Liberty Champion November 6, 2018

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B1

VOLUME 36, ISSUE 8

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA

Bunches of trouble LIBERTYCHAMPION.COM | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2018 | LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

@MrRott_LU, Twitter

Vandal makes student body go bananas

Lorena Rivera lrivera8@liberty.edu

Students heading to the dining hall this semester may notice bananas appearing on the roof of the Reber

Thomas Dining Hall – again.

Libert y University’s banana vandal is back, bringing with him the fear of having bananas taken away from the student body. The banana

vandal was inspired this semester by last fall’s group of students who launched bananas on the dining hall’s roof. The banana vandal’s identity remains a mystery, as he wears a banana suit and mask obscuring his face.

He is known on Instagram and Twitter as @lubananavandal.

The suit and mask make it difficult to identify the perpetrator.

Spring 2017 was the first time the bananas on the roof got out of hand.

Duke Davis, the district manager for Sodexo, stopped ordering bananas for an entire month.

The flinging of the bananas began about a year and a half ago, according to Davis. After the initial students got caught, the bananas stopped appearing on the roof and did not make a reappearance until recently.

“I felt bad for athletes who need the potassium (and) for students who eat a banana as their breakfast,” Davis said. “Students even started dressing up as bananas with signs that read, ‘Please bring back bananas, Mr. Rott.’”

This time, Davis promised if he takes away bananas, he will

not bring them back.

“For me, it’s just a waste,” Davis, known on Twitter as @MrRott_LU, said. “We spend about $3,700 a week just on bananas for students.”

This is about $15,000 a month.

Surveillance cameras were installed in the fall of 2017 to catch banana tossers.

”

“

We were not impressed.

You have no idea of the banana mayhem headed your way. @LUBananaVandal, Twitter

See PEELED, A8

Lynchburg’s 20/40 vision City Council votes to table downtown Lynchburg master plan discussion for later Brittany Slaughter bdslaughter@liberty.edu

The proposed downtown Lynchburg master plan would bring major changes to the area in the next two decades if it is passed at the rescheduled meeting Nov. 13.

According to the official Lynchburg website, a vote was held to halt discussion about the plan until Oct. 23. At the meeting, the discussion was moved once more to the Nov. 13 council work session, where issues and concerns with the plan will be met with answers and further discussion.

Lynchburg council work sessions are open for citizens and community members but are not public hearings where citizens can voice their opinions.

Rachel Frischeisen, Planner II for the city of Lynchburg, said the main concerns were

with the idea of two-way traffic that will be implemented on Church and Main streets and the “(renovation) of the surrounding neighborhoods of downtown.”

The News & Advance reported that during a public hearing, 16 residents supported the plan and six were against it. Two of those six are the owners of Lynchburg Camera Shop, William Puckett and Don Ogle, who composed a letter to the city council addressing their concerns about two-way traffic.

“Our fear is that two-way traffic, along with the accompanying increase in paid parking, will cause our customers to simply avoid downtown completely. We do not feel that the negative effects of two-way traffic have been sufficiently considered, and we would ask that you please vote ‘no’ to this very costly and ill-advised proposal,” Puckett and Ogle wrote in their letter.

Frischeisen said the concerns will be addressed.

“City staff is currently working on responses to the concerns raised during the public hearing,” Frischeisen said. “We are positive that we can mitigate the two-way

traffic issues and have added language about inclusivity and suggestions to lessen the impacts of gentrification and displacement on the neighborhoods.”

See DOWNTOWN, A2

Taryn Azimov| Liberty Champion

HOT SPOT — Main Street has become a hotbed for Lynchburg commerce and restuarunts.

content

A2 | November 6, 2018 | Liberty Champion

Monopoly of political influence Dinesha D’Souza comes to Convo Select, talks fascism and progressivism Lillian Abbatacola leabbatacola@liberty.edu

Political commentator and filmmaker Dinesha D’Souza shared ideas from his new film, “Death of a Nation,” with Liberty University students at Convo Select Nov. 5.

“Death of a nation is intended to say that if the progressive’s ‘birth of a nation’ principle is allowed to play itself out, it will kill America,” D’Souza said. “The death of a nation is the implementation of the full progressive ideology. Repudiating that ideology and replacing it with the original principles of the American founding. It’s those same enduring principles that will be the salvation of America.”

D’Souza spoke on “fake” narratives and focused on his study of the left- versus rightwing debate over fascism and progressivism.

“Everybody wants progress — the debate is over, what does progress mean?”

D’Souza said.

Fake news was also briefly addressed.

D’Souza mentioned that one of the Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh accusers, Judy Munro-Leighton has renounced her story. Chairman Chuck Grassley referred her to the Justice Department and FBI. “Fake news. What she was trying to do was corroborate with Susan Ford’s accusa-

everyone.

“The plan proposes a lot of exciting improvements to public spaces in downtown Lynchburg, from small projects such as public art to larger plans for new parks, trails and even an outdoor amphitheater,” Frischeisen said.

DOWNTOWN continued from A1 The current downtown Lynchburg master plan will take about 20 years to complete, according to city council member Beau Wright.

The plan includes two-way

“

tion, and she was manufacturing events — people who came to power in academia and she never met Kavanaugh,” D’Souza said. media and Hollywood,” D’Souza said.

The prominent Kavanaugh accuser who D’Souza’s main point was that there gave testimony at the Kavais a monopoly of ponaugh hearing was Chrislitical influence — the tine Margaret Blasey Ford, Democratic Party has not Susan Ford. rewritten the rules of “The reason fake news the game, holds the works is that there’s a property cards and complicit media to prois the game banker. mulgate the accusation D’Souza proposed the and not investigate,” appropriate counter D’Souza said. is to build institutions Progress, according to in those three areas of D’Souza, is defined as movmajor influence: acaing away from America’s demia, Hollywood and founding principles. media. D’Souza has D’Souza said the left tried to combat Hollywing, which controls the wood by making films Kevin Manguiob | Liberty News Service media and entertainment, and said he would like RHETORIC — D’Souza spoke Nov. 5. has the power to control the to see conservative narrative of history and has comedians. spun moments in America’s history to align “We have to figure out how to break their with progressive ideas. monopoly in these institutions, and ultiAccording to D’Souza, the progressive mately, it will happen generationally — it will influence comes from the Democratic Par- take time,” D’Souza said. “It’s a good time ty’s control of the three “megaphones” of to start.” culture: academia, Hollywood and media.

D’Souza also briefly mentioned the PresiHe said this overture of left-wing influence dent Donald Trump persona and rhetoric. in these influential industries is called “pro“Republicans nominated one Boy Scout gressive history.” after another, like Romney, and got beaten “The lie was manufactured by very smart to a pulp and finally realized the other side

There is something for everyone in Downtown 2040. ...We want to make being downtown a positive, memorable experience for everyone, and we want it to be a place that people love and visit often.

— Rachel Frischeisen

streets, paid street parking and better accommodations for pedestrians and families.

The purpose of the plan is to improve the downtown area so visitors, store owners and residents can have the best living and visiting experience possible.

Frischeisen explained the purpose of the plan is also to make the downtown area a place for

“There is something for everyone in Downtown 2040. The plan recommends improving accessibility to and throughout downtown, whether that’s via car, bike, bus or on foot. We want to make being downtown a positive, memorable experience for everyone, and we want it to be a place that people love and visit often.”

Wright said there are many in-

SLAUGHTER is a content reporter.

Taryn Azimov | Liberty Champion

CAMPUS CALENDAR 11/07 - Sodexo Produce Stand

11:30 a.m. | Montview Student Union Tabling - Argo Teahouse 11/09 - RED concert

7:30 p.m. | LaHaye Event Space 11/10 -Karen Kingsbury Bookstore Event

2:00 p.m. | Barnes & Noble Bookstore 11/12 - Health Fair

12:00 p.m. | JF Library Terrace Conference Room 11/12 - Fashion Show Model Casting

6:00 p.m. | DeMoss Hall 1284 11/13 - FACS Club Meeting

5:30 p.m. | DeMoss Hall Classroom - 4152 11/13 - Student Concert

8:00 p.m. | Argo Tea Cafe STUDENT ACTIVITIES

SHARE WITH US

CONCERTS

CLUB EVENTS

ABBATACOLA is the content editor.

dividual projects within the master plan, and some will be completed sooner than others. He said it is hard to pick a favorite because they are all “designed to work in tandem.”

Once the plan is approved, twoway traffic will be the first project to be completed.

“Once approved, the first recommendation in the plan that we would implement is the conversion of Church Street to two-way traffic,” Frischeisen said.

Frischeisen said upon approval, the design will be finalized during the winter, and implementation will take place during the spring Taryn Azimov | Liberty Champion and summer of 2019.

VISION — Some businesses were concerned the increase in paid parking would lead The concerns and plan will be addressed further at the Nov. 13 to customers avoiding downtown. meeting. Wright said it is possible the vote could take place on that day, but there is no guarantee.

For the upcoming meeting agenda, visit, http://www.lynchburg va.gov/city-council-meetings-video-minutes-agendas.

DRIVING — One of the first aspects of the master plan to be completed would be implementing two-way traffic.

COLOR KEY:

has gone gangster on us,” D’Souza said.

“Let’s … have a gangster on our side.”

That gangster was Trump, according to D’Souza, who also compared the president to Abraham Lincoln.

When Lincoln won a close election and “all hell broke loose,” Democrats said they would rather break up the country than have Lincoln as their leader and called to assassinate him.

“The reason that history matters is because history is used as a weapon today,” D’Souza said. “All the sins of the past, the left is trying to pin on the Republican party.

This is the point of the big switch we (Democratic Party) might have been the bad guys, but the whole baggage of the stuff (they) did, (they) are now going to get to saddle on the other guys (the Republican Party), who never did it and fought us (Democratic Party).

And we can make the good guys into the bad guys, we (Democratic Party) traded platforms and the whole conversion of (Lyndon B. Johnson). This is the same guy that would use the (N-word) after he signed the Civil Rights Act.” The full conversation can be watched on Liberty’s Facebook page, www. facebook.com/LibertyUniversity. Read the full Liberty Champion story at liberty.edu/ champion.

CAMPUS EVENTS

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libertychampion media@gmail.com

Taryn Azimov | Liberty Champion

CARS — The plan would take about 20 years to complete.

CO N VO CAT I O N S C H E D U L E ED YOUNG Lynchburg FELLOWSHIP CREAT IVE

Daily Bread

11.07.18 KAREN KINGSBURY

11.09.18 Boys &

E R I C M A D D O X Girls Club

11.12.18

content

Liberty Champion | November 6, 2018 | A3

Style steps up to serve The FACS Department Club announces partnership with Park View Lauren Osterhaudt losterhaudt@liberty.edu

The Family and Consumer Sciences Department Club met Oct. 30 to discuss their upcoming community service project, and they officially announced their partnership with Park View Community Mission for this year — because serving others never goes out of fashion.

President of the Fashion Design and Merchandising Association Breanna Decker acted as host and supervisor of the event.

“Every semester, we try to partner with a community program of some sort,” Decker said. “This time, the FACS department chose to partner with Park View for the whole year.”

To provide more information about the or-

“

On behalf of Park View, Koenig received the donations and expressed thankfulness to the students for their generous contributions.

“We are so excited to work together with Liberty to come alongside one another and to just love our city,” Koenig said. “All of the donations are so awesome, and it is really going to make a big impact on the lives of so many families this winter.”

Also partnering with the FDMA, a representative from the Liberty Career Center, Kathryn Cloudhury, was present during the meeting to speak to students about how to stand out in the industry.

Cloudhury, who also serves as the assistant director of experiential learning, wasted no time getting down to business during her portion of the meeting.

Our careers are not a straight line – I cannot tell you that

enough. No matter where you are in the process, you must

keep trying to do your best while looking for opportunities to

Kharen Martinez | Liberty Champion

PROFESSIONAL — The FDMA is a pre-professional club that allows FACS students to be involved with their profession. FDMA member Jessica Maria Coleman is pictured above.

differentiate yourselves.

— Kathryn Cloudhury

ganization’s mission, Park View representative Rachel Koenig attended the meeting.

“Our mission at Park View is to build relationships with individuals and connect them with life-changing resources,” Koenig said.

Koenig, a Liberty University alumna, started volunteering with Park View in 2017 when she felt a calling from God to be a part of its mission.

“Working at Park View has really opened my eyes to the needs in the city,” Koenig said.

“I love being able to connect with people and serving our neighbors.”

With winter on its way, FACS club members brought in warm hats, gloves and scarves to donate to Park View to be delivered to those in need around the city. These were strung across the wall in front of the meeting room and piled up on top of tables for all to see.

“Our careers are not a straight line — I cannot tell you that enough,” Cloudhury said.

“No matter where you are in the process, you must keep trying to do your best while looking for opportunities to differentiate yourselves.”

Decker said she was pleased with the decision to bring Cloudhury in as a speaker, as she was able to bring career insight with her into the meeting.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities with Park View Mission, students can visit www.parkviewcommunitymission.org.

OSTERHAUDT is a content reporter.

Kharen Martinez | Liberty Champion

PROFESSIONAL — The FDMA also tries to integrate career insight into its meetings to help members develop professionally.

GOD MET ME MORE THAN HALFWAY, HE FREED ME FROM MY ANXIOUS FEARS. from Psalm 34 Read the Bible in contemporary language at MessageBible.com

Kharen Martinez | Liberty Champion

COMMUNITY — The FDMA has been a place that fosters community within the FACS department.

OPINION

A4

November 6, 2018

Poor solution

Odds are against Americans when they play the lottery

Google Images

INSTANT WINNINGS — The most

popular lottery games are scratch-off games with immediate results.

Chad Wylie cewylie@liberty.edu

Somebody is going to win.

Every week, millions of people convince themselves that they will be the lucky ones to defy the odds and win the lottery. When the Powerball and Mega Millions go unclaimed for numerous drawings and the value hits astronomical numbers, thousands more people take their chances on cashing out a ticket.

The lottery, America’s most lucrative form of entertainment, preys on the poor and traps thousands of low-income Americans in a destructive cycle.

In 2016, Americans spent $73.5 billion on lottery tickets, according to CNN Business. In 2014, more money was spent on the lottery than on sports tickets, books, movie tickets, video games and music sales combined.

While those with financial stability can view the lottery as healthy entertainment, many in poverty see it as their avenue to escape the economic hole.

In the 1980s, Duke University reported that people in the lowest third of income buy half of all lottery tickets.

John Spry, a professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota reported that three out of four instant scratch-off tickets bought in Minnesota are purchased by people with below average incomes, according to Vox. Across the nation, Americans who make less than $10,000 annually spend, on average, $597 per year on lottery tickets, nearly 6 percent of their total income.

These people are not playing the lottery for fun or entertainment, but rather because they see a win as the only way to get out of their desperate financial situation.

One in five Americans see the lottery as the only way they can acquire a significant amount of savings, according to Vox. In the 90s, Duke reported that people earning less than $30,000 are 25 percent more likely to

say they buy tickets for money rather than entertainment.

The lottery is fair to everyone, regardless of economic status. Someone making six figures who buys a ticket is no more likely to win than someone who spends their last penny on one. And some will argue that the lottery is worthwhile because in most cases, the revenue generated by states is used to benefit the public-school system.

However, by offering the hope of a life-changing amount of money with such low odds of winning, states are profiting off the desperation of the nation’s poorest.

The vicious cycle is clear. The poor buy lottery tickets because they need to win. The more they buy and lose, the less money they have. The less money they have, the more desperate they become.

The more desperate they become, the quicker they are to turn, once again, to the lottery.

So sure, somebody is going to win, and that win will change their life forever. But for the millions who never get lucky, they will continue to take their chances and desperately dig themselves into a financial hole they can never escape.

WYLIE is the opinion editor.

Safety hazard Legal marijuana would create a health crisis in America Emma Smith esmith83@liberty.edu

When Canada legalized recreational marijuana nationwide Oct. 17, many speculated the United States might be next in line to legalize the substance, as several states have already taken this step.

While certain chemicals found in marijuana are used to make FDA-approved prescription drugs, recreational marijuana should not be legalized at this time in the U.S. Marijuana use poses health and safety risks that cannot be monitored or prevented with current laws or technology.

To start, THC — the primary psychoactive ingredient of marijuana — levels in cannabis are much stronger today than they were 30 years ago, which may pose greater health risks than previously accounted for or believed.

“In a study presented in March 2015 at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, researchers said they found that samples of marijuana in Colorado contained as much as 30 percent THC,” Live Science reported in 2016. “In comparison, the levels of THC in marijuana 30 years ago were generally below 10 percent.”

While many pot users may rejoice at the idea of stronger drugs, a 2016 study published in “Schizophrenia Bulletin” warned that higher levels of THC pose a risk of heavy users being diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as well as suffering from suicidal thoughts, especially in teenagers.

In contrast, some studies show that marijuana is “safer” than other substances such as alcohol and tobacco.

Though alcohol’s negative effects overshadow the vices of pot, marijuana’s identity as a non-addictive substance is a widely-believed fable.

Christine Vestal wrote in an article for Pew Charitable Trusts that 9 percent of all marijuana users are addicted to the substance, or about 2.7 million users, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Though marijuana does not pose a risk of death by overdose, the substance does present a risk of addiction.

With THC levels skyrocketing, addiction is a greater concern now more than ever.

“More potent drugs have more potential to ad-

constrain potency. According to the Washington Post, alcohol potency is controlled “through different levels of tax for products of different strengths, as well as constraints on labeling and place of sale.”

Marijuana dispensaries offer a variety of pot products, such as dried flowers, edibles, beverages and prerolled joints — all with varying levels of THC. Edibles often have as high as 95 percent THC concentration, while marijuana plants usu-

LEGAL

EFFECTS Washington State

Deaths due to marijuana-impaired drivers have doubled since legalization.

Colorado

62% increase of fatal accidents involving marijuana after legalization.

12% more teens use marijuana after legalization.

1/15 high school seniors use marijuana on a daily basis Stat News 2016

Haley Nicas

dict customers, thereby turning them into reliable profit centers,” Keith Humphreys reported for the Washington Post.

Currently, there are few regulations on the THC concentrations found in marijuana products sold in the United States. Other addictive substances, such as alcohol, are required to

ally have a 20 to 30 percent THC concentration, Stat News reported.

“Government can and should place limits on marijuana’s strength, just as it does other addictive products, thereby protecting public health as well as saving the taxpayer the future costs of treatment and other needed health-care services,” Hum-

phreys said.

NIDA reported that marijuana usage “significantly impairs judgment, motor coordination and reaction time.” While driving under the influence usually refers to alcohol, driving under the influence of marijuana is also a reality. According to NIDA, drugged driving increases the chances of the user causing a traffic accident by 3 to 7 percent.

“In Washington state, for example, the number of traffic deaths due to marijuanaimpaired drivers doubled in the years after recreational marijuana was legalized,” Kurt Isaacson reported for Stat News. “In Colorado, the number of fatal accidents involving marijuana rose by 62 percent since its recreational use was legalized in 2012.”

While drunk drivers can be easily identified via the Breathalyzer test, drugged drivers are not as easy to identify. Isaacson claimed it is “difficult to deter or punish” drugged drivers because there is no comparable test to identify blood-THC levels.

Recreational marijuana should not be legalized with a broad brush in the U.S. In order to safely introduce the substance into the country, laws to limit marijuana’s potency must be put in place before the industry is established to ensure the safety of both users and nonusers. Currently, technology to deter users from driving drugged does not exist, making it difficult to prosecute drivers who may have been driving while impaired, which is a threat to other drivers.

At this time, legalizing marijuana on the federal level would be a careless, dangerous decision by the U.S. government.

SMITH is a copy editor.

LIFE WITH

LOGAN Logan Smith lcsmith1@liberty.edu

My life took a turn for the worse one Sunday morning. I was only 6-years-old, but the repercussions of that moment will live with me forever.

Following Sunday school, before the main service at church, I trotted on my tiny legs to the community room, where all the grownups socialized and discussed boring adult stuff before entering the sanctuary. In that room, several small machines and cups rested on a table. People crowded the table and took turns pouring steamy liquid into cups.

Hot chocolate! My favorite!

I hobbled to the table. With all my childlike strength, I reached for a foam cup. With some assistance, I finally managed to fill it with the hot, dark substance.

For that brief moment, everything was perfect. The world stood still, the delicious, gratifying hot chocolate warming my anticipations.

Then, everything changed when the demon juice touched my lips. I swallowed before realizing the horrible truth.

Coffee?

I instantly threw the sugarless beverage in the trash where it belonged.

Like most children, I had never sipped black coffee before. If sugar wasn’t involved, I kept my distance.

Blinded by my craving, I should have known that coffee, not hot chocolate, boiled in those machines. After all, my parents drank coffee regularly.

Every morning, my parents brew a hot pot of strong, dark black roast. To them, the drink is a requisite for a positive day and an essential element for conquering life’s demands. Without it… Well, let’s not go there.

The tradition dates back centuries, all the way to the Boston Tea Party. Instead of paying the outrageous taxes implemented by the King of England, American’s patriotically switched from tea to coffee.

Ever since, coffee has been the go-to beverage for millions of Americans. It has experienced alterations in the form of frappes, lattes, mochas and other titles too daunting to pronounce. Coffee can even refresh someone on a sweltering summer day as an iced beverage.

Regardless of how you consume it, coffee has played a pivotal role in American society.

According to e-importz, Americans consume more than 400 million cups of coffee each day. That is 1.3 cups for each U.S. citizen.

Though I’m not coffee’s biggest fan, I certainly understand America’s obsession.

Coffee is the most customizable beverage.

There’s a style for everyone, even me.

However, although popular, Americans take coffee way too seriously. It’s a great business, but it’s also an unhealthy obsession.

Over the years, I’ve grown to tolerate the universal drink. I started by overloading on sugar and creamer, almost completely dulling the coffee flavor. I’ve gone through different phases of coffee preferences including iced mochas, espressos and frappes (if those types justify the name “coffee”).

Men drink it black, soccer moms load up on creamer and we all have that one friend who always orders something crazy like a venti, triple, iced, vanilla chai latte, non-fat caramel drizzle cherry blossom.

Just listening to that order causes diabetes.

I enjoy drinking a variety of beverages, including the occasional cup of joe. But I will never let coffee control me. The American obsession is unhealthy and overrated, and too many people depend on the caffeine for energy.

As we delve into the freezing miseries of winter, consider breaking the traditional drinking mold and enjoy a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate.

SMITH is the manager of content.

opinion

Liberty Champion | November 6, 2018 | A5

Economic disadvantage Proposed changes to the American data protection laws will hurt the economy Mary Obringer mgobringer@liberty.edu

Do you really know how your online data is being used? In light of major scandals involving companies like Facebook and Apple, most people want to know what data companies are collecting and how they use it.

In response to the public’s concerns, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in a conference Oct. 24 that he supports changing American laws to reflect the data laws of the European Union, according to USA Today.

Cook is not the only major supporter of new data laws. USA Today mentioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai also support stricter regulations in the U.S. The EU changed its laws on data collection and usage in May. The General Data Protection Regulation has 99 articles that protect the data rights of those in the EU. NPR called the new regulations the “biggest change to privacy laws in history.”

While changing the data laws in the U.S. to reflect the GDPR could give users more control over their information, ultimately it would be counterproductive for the economy if American companies follow in the footsteps of the EU. The laws require companies to ask permission before collecting data on users.

This includes information such as electronic medical records and mailing addresses.

NPR also reported that companies must allow users to delete the data collected on them at any time. In other words, if you live in Europe, you have control over the data collected about you.

All internet companies, including American-based companies such as Google, are required to abide by these regulations for anyone living in the EU, NPR reported.

However, European citizens living in the U.S. are not protected by these regulations.

Implementing new regulations in the U.S. may be unnecessary. Some American companies responded to the new data laws by giving users more control over their data.

Apple unleashed a new privacy portal which gives users the opportunity to see how their data is being used and delete their data if they want, according to USA Today.

More importantly, new data regulations could lead to problems for businesses and the economy.

Stricter data regulations can lead to monopolies. The Wall Street Journal reported late in May that the GDPR helped Google receive more revenue from advertisements than many of its competitors because Google collected consent from more individuals to create targeted advertisements. These targeted advertisements cost as much as five times more than general advertisements and bring in more revenue for advertising companies.

These new regulations would harm small business owners trying to live out the American Dream. According to the Wall Street Journal, many smaller companies struggle to keep up with the new regulations and could lose revenue. The new data laws could make it more difficult for new competitors to start up, the New York Times reported.

This could lead to rising prices, hurting the economy.

New privacy laws could also discontinue the sale of certain products or services. The New York Times reported that some companies changed or stopped selling certain products in European countries because of the changes in privacy laws. Some of these products collect too much data, and companies would rather discontinue selling them than take time to redesign them to fit the regulations. What products are they?

Google Images

FORWARD THINKING — Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is one of several prominent American businessmen to campaign for reformed data protection policies.

In spite of potential problems, certain states in the U.S. have already moved to adopt similar regulations. California moved to change its data regulations to reflect the new EU regulations by 2020, according to USA Today. These regulations, called the California Consumer Privacy Act attempt to prevent data breaches. The Forbes Technology Council predicts other states will follow suit and draft their own versions of these laws.

While the idea of giving users control

over their data is alluring, Americans should consider that changing data regulations may drastically impact the economy and give more power to larger companies. If the idea of implementing stricter data laws is to give power back to the people, stricter regulations may not be America’s best choice.

OBRINGER is an opinion writer.

True-crime television

Some television shows and audio podcasts romanticize the horror of real crimes Rachel Estes reestes@liberty.edu

The true crime genre has long been a staple of prime-time television, luring viewers into killing time and productivity for an hour of entertainment and intrigue.

From as early as the era of Greek tragedy, stories focusing on humanity’s “dark side” have never failed to captivate audiences.

“These are things that we know happen, but that most of us will thankfully never come into contact with,” Wired Magazine Senior Editor Victoria Turk said on her website. “The inherent whodunnit or the ‘are they innocent, are they guilty?’ element … keeps the drama high, and it’s certainly true that ‘Making a Murderer’ and shows like it often play off this tension, letting it inform the nar-

rative and create end-of-episode cliffhangers that keep (viewers) coming back.”

Unlike fictional crime stories, episodic chronicles of true crime like “Making a Murderer” allow viewers to investigate the different sides of criminal intent through real-life accounts that are just as riveting as they are unsettling.

“The lingering question mark serves as a prompt for viewers to get

Google Images

REALITY AND ENTERTAINMENT — “Making a Murderer,” a Netflix original series, is the most popular true-crime show available for streaming.

involved and do their own research to come to their own conclusions,” Michael Arntfield, former police detective turned criminology professor, said on NBC News.

In turn, according to Arntfield, viewers often become more than just spectators; they become participants in the case, viewing themselves as constituents in the investigative process.

While it’s still an open-ended and inconclusive debate whether these shows actually influence crime rates, what they are doing is imposing a distorted perception of the world.

According to a survey conducted by faculty and doctoral students at Purdue University, many loyal viewers of true-crime shows have consistently misperceived important facts about crime and overestimated the frequency of crime in the real world.

“This kind of television viewing can lead to ‘mean world syndrome,’ where people start to think about the world as a scary place,” Glenn Sparks, professor of communication at Purdue University, said on govtech.com. “Some people develop a fear of victimization, and this feeling can affect their feelings of comfort and security.”

There’s no denying that most of these shows go heavy on the violence, often delivering scenes that are horrendously gruesome.

However, many of these scenes are

unhealthily romanticized reenactments of the actual accounts.

Critics claim as more true-crime series emerge, their producers focus more and more narrowly on violence and utilize it as a tactic to stand out among their competition, turning what’s meant to be “entertaining” into a source of paranoia.

“Many production companies behind new shows seem to think the only way they’ll grab attention is if they double down on the slasher movie violence,” writer, editor and crime commentator Steve Huff said, according to Real Clear.

“I’ve seen some truly gruesome depictions of violence and even sexual assault on some shows. It always occurs to me that for some, they can be truly traumatic.”

While crimes of the caliber presented in these shows do occur in the real world, there is not adequate evidence to denote that these crimes are as frequent or prevalent as they appear on TV. When watching these shows, it’s wise to remember that reality shows, even truecrime dramas, are not entirely unadulterated reality.

ESTES is a guest writer.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICIES & INFO PHOTOGRAPHY

SOCIAL MEDIA

Ryan Klinker photography editor

Deanna Drogan social media manager

Jenna Crenshaw feature editor

Allison Heise asst. photography editor

Faith Banford web manager

Emily Smith copy editor

DESIGN

Bethany Kocik copy editor

Haley Nicas graphic designer

Logan Smith manager of content

Emily Baker sports editor

Sarah Rodriguez graduate assistant

Jacob Couch asst. sports editor

CONTENT Lilli Abbatacola content editor Rachel Van Tuyl asst. content editor Chad Wylie editorial editor

Elizabeth Mallicoat graphic designer

ADMINISTRATION Deborah Huff faculty advisor Scott Lamb consultant

The Champion encourages community members to submit letters to the editor on any subject.

Letters should not exceed 400 words and must be typed and signed. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.

Letters and columns that appear are the opinion of the author solely, not the Champion editorial board or Liberty University.

Send letters to: Liberty Champion Liberty University Lynchburg, VA 24515 or drop off in Green Hall 1565.

All material submitted becomes property of the Champion. The Champion reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any letter received—according to the Champion stylebook, taste and the Liberty University mission statement. © Copyright 2016 Liberty University, Inc. All Rights Reserved

content

A6 | November 6, 2018 | Liberty Champion

feelin' it

Rachel Van Tuyl | Liberty Champion

MOVE — TobyMac performed at Convocation Oct. 31 and encouraged students at his alma mater with his pro-community message and inspiring songs.

TobyMac 'Speaks Life' Musician encourages Liberty students to seek out community and accountability Rachel Van Tuyl rvantuyl@liberty.edu

While Liberty students were leaving class and finding seats at Convocation Oct. 31, TobyMac’s band, DiverseCity, was gathering backstage to enjoy a hearty breakfast.

Eggs, biscuits, cereal, pastries, fruit, yogurt and strong coffee were some of the

Allison Heise | Liberty Champion

PLAN — Toby McKeehan believes it is important to step into community during hardships.

foods served. The band helped themselves to heaping plates and settled down at a long table in a room behind the Vines Center.

The atmosphere was lighthearted, their conversation ranging from family to food to how often they laundered their white band jackets. (The answer? Every couple of shows.)

Toddiefunk, the bass guitarist for DiverseCity, said with 80 to 90 shows a year, he rarely gets nervous before performances.

The cheerful atmosphere of breakfast seemed to convey this. Many have been in the band for a long time and have had the opportunity to develop close relationships with each other.

At 10:30 a.m., the band burst onto stage with their song “Move,” with the crowd moving with them. Many had grown up listening to TobyMac’s music, and the crowd roared their approval at other well-loved TobyMac songs, like “Lose My Soul” and “Made to Love.”

It wasn’t always Toby McKeehan’s dream to become a musician. Before his career as TobyMac took off, McKeehan was a political science student at Liberty University and a member of the golf team.

But while at Liberty, he met another student who would completely change the path of his life.

When McKeehan and high school friend Michael Tait met Kevin Max at Liberty, they eventually ended up forming the Grammywinning band DC Talk. Later, McKeehan

launched his solo career as TobyMac. He never did use his political science degree.

Because of the direction he took, McKeehan believes it is important for young people to be flexible with their life plans.

“I just want to encourage you guys that whatever you’re thinking you’re going to do now, that God might have a different plan for you, (so) be open to that and (be) open

“

Whatever you're thinking

you're going to do now, God

might have a different plan for you.

— Toby McKeehan

to switching things,” McKeehan told students in Convocation. “(When) he switches things, it can be so dope.”

Even as a well-known artist, McKeehan often finds himself surrounded by people, but he still believes seeking out community is vital.

“I feel like isolation is so prominent right now,” McKeehan said. “We sort of hold back when troubles come our way, instead of stepping into community. Community is where it’s at. It’s Jesus’ plan.”

McKeehan said he believes this type of community is important because it keeps

SING — Liberty students went wild when TobyMac performed well-known and loved songs, like “Made to Love” and “Lose My Soul.”

him accountable for his actions. It allows him to check in with his friends to see if he reacted well to a situation. The key to this is checking in often.

“To me, accountability is (that) you’re always asking your friend about everything you do because a one-time ask is not going to be real,” McKeehan told students in Convocation. “You’re going to ask him once, and he’s never going to feel the right to step in your life.”

Another aspect of community that is important to McKeehan is loyalty. Both members of his band and other members of his crew have been with him for many years, and for McKeehan, they have gone from coworkers to family.

McKeehan also encouraged students to not take community among different races for granted, explaining this type of community offers a richness to those involved.

“I think it’s our job as believers to be people (who are) imitated, and it’s our job to be aware of what someone feels like,” McKeehan said. “That’s called compassion. Be sensitive to what people may be feeling, and then step out in action.”

TobyMac and DiverseCity are currently on the Theatre Tour until Nov. 18.

More information about TobyMac and his band can be found on his website at http://tobymac.com/.

VAN TUYL is the assistant content editor.

Allison Heise & Rachel Van Tuyl | Liberty Champion

content

Liberty Champion | November 6, 2018 | A7

Recognizing the service Annual Military Emphasis Week highlights American bravery and courage Hattie Troutman hatroutman@liberty.edu

Military Emphasis Week, Nov. 7-14, is a celebration of men and women who served or are currently serving in the U.S. military.

Throughout the week, special events will be held to recognize and honor veterans and current service members in the Liberty and Lynchburg communities.

“Unless one has served or supported one who has served our country, it can be difficult to understand the personal sacrifices that are made to wear the uniform,” Emily Foutz, director of the Office of Military Affairs, said in an email. “Through this week, we want to raise the understanding of our civilian population of what that sacrifice looks like, and to unite our military and civilian students, faculty and staff.”

The Veterans Center Open House, which will be held Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will give service members and veteran students the opportunity to learn about the resources available on campus. This event will be held in Veterans Center on the third floor of the Montview Student Union.

The Military Appreciation hockey game will take place Friday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. at the

LaHaye Ice Center. A pre-game ceremony at 6:45 p.m. will honor service members and veterans in attendance. Several activities involving military members will be held in between the periods of the hockey game. All service members and veterans can enter the hockey game for free by emailing their student ID and number of tickets needed to militaryoutreach@liberty.edu to reserve tickets.

The Valley View Mike Donahue Memorial Five Miler, put on by Outdoor Recreation and the military affairs department, is scheduled for Nov. 10. The race begins at 9 a.m., and a pre-race ceremony is slated for 8:45 a.m.

This race is held in memory of Maj. Mike Donahue, who was an assistant professor of military science for Liberty’s Army ROTC program. Donahue was killed while on duty in a Taliban attack on Sept. 16, 2014, at a U.S. military base outside Kabul, Afghanistan.

The five-mile race will start at the Hydaway Outdoor Recreation Center.

“Liberty is blessed to have known this hero and will long remember the legacy that he left behind,” Foutz said.

The second annual Veterans Day Parade is on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 11 a.m. This

Nathan Spencer | Liberty News Service

HONOR — Those who served in the U.S. military are honored at each year’s Military Emphasis Week.

Andrew Snyder| Liberty News Service

GAME — Members of the military were honored at a football game during Military Emphasis Week last year. This year, they will be recognized during the home game Nov. 24.

event, hosted by the Lynchburg Area Vet- #HonorThem Night of Gratitude will be erans Council, hopes to engage the Liberty held Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Hancock and Lynchburg communities in recognizing Welcome Center. and honoring the lives of local veterans. The “We have received stories from the entire parade will take place on the university’s Liberty community to recognize the vetercampus.

A military focused Convo Unless one has served or supported Select will also one who has served our country, it can be held Monday, Nov. 12, at 10:30 be difficult to understand the personal a.m. and will feature a military sacrifices that are made to wear the uniform. speaker that is yet to be announced.

— Emily Foutz The Veterans Appreciation Reception will be held in the Hancock Wel- ans in the lives of our students, faculty and come Center Monday, Nov. 12, at 11:45 staff, (who) we wish to recognize on this a.m., directly following Convo Select. The day,” Foutz said.

This night will showcase people’s personreception will serve food and is open to Liberty University veteran faculty, staff and al testimonies of gratitude to service members who have impacted their lives. Stories students.

Military Appreciation Convocation takes and videos will be shared throughout the place Wednesday Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. event and via social media during the reMilitary service members will be recog- mainder of the fall semester.

According to Foutz, stories will continue nized during the convocation along with the playing of patriotic music, a message from a to be accepted through Nov. 7. special military speaker and a salute to the armed forces.

To wrap up the week, an event called TROUTMAN is a content reporter.

“

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TOURS

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Thursdays, December 6 and 13 at 5:30 p.m.

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Admission: $20 | Reservation required Call 434.534.8120 | poplarforest.org/events 1542 Bateman Bridge Road (GPS) | Forest, VA 24551-0419

content

A8 | November 6, 2018 | Liberty Champion

ENACTUS goes international Dr. Young and business students travel to Ecuador to serve a jungle school Madison Hirnesen mhirnesen@liberty.edu

With the help of faculty advisor and professor Dr. George Young, budding entrepreneurs in Liberty University’s ENACTUS club are striving to make a difference in Ecuador and the Amazon through business projects and partnerships.

Young and six business students traveled to Ecuador and the Amazon through LU Send Sept. 28 through Oct. 10. While abroad, they spent a period of time working with Antioch Christian School in the Amazon jungle. While the team visited the

ing with Antioch Christian School to provide additional funding. Through fundraising, the club is hoping to populate Antioch Christian School’s nearly 50-acre farm with banana trees to feed students and school employees and, eventually, purchase a pig for the school.

“The amount of sacrifices that they’re doing to keep that school running. … It’s just amazing what they’re doing down there,” Matthew Vinagro, one of the six students who attended the trip, said.

Liberty students have the opportunity to aid the ENACTUS club in its mission to provide funds for Antioch Christian School

Photo Provided WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE— George Young and six students served in the Amazon for 10 days in Fall 2018.

school, they helped create business plans for the faculty to sell produce internationally to help raise funds for the school.

While Antioch Christian School continues to educate children in the Amazon, it has become clear there is a gap in funds.

The ENACTUS chapter at Liberty is work-

PEELED continued from A1 One camera on the Freedom Tower films the entire area, and another camera sits directly on the dining hall’s roof. According to Davis, the cameras have done their job.

“Last year, we had three freshman girls who threw bananas on the roof, and after we saw the video, we had it passed around, and the RAs were able to identify who those students were,” Davis said. “They were brought in, and each one of them had to do community service for Sodexo, where the girls came in at 5:30 a.m. and helped put away a truck

during a fundraiser at Convocation on Nov. 9. The money collected will help purchase banana trees for the farm at Antioch Christian School.

According to Young, the Liberty chapter of ENACTUS is working to live out this mission in the form of projects focused on agri-

culture and sustainability.

“We believe investing in students who take entrepreneurial action for others creates a better world for us all,” the ENACTUS’ mission statement says on its website.

Antioch Christian School was founded

“

It’s good to see some Liberty grads in the mission field still, when they could have

retired or gone on to some other endeavors ar their young age.

— George Young

by two Ecuadorian Liberty graduates who saw the need of seven children in the Amazon jungle who had no caretakers, and therefore, could not enroll in any of the other schools in the area. They began homeschooling the children, and as families in the surrounding villages witnessed this, they started asking if the pair could educate their children as well.

“The school is phenomenal, and our Lord and Savior is alive and well there,” Young said.

Antioch Christian School now has 120 children enrolled from villages all over the Amazon jungle. Some students come from deep within the jungle, and their parents will row them to school via canoe. This trek can take up to two hours, and according to Young, the parents will often leave their kids at the school during the week and return for them on Friday.

During the team’s trip, they briefly interacted with some of the school children, watching as they ran around in their khaki pants and blue uniform shirts.

“I thought I was at (Lynchburg Christian Academy) in the middle of the jungle,” Young said.

Vinagro had originally heard about the trip through LU Send and attended the trip to receive course credit. Before the trip, he was not sure what to expect, but he said he enjoyed experiencing the beauty of the nation and learning about the history of the school.

“The people in the (surrounding) com-

delivery.”

Davis believes the banana throwing started as an individual prank, and more people followed, thinking it a tradition. He compared it to Liberty’s old gum tree tradition.

“There was a tree that all the students used to stick gum on, but when they redid the road going up towards (the) Montview (Student Union) and the Freedom Tower, I guess that tree was torn down and removed,” Davis said. “After, I guess some people felt the need to start the bananas on the roof, thinking it would become some kind of tradition.”

Some have found the banana vandal’s actions humorous.

Photo Provided

Vinagro said.

Young hopes to continue working with Antioch Christian School in the coming months through ENACTUS projects. For him, the most rewarding part of the trip was seeing God at work in the lives of children and families in the Amazon jungle.

“They may not have a lot of worldly goods, but they’re a happy people, and more and more of them love the Lord,” Young said.

“It’s good to see some Liberty grads in the mission field still, when they could have retired or gone on to some other endeavors at their young age.”

HIRNESEN is a content reporter.

WHAT’S

NEWS @ LIBERTY

Liberty University’s men’s basketball team played a pre-season exhibition game Nov. 4 against Virginia Tech to raise funds for hurricane relief efforts. According to the Liberty Flames Instagram account, the exhibition raised more than $36,000. See story on B1.

Liberty University leased a large number of email addresses to Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart’s campaign for $9,754.80. The university offers liberty.edu email addresses and campus mailing addresses to campaigns, regardless of party affiliation.

Friday, Oct. 2, Lynchburg residents had the opportunity to purchase surplus furniture and electronics from Liberty University’s 12th Street warehouse. To reduce waste and clear space in the warehouse, Liberty has been offering monthly warehouse sales since February 2018. The next sale will be in December.

Photo Provided

FRUITY — Duke Davis took pity on the student body after students dressed up as bananas to protest the banana ban.

“This is fantastic,” Liberty student Jesse Duncan commented on the banana vandal’s Instagram account. “You are a genius, banana man.”

However, many see the whole banana fiasco as disrespectful.

“It’s (kind of) sad that some-

“

understand is that when bananas are tossed up there, we have to get facilities people to bring them down,” Davis said.

“What if a facility’s person was up there, lost their balance, and a severe injury occurred? Why

There’s more to it than the pranks; what people need to understand is that when

bananas are tossed up there, we have to get facilities people to bring them down.

Photo Provided TWITTER — Duke Davis and the vandal broke out into a Twitter dispute.

munity realized how (much further) ahead (in education) these girls were than their children and how much better of an education they were getting … so a lot of the people in the community asked if they could bring their kids there and enroll their children,”

one like you actually made it into our college,” student Riddock Stokes commented on the vandal’s Instagram account.

Despite the varied responses, the vandal’s Instagram page has gained a following of almost 1,300 since its creation in midOctober 2018.

Davis is confident that the vandal will soon be caught.

“There’s more to it than the pranks; what people need to

— Duke Davis put people’s lives at risk, for such a silly prank that has no more gas in it?”

The banana vandal was contacted through Instagram for a comment but did not agree to an interview.

RIVERA is a content reporter.

Liberty announced Oct. 25 plans to build a technology park behind its Center for Energy Research & Education located in Bedford County, Virginia. Rather than being housed at the CERE, the university’s School of Engineering will now be erected next to the new School of Business building on the main campus.

In wake of a shootout injuring a Lynchburg Police Department officer Oct. 6, Lynchburg City Council unanimously voted in favor of purchasing dozens of new patrol rifles for LPD. There are currently 60 rifles circulating among LPD officers, though the department’s goal is for all 174 sworn officers to have a rifle. The new patrol rifles will cost the city about $82,000, according to the News & Advance.

Bedford Police Department’s first African American female officer worked her inaugural shift Nov. 2 after 22 weeks of training.

Urshulla Meade, 22, also serves in the National Guard and decided to serve her community in Bedford by joining the police force.

SPORTS

November 6, 2018

B1 WORKING — Kendra

Heart breaker

Jones, sophomore, had 12 points on season.

Lady Flames fall to the Huskies in Big East title Peter Gooch pgooch@liberty.edu

On a crisp, sunny afternoon Sunday, Nov. 3, fans of the Liberty Lady Flames field hockey team were out in full force. Mostly all sporting fall sweaters and Liberty red, the crowd implored players to perform, berated referees for calls and cheered madly for every Lady Flames goal or quality scoring chance.

But for the third straight season, the No. 15 Lady Flames could not knock off the No. 4 Connecticut Huskies in the Big East Championship game, leaving fans, players and coaches crushed.

Following a 5-3 loss, the Lady Flames (13-6) stood in miserable silence as they were forced to watch UConn (18-3) celebrate their seventh straight conference title.

Instead of clinching an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship, the Lady Flames left Hockey Field wondering if they would be granted one of eight at-large bids in the 18-team tournament.

“Gosh, I want to be there more than anything,” Liberty Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker said.

“But we’ll see what happens.”

Even in the disappointing defeat, the Lady Flames had some memorable moments in keeping pace with the

powerhouse Huskies.

Two of four seniors on Liberty’s roster teamed up to create one joyous explosion for the Lady Flames and their supporters, as forward Moniek van Aarle tipped home a shot from forward Agueda Moroni off a corner with 25:59 left in the second half. Van Aarle’s fifth tally of the year tied it at 3-3.

But shortly after, UConn responded as junior forward Svea Boker and sophomore midfielder Vivienne Tucker scored back-to-back goals within 55 seconds to give their team a two-goal advantage.

the year past Lady Flames junior goalkeeper Allison Schaffer 47 seconds into the game.

Moroni, who was announced as the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year at halftime, answered by finding the back of the net for the 26th time of the 2018 season off one of Liberty’s eight penalty corners of the game.

The Huskies went into halftime with a 3-2 lead as Liberty junior defenseman Mallory Fortenbaugh’s goal would be sandwiched by scores from UConn’s senior midfielder Amelia Iacobucci and junior defenseman Antonia Tiedtke.

In the second half, the quick The Lord has his hand in all this. strikes

by Boker and Tucker And I know that he knew what this proved to be the difference. season was going to be before it “Where our weak point was our space on the opposite side started. of the field, and we just couldn’t - Head Coach get it there,” Parsley-Blocker Nikki Parsley-Blocker said. “We just kept trying to go up the same channels we were Despite a push that comprised defending them in.” of a few quality chances off short Liberty defeated Providence, corner opportunities, the Lady 4-0, in the semifinal to advance Flames could not respond in the to their game against UConn, final 23:49 of play. which extended their streak “Honestly, it was a really fun of three appearances in the Big match to be a part of,” Parsley- East Championship in three years Blocker said. “Unfortunately, as a part of the conference. every time we got a goal, they As for their chances to make had something to answer for it. the NCAA tournament, the Lady But (they are) a top five team Flames’ provide a resume that conin the country and they are sists of three victories over ranked an excellent side.” teams, including a 3-2 win over the UConn started off quickly, No.7 Virginia Cavaliers Sept. 16, with senior forward Amanda Col- and only one loss to an unranked lins scooting in her ninth goal of opponent.

Parsley-Blocker was unsure if it would be impressive enough to ensure their loss to UConn would not be their last game of 2018.

“It’s going to be so close,” Parsley-Blocker said. “But you know what? The Lord has his hand in all this. And I know that he knew what this season was going to be before it started.”

Jessie Rogers | Liberty News

noon, so did the goals.

Connecticut beat Villanova 9-1 in the first Big East Tournament semifinal. Then, the rain came and so did the Liberty Lady Flames offense against Providence.

Senior forward Moniek van Aarle got Liberty on the board early, scoring less than four minutes in on a corner. Then, on their third corner attempt of the game, freshman forward Charlotte Vaanhold scored on the assist from Jill Bolton at the 14:45 mark in the first half. Less than two minutes later freshman forward Alivia Klopp scored off another penalty corner to give the Lady Flames a 3-0 lead.

GOOCH is a sports reporter.

Lady Flames defeat Providence in semi-final game Nathaniel Chambers nrchambers@liberty.edu

As the rain came down on Liberty Field Hockey Field Friday after

See HEART, B4

Highs and Lowes

Women’s hockey coach at the helm for stunning second season Siani Null snull@liberty.edu

Liberty Women’s DI ice hockey remains in full swing since its first practice, the Sunday evening before class started Aug. 26, and will work hard to remain in competition mode until the end of March for the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Championships.

The Lady Flames, currently 13-1-2, recently returned from Michigan where they defeated University of Michigan in a 10-1 blowout. The team prides itself with a history of shutting out teams in 14 games last season and in two games in the current 2018-2019 season.

In the same trip to Michigan, Liberty also went head to head against Adrian College, where they found a different outcome.

“This past weekend we suffered our first loss this season and we went 0-1-1 against Adrian,” Head Coach Chris Lowes said.

“We were down 3-0 in our second game against them, and we came back and tied 4-4.

That was just a neat moment for our team just to find a way.”

See HIGHS, B2

Jessie Rogers | Liberty News Service

FACEOFF — The Flames took on the Minutemen in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The long haul Football falls short in triple overtime Peter Gooch pgooch1@liberty.edu

Jessie Rogers | Liberty News Service WORK — Lowes hopes for another national

championship for the Lady Flames.

Charity hoops Basketball raises $36k for hurricane relief

Paige Frost pmfrost@liberty.edu

Five days before the Liberty Flames Basketball team’s regular season tipoff, the Flames took on Virginia Tech in a Hurricane Relief Exhibition game at the Vines Center

Leah Stauffer | Liberty News Service

UNIFIED — The Flames led the Hokies at halftime.

at Liberty University to raise money for the relief effort.

On Sunday, Nov. 4, the arena was packed with Flames fans and a crowd of Virginia Tech Hokies fans. When the ball tipped off, the crowd went crazy.

“This is what brands Liberty,” Coach Ritchie McKay said. “We have a team of students that are leaving now to go support relief efforts. I just think it is unique, and I am glad our community would come and support it.”

Revenue from tickets sold and donations made during the game went to help LU Send Now assist victims of the hurricanes. A little over $36,000 was raised.

When the teams hit the court, Liberty gave its best against Virginia Tech, but Virginia Tech beat the Flames 84-70.

See CHARITY, B2

Liberty University Flames junior quarterback Buckshot Calvert dropped back, looking to unleash his 35th pass for a touchdown.

He was trying to finally put away a University of Massachusetts-Amherst team that had clawed back from a late 14-point deficit and now had forced the game to triple overtime on a sunny but windy afternoon Saturday, Nov. 3.

But Calvert, after bumping into junior running back Frankie Hickson in the pocket, underthrew his target in the middle of the end zone and was picked off by UMass Minutemen senior linebacker Jarell Addo.

Following Calvert’s fourth interception of the game, the Minutemen’s junior placekicker, Cooper Garcia, nailed a 22-yard field goal despite swirling wind to bury the Flames, 6259, at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst, Massachusetts.

“I’m going to take this responsibility on me,” Flames Head Coach Turner Gill said.

“I’ve got to coach better. There are some things that we could have done a little bit better on my part. Some calls and different things of that nature.”

Senior wideout Andy Isabella paced UMass (4-6) in their upset of Liberty (4-4), as the Minutemen rallied after trailing 45-31 with less than seven minutes in regulation.

Isabella, who came in as the FBS leader with 1,091 receiving yards, set a UMass re-

cord with 303 yards on nine receptions. His performance, along with the UMass’s 777 total offense yards (708 in regulation), easily broke Liberty-opponent records.

“We need to work better as a unit,” Liberty linebacker Solomon Ajayi said. “We need to pay attention to the details and then do the things that the coaches coach us to do, just exactly how they want us to do it.”

Junior Antonio Gandy-Golden, the Flames wide receiver, had a monster game similar to Isabella, with 205 yards gained over nine receptions, including two touchdowns.

Calvert, despite the turnovers and a completion percentage of 45.7 percent, still passed for 272 yards and led Liberty to almost 500 total yards and 59 points.

The Flames defense was shredded, though, for the second straight game. UMass senior quarterback Ross Comis more than doubled his season stats while completing 29 of 44 pass attempts for 540 yards and four touchdowns, plus two rushing scores.

“It’s extremely frustrating because we know we’re a better defense and we know we’re capable of getting off the field on third down,” Ajayi said.

Instead of getting those crucial stops that defined the unit as they held Troy to 16 points Oct. 13 and Old Dominion University to 10 points in the Flames Sept. 1 seasonopener, Liberty allowed UMass to make every big play necessary to steal the win.

See LONG, B2

sports

B2 | November 6, 2018 | Liberty Champion

‘Stony’ cold weekend

Flames hockey defeats the Seawolves in two-game series at LU Jared Dean jsdean@liberty.edu

The men’s division one hockey team hosted the Stony Brook Seawolves Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3 and dominated the twogame series.

The first of this two-match series was Friday night where the Flames handled business with a final score of 3-1. The game was hard fought throughout, and Head Coach Kirk Handy seemed pleased with the team’s performance.

“Stony Brook is a rival and a tough opponent, and I did not think it was our best night tonight, but we were able to find a way,” Handy said.

The Flames scored first with a goal from junior Jordan Bochinski assisted by sophomore Devin Pierce. This would be the only goal for either team in the period.

“We just did not like the way we played in the first period,” Handy said. “We talked about how we were playing ok, but we did not feel like we were as engaged as we needed to be.”

The second period began with an early goal coming from Stony

Brook, junior Nick Belger scored an unassisted goal just 53 seconds into the period. This brought the score to 2-1 in favor of the Seawolves.

“The second period really did not start how we wanted it to for us with that early goal, but I thought that Cole Burak played a really good game for us tonight,” Handy said.

The Flames would answer back to the Seawolves goal by getting one of their own two minutes later by junior Quinn Ryan and assisted by sophomore Cole Gammer.

“Quinn has been a big part of our team all year, and he made a nice move there,” Handy said. “ … We found a way to get it done tonight.

We have to find a way to regroup and get it done again tomorrow.”

The light would go off just one more time in this close matchup as junior Brock Thompson would score a goal assisted by Ryan with 19:53 left in the second period.

“It felt good; I was thinking about my coach yelling at me if I didn’t shoot the puck,” Thompson said. “You have got to get pucks on the net, so I decided to let it fly, and it happened to go in.”

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion

SHOOT— Junior forward Victor Blomberg attempts a shot.

Shots on goal for the game were 34 for Liberty and 25 for Stony Brook. The Flames found a way to maintain control throughout the contest.

“Again, I think that we played ok,” Handy said. “Sometimes you have to find a way to win the game and I think that is what we did tonight. Hats off to our guys. It was solid goaltending tonight and timely goals for us.”

This win brings the Flames record to 10-2 they will face Ohio University who has a record of 8-1 at the LaHaye Ice Center on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.

DEAN is a sports reporter.

Flames dominate Stony Brook in second game of series Paige Frost pmfrost@liberty.edu

Cold air not only filled the rink Saturday night, but the air too. Friday night’s game ended in a win for the Flames 3-1, and the team was ready for its second game against Stony Brook University.

The Flames gave their all the entire 60 minutes of play Saturday, seeing improvement across many aspects of their play. The score against Stony Brook in the second game would gain another win for the Flames, 8-1.

“I really liked our discipline, and we saw the focus of playing a complete game tonight,” Coach Kirk Handy said. “We have a lot of guys who are banged up and others who played different positions tonight, and they still gave their best.”

In the first period of play, Cole Gammer scored the first goal for the Flames with 15:40 left to go, assisted by Quinn Ryan and Jacob Fricks. The Flames would stop a few shots, but with 10:01 remaining in the first, the Stony

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion WINNING — The Flames are 9-3 on the season.

Brook Seawolves scored their first goal of the game.

Shortly after, Brock Thompson scored a power play goal, assisted

by Quinn Ryan and Cole Gammer.

Chaydan Lauber would set the perfect screen for Jacob Fricks, and Fricks scored a shot straight down the center of the ice and it went right between the legs of the goalie.

Flames fans went crazy in response.

“We came back prepared, and since we knew what to expect, we were able to play more cohesively,” Fricks said.

Josh Hamilton scored a goal with 3:36 left in the first, and this brought the score to 4-1 for Liberty.

When the second period started, the Flames had two people in the penalty box, so the game was now three against five. The energy from the fans exploded and it was seen on the ice. Gammer would score a power play goal with 2:37 remaining, and it was shot on the top shelf of the goal. With 46.3 seconds of play in the second, Gammer scored his third goal of the night, and they ended the third 6-1 for the Flames.

“In the past week, we have been more disciplined as a team, and our penalty kill was 100 percent so we just gotta keep doing what we’re doing,” Fricks said.

Tensions were high entering the third period, and Chaydan Lauber scored with 13:17 remaining, his goal was assisted by Brock Thompson and Quinn Ryan. After more penalties were handed out, Gammer scored his fourth goal of the night with 1:33 of play left in the third.

Liberty would beat the Stony Brook Seawolves 8-1 in the second of this two-game series.

“We saw guys put into practice what they learned from the losses, and that was real exciting to see,” Handy said. “The last two games were a big thing for us, and so the growth is there.”

Liberty will play Ohio University Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the LaHaye Ice Center. The game will be the team’s annual military appreciation game.

FROST is a sports reporter.

CHARITY continued half, making everyone in the arena involved in what was from B1 “The pressure bothered us,” McKay said. “We are still experimenting, and we are not there yet.”

The first half of the game was a close back-and-forth between the teams, and the Flames were on a roll, making three consecutive three-pointers. The Flames and Virginia Tech kept the energy high within the first

happening on the court.

With just seconds remaining in the first half, Caleb Homesley dunked, setting the crowd on fire, ending the first half with a score of 3736 against the Hokies.

“We are a confident team, and we came out a lot stronger in the first half,” junior Scottie James said. “It was a good game for us, and there were a lot of things that we

Jessie Rogers | Liberty News Service TRUST — The 4-4 Flames kneel in prayer before game time.

LONG continued from B1 The Flames need to figure things out quickly, as the loss puts them in a difficult position as Liberty attempts to appear in a postseason bowl game in their first season at the FBS level.

They travel to face the ACC’s University of Virginia (6-3) next Saturday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m., before playing a perennial SEC contender in the University of Auburn (6-3) the following weekend.

To close the regular season,

HIGHS continued from B1 According to Lowes, the different pace in play against Adrian was good for the team. Last year, the team held a winning streak of 19 games, many of which were not close in score, so it was exciting for them to be challenged.

“A lot of weekends, they score but you know there is more coming, whereas this weekend the girls were excited to score and every

Liberty takes on New Mexico State Nov. 24 and FCS opponent Norfolk State on Dec. 1 at home.

Since the NCAA stipulates only one win over a lowerlevel team will count towards the six victories needed to qualify for the postseason and the Flames already defeated the FCS’s Idaho State Oct. 20, Liberty may need to upset one of the Power 5 schools over the next two weekends to have a chance to play in a bowl game.

Getting that upset may necessitate some major adjust-

ments in strategy and execution by the Flames.

“All of us as a staff, myself and coaches, we have to coach better and prevent some things from happening,” Gill said. “There were some good things that happened today — no question about that — on offense, on defense, special teams, and so on and so forth. We just didn’t make enough plays, and (UMass) earned the win.”

goal we scored this weekend was a big one,” Lowes said.

“It was neat to see that fire in them and have a real love for the competition and for the game.”

The 2017-18 season marked Lowe’s first with the Lady Flames and their second time earning the ACHA national title. The team appeared in the last five straight semifinals of the championship and played in the last four straight national title games, winning the title in 2014 and 2018.

“Based on the skill level and talent on our team, we should be able to make nationals; we’ve just got to take care of business,” Lowes said. “It’s really more about being ready when we get there and taking that next step to get better every game, become a better team that’s harder working, with more chemistry and in better shape.”

Before his first season with the women last year, Lowes led the Men’s Division II hockey team for Liberty for

GOOCH is a sports reporter.

Leah Stauffer | Liberty News Service LIFTOFF — Redshirt junior Scottie James was ranked No. 10

in the country last season with a 61.6 shooting percentage. nine years until LU Club Sports Athletic Director Kirk Handy approached him with the new opportunity.

“The biggest thing about the change was just that I had a new team,” Lowes said.

“Hockey is hockey, there are some different nuances to the sport between men’s and women’s, but we are one year under our belt and did some awesome things.”

After his first year with the team, Lowes said he gained a better feel for the team, the league and what it takes

to be successful. He learned how to lead individuals with different coaching styles and motivations and strengthened chemistry with the other coaching staff. With this foundation, the goal for the remainder of the season, in addition to spiritual, academic, and cultural team growth, is to secure the national title once again.

“We don’t hide the fact that that’s our goal,” Lowes said. “We have other goals along the way that are designed to get us there, but

can learn from and we’ll look at them in practice.”

In the second half of the game, the Virginia Tech Hokies started off with possession of the ball, letting the Hokies take the lead again by scoring more than 50 points throughout the half. The Flames, trying to keep up, started pressing the Hokies with relentless pressure.

The Flames stretched within 10 points of the Hokies before the Hokies scored again, and maintained a lead the rest of the game. The game ended in a Hokies victory 84-70.

“I am very grateful and very blessed to be here,” senior forward Keenan Gumbs said. “This was a good experience for the team, just to see where we’re at. And now we gotta keep going forward as a team.”

The Flames will begin their regular season on Thursday, Nov. 8, against Maine Fort Kent back in the Vines Center at 7 p.m.

FROST is a sports reporter.

I think anything less than competing for a national title would be a disappointment on ice. We expect to be there and have a chance.”

The Lady Flames host the University of Rhode Island next at LaHaye Ice Center Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m.

NULL is a sports reporter.

sports

Liberty Champion | November 6, 2018 | B3

Towering over the game

Lady Flames middle blocker leading volleyball team to success John Simmons jasimmons2@liberty.edu

The road to volleyball success was not always smooth sailing for Anna Gragg.

During her time at Big Sky High School in Montana, Gragg was consistently on basketball and track teams that would go far into state tournaments, but not in volleyball.

Gragg recalled playing volleyball in high school. She never won more than 10 volleyball games in a season. Instead of letting those unenviable circumstances affect her, Gragg took the higher road and used that opportunity to foster a desire to encourage her teammates.

“It taught me how teams can get along when we win, but it taught me how to bring people together in times of adversity,” Gragg

said about her time in high school.

Liberty University is a far cry from the days at Big Sky High in more ways than one.

Gragg is a 6’3” middle blocker captain who has posted impressive numbers for the Lady Flames, playing in 91 of the 96 sets this season, maintaining an .886 serving percentage, 198 kills and 89 blocks on the year.

Her play is a large reason the Lady Flames are fourth in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings and have already locked up a spot in the conference tournament. But amidst the success on the court, Gragg continues to possess a humble attitude about her accomplishments. She continues to carry the mindset of encouraging her teammates through thick and thin that she developed in high school.

“If I can give 100 percent of being encouraging to my teammates, I can distract myself

Leah Seavers | Liberty News Service CAPTAIN — Junior middle blocker Anna Gragg has played in 91 of 96 sets this season.

and everything else flows in terms of how I play,” Gragg said.

The encouragement Gragg gives to her teammates has helped build great team chemistry, particularly with setter Hannah Morris, also a junior. Both Gragg and Hannah came to Liberty at the same time, and Morris attributes this commonality and Gragg’s personality to the bond they have with each other.

“I think coming in with her just helped us to have a great friendship off the court and it really correlates on the court,” Morris said.

“She’s the same person on and off the court. She’s very encouraging and loving and Joel Isimeme | Liberty News Service just wants the best for her PLAY HARD — Gragg was selected to the Big South allfriends and teammates.” conference first team last season.

When they are on the court at the same time, this chemistry as a setter and middle block- ence can be that “something special.” All er translates even further. Morris said she three believe that the Lady Flames ability to trusts Gragg to get the kill whenever the compete with top teams like Lipscomb and Kennesaw State, combined with the low exopportunity arises.

“As a setter, you want to give the ball to the pectations of the team’s playoff chances from one you trust the most, and Anna is definitely outsiders, creates a perfect storm of factors that could translate into great success come that for me,” Morris said.

Gragg’s play and character on the court are tournament time.

“We are peaking at the right time,” things that continues to impress head coach Trevor Johnson, who is in his 10th month at Gragg said.

The Lady Flames will need all of the conLiberty. Johnson inherited Gragg when he took over the program. Gragg possesses not tributions from Gragg and her teammates only the talent he wants from his players, but before they enter their toughest stretch of the year. Beginning Friday, Nov. 2, the Lady the attributes he wants as well.

“We want kids with great talent, but for Flames have four consecutive road games, me, we want kids with great character that three of which are against the top three want to be a part of something special,” John- schools in the Atlantic Sun: Kennesaw State, son said. “She plays at a high level. She’s su- Florida Gulf Coast and Lipscomb. The conper quirky and very funny and gets along with ference tournament will begin Thursday, Nov. 15 at Kennesaw State. everyone.”

Gragg, Morris and Johnson all believe that advancing far into the Atlantic Sun confer- SIMMONS is a sports reporter.

sports

B4 | November 6, 2018 | Liberty Champion

Erik Flores | Liberty News Service

SUBMERGED — The Lady Flames swimming and diving team hosts an impressive 8-0 all-time record at home.

Diving into Flames history Lady Flames swimming & diving dominates two-day-home-weekend meet Nathaniel Chambers nrchambers@liberty.edu

Friday, Oct. 26 will go down in Liberty University history as a monumental day for Flames athletics. For the first time ever, Bringham Young University visited Liberty’s campus and it has been a long time coming.

The late Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr. always envisioned that Liberty would represent Protestants like BYU represents Mormons.

“This was a historic day for Liberty University, not just our swimming and diving program,” Swimming & Diving Head Coach Jake Shellenberger said. “This is the first time that a BYU athletic team has competed on our campus. … (Falwell) always said, ‘We want to be what BYU is for Mormons and Notre Dame for Catholics, and we want to be sort of that third school for Protestant Christians.’”

Liberty Swimming & Diving hosted BYU, as well as Gardner-Webb and Old Dominion Friday and Saturday. While the other two teams added good competition to the event,

the main team of focus was BYU. “BYU has 20 national titles in their various sports,” Shellenberger said. “They’ve got a football national championship, obviously, and a world-renowned prestigious university. … To have them compete here on this campus is special.”

Liberty did not shy away from the competition as they came out swimming fast and set the tone for the event.

“We swam and dove lights out,” Shellenberger said. “For the first time in our program’s history we won a diving event. This is the first year that we have recruited divers, so that was a lot of fun to win that diving event.”

The Flames held a 132-54 lead over BYU, 157-26 over GardnerWebb and 149-37 over Old Dominion after day one.

“As a team, I think we did absolutely incredible,” junior freestyle sprinter Colleen Donlin said. “We came in super excited, in front of a home crowd on a Friday night.”

The swimming events that the Flames won on Friday were the 200-meter relay (Donlin was the

anchor), 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle (won by Donlin), 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly and 200 free relay (Donlin was the anchor as well). Donlin said she was really happy with her swims, as she broke her season time for the 50 free.

“

We swam and dove lights out.”

—Jake Shellenberger

Freshman Diver Olivia Robinson also won the 3-meter diving event on Friday with a combined score of 281.25 on six dives. Shellenberger said it was special because it was the first time in the program’s 9-year history that they won a diving event.

The Flames used their energy to sweep the competition, finishing out strong by winning five events on Saturday. They won by final scores of 232-118 over BYU, 290-56 over Gardner-Webb and 275-76 over Old Dominion. Their domination brought Liberty to a 7-0 record, and

after an 11-2 finish last year they hope to finish even better this year.

After finishing 5-0 at the Liberty Natatorium last year, the Flames now have an 8-0 record all-time at the natatorium after swimming home to a 3-0 record this weekend.

Both Shellenberger and Donlin said the major goal for this year is to win the conference championship, especially since it will be at home. Shellenberger said it will either be Liberty or Florida Golf Coast jumping in Liberty Natatorium’s pool come Feb. 23, as that is the tradition of the team that wins the conference title.

“This year has definitely been really fun,” Donlin said. “I believe we have the strongest team we’ve had ever.

She said she believes the team can win the conference title this year, and she hopes they can succeed at the NCAA Championships.

Liberty Flames Swimming & Diving will be at home next for the Liberty Invitational Nov. 16-18.

CHAMBERS is a sports reporter.

Chad Wylie cewylie@liberty.edu

Joel Coleman | Liberty News Service DETERMINED — Junior forward Sydney Baffone sprints down the field.

November until now, we’ve talked about the pieces we needed to put together and it’s exciting to get back.”

This is the third year in a row Liberty and Connecticut have faced off in the Big East Championship. The winner of the game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament while the loser will have to await the at-large bid announcements.

“Everyone is really excited,” Van Aarle said. “We’re just ready to play UConn again and this is gonna be the time that we’re gonna beat them.”

This is the confidence the Lady Flames are bringing into the championship game.

They are looking to get an automatic bid and make the

NCAA Field Hockey tournament for the first time since 2014, and the first time since they joined the Big East conference.

“It’s so exciting,” junior goalkeeper Allison Schaefer said. “It’s something that you worked for all year and you come out every day and you practice hard and you run, you do all the drills; you do the game plan the coaches give to you. Just to come out and to be going to the championship again is just so, so excited. I can’t wait.”

The Lady Flames, who are carrying in a 13-5 record to the championship game, have fought hard in every game this year. Three of their five losses were by five goals, and four of the losses this year were to ranked teams. They have worked hard in every game and it has paid off for them.

This year Liberty has also taken it to a whole new level. Since joining the Big East in 2016, they won only eight games in each of their first two years in the conference. However, this year they got to the 13-win mark and looked to get to the 14win mark Sunday against Connecticut.

Joel Coleman | Liberty News Service STANDOUT — Moroni led the team in goals.

CHAMBERS is a sports reporter.

HEART continued from B1 Liberty entered halftime with that lead, and they did not look back. Stingy defense and a late goal scored by freshman forward Kemy Meidane gave the Lady Flames a 4-0 win and set up a matchup in the Big East championship game against Connecticut.

“I’m just excited,” Head Coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker said. “We’re just talking in recap and in the locker room. It seems normal to go to a conference championship three years in a row, but it’s not and it takes a lot, a lot of hard work to get there so I’m so incredibly proud of the kids. Just from last

To find the similarities between football and warfare, look no further than the terminology fans use. Elite quarterbacks have a “cannon” for an arm. Games are determined at the line of scrimmage, the “war in the trenches.”

There is one key difference. No football player is supposed to die on the field. If that ever happens, the head coach must be held accountable.

Football requires athletes to push their physical limits. But, especially in college, coaches are entrusted to protect young men.

Coaches can make no guarantees of safety during games, but what they can affect is the culture during practices. Coaches must know when to push limits and when caution is necessary.

On May 29, 2018, offensive lineman Jordan McNair, 19, collapsed on the practice field at the University of Maryland. According to an ESPN report, McNair started cramping during drills and he remained on the field for 34 minutes before collapsing from heatstroke.

The trainers took over an hour to call 911 after he first began showing symptoms. He wasn’t taken to the hospital for another 30 minutes after that. When McNair finally reached the hospital, his internal body temperature was measured at 106 degrees.

On June 13, McNair died. Several coaches, including Head Coach DJ Durkin, were placed on administrative leave while the university investigated the tragedy. They published the results of their investigation.

The school found that Rick Court, the Terrapins’ strength coach, fostered a culture of bullying and abuse between players and coaches at practice. He forced injured players to compete in tug-of-war against healthy athletes and used food as a punishment, a former player told ESPN. Court reportedly once made a lineman eat candy bars while watching practice to shame him for not losing weight.

The university learned that its athletic trainers were unprepared and ill-equipped

Erik Flores | Liberty News Service DIVE — The diving team

earned a score of 281.25 on six dives.

to help McNair. They used improper treatment methods and delayed before calling the hospital.

Despite this, the Board of Regents recommended that DJ Durkin be reinstated as head coach of Maryland football Tuesday, Oct. 30. The board found that he was not directly to blame for McNair’s death, in part because he was a first-time head coach who was not adequately trained for his job.

The school argued that a man who had previously coached under Urban Myer and Jim Harbaugh, two of the most prominent coaches in college football, was not properly trained to be a head coach.

There is no excuse for Durkin not being held responsible for the death of McNair.

Court was hired by Durkin personally.

Head coaches are responsible for the management of the team. Durkin must take ownership for what happened.

After protests by the student government association, the school president announced he had fired Durkin Thursday, Nov. 1, just two days after he was reinstated.

The right decision was eventually made, but for the wrong reason. Rather than being proactive in firing Durkin, or even showing the courage to stick with the decision of the Board of Regents, the school allowed public opinion and protest to determine their former coach’s fate.

Head football coaches have countless responsibilities. They cannot micromanage every coach and player.

But they must be responsible for recognizing when a coach is using unsafe practices. They must be responsible for trainers being prepared to deal with medical issues.

With safety-conscious policies and honest conversations with players, coaches and staff, a head coach can create a safe atmosphere for players. DJ Durkin failed his duty to Jordan McNair. Others should learn from his poor example.

WYLIE is the opinion editor.

feature

Liberty Champion | November 6, 2018 | B5

Drawing in followers Student artist shares whimsical art and drawing tutorials through social media it,” Tepes said.

This idea of using social media as a tool to market a personal brand isn’t forIf you’re looking for dreamy drawings, eign to the artists at Libsweeping dresses and whimsical characters, erty. AnnaClaire Schmielook no further than Sara Tepes’s Instagram del, a senior graphic design page. Tepes, a Liberty University sopho- major, explained that for more, has seen her social media accounts many artists, it is essential skyrocket in popularity since she shared her to have a long-term social work on both Instagram and YouTube. media reach.

“I’ve been drawing since I was very small, “I feel like today there but when I was 6 years old, art really became are so many opportunimy thing,” Tepes said. ties to make a career out From there, Tepes began experiment- of something that’s not ing with digital painting and other medi- seen as a traditional caums of art. At 15, she created an Instagram reer, and social media propage – not to gain fans, but just to follow her vides one of the biggest friends. When new followers began asking opportunities for that,” for advice, Tepes made a YouTube chan- Schmiedel said. nel, where she posted her drawing tutorials Schmiedel added that job and tips. opportunities and valuable “It wasn’t just that I wanted to share my connections with peers can Lydia Poindexter| Liberty Champion art, it was that I needed to share my art with come through using social PASSION — Tepes began drawing when she was 6, and now posts art tutorials on YouTube. my followers because they were expecting media efficiently, and says it is more important than ever to said. “I’ve had to form a really tough skin.” learn how to navigate Tepes explained that although she has acthis asset. cumulated lots of followers, there are many Tepes explained that who criticize her work. This doesn’t bother so many aspiring artists her much anymore – Tepes has been a comget caught up in follower mitted artist for years now. counts that they forget “When I want people to come to my actheir own style. count, I want them to kind of have peace and “I think if you focus let the stuff that’s turbulent go,” Tepes said. on the fact that you’re Instead, art is a way for her to express that passionate about art, beauty can be found in anything – that’s why that’s important,” Tepes loves to experiment by combining roTepes said. mantic, feminine themes with darker, mysShe described how terious ones. Tepes explained that this idea artists can grow their acof beauty everywhere is a sign of God’s love. counts by using hashtags, For her, that’s the most important theme building real community — Sara Tepes to convey. with their followers and “I think in my future career, being a taking care to post the caught up in posting their political beliefs Christian and an artist should help me love highest quality images of on their pages, and it can sometimes be ex- people more and be able to reach out to their work possible. hausting. To her, it is much more important them through art,” Tepes said.

Knowing what content to to show the love of Christ, rather than her share on social media can be political stances. photo provided difficult. Tepes explained “Instagram doesn’t really have much hate that many artists can get at all, but on YouTube, there’s a lot,” Tepes DELOGLOS is a feature reporter.

CAPTURE — Tepes shares art with thousands of followers.

Olivia Deloglos odeloglos@liberty.edu

“

When I want people to come to my account, I want them to kind of have peace and let anything that’s turbulent go.

Steph + Taylor Photography

DREAM — DosReis (left) shares her love of Brazilian culture and flavor through a food truck.

Steph + Taylor Photography

DELIGHT — Rio Açai Bowl serves a variety of flavors and fresh ingredients.

Balancing dreams and deadlines Student and alumna share culture and fashion through small businesses Kharen Martinez kmartinez6@liberty.edu

The idea of sharing her culture through açai has been in Kathleen DosReis’ head ever since growing up in Brazil. And on the other side of the world, Katie Galley dreamed about having her own boutique. However, it was not until college that those two dreams started becoming true.

“I didn’t want it to be just a food place, I wanted it to be a culture experience to people,” DosReis said. “Yes, they can eat the food, but they can also learn the context of that food, DosReis opened a food truck that serves açai bowls called Rio Açai Bowl last year. She said she was passionate about opening a safe place for people to hang out and share about different cultures.

As a student, she said this vision

“

posed a lot of challenges.

“The hardest part is everything as a student” DosReis said, “I had to balance it out. Do I want to just completely drop the business, or do I want to just completely drop school? So, I balanced them out.”

and understanding that the book knowledge that I was earning was going to pay off at the end,” Galley said.

Galley is now the owner of Woven Devotion, a store located in Cornerstone where she sells women’s clothing, and where she also features different local artists that create accessories.

But she said her responsibilities as the business owner are really broad.

She is now learning to rely on people.

“I juggle a lot of balls, and I wear a lot of hats here at Woven De— Kathleen DosReis votion,” Galley said.

She learned she needed “help along the DosReis said for her it came way” because she was not perfect. down to fulfilling the vision of what She looked for employees who she is passionate about. In the could help her with the weaknesses same way, Katie Galley enrolled to she had.

Liberty University with the dream As she first began to work toward of opening her boutique. During her goal of opening Woven Devoher senior year she took the first tion, Galley said she was grateful step toward creating the business for all that she was taught in her plan for one of her classes. classes, and that it was really useful “I tried to focus on my studies for her to have that knowledge.

Don’t let anyone say that you are too young or that you are too unknowledgeable, because if I can do it, anyone can do it.

“I would be lying if I say that the who come up and talk to her while transition was an easy one, taking she serves them. your book knowledge, and then “I am supposed to be serving having to apply that in the work- food, not serving Jesus, but I am,” ing world, it was a challenge,” DosReis said. “I am totally walking Galley said. down what God has called me to However, for DosReis who is within the food truck.” studying psychology and wants to go into counseling, the process to prepare to start her business was different. She simply went to MARTINEZ is a feature Google to find the information she reporter. needed.

“Don’t let anyone say that you are too young or that you are too unknowledgeable because if I can do it, anyone can do it,” DosReis said.

Although her vision was not to have a food truck at first, she said she found in it an opportunity photo provided to help people in Lynchburg FASHION — Galley utilized the skills learned in class.

feature

B6 | November 6, 2018 | Liberty Champion

From dawn to dusk Student entrepreneur defies fear of failure to offer specialty doughnuts Virginia Peay vlpeay@liberty.edu

Once a week for an entire summer, Abigail Daniels explored the eclectic food trucks and aesthetic bakeries of Portland, Oregon. She had gone to Portland for a mission’s trip but came back with the dream of one day having her own food truck.

After Daniels returned home, she decided to take the leap and not be controlled by fears of failure. Daniels launched her business plans with the help of her family and the entrepreneur’s program.

“It felt like something I just had to do,” Daniels said. “I think dreams are something that God gives us, and that he is the one that helps us complete them by giving us the resources to help accomplish it.”

Daniels took her idea to Liberty University’s Center for Entrepreneurs and immediately got plugged into the Incubator program.

“Last year, at this time I was working around the clock on the food truck interviewing other small businesses, meeting with a mentor, etc.” Daniels said. “The Incubator

program really accelerated the process with so many great resources and helped so much.”

This program is designed to help students figure out all the steps in creating their small business and the best ways to go about them.

“When I first started doing it, I was going to be super independent, but the Lord really humbled me,” Daniels said. “He taught me that he never created us to do things on our own and that’s why we are so interdependent. It’s so cool to see how so many people have helped me without expecting anything in return.”

Winter break of last year Daniels officially opened up her food truck Dawn and Dusk Donuts with the help of her parents and four siblings.

“I remember calling my dad everyday with all these fears and he was like ‘You’ll be ok’,” Daniels said. “This gave me a safe place to fail with the support of my family.”

Since then Dawn and Dusk Donuts has ventured all over Virginia and Pennsylvania from weddings to the Community Market in downtown Lynchburg. Dawn and Dusk serves specialty doughnuts, coffee

and ice cream.

Daniels stated that much of her inspiration for chasing her dreams was instilled by two books she had read that summer in Portland: Garden City by John Mark Comer and Culture Making by Andy Crouch.

culture, and something that was so special about the truck was that I had the opportunity to create a culture for whoever is working there.

We have the opportunity to bring the kingdom of God here on Earth if we show love, joy and peace to

deanna drogan| Liberty Champion

TASTY — Daniels opened her truck in winter of 2017 and sells treats.

“In Garden City by John Mark Comer, he talked about how wellmade things glorify God,” Daniels said. “Culture Making taught me that everywhere we go we create a

people and the truck is an avenue to do that through.”

These two influential ideologies drove Daniels aspirations and hopes as she spent endless nights

painting, branding and strategizing her small business, preparing her for whatever the future may hold.

“I love branding and branding strategy,” Daniels said, “That’s what the most fun of building the truck for me was creating the brand, name, logo and target audience. That type of thing is what I’m hoping to do very, very soon.”

Though, Dusk and Dawn Donuts may not be what Daniels future holds as she hopes to work in business missions or at a marketing firm after she graduates this year from Liberty University.

Her advice remains to ring true for anyone with a dream and the courage to pursue it.

“Do it and don’t wait for permission,” Daniels said. “You’ve already been given permission you need and don’t be afraid of failure.

Don’t allow those fears to control you and submit them to the Lord.”

Visit Dawn and Dusk Donuts’ Facebook for updates on where location and new flavors Daniels is trying.

PEAY is a feature reporter.

Don’t break the bank Thrifty shoppers find fashion for cheap at local consignment stores Esther Eaton eeaton@liberty.edu

Photo by kasey lange

LEAD — The executive board of Liberty’s chapter of PRSSA oversees chapter development.

Build relations

Liberty’s chapter of PRSSA receives generous grant from Blue Ridge PRSA

Kharen Martinez kmartinez6@liberty.edu

Her resume made it to the top of the stack of hundreds of others applying for the job. She prepared and prepared some more for the interview to come. As the interview starts, one of the first things that the interviewer asks is whether or not Lydia Nichols was part of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). The answer to that could determine how the rest of the interview goes.

PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) was founded in 1967 by a group of professors of different universities seeking to help and equip students for their journey in public relations and communications.

It has now grown to be an international association of more than 10,000 students.

“Employers want people who have been involved with the PRSSA because it shows you’re dedicated to the profession but also that you are bettering yourself,” Allana Dorsett, president of the PRSSA at Liberty University said.

The PRSSA at Liberty is one of the chapters, or groups that exist within the association in different universities around the world, including countries such as Perú, Colombia and Argentina.

“I honestly believe that (PRSSA) is the best professional development club on campus, students of all majors benefit from our networking events,” Nichols, vice president of the PRSSA at Liberty University, said.

Throughout the semester, club meetings host workshops and speakers who specialize in different areas of public relations and communications and networking opportunities.

“We try to make the meetings workshops so that they are hands on and you are actually doing something while you are there,” Dorsett said.

This association of 30 members recently received a first time grant from the Blue Ridge

chapter of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), allowing them to improve their meetings.

“It just adds to our overall budget which allows us to put on better events for our students, so we better facilitate hospitality,” Nichols said.

Now with the resources given to them, the board of the PRSSA is planning to create more and better opportunities to develop themselves and get experience in different tasks that could be given to them in the field.

“We want to make sure you are taking the knowledge that you are learning in the classroom and applying it in real life, so you can show it to future employers,” Dorsett said.

One of the events they are planning includes helping different clubs around campus promote themselves, and it would give members of the association a chance to exercise their public relations skills through those clubs.

“Our workshops are really helpful just in developing skills, building relationships through the club and kind of working in a more professional team environment,” Nichols said.

Another opportunity available to students is to apply to be an associate with Innovations PR, a nationally-affiliated student-run firm that allows students to gain experience in the professional field by working with clients in the Lynchburg area.

The requirement for PRSSA membership includes a fee that will grant access to the PRSSA member benefits, including networking opportunities with events and a job bank. Nichols recommends that anyone interested in joining PRSSA should come and see what the organization has to offer.

“I would definitely say if you are doing anything in the PR industry, and you don’t have PRSSA in your resume, you are probably not going to get the job (because) it is that big of an association,” Nichols said.

MARTINEZ is a feature reporter.

rarely sees a duplicate, and she encouraged shoppers to enjoy the search.

“You have to have patience, number one,” Wilder said. “You have to be a shopper.”

Tyler Harrison, a sophomore at Liberty, said he can spend three hours at a thrift store and prefers to go with friends. He said the 70s and 80s styles of dress shirts he likes are easy to find at a thrift store. He also buys sound equipment, which he said is risky but worth it for the low price.

“The goal is to find good stuff for cheap,” Harrison said. “ … Just be willing to look at a lot of stuff you’re not going to buy.”

Painter also acknowledged that thrift shopping requires sorting through racks of clothing for a single exciting find. But thrifting allows her to change her fashion sense often without draining her bank

Kinsey Painter dresses in colorfully choreographed combinations of textures, patterns and styles, layering thrift store finds to create outfits that match her ever-changing aesthetic. A freshman at Liberty University, Painter dressed as a dad from the 80’s for Halloween.

She combined high waisted jeans, a shirt printed with fishing lures, a bright blazer and a backward cap, all finds from thrifting.

“I’m always trying to find really weird and unique articles of clothing,” Painter said. “So, any time I achieve that I’m happy.”

The Lynchburg area offers thrift and consignment stores ranging from the sleek and consistently stocked to mazes of back rooms packed with surprises.

Options include Plato’s Closet, popular for booties and mom jeans; Goodwill, within walking distance from campus; and Thrifty Paws, which supports Amherst County’s Humane Society. Most stores add new inventory daily and offer consistent categories but constantly changing items.

Macy hrncir | Liberty Champion Thrift stores often support a char- FIND — Goodwill and Plato’s Closet are thrifting favorites. ity and sell donated items which can be damaged. Consign- account.

“It’s a challenge,” Painter said. “You ment stores purchase gently used items, either paying the owners up front or never know what you’re going to find but splitting profits when the item is sold. it’s always exciting.”

Painter’s goal is to find something she Plato’s Closet pays for clothing up front loves.

She said the key to effective thrift but does not accept items older than 2 years. According to assistant manager shopping is being able to identify someLauren Bunnell, this helps keep inven- thing and tell if it will look good on you, something she called an acquired skill. tory fashionable.

While Painter has found brands such At Nice as New Consignment, under a 20-minute drive from Liberty, owner as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Florence Wilder sorts and prices items Dr. Martens at low prices, she focuses in a back room. A jewelry counter strewn on the unique, touching clothing to feel with faux gold and bright gems greets its texture and looking for unusual patcustomers arriving at the shop. Nice as terns. For a new thrift shopper, Painter New offers everything from a Batman- has simple advice.

“Only buy something if you look at it themed Christmas tree and board games and it makes you happy,” Painter said. to a rack of furry vests and purses hung in a row, lined up by color.

Wilder said despite thousands of items coming through the store, she EATON is a feature reporter.

feature

Liberty Champion | November 6, 2018 | B7

Managers steal the show Reber-Thomas employees get creative in movie themed annual cook-off with cupcakes topped by marshmallow-andpretzel-stick Thor hammers.

“We’ve been giving away Marvel merchandise all night,” Irby said. “At the end of the On Tuesday night, Oct. 30, Liberty stu- night we’re raffling off the Infinity Gauntlet.”

Barry Spence, dressed as Woody the cowdents witnessed Thanos reading out winning raffle tickets and the gingerbread man hand- boy doll, was carving slices of “Little Bo ing out earwax. It was the annual Manager Peep’s Lamb Chops” while “You’ve Got a Cook-off at the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall Friend in Me” played overhead.

“It’s a little messed up if you think about and the managers let their creativity run wild.

Music from the “Toy Story” films sound- it,” Spence said, referring to the idea of Little Bo Peep having lamb ed over the speakers, chops.

“Thor: Ragnarok” The “Shrek” table around played on a flat screen the corner was especially creTV and the lines of stuative in labeling their dishes. dents waiting to sample Dips were “swamp slime” food wound around the and guacamole was adverdining hall’s central — Russell Irby tised as “pureed lizard.” At space. The theme of the end of the line, a manager the night was films, and completely enveloped in a there were four teams gingerbread man costume ofof randomly selected managers decked in costumes and proffering fered marshmallows on a stick drizzled with green-dyed white chocolate. similarly themed food.

Kayla Horn| Liberty Champion “Want some earwax,?” she asked each The Marvel supervillain overseeing raffle FANTASTIC — Reber-Thomas managers delighted students by decking out the dining hall. tickets was Human Resources Manager Rus- student.

Near the beginning of the night the sell Irby sporting purple body paint. Students took pictures next to him and cardboard cut- “Shrek” table seemed especially amused couple months to plan, but it took coordina- all our jobs to do. So, he’s having to watch outs of Thor and Iron Man and walked away with their seemingly repulsive spread. tion to have all the food served fresh at the all of us, make sure we’re not messing up his “Earwax!” the team same time. nice menu, getting all prepped and ready to cheered. “Wooo! Earwax!”

“I came over last night and made meat- be taken out.”

The gingerbread man lifted balls,” Retail Manager Amanda Clark said at But, overall, the managers seemed its arms as if in celebration. the “Pirates of the Caribbean” table. “I think enthusiastic.

The hall was filled with I made 700 meatballs.”

“We do it for the students,” Irby said. “… banners, prizes, costumes Besides different kinds of meatballs, stu- They come out here, have a lot of fun, have a and props. Spence explained dents who visited her team’s table could also lot of free food. They enjoy it.” that the teams were given a make punch floats topped with animal gumThe next day the winners were announced budget to spend. mies. The edible sharks and octopi rested on on social media. The prize for best presen“I think we had like 500 the scoop of ice cream as if on an iceberg in a tation went to the “Shrek” table, while the bucks for everything but blue punch sea.

“Toy Story” table won best taste and best food, and (with) food, so long Proficiency in managing does not neces- overall. as we’re not completely ridic- sarily mean a proficiency in food prep, someKeep up with Liberty Dining events ulous, we can get away with thing the “Marvel” had to work with. through their website, Facebook or Twitter. it,” Spence said. “I probably “We have one guy (on our team) who’s pushed the envelope a little a chef,” Irby said. “Everybody else knows Kayla Horn| Liberty Champion bit with lamb. That’s not ex- nothing about the kitchen. So, getting all MARVELOUS — Food stations offered Marvel-themed actly cheap.” the food prepared, that’s a lot on Chef Mike MCCLAMROCH is a feature The teams were given a (Lowe). Plus, during all of this we still have reporter. treats.

Rachel McClamroch rkmcclamroch@liberty.edu

“

We do all this for the students.

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FEATURE

B8

November 6, 2018

Bloodroot

ryan klinker and lorena rivera| Liberty Champion

“Bloodroot: The Ballad of Clinch Mountain” premiered in the Black Box Theater Nov. 2, bringing audiences the courageous stories of women who lived along the Appalachian Mountains. The stories of women such as June Carter and Anne Jarvis were featured in the play crafted by 25 women in Liberty’s Theater Arts Department.

Showtimes:

November 9, 10, 16 - 7:30 p.m.

November 10, 17 - 2 p.m.

November 11 (ASL Performance) - 3 p.m.

Tickets available at (434) 582-SEAT

Liberty declared ‘Best for Vets’ University offers support and resources for veterans and service members 30,000 active military service men and women, veterans and military spouses pursued degrees through Liberty University in last year Liberty University recently alone. Thirty percent of Liberty’s claimed Military Times’ 2019 title Class of 2018 had military affiliaof the “Best School for Vets” for tions. Some members of Liberty’s online and nontraditional schools, staff even visit Fort Bragg each year works to provide support for serto host a graduation ceremony for vices member and veterans. online graduates unable to travel to Liberty University Online stuLynchburg for commencement. dent Christy Maes understands Army veteran, Veterans Cenwhy Liberty is ranked #1. She is a ter manager and Military Student military wife to a master sergeant Liaison, Jonathan Norman said Liberty’s attitude of patriotism sets Liberty apart when it comes to respecting veterans and the military. What makes Liberty stand out in their treatment of veterans is their heart behind it.

“We love our students, we love our military students and we love America,” Norman said.

“It’s the heart, really. We honor their sacrifice.”

Liberty not only stands beside service men and women, but it supports their families as well.

“Recognizing that military family members make sacrifices, and rewarding that with educational benefits is huge,” Maes said. “This has

Kevin Manguiob | Liberty news service allowed me to purSUPPORT — Liberty provides many resources for veterans and active service members. sue my educational Emily Wood ewood13@liberty.edu

in the South Carolina Air Force National Guard.

“What sets Liberty apart is honoring military spouses, like myself, as students, as well as having staff devoted to helping military members with related benefits,” Maes said. “Liberty is all in when it comes to providing support for military members and their families.”

Liberty has a reputation of providing outstanding support for the nation’s military. More than

goals.”

Liberty has a leading rank on the list of Top 50 Schools for Tuition Assistance, along with the Military Friendly schools list. Liberty also received the designation of a Purple Heart University last year because of its respect for those injured in the line of duty.

The Office of Military Affairs provides academic resources and special events for current or former military members and their families. The Veterans Center in Montview Student Union fosters community and provides mentors and tutoring for the veteran community of Liberty.

Having access to the guidance of other veterans guides veterans through the difficult transition into civilian life. The Veterans Center offers veteran-to-veteran tutoring and a Bible study every Wednesday night, in collaboration with the Student Veterans Association.

Director of the Office of Military Affairs Emily Foutz said there are many institutions that value the United States military. What she believes sets Liberty apart is its focus on eternal significance.

The Veterans Center also plays a pivotal role in helping military students transition into civilian life through the support and camaraderie they provide.

“The culture in the military is very different,” Norman said. “All of this transition hits them at once while they’re trying to earn good grades, make a living and feed their family. It’s important (that) we honor their service, but also just to serve them like we would any of our other students because

there’s a need there. There’s a need for them to become productive members of the rest of society, and to make that transition is really difficult.”

Liberty professors work with military students and respect their schedules. Military Affairs Center agent and Marine veteran Kelsey Bondurant praises Liberty professors for their willingness to work with them. Bondurant completed half of her online degree during her enlistment.

“It helps to be able to go to a university that partners with you,” Bondurant said. “It’s everyone’s heart behind it that really makes the difference.”

Liberty continues to honor veterans and service members each year during Military Emphasis Week. This year’s Military Emphasis Week is Nov. 7-14, featuring a Veterans Day Parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, as well as a Military Appreciation Convocation Nov. 14.

Liberty hosts a #HonorThem Night of Gratitude on Nov.14 to remember and celebrate veterans. Liberty will also pay tribute to veterans and active military on Nov. 24 during the Military Appreciation football game against New Mexico State in Williams Stadium.

Visit the Office of Military Affairs Nov. 7 for a veterans open house, or visit the website or email militarypoc@liberty.edu.

WOOD is a feature reporter.