKS | STAFF Cheer coaches Ryan O’Connor, Jason Keogh and Blair Bergmann oversee the UK cheer team as they prepare for a pep rally performance alongside the dance team and marching band on the lawn of William T. Young Library on Friday, October 2.

held until July. The cheerleaders didn’t arrive on campus until early August for conditioning, when normally they would have already been in “tip-top shape,” O’Connor said.

One of O’Connor’s hallmark philosophies is coaching people, not just cheerleaders, she said. She’s a resource for her athletes long after they leave the program, because she cares about them as people, on

COVID-19, the cheerleading squad will have some limitations for performances at football games. But, they are recording routines for game days to keep the energy up.

These routines will also prepare the squad for the annual Universal Cheerleaders Association national championship, to be held January 2021. The UCA championship is collegiate cheer’s sole competition opportunity, so while the two-and-a-

However, her focus on relationships Zoom meetings and face masks.

“I can’t read my athletes’ emotions when I say something in practice or when I’m correcting them,” she said. “How are they really accepting it? I can’t always tell.” the only pandemic complication. Due to

the year, O’Connor said it often feels like it does.

Assistant coach Jason Keogh, called “Keo” by the team, said winning what would be UK’s 25th title is a “very realistic goal” given the squad’s talent level.

“We’ve got the best kids, we’ve got the best athletes in the nation,” he said.

See COACH on page 5

Monday, October 5, 2020

COACH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

When cheerleaders hear that “Keo” is going to be their coach, they are usually nervous. He has a reputation for strictness, Keo said. But his athletes quickly learn that Keo’s structure is paired with encouragement, which together helps push them to their full potential.

Keo’s legacy isn’t specific to college cheer; his two decades of coaching have included stints at Ole Miss, Memphis and Purdue, as well as experience working with athletes of all ages at his local gym.

He has also competed in multiple arenas, collegiately at Kentucky and nationally as a former Team USA cheerleader.

O’Connor, who grew up watching Keo perform, competed alongside him for Team USA. So when Keo reached out about an assistant position, thinking it would be a good opportunity to continue the program’s winning tradition, she didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“He just has a special drive and he makes everyone around him better,” she said.

Keo’s four years of Team USA experience also helped him hone his own coaching skills.

“It was awesome to be coached by See COACH on page 7

PHOTO BY NATALIE PARKS Members of the UK cheer team participate in a chant during a pep rally hosted on the lawn of William T. Young Library in the evening of Friday, October 2.

PHOTO BY NATALIE PARKS Members of the UK cheerleading team perform during a pep rally for Kentucky’s game against Ole Miss on Friday, October 2.

PHOTO BY NATALIE PARKS Head cheerleading coach Ryan O’Connor gives directions to the UK dance team as the dancers, cheerleaders and marching band prepare for a pep rally hosted on the lawn of William T. Young Library on Friday, October 2.

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Monday, October 5, 2020

news

Online-only students weigh in on their unique semester

By Lauren Campbell news@kykernel.com

UK is offering a mixture of in-person and online instruction to students this semester with the majority of UK students experiencing both online and in-person instruction. However, several UK students, who would have taken their classes in-person under normal circumstances, are taking all of their classes online.

Bron Bourque, a freshman majoring in human health sciences/pre-dental, only takes virtual courses.

The classes Bourque originally registered for switched to online and didn’t give him the option to go in-person. Because of this, he’s had trouble feeling connected to the UK community.

“Being a freshman and taking online classes, I am not really able to connect with the UK community.

Unfortunately, I have not joined any clubs at this time. I plan on joining many when I attend in-person classes,” said Bourque.

While he wishes he could feel more connected, Bourque says overall, virtual classes have its pros and cons.

“I prefer being able to use my notes on some virtual tests. Overall though, virtual classes are a lot

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more difficult for me because I really prefer talking to my teachers face to face.

I am very concerned that I am not learning the material I should be because I don’t really need to try as hard. In other words, I always have access to Google,” said Bourque.

Bourque has visited UK’s campus this semester to see friends, but is living at home in western Kentucky to save money.

Andrea Evans, a student in UK’s One Year MBA program, chose to do all virtual classes this semester to protect herself from COVID-19.

“I don’t go around people without masks on, and I’m not going to… I never plan on going to campus because I don’t want to be around a student population that I’ve personally seen that does not abide by the CDC guidelines,” Evans said. “The one time I did go to campus this summer was to turn in a test… and the professor literally said out loud, ‘Which one of your roommates tested positive for COVID?’ And I was like, ‘Oh great, I’m glad you let that person come in-person to turn in their test’.”

Evans’ MBA program started this summer when students’ only option was to attend classes online, which she prefers.

“Everyone did their classes online, all the professors were in the classroom and everyone was just on Zoom, and it was fantastic. We could see the professors speaking. The professors didn’t need to wear masks, because no one else was in the classroom. We could see them speaking and could hear everyone else,” Evans said.

“Perhaps I would be more involved in the science-related clubs and activities [if I had in-person classes], but this lockdown and quarantine online classes do have their benefits. I don’t have to waste time driving to campus and back from campus.”

- Franky Sanchez

This semester, Evans classes are presented in a hybrid format, so while she attends her classes virtually, some of her classmates are in-person, which has created difficulties.

“This semester has been kind of a disaster. There are still microphone issues, there’s still desks that don’t have microphones. So I’m doing all online and every single class I literally have to unmute Zoom and say, ‘Hey, we didn’t hear what that person just said, can you please repeat that’,” said Evans.

However, Evans is involved in group projects that require her to leave the house to complete. While her group has worn masks and followed the CDC social distancing guidelines every time they’ve met, Evans says some of her classmates in other groups complain their group members aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously.

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Franky Sanchez, a UK student majoring in biology, poses for a portrait taken over FaceTime on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.

Monday, October 5, 2020

“I want there to be changes so everyone can be safe. Luckily my group is pretty cool [in terms of social distancing], but in [other classmates’] groups, they say, ‘I’m the only one that really cares about COVID’… It just sort of alienates them, when the school should come in and just say, no in-person anything to protect the students and the experience,” Evans said.

Some students who initially had in-person classes found that their formats changed over time.

When Jacob Christian, a junior Business Administration student who transferred this semester from BCTC, first registered for classes this semester most of his classes were in-person. But as it got closer to the semester, all of his in-person classes were changed to virtual.

“At first when I made my schedule in July I had

four classes in-person, two online. But as time went on, they all went to online,” said Christian.

Because this is Christian’s first year as a UK student, he hasn’t gotten the chance to get involved on campus.

“Being a transfer student I never really got connected. I knew a lot of people already that go to UK from high school. We play Xbox or meet up and spend time together, but as far as making new friends or joining clubs I haven’t done much of either,” Christian said. “I also have two jobs that take much of my time away from the possibility of connecting with people through the University of Kentucky.”

However, Christian still prefers virtual learning because of convenience.

“I do prefer the online to in-person because it saves almost an hour of my day

COACH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

all of those great coaches and learn from them,” he said. “Learning the way they wanted things done, learning the way they communicated with the athletes and especially communicating with all of the athletes that at that point were the best of the best.”

Keo knows the kind of cheerleader UK is looking for, having coached multiple cheerleaders from a young age through to their eventual UK cheerleading careers. He said they are looking for someone who is not only a talented cheerleader, but a great university ambassador and dedicated student.

“I think I have a pretty good eye for that talent,” he said.

O’Connor said that one of the coaching staff’s other goals is to make Kentucky innovators again, like in the past, when UK was always performing the newest skills.

“There’s other schools that are doing skills that have never been competed, and that’s what I want to do,” O’Connor said. “Not just do the hardest skills, but do the hardest skills ever been done.”

It’s the job of the coaching trio—O’Connor, Keo and

from driving back and forth to Lexington,” said Christian.

Franky Sanchez, another BCTC transfer student majoring in biology, also prefers virtual courses.

However, it has caused him to rely on help from outside sources.

“I think this situation has affected me as a student by having me rely more on outside sources such as Crash Course and Khan Academy to learn new materials,” said Sanchez.

Sanchez hasn’t gotten involved on campus either, but plans to if classes go back to normal.

“Perhaps I would be more involved in the science-related clubs and activities [if I had in-person classes], but this lockdown and quarantine online classes do have their benefits,” Sanchez said. “I don’t have to waste time driving to campus and back from campus.”

Photo by Jack Weaver | Staff Bron Bourque, a UK freshman, poses for a portrait taken over FaceTime on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.

Blair Bergmann—to push their athletes toward these goals. O’Connor said that their styles complement each other; she focuses on planning, leading and vision, Keo brings loud energy and a laid-back Bergmann calmly leads by example.

“I think it’s great for the program to have three people that sort of look at things differently,” Bergmann said.

While O’Connor looks at the big picture, Bergmann said he tends to focus on the outliers, the things that might quietly slip through the cracks. One of his specialties, he said, is mentoring those cheerleaders who might struggle a bit their freshman year. Through individualized motivation, Bergmann helps to transform them into team leaders and “studs.”

“I think that’s the most rewarding part for me—you’re seeing them come into their own a little bit,” he said.

But performance goals aren’t the only objectives he has set for the team.

“It’s kind of my goal to make sure that we’re well-rounded,” Bergmann said. “Once they’re done with a journey here, they can just take that well-roundedness and championship mentality into everything they do.”

Bergmann met O’Connor through cheer at Alabama, and when she got the Ole Miss coaching job, he asked her for a position.

O’Connor said that then and now, Bergmann was the only assistant coach she wanted. She knew he would be someone the cheerleaders would respect, both talent-wise and as a human.

“He really understands that coaching is a 24/7, 365 job,” she said. “It’s not, you walk into practice and pretend that you’re this person and tell them to do these things and to follow these rules and then you leave practice and don’t do that.”

While UK’s winning culture is unmatched, O’Connor said that she wants her cheerleaders to be more than athletes, with ongoing goals of surpassing a 3.0 GPA team average and getting more involved in the community.

O’Connor said she wants to make her mark by creating a culture that embodies four characteristics, her “Four C’s”—commitment, choices, challenges and character.

In the shorter term, though, O’Connor said she is solely focused on giving her best to this year’s team, even though she would normally be recruiting next year’s squad by now.

“I know they’ve been through a lot and I want to make sure that they get the year that they deserve,” she said. “I hope that Lexington and BBN are ready because this team is special. We are going to write our own story.”

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Monday, October 5, 2020

opinions

Who won the first presidential debate?

Last Tuesday night - before Trump’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis, the accompanying trail of government officials with COVID-19 and many questions about presidential line of succession - Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden met for a televised debate. The content of the debate has since been obscured by its status as a potential location of COVID-19 spread. Moderated by Chris Wallace, a veteran anchor from Fox News, the debate was filled with more interruptions and insults than discussion on policy. Several key moments stand out: Trump’s reluctance to condemn white supremacists, instead telling the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”, Biden asking Trump to “just shut up, man” and personal attacks on Biden’s son. Wallace asked Trump multiple times about his taxes; meanwhile, Biden said that eliminating the Affordable Care Act would leave an estimated 20 million people without health insurance. According to a CNN poll, 60 percent of viewers thought Biden won the debate. Here, three opinions writers share their thoughts on what the most important takeaways were and who won the debate.

Biden “won” the debate, not by default, but by defense

By Connor Thomas opinions@kykernel.com

The first presidential debate was unquestionably a mess. However, since the beginning of the Trump administration, most everything that the president has waded into has been such. Though many potential voters believe that both sides lost Tuesday night, nothing could be further from the truth.

There were some conditions that both parties could agree constitute a win. For President Trump, convincing voters that Joe Biden is a “radical leftist” who is unfit for office and that absentee voting is unreliable and prone to corruption would have been optimal. For former Vice President Biden, it was appearing to be the steady candidate, not engaging in Trump’s mudslinging antics, and reassuring voters that he does not fit the laughable portrait Republican politicians paint of him. After having some time to digest the debate, I find myself counting this as a win for Biden more and more.

President Trump finds himself in quite the pickle. Na-

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tional polls show him down approximately seven points to Biden. Unsurprisingly, he was the aggressor in the debate; however, being the aggressor and being a bully are very different. By not allowing Joe Biden to finish a sentence, cutting off the moderator, making comments under his breath and offering no real solutions, but instead slanderous strawmen, Trump went from an aggressor to a bully.

This hurt him horribly with the public, who have been embarrassed by his brash nature the past four years. One example that highlights this behavior was his cold retort, “I don’t know Beau,” to Joe Biden’s impassioned defense of his deceased son.

Interestingly, President Trump made a rare good point criticizing Biden for co-authoring the 1994 “Crime Bill,” a horribly regressive piece of legislation that has devastated black communities in the United States under the guise of being, “tough on crime.” However, President Trump immediately contradicted this good point by asserting that a Biden presidency would lead to chaos in the streets. Contradictions like these do not help his argument, but rather hurt it. The main points Trump needed to push against his

opponent fell flat Tuesday.

By no means did former Vice President Biden have a stellar performance. Luckily for him, he didn’t need one.

Most important for his night was presenting a sense of decorum, civility and class that the public has missed. Holding his own while constantly being interrupted, defending his family, and keeping his cool under the constant petulant attacks from his opponent led those who were leaning Biden to leave the debate reassured of their choice.

The greatest victory of Biden’s night came when he relentlessly crushed President Trump on his fumbling of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the president’s staggering incompetence and continued failure to listen to healthcare experts’ advice, which has resulted in a mass loss of life. Anyone who takes this situation seriously couldn’t consider the current administration equipped or willing to take the steps needed to get the US back on track with the rest of the world.

There are two debates left before the election. Expect more or less the same, as President Trump attempts to make up lost ground while Biden looks to hold his lead.

Monday, October 5, 2020

opinions

Trump claimed victory, dismantling Biden’s arguments, base

By Jacob Patterson opinions@kykernel.com

We typically think of debates as events where candidates hash out the ideas of the day and battle for the minds of Americans. More times than not the issues which make or break candidates in debates have little if nothing to do with policy. In 1984, the issue was “Does Reagan have it mentally to be re-elected President?” In 1992, George Bush looked at his watch like he didn’t have time to be there and his out-of-touch-ness cost him the race with Clinton. In 2016, Donald Trump met the bar of “Is this guy capable of doing the job?” The answer to this question was what voters needed to know. In 2020, the question is “Can Biden overcome voters’ concerns about his cognitive decline?” With that in mind, President Trump accomplished

three things during the first presidential debate: Destroyed Biden’s “Decency” argument.

Made Biden look incapable of doing the job.

Made Biden alienate his already unenthused base.

One of Biden’s key talking points is that he’s the more decent, “presidential” candidate. A lot of voters favor Biden as they feel Trump doesn’t act “presidential.”

But throughout the debate, Biden got into the mud and destroyed months of work of trying to make himself the “presidential” guy.

Next, Trump made Biden’s reduced mental capacity real to people. Biden isn’t what he once was, and Trump showed people that when you put Joe under pressure and he gets stressed, he fails consistently. Chris Wallace will

not be able to bail Joe out when he’s dealing with Xi and Putin.

Finally, Trump managed to get Biden to alienate his base. Democrats who are 35 years and younger don’t see Biden as someone who represents them, which is why he is facing record low enthusiasm from that demographic.

Medicare For All, the defunding of the police and the Green New Deal are the biggest policy drivers in young liberals and Trump got Biden to disavow all three of them.

However, people opposed to these policies know that Biden is a Trojan horse for them and saying you don’t support the most popular issues that your base cares about isn’t a winning strategy.

For these reasons, as well as Trump reminding voters that he’s done more in 47 months than Biden has done in 47 years, Trump emerged the winner in this debate.

Nobody won the debate, unless you count Chris Wallace

By Ryder Noah From opinions@kykernel.com

After many campaign ads, tweets and an endless array of memes, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, the time came for President Trump and democratic nominee Joe Biden to face off in one of the worst debates many news anchors say they had ever seen.

Trump debated using the usual style we know him well for: ridiculing, lying and interrupting. Many news outlets released articles fact-checking several statements he made; he lied about having the Sheriff of Portland’s support, setting up the best economy America has ever seen and, again, the validity of mail-in voting.

Biden stated a couple lies of his own, including an incorrect statistic about crime reduction during his vice-presidency. And while he stood his ground a few times while speaking directly to the audience about COVID-19 and taxes, he still couldn’t always articulate what he seemed to

be thinking during his smile-chortle combo.

This all left the moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, to keep the two candidates in line much like a teacher putting two hectic students in time out. In fact, with talk about giving future moderators the power to mute Trump and Biden’s mics, there could actually be a time out scenario for either candidate soon.

The possibility of a virtual debate also seems to be gaining traction, due to Trump’s recent infection with COVID-19, along with 11 people who organized the debate. This could possibly leave even more power to the moderator.

In a New York Times interview, Wallace expressed his disappointment with the debate’s outcome, saying he didn’t think it would turn out the way it did. In my view, the chaos was easily predictable, but our hopes that our fears wouldn’t ring true led to unwarranted surprise.

Wallace stopped Trump’s interruptions several times.

In one instance, he reminded Trump that he agreed to the

rules of the debate, specifically letting Biden speak without interruption. Still, this didn’t stop Trump, not by a long shot.

How can we tell kids to behave themselves when the two people running for one of the most powerful positions in America can’t respect basic conversational manners? In a true academic setting, interruptions and incorrect facts would merit punishment, but Biden and Trump will face no such consequences.

We could all learn a lesson from Wallace: when people aren’t following the rules to which they agreed, call them out on it and be firm. No one, no matter the power they hold, especially those with such influence, should be above respect.

Steven Scully of C-SPAN and Kristen Welker of NBC will moderate the second and third debates on Oct. 15 and Oct. 22, respectfully. Hopefully they follow in Wallace’s footsteps, or this country will continue going backwards in its political discussions.

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Monday, October 5, 2020

Scouting report: Can Kentucky’s defense stop the Air Raid?

By Barkley Traux news@kykernel.com

Kentucky fell to 0-2 after an overtime thriller against Ole Miss in Lexington last weekend. This weekend, the Wildcats will take on Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Leach introduced the Air Raid offense, an offensive, pass-based scheme with little running, back into the SEC. In his first season back in the SEC since 1998, Leach has notched a signature win against the defending national champion, LSU Tigers.

Leach’s last stint in the conference came while coaching at Kentucky. The Air Raid that he and then head coach Hal Mumme showcased in Lexington allowed quarterback Tim Couch to be drafted number one overall in the 1999 NFL Draft.

The Air Raid works just as effectively 22 years later. In their first two games, Mississippi State quarterback, K.J. Costello has thrown for 936 passing yards. In their first game against LSU, Costello threw for 623 yards in the upset victory. Comparatively, Kentucky has gained 943 yards in total offense this season.

Kentucky has had a tough time stopping the passing game through two games this season. Kentucky’s secondary has allowed

553 passing yards and seven touchdowns through the air. In 2019, the Wildcats defense allowed seven passing touchdowns throughout the whole season.

The strength of the Kentucky defense is stopping the run. They held Auburn to under 100 yards on the ground in the season opener and kept Ole Miss to under four yards per carry last weekend.

Kentucky’s problem is that Mississippi State passes the football on average 60 times per game.

Offensively, the Wildcats found their rhythm in the running game last week against Ole Miss, rushing 56 times for 408 yards. Quarterback Terry Wilson, Christopher Rodriguez Jr. and Asim Rose found themselves all with over 100 yards on the ground on Saturday.

Mississippi State has kept each team they’ve played so far with under 90 yards rushing throughout each contest. Their run-stop defense versus Kentucky’s smash mouth style of football will be the deciding factor for Saturday’s game.

The Bulldogs will no doubt throw the ball the majority of the game. This will give Kentucky’s secondary many chances for redemption for their slow start to the season.

Through Mississippi State’s two games,

MICHAEL CLUBB I STAFF Kentucky Wildcats running back Asim Rose (10) running through MSU’s defense. University of Kentucky football beat No. 14 Mississippi State to stay undefeated in the season on Saturday, September 22nd, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky.

Costello has thrown five interceptions, including three last week against Arkansas.

If the Wildcats defense can get takeaways and give the ball to the offense, Kentucky has an opportunity to pick up their first win of the season. Kentucky averages 36 minutes of offense per game this season.

With long drives and keeping the high-powered Bulldog offense off the field is key for

Kentucky this weekend.

The Bulldogs and the Wildcats last met in September of 2018. UK won 28 – 7 on the back of Benny Snell’s four rushing touchdowns, a Kentucky career record-breaker.

Mississippi State will come to Lexington to play the Cats on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be available to watch on the SEC Network.

University Health Services offering free flu shots to students

By Haley Blackburn news@kykernel.com

With flu season fast approaching and the COVID-19 pandemic still looming, opportunities to get a free flu shot are popping up all across Lexington.

University Health Services opened up their flu shot clinic for students this past week. Flu shots are free for students with a valid UK student I.D., a change from last year’s clinic where students had to pay $10 without a valid UK student insurance plan. The flu shot clinic will be located in the second floor lobby of the UHS building. This is another change from last year ,when flu shots were offered at different spots across campus.

Appointments are required, and no walk-ins are allowed.

Students can make an appointment through their myUK portal or by calling (859) 323- APPT. Appointments are available Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 3p.m.

10 | kentucky kernel

Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is also offering free flu shots to anyone who may need one in the area. The free flu shots will be available starting Oct.5 at LFCHD’s Public Health Clinic located at 650 Newtown Pike. Appointments are also required for this clinic, and walk-ins will not be accepted. Those who want to make an appointment can call (859) 288-2444 to schedule. LFCHD also offered a successful drive-thru, free flu shot clinic on Saturday, Oct.3, administering 400 free shots to the community. It is unclear if there will be another event like this later this season.

If you are not eligible for either of the two previous options, pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS and Kroger all offer flu shots and other vaccination appointments, most of which are free with a valid insurance card.

However, if you don’t have insurance, flu shots can run anywhere from $20 to $70 out of pocket at these lo-

cations. GoodRx, an insurance alternative to help lower the price of prescription drug costs, has partnered with a lot of these retail pharmacies to provide discounted prices for those without insurance. If you are interested in exploring this payment option, visit https://www.goodrx. com/blog/heres-how-to-get-discounted-or-even-free-flushots-this-year/. To find what stores near you may be offering the flu shot, visit https://vaccinefinder.org/.

According to the LFCHD website, Lexington had 3 flu related deaths and 742 lab-confirmed cases last flu season.

“The flu shot is especially important this season as we remain in the COVID-19 pandemic,” LFCHD spokesperson Kevin Hall said. “ It can help reduce the overall impact on respiratory illnesses on the population, which will lessen the burden on our healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Monday, October 5, 2020

classifieds For Rent: Great campus area properties for rent for August 2021.

(859) 619-3232. kmartin.lex@gmail.com www.myuk4rent.com

Check out our website kykernel.com for more rental properties and classified ads.

To place a classified ad, email kentuckykernelandrea@gmail.com

every hour. every day. kykernel.com fall 2020 | 11

Monday, October 5, 2020

CALLING ALL STUDENTS:

Make Your Voice Heard The future of our country is on the line this election. It is time for a new generation of leaders.

Send me to Washington, and I’ll fix our broken health care system, get our economy back on track, protect our environment and fight for racial justice.

Early in-person voting starts October 13. To find your polling place, visit kentuckyvotes.com or call or text 1-833-KYVOTES.

@AmyMcGrathKY 12 | kentucky kernel