TECHNICIAN F EB RU ARY 25, 2021
VOL . 101 | NO. 13
REYNOLDS RUMBLE
CAN THE PACK 3-PEAT?
See Page 10
Contents
2 TECHNICIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
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IN THIS ISSUE: page
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FAFSA changes to simplify applications for 20232024 school year
WHAT YOU MISSED:
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A quick look at the headlines in and outside of NC State
NC State men’s basketball upsets No. 15 Virginia on the road On Feb. 24, the Wolfpack beat the Cavaliers 61-68 in Charlottesville for their fourth-straight ACC road win. The game was highlighted by redshirt senior forward D.J. Funderburk’s performance, which included 14 points and six rebounds. Funderburk scored nine points in a row for NC State down the stretch to ensure a victory for the Pack.
NEWS
Take advantage of the long-lasting benefits of summer classes
SOURCE: TECHNICIAN
Gov. Cooper eases statewide COVID-19 restrictions amid a drop in cases Gov. Cooper has lifted the statewide curfew and extended alcohol sales after almost a full year of coronavirus restrictions. The modified protocol comes after a nationwide dip in cases, although a statewide mask mandate and limited capacity in businesses and retail establishments remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
OPINION
SOURCE: THE NEWS & OBSERVER
page
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Talley Student Union: building community, housing a rich history
United States hits 500,000 recorded coronavirus deaths Although the actual total of deaths is likely much higher, the number of recorded coronavirus deaths hit half a million this past week. This comes almost a year after the first recorded outbreak in the United States.
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
ARTS & CULTURE
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Chinese budget electric vehicle car outsells Tesla’s upmarket cars
No. 7 NC State wrestling looking for 3-peat at ACC Championship
SAIC Motor, China’s top automaker, is selling the Hong Guang Mini Electric Vehicle, a compact car that only costs $4,500. Although car experts emphasize that it falls behind Tesla in terms of battery, range and performance, Hong Guang Mini sales ranked in front of Tesla in terms of sales by a wide margin in January.
SOURCE: BBC
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Technician (USPS 455-050) is the largest student newspaper of NC State University and is published every Thursday throughout the academic year from August through May except during holidays and examination periods. Opinions expressed in the columns, cartoons, photo illustrations and letters that appear on the Technician’s pages are the views of the individual writers and cartoonists. As a public forum for student expression, the students determine the content of the publication without prior review. To receive permission for reproduction, please write the editor. Subscription cost is $100 per year. A single copy is free to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus. Additional copies are $0.25 each. Printed by Triangle Web Printing, Durham, NC, Copyright 2011 by North Carolina State Student Media. All rights reserved.
News TECHNICIAN 3 Congress plans FAFSA changes to simplify applications for 2023-2024 school year TECHNICIANONLINE.COM
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
Niko Ayers
Correspondent
Major structural changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) were introduced in the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in December 2020. The proposed modifications theoretically shorten and simplify the FAFSA for college students, but are not expected to take place until the 20232024 academic year. Krista Ringler, the associate vice provost and director of scholarships and financial aid, believes these changes will make the FAFSA easier to complete. The current application asks 108 questions, the vast majority of which only apply to 1% of students. The bill shortens the famously long form to around 36 questions to encourage college students who do not currently apply for FAFSA to start. The change in FAFSA’s wording is a defining part of this bill. When a student applies to FAFSA, they receive a number currently called “expected family contribution,” or EFC. This is the number FAFSA calculates after receiving information about the applicant’s family, tax information, income, etc. Ringler says that students may become stressed after receiving their EFC, even for a number that seems high, like $5,000, which is actually a low EFC. “Those words ‘Expected Family Contribution’ communicate something that that number is not,” Ringler said. “It is rare that a student would actually have to pay what their expected family contribution is. All it is is a number that institutions use to derive eligibility for aid.” One of the key structural changes introduced in the bill is the formula that determines the student aid index. It will be hard to immediately see the results of those changes, but Ringler says the formula drastically changes how it calculates student aid for a student with other siblings in college. “So families who, let’s say, have twins in college in 2023… they may see a difference in their EFC or student aid index, even if their income changes not at all,” Ringler said. “It’s difficult to estimate that until the formula has actually been completely embedded.” The bill also simplifies the formula that
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determines who is eligible for Pell Grants, which are federal funds dedicated for lowincome students. Currently, the Pell Grant requires you apply to FAFSA beforehand, and with the EFC and your income, you can get an estimate for how much grant money a student would receive based on the current table.
a student to know only their income and family size, making planning for college an easier process for more financially vulnerable students. “My message, always, to [unsure students and families] has been ‘Don’t not apply because you think it’s too expensive’,” Thompson said. “Open all of your
information on the table.” Though the timing and placement for such changes to the FAFSA may seem strange, especially in a bill geared toward stimulus packages for economic recovery, all the pieces were in place for improvements regarding financial aid delegation. Still, these changes were pushed for a long time, by lobbying from the financial aid community and from political advocates in Congress. “All of this, although it seems to have happened quick ly, did not happen quickly,” Thompson said. “It just happened now because the time was prime with a lame-duck session.” College freshman and sophomores, as well as current and future high school students, can look forward to completing a shorter FAFSA. In the meantime, both Ringler and Thompson highly encourage NC State students to complete and submit the FAFSA before the March 1 priority deadline.
College freshman and sophomores, as well as current and future high school students, can look forward to completing a shorter FAFSA. Michelle Thomas, the counseling team supervisor for scholarships and financial aid, says that the FAFSA changes will come with a “lookup table” that requires
doors. Go ahead and apply, get the financial aid package, see what it looks like. If you have to say no because you can’t afford it, at least then you’ve got all of the
News 4 TECHNICIAN How NC State administration is addressing the Advancing Black Undergraduate Life petition THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
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Cassidy Englund News Editor
Amid the international resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and incidents of NC State students using racial slurs coming to light over the summer, the NC State Coalition of Black Organizations and leaders created a petition in June 2020, demanding that the University make efforts to advance Black undergraduate life. Student Body President Melanie Flowers worked with several Black student organizations, including Nubian Message and the University Activities Board’s Black Students Board, to create the petition. As of February 2021, the university administration is still in the process of meeting the petition’s demands. However, Flowers said she was pleased with the University’s response to the petition thus far, but the demands on the petition were not new requests. Chancellor Randy Woodson met with student leaders about the petition prior to its publication and committed to addressing the demands. Flowers said it was “really amazing” to hear that the University had committed to addressing the petition’s demands. The Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) has been the primary department in ensuring and making these changes. 1. We demand that representatives from the NC State Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) must have regular (once a month) meetings with the leaders of Black organizations on campus to ensure that the University is actively listening to Black students’ concerns. According to OIED’s diversity landing page, this demand was addressed on June 22, 2020, after Woodson’s initial meeting with the NC State Coalition of Black Organizations. Several OIED members now meet monthly with Black student organization leaders, along with Flowers, to discuss administrative progress in addressing the petition’s demands. Flowers said the meetings have been helpful and are used to give updates regarding the progress on initiatives to make campus more inclusive and safe. 2. We demand that all incoming NC State faculty and staff must complete sensitivity training, upon employment and repeated every 3 years, on how to navigate and address racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of discriminatory and violent language/actions. While the selection of the training program will be the responsibility of the university, the program must be evidence-based and not bid-based in order to ensure maximum effectiveness. This should be enacted by the end of the Fall 2020 semester. OIED automatically registered staff and
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students for a highly-requested diversity, equity and inclusion training on Feb. 1 in order to meet this demand. Students and staff must complete the training by April 1. Faculty received the same training during the fall semester. According to Sheri Schwab, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity, OIED had difficulty meeting this demand due to Executive Order 13950, which prohibited employers from giving certain diversity training. President Joe Biden revoked the executive order on Jan. 20. Flowers said the training provides a groundwork, but she wants to expand the initiative by hosting in-person sessions whenever possible. She also expressed her disappointment that training only became a priority after students created this petition and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others. Flowers stated that Black student leaders spent their entire summer trying to get the University back on track. “I think it was heartening to see that we could move forward, and it also was just like ‘Dang, it really took us until this year to do something,’” Flowers said. “And that was disappointing. So, I’m excited and frustrated.” 3. We demand that NC State hires a fulltime director for the AACC by the end of the fall 2020 semester. The director position has been vacant for a full academic school year. The hiring process should include students, having students appointed to the hiring committee.
Angela Gay-Audre, who previously worked as the assistant director of the Women’s Center, became the new director of the African American Culture Center (AACC) on Sept. 8. 4. We demand that in addition to the currently required training, NC State requires all student organization leaders to complete a yearly training focusing on diversity and inclusion. If they do not complete this, they will not be able to register as a universityaffiliated organization. According to Schwab, Executive Order 13950 also led to difficulties in completing this demand. Additionally, Schwab said not being on campus during the fall semester impeded the process of hiring student leaders to facilitate the training. “A lot of those trainings benefit the most from in person, and we had set things up moving towards an in-person experience, and when that didn’t happen, we all have had to shift,” Schwab said. “But I know it’s being planned.” Schwab said two graduate students have been hired to lead the training, and the curriculum is currently in progress. 5. We demand that a mandatory in-person diversity and inclusion training be added to the Greek life Standards of Excellence requirement. At least 75% of the chapter must attend the training. The training will specifically be geared towards Greek life. The training will be decided by the Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life based on evidence of efficiency.
Fraternity and Sorority Life chapters participate in the Encouraging Positive Interventions within Chapters (EPIC) program annually, rotating between topics, including sexual assault prevention, diversity and inclusion and alcohol and other drugs, each year. By the end of three years, chapter members should have completed all three trainings. “Because the Panhellenic community is a majority white space, it’s important that they do take opportunities that are intentionally going to educate them on how to interact with people that don’t look like them,” Flowers said. “Especially because when there are diverse students who are a part of Panhellenic, they’re always in the minority. They need to have just as welcoming of an experience as their white counterparts.” With diversity, equity and inclusion training now required of all students, faculty and staff by April 1, Schwab said OIED is working to decide the best ways to augment prior trainings. “Truthfully, with diversity and inclusion training, we know one and done is never going to be enough,” Schwab said. “It’s a continuous process. We certainly want to have the topics introduced to students as they’re coming on board, but it will be numerous times that we hope that people will have interaction with the concepts of the training.” According to the OIED website, chapter presidents completed a virtual diversity, equity and inclusion training session over the summer, with facilitated video discussions in August 2020.
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6. We demand that NC State administration releases a clear and detailed protocol of the Strategic Plan Taskforce before the start of the Fall 2020 semester. The administration should allow a window for public feedback. This protocol must explicitly state how it will benefit Black students. The protocol will be distributed via email and posted on a webpage. All nine task forces underwent a period of public feedback during fall 2020, including the diversity, equity, inclusion and well-being task force. Faculty, staff and students had the opportunity to send in written comments or criticisms. The strategic plan executive steering committee, of which Schwab is a member, created six primary goals after working with the nine task forces. In early March, faculty, staff and students will be able to provide feedback on the goals, Flowers said. According to the OIED website, all steering committee members “will be charged to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion, including an anti-racism lens, is incorporated into all aspects of the Strategic Plan.” Schwab said steering committee members have been discussing the goals with students and faculty during meetings, and the task force
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is still working to meet this demand. 7. We demand the creation of a designated fund that allows Alumni and community member’s donations to be directly used for Black organizations, student spaces, and Black life on campus continuously throughout the year. The current fund, the African American Cultural Center Enrichment Fund, is not available continuously throughout the year. The dispersion of funds will be determined by the directors of the AACC and MSA. According to Schwab, the AACC now has a giving page open for donations to the AACC Enrichment Fund any day of the year. The Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) Enrichment Fund is also available through the MSA giving page. Additionally, Schwab said there was a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion during the 2020 Day of Giving. According to Flowers, there will be a spotlight on scholarships for Black students during Day of Giving events in the future. 8. We demand that the Black Male Initiative Village shall only relocate if there is an overwhelming majority of BMI students af-
firming the relocation. Movement of the Black Male Initiative Village “did not come to fruition,” according to Schwab. University Housing has been in contact with student leaders of the Black Male Initiative since the peition’s publication, Schwab said. Flowers also mentioned that Student Government is currently trying to create a Women of Color Village. 9. We demand that the NC State administration actively recruits and hires Black individuals for all positions including faculty and staff. The university should work to gradually increase the percentage of Black faculty and staff each year. OIED’s work to meet this demand is “in progress continuously,” according to the department’s website. Over 35 staff members completed the Diverse Faculty/Staff Recruitment Certification, meant to train individuals in recruiting diverse employees. 10. We demand that the NC State administration install increased lighting throughout the entirety of the Brickyard and the areas surrounding Talley Student Union. The lack of proper lighting has raised several safety
concerns, preventing students from feeling safe while walking in these areas. Schwab said OIED will be able to work more to address concerns about lighting this semester since students were not on campus during fall 2020. However, lighting on campus has been increasing each year, and there are plans to add more lighting in the future, according to Schwab. Flowers said lighting has “improved substantially” since the petition’s creation, and NC State Facilities are in the process of installing more LED lighting. Students can stay updated with university responses to the petition through the OIED diversity landing page. “I’m really proud to see all the strides that NC State has made,” Flowers said. “There have definitely been some frustrating lower points, like the Chadwick Seagraves investigation, but overall, I feel like NC State is talking about Black students in ways we weren’t talking about Black students when I first came to campus, and that’s really amazing to see. And I feel like I’m definitely leaving a university that’s much more conscious of the role it has to play, and it can play, in society.”
Opinion
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As the summer approaches, take advantage of the long-lasting benefits of summer classes
As we move toward the middle of the spring semester, it is time to think about summer classes. Assuming the pandemic will continue to simmer throughout the summer, meaning traveling Emily will not be as feasible, there Cooney Staff Columnist really is no better time to enroll in summer courses. There are many advantages to taking classes over the summer in college. One primary advantage is that students are able to complete courses in a shorter amount of time, with options being three, five or 10-week classes in either summer session I or II, opposed to the regular 16-week semester. If you are currently at the beginning of your college career, you could easily get one or more
GEP courses done, especially if you are like me and wanted to take a required math class as quickly as possible and be done with it forever. Likewise, if you are a sophomore or junior farther along in your degree program, you could take the classes you may have been dreading and complete them in a quick semester that will be over before you know it. Many students choose to take the more difficult classes for their major during the summer in order to avoid taking harder or more time consuming courses during a full fall or spring semester. Taking harder classes over the summer also allows students to focus on fewer classes at a time, making courses like organic chemistry or calculus a little less daunting. Plus, with so many classes being available to take online, you could access courses if you
are near or far from campus over the summer. Taking summer classes can also help students graduate early as they can complete their course requirements for their major faster. So if you are looking into graduating a semester or more early, summer classes could help you do so instead of having to take 16-18 credits in the regular fall and spring semesters. Another option to consider when looking at summer classes is taking fitness courses. Especially if you have not completed them yet, you can check off the requirement, but also it is an ideal option if you are trying to stay active. With most fitness courses meeting in person or online four days a week, it is the perfect way to have a workout schedule set for you to reach your fitness goals. It is also much easier to stay motivated in a fitness class as you will be working toward a grade, compared to fol-
lowing your own workout routine that you can technically skip when you want. Additionally, summer is a good time to take fitness courses because many students feel as though they do not have time to take them along with their other courses during the regular 16-week semester. There are many different types of fitness courses to choose from, with options ranging from more holistic classes like fitness and wellness to more concentrated courses like indoor group cycling. Students can certainly choose to take a full break from classes over the summer, but if you are considering taking summer classes, there are undeniable advantages that are worth looking into. It could lead to an easier fall semester, graduating early or even meeting your long-term fitness goals, so why not enroll in a class or two if you are able to?
Richard Burr is one of our two current senators and a former member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina. He belongs to the Republican Party on a national level and the North CaroOlivia lina GOP, which has firmly Hille supported him until recently. Correspondent Burr was one of seven Republicans to join Democrats in the voting to convict Donald J. Trump for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6. This came as a shock to many Republicans, as Burr had once stated that he wanted to dismiss the case “due to constitutionality.” Within two days of voting to convict Trump, the North Carolina GOP unanimously voted to censure Burr. The North Carolina GOP stated that they were censoring Burr over his vote that he once stated was unconstitutional. Burr re-
sponded to his censoring on behalf of the GOP, saying that it was a “sad day for Republicans.” While Burr joining the Democrats in holding Trump accountable does not make him a saint, it shows that he is one of a few Senate Republicans willing to vote based on law and responsibility when absolutely necessary. However, the North Carolina GOP is now calling to cancel Burr because of his vote across party lines. I will agree that Burr needs to be “canceled,” but not because of his vote to convict Donald Trump. In fact, that may be one of the few things that barely meets the line of morally acceptable. Burr should have been “canceled” a long time ago when he voted to ban abortions after 20 weeks, or when he voted to stop funding in sanctuary cities. How about when he supported the appointment of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh? And that’s just some of the stuff he has done in the past two years.
There are several hypocritical issues with trying to “cancel” Burr simply for voting to convict Donald Trump. First off, for a political party to punish a member for voting against party lines is entirely unethical. By censoring a member of Congress for voting, it is practically admitting that the political party believes that the individual only serves a purpose to vote on party lines. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one in the student body who believes that members of Congress are supposed to use their best judgement and vote for the citizens they represent, not for multibillion-dollar institutions and partisan lobbyists. Secondly, isn’t cancel culture Republicans’ biggest tiff with Democrats? Even though most conservatives see cancel culture as unethical, Republicans in Congress are now calling to “cancel” Burr for logically voting to impeach Donald Trump. Clearly, this opinion is very situational.
The topic of cancel culture is often demonized as the problem, rather than the horrendous, immoral acts of discrimination and violence made by individuals. If anything, it shows a lack of moral set when it comes to non-cis, white issues, as BIPOC and queer people are not afforded this same forgiveness. There is no praise for the seven Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to convict Donald Trump, especially Richard Burr. Voting against a man who incited a deadly attack on the government and tried to overturn an election while trying to manipulate elected officials is beyond common sense. But it is indeed still a crime to have been silent for the four years of Trump’s heinous administration. While history does not tell the majority truth and often leaves out the most important parts, it will indeed be interesting to see how this narrative will be portrayed in the future.
Yes, we should ‘cancel’ Sen. Burr, but not for voting to impeach Trump
Weather
Kiara Bush a second-year studying statistics and design studies
TECHNICIAN 7 Opinion Romanticizing your day in order to be the main character will change your everyday life TECHNICIANONLINE.COM
Imagine you are reading a book that is told from a first person point of view. As your eyes f lit across the page, lines of words creating a new world or Kristina dialogue and introducing you to a new person, Beek Correspondent you realize that you are no longer reading as though it is someone else’s story, but rather your own. Suddenly, you are the diamond of the first water at the society ball in the 1800s or a valkyrie in a fantasy realm going to war. That is, until someone breaks your concentration and you are brought back to planet Earth, no longer the main character. Except you still are. Toward the end of 2020, a popular TikTok trend came into the picture: the main character. It became a TikTok challenge where you were no longer watching the movie; instead, your life became it, and you were the protagonist. People began
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
pulling from dramatic scores to find their background music or narrated their TikToks with nostalgic monologues, turning them into 60 second short films that really made one believe the person they were watching on an app on their phone was the leading character. The term left the boundaries of one app and filtered its way throughout all of social media. It turned into a joke; this idea that you could be at the grocery store thinking that you might have a meet-cute and someone would fall in love with you, or that everyone was wondering who the mysterious person on the bus was while you read Jane Austen. In truth, people probably weren’t thinking about you, but of themselves and their own lives. They weren’t wondering who that person at the Harris Teeter in Cameron Village was, but whether or not they needed almond milk for the week. No one was going to fall in love with you on the Wolfline because you were reading classic literature on public transit, but instead thinking of the laun-
dry they have to grab out of the dryer at University Towers before someone else takes it out. But for a moment, didn’t it make life so much more interesting? The idea of being the main character isn’t one that should be taken too seriously, but I find that people should live their everyday lives as though they are. No one else will get to live the story that you live, and no one will ever be able to tell it the same way you do. No one will ever impact people the same way or feel love or pain similarly to the ways that you have. You may not yet be convinced, but this was a large part of my college experience. NC State is the largest school in North Carolina with almost 35,000 students. It can feel shocking to find yourself in such a large environment in which you feel lost at sea with people who are very similar to you in age, educational interests or general pursuits. You may suddenly realize you aren’t the only one who wants to be-
Spin To Lose
Patrick Delaney, a fourth-year studying English
come a lawyer or a doctor one day and there are quite a few people who were in the top 10% of their class. This can be disorienting and frightening, but it represents what this world is truly like. There are millions of people living lives similar to yours, and the only way to escape the crushing feeling of being inconsequential is to believe that your life is undoubtedly unique because there is simply no one else who is you. Each person is here because of their talent, their intelligence and their willingness to hone their skills, all of which make them a protagonist that is fundamental in order to not only complete this world, but make it better. There is no better person to be cast as you in the film of your life other than yourself. Romanticize your life because it will make you realize that every moment, whether it’s studying at D.H. Hill Jr. Library, getting ice cream at Talley Student Union or running late to your class in Caldwell Hall. All you have to do is live it.
Arts & Culture
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UAB’s Wolfpack’s Got Talent event to showcase diversity of student skills THE RADAR Events to keep an eye on for the week of February 25
Kevin Clatfelter Correspondent
At NC State, the University Activities Board (UAB) hosts several fun and exciting events each year. From the winter LDOC event at the end of last year to the Campus Crossover concert a few weeks ago, they know how to put on a show. On Thursday, Feb. 25, however, the students are putting on the show in Wolfpack’s Got Talent. Wolfpack’s Got Talent, UAB’s annual talent show, showcases many different acts, illustrating the immense talent that the students bring to NC State. From singers to magicians to guitarists to comedians, all talents are welcome to compete for the prizes. According to UAB Concerts Chair Hannah Koszegi, the event was in person in years past with performances on stage and a live audience. Last year, it was hosted in the Talley Student Union ballroom, with a panel of three judges to determine the winners of first, second and third place, as well as an audience choice. This year, obviously, things are a bit different. Koszegi said Wolfpack’s Got Talent 2021 will premiere in a virtual space, on YouTube. There, students will watch the show and have 24 hours to vote on the first- and secondplace winners, another change since last year. “It’s definitely weird to put things on in the virtual space,” Koszegi stated. “You have to think harder about how you’re going to engage your audience.” This critical thinking about audience en-
BLACK HISTORY: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE EXHIBIT Thursday, Feb. 25, 1 p.m.- 5 p.m. MOUNTAIN BALLROOM, TALLEY STUDENT UNION Free
University Housing will be hosting an interactive exhibit in Talley Student Union in celebration of Black History Month. The exhibit is selfguided and focuses on topics such as abolition, activism and academia. COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES BOARD
gagement is what led to the decision to incorporate student voting this year, a method of involvement that might even stick around in future years. Koszegi believes the virtual setting actually provides several opportunities. On stage, time must be made for sound checks, as well as transitions and setups between acts. Additionally, since there is a full day of voting, students are able to plan around any busy schedule they might have to watch the acts and vote when they can comfortably do so. Not only that, but the acts also have greater control over their performances. “It offers people a chance to express themselves more because they get to pick what their video looks like, what their setting is and things like that,” Koszegi said.
Even though the show will be different this year, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Premiering at 7 p.m., NC State students can watch 14 stunning performances from their peers and vote on their two favorites. Third place will be UAB’s choice. “It provides students a nice rest from academic life,” Koszegi said. “They get to appreciate other students’ talents, whether that be arts or something active.” So NC State students, go out and support your peers! Wolfpack’s Got Talent premieres on YouTube on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m., and voting runs until Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. Everything about the show, including how to access it and where to vote, can be found at go.ncsu. edu/wolfpacksgottalent.
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
Talley Student Union is one of the most recognizable buildings on campus. Oftentimes, students visiting campus for the first time congregate at Talley. However, the building the campus has come to love hasn’t always been the central hub it is today. Prior to Talley Student Union, the student center was much smaller and less equipped for student activities, according to Tim Hogan, director of NC State Student Centers who has been with NC State for roughly the last 10 years. “Old Talley was much smaller,” Hogan said. “Our current Talley Student Union is about 283,000 square feet, and the old
Talley Student Center was 160,000 square feet.” The new renovations were introduced to the student body in three phases. The first included a dining section, like Los Lobos Mexican Grill and Tuffy’s Diner, which first opened in October 2013. Following that, in February 2014, the section that contains the ballroom and the area near One Earth World Cuisine opened. Finally, in May 2015, the middle section of Talley Student Union was opened again, uniting the two additional sections, Hogan said. “The main part of the building, in the middle, that’s the old Talley,” Hogan said. “We added all the other parts to the north and renovated the original parts.” But Talley was not NC State’s first stu-
Thursday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. VIRTUAL EVENT Free
SKY at NC State will be hosting a virtual session of yoga and meditation. Anyone is welcome to attend this event, and the yoga will be beginner-friendly.
BASKETBALL SKILLS CHALLENGE Friday, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. COURTS 6-7, CARMICHAEL GYM Free
Talley Student Union: building community, housing a rich history Abbie Davies-Cutting
GUIDED YOGA AND MEDITATION
dent union. Prior to Talley Student Union and Talley Student Center, the ErdahlCloyd wing of D.H. Hill Jr. Library, which is now the Atrium, was the first student union on campus, according to Lisa Johnson, director of the university architect’s office. “The east wing of the original D.H. Hill site was built in 1951,” Johnson said. “Erdahl-Cloyd was built in 1952 to be the student center; remember, back in the ‘40s and ‘50s, most of the buildings were located on North Campus.” The Erdahl-Cloyd Student Center was named after Gen. Orlando Theodore Erdahl, who was the first college union director, and Edward Cloyd, who was an administrator in student affairs. Accord-
Wellness and Recreation will be hosting a basketball skills challenge where participants will score points for every shot they make within a specific time frame. Register on the Wellness and Recreation app.
DEADLINE: NC STATE’S POETRY CONTEST Monday, Mar. 1 Submissions to the NC State annual poetry contest are due on this date. This contest is one of the largest free-to-enter poetry contests in the South. The grand prize is $500, and the guest judge is award-winning poet Kayleb Rae Candrilli.
ing to Johnson, the student center was successful until activity began to shift to both North and South campuses. “I think you want your student center to be central to campus; you want students to be able to engage with the space,” Johnson said. “When it was at Erdahl-Cloyd, it became on the edge of campus, so I can see
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why they moved it to Central Campus.” Thus, the Talley Student Center, or “Old Talley,” began construction in 1972 to replace the Erdahl-Cloyd Student Center, which was eventually incorporated into D.H. Hill Jr. Library via the addition of the bookstacks, Johnson said. While Talley Student Center was moved to better
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serve students by relocating, students often navigated around it, according to Tim Hogan. “Imagine a few years ago if you came into Talley on a Tuesday,” Hogan said. “We would have about 20,000 people walk through the building, and if you were in the building Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m.,
there would be people everywhere. Old Talley did not have that same quality. It was much more of a transactional location, where you went to eat or for a meeting or to visit someone’s office. There were not places where people just hung out on a regular basis to build community.” For many years, Talley Student Center
University Archives Photograph Collection. Campus facilities and views (UA023.005), Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries
was responsible for facilitating the majority of student organizations. According to Jennifer Gilmore, director of marketing and communications for Campus Enterprises and a Technician alum, Student Media was housed in Talley before the construction of Witherspoon Student Center in 1990. “There was Technician, WKNC and there was the yearbook Agromeck,” Gilmore said. “Everybody was right there together in a group of suites on the third floor [of] Talley. Then Technician and all of Student Media moved to Witherspoon when it opened in 1990.” Both Hogan and Johnson said they agree the pitfalls of Talley Student Center helped shape the new student center’s design to better serve the campus community. “Talley was very much like the old D.H. Hill: You walked in, it was hard to wayfind, it was dark, there were no central stairs in the building,” Johnson said. “So that was one of the things with Talley, we wanted students to engage in it and use the building.” While Talley has been open and renovation-free since May 2015, Johnson said the initial plan for the building included the ability to receive a bridge that would connect the north side of campus to the fourth floor of the building. “At some point, if the train tracks are expanded to the north, which there has been talk of, we will lose the Coliseum Tunnel, and that’s when it’s going to be really important to have the bridge,” Johnson said. “It went through schematic design. It’s expensive, like $6 million, so we are not sure, but that’s why you do long-range planning.”
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No. 7 NC State wrestling looking for 3-peat at ACC Championship Kat Peters
Correspondent
After a very successful season and going 4-1 against ACC opponents, the No. 7 NC State wrestling team looks to the ACC Championship Feb. 28 at Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack has four No. 1 seeds, three of whom went undefeated in the regular season, and one representative in each weight class in the tournament. 125: The Pack’s redshirt sophomore Jakob Camacho (7-1, 4-1 ACC) is the No. 2 seed and is defending an ACC title after last season’s championship. As the No. 2 seed, Jakob Camacho’s first match will be against the winner of the match between No. 3 seed Colton Camacho (Pitt 5-4, 3-2 ACC) and No. 6 seed Logan Agin (Duke 2-5, 2-5 ACC). Agin’s first loss this season came from a decision against Colton Camacho, so unless Agin has a major upset in this match, it can be expected that the two Camacho’s will meet in the second round. This is a rematch after Jakob Camacho overtook Colton Camacho by major decision halfway through the season. Jakob Camacho ended this season with only one loss against No. 1 seed Sam Latona of Virginia Tech. 133: Representing NC State in this weight class is No. 5 seed redshirt sophomore Jar-
rett Trombley (6-2, 0-2 ACC). Trombley will be going up against No. 4 seed Louie Hayes (7-2, 2-2 ACC) of Virginia. Hayes and Trombley haven’t competed against each other since the ACC Championship last season, where Hayes bested Trombley to move forward in the tournament. However, both of them fell to Micky Phillippi (Pitt) and Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) this season, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively. This matchup could go either way, but it could be in Trombley’s favor as he is coming off a two-match win streak to end the regular season. A win for Trombley would put him against Phillippi in the second round. 141: Redshirt senior Tariq Wilson (7-0, 4-0 ACC) is the No. 1 seed for the 141-pound weight class. Wilson was a finalist for the title last season but ultimately fell to UNC’s Zach Sherman. Seeing as Wilson is one of NC State’s three wrestlers who went undefeated this season, few wrestlers in this bracket will be much of a boundary between him and the title, as he will be looking for revenge on Sherman. That being said, in the second round, Wilson will go against either No. 5 seed Sam Hillegas (5-3, 0-3 ACC) of Virginia Tech or No. 4 seed Cole Matthews (3-4, 1-3 ACC) of Pitt. Hillegas and Matthews have not met before in competition,
but whoever advances to the next round will have to fight hard as both lost to Wilson earlier in the season. 149: No. 3 seed freshman Ed Scott (4-4, 2-3 ACC) will go against No. 6 seed Mick Burnett of Pitt (1-3, 0-1 ACC) in the first round. These two have not met in competition this year, and their only shared opponent was Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian who defeated both Scott and Burnett. Based on the amount of time spent on the mat in competition this season and his ACC record, Scott can be expected to advance to the next round from this matchup. However, his advancement will put Scott against No. 2 seed Andonian, where Scott will have to push an upset to advance any further. 157: Anyone who has been following NC State wrestling recently is very familiar with redshirt senior Hayden Hidlay. Hidlay (70, 4-0 ACC) went undefeated this season and is the defending ACC champion in this weight class for the past three years. As the No. 1 seed, Hidlay will get a bye in the first round, where attention will be turned to the match between No. 4 seed Josh McClure (42, 1-2 ACC) of UNC and No. 5 seed Brandon LaRue (1-4, 1-4 ACC) of Duke. McClure and LaRue haven’t met on the mat this season, but both lost to No. 3 seed Connor Brady
of Virginia Tech. With a fourth title on the line, whoever advances to the second round and beyond shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Hidlay, given his record. 165: No. 5 seed redshirt senior Thomas Bullard (3-4, 2-3 ACC) will compete in the first round against No. 4 seed Kennedy Monday (5-2, 2-2 ACC) of UNC. Bullard and Monday faced off earlier this season, where Monday bested Bullard. If Bullard is able to continue with the momentum he had at the end of the season, he might be able to upset Monday to advance to the second round and face off against Pitt’s No. 1 seed, Jake Wentzel. If Bullard advances, the second round will be very interesting, as it will be another rematch after Bullard bested Wentzel mid-season. 174: NC State has the No. 1 seed in the 174-pound weight class with redshirt senior Daniel Bullard (6-1, 4-0 ACC). Bullard was a runner-up in last year’s tournament and fell to UNC’s Clay Lautt, who is the No. 2 seed this year. No. 4 seed Dakota Howard (2-4, 2-2 ACC) of Virginia Tech and No. 5 seed Jared McGill (4-4, 1-4 ACC) of Pitt will be facing off to advance to the second round and compete against Bullard. This is a rematch from the last match of the season, where Howard was able to beat McGill.
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However, both Howard and McGill lost to Bullard earlier this year, so whoever advances will have to fight hard if they want to get past him. 184: The Pack’s redshirt sophomore Trent Hidlay (4-1, 4-1 ACC) is No. 2 seed in this weight class. Hidlay was a runner-up in the tournament last season, when he fell to Virginia Tech’s Hunter Bolen, who is the No. 1 seed this year. Hidlay will compete against the winner between No. 3 seed Devin Kane (3-2, 1-2 ACC) of UNC and No. 6 seed Vincent Baker (1-3, 1-3 ACC) of Duke. Kane and Baker did not compete this season, and looking at their records, this match could realistically go either way. However, neither should put Hidlay through too much
trouble in the second round, which will most likely put Hidlay up against Bolen in the final for a rematch after last year’s loss. 197: No. 4 seed redshirt senior Nick Reenan (5-1, 0-1 ACC) will go against No. 5 seed Stan Smeltzer (6-2, 1-1 ACC) of Virginia Tech in the first round. Reenan and Smeltzer did not meet in competition this year, and this will most likely be a highly contested matchup because of how similar these two opponents are. However, Reenan is coming off a two-match winning streak, and Smeltzer is coming off a two-match losing streak, so if Reenan is able to continue that momentum, there is a chance he could pull through to the second round against Pitt’s No. 1 seed, Nino Bonacorrsi.
285: The Pack’s group of undefeated competitors is completed with No. 1 seed junior Deonte Wilson (7-0, 5-0 ACC). Wilson was among other NC State runner-ups in the tournament last season but fell to Pitt’s Demetrius Thomas. No. 4 seed Andrew Gunning (1-2, 0-2 ACC) of UNC and No. 5 seed Austin Cooley (4-2, 0-0 ACC) of Pitt will compete in the first round. Gunning and Cooley have not competed this year; however, Gunning fell to Wilson halfway through the season. Neither of these potential opponents put much pressure on Wilson as they head into the tournament. If Wilson makes it to the finals against Virginia’s No. 2 seed Quinn Miller, he should be able to secure a title as Miller fell to Wilson earlier
this year. Despite being ranked below Virginia Tech in the final NWCA coaches poll this season, the Pack will once again put up a strong contention for the ACC Championship title, hoping to secure it for the third year in a row. The ACC Championship will be held all day Sunday, Feb. 28 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh and will be broadcast on ACC Network. DAVID TRACEY/TECHNICIAN
Redshirt junior Hayden Hidlay wrestles Princeton sophomore Quincy Monday on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 at Reynolds Coliseum. Hidlay defeated Monday by decision 7-2 as the Wolfpack won the dual 29-12.
Kent Klyman brings Pack9 experience on the mound, leadership in locker room Will Thornhill Staff Writer
When the 2020 baseball season was canceled due to COVID-19, many seniors like left-handed pitcher Kent Klyman were left wondering if they had played their last collegiate game ever. Luckily for them, the NCAA gave all spring athletes another year of eligibility due to the pandemic. With the MLB draft in 2020 being moved to only five rounds, it was almost a no-brainer for Klyman to run it back one more time with his brothers at the Doak. “It means a lot to me; I love everything about the environment here,” Klyman said at baseball media day on Feb. 17. “The coaching staff, they’ve helped me grow not only as a player, but as a person.” Throughout his time at NC State, he has been one of the go-to arms out of the bullpen for Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent. Being in the program for five years has allowed Klyman to build a special relationship with the skipper. “Kent Klyman is unbelievable; his maturity level, what he brings to this ball club, the fact that he committed to come back for another year when a lot of people would not have done that,” Avent said on baseball media day. “He lives it just like I did as a NC State fan. So I admire that because you don’t always see that today.” Being listed at 6 feet, 7 inches and 261 pounds, Klyman is a visual nightmare for opposing hitters. His stats from his time here ref lect that. In 117.2 career innings pitched in a Wolfpack uniform, Klyman has a 2.60 ERA with 119 strikeouts and a 15-5 record on the bump. These numbers have him once again, for the third straight year, named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers As-
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Sophomore pitcher Kent Klyman pitches in the game versus Army on Sunday, June 3, 2018 at Doak Field. The Wolfpack beat the Black Knights 11-1.
sociation’s Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. It’s not only what Klyman brings to the table on the mound that makes him a key player for the Wolfpack, it’s his leadership that stands him out over others to the young pitchers. “I think for the [younger pitchers] being able to kind of look at guys like me, Dalton Feeney, Evan Justice and Reid Johnston, those guys, so will be able to kind of show them the ropes and help them develop,” Klyman said. “I am excited to see them throw.”
With the absence of former NC State catcher Patrick Bailey, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the MLB draft, Klyman had to develop a relationship with a whole new set of catchers in sophomore Luca Tresh, redshirt junior Danny Carnazzo and freshman Bryce Behmer. As Klyman knows, the pitcher and catcher relationship is vital for a successful pitching staff. “All three of the catchers have progressed from the fall until now,” Klyman said. “They’ve done a great job trying to
get to know each pitcher differently and form a relationship.” As he is into now his fifth season relieving in the ACC, other schools know Klyman for his two-pitch arsenal, the fastball and the slider. That being said, in the offseason, he has worked on a new pitch that will hopefully keep more batters off balance. “This year, I think I’ve been really able to develop a change-up,” Klyman said. “Having confidence in a third pitch is really going to help me KLYMAN continued page 13
Sports 12 TECHNICIAN Wolfpack softball runs into Gardner-Webb THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
Matthew Costello Correspondent
The NC State softball team will take the mound against Gardner-Webb this coming weekend in a four-game series that includes a doubleheader on Saturday. The Wolfpack (4-2, 4-2 ACC) impressed in its
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first six games of ACC action. Meanwhile, the Runnin’ Bulldogs have had their first seven games of the season canceled, making this weekend’s matchup their opener. While Gardner-Webb might be from a mid-major conference, the team is certainly no slouch. The Runnin’ Bulldogs compiled
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Freshman pitcher Sydney Nester pitches the ball on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019 at Dail Softball Stadium. Nester pitched three innings and gave up one earned run. The Wolfpack lost 6-3.
a 24-5 record in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the team was picked to finish first in the preseason Big South, and for good reason. The team returns much of the production from the successful 2020 campaign, including Preseason Pitcher of the Year Brooke Perry. Perry compiled an 11-3 record as a starter in 2020, striking out 104 batters in 88.0 innings to compile an ERA of 1.75. Gardner-Webb also returns center fielder/ shortstop player Weslyn Almond, who led the league in batting average (.488), second baseman Trinity Sterrett, who led the league in stolen bases, and pitcher/first baseman Andrea Lyon, who led the league in RBIs. Like Gardner-Webb, NC State enjoyed a successful start to the season before the global sports shutdown in March 2020. The Wolfpack compiled a 19-6 start to the season, including a 3-0 record in ACC play. This success has continued into 2021, compiling a 4-2 record against only ACC opponents last weekend. Clutch hitting has been a big part of the early-season wins, as NC State scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to walkoff Boston College in its most recent win.
The team has an overall slugging percentage of .548 and has already hit 12 home runs. The Wolfpack defense has also been stout, led by redshirt senior pitcher Abby Trahan. Trahan has compiled a 3-1 record and 2.58 ERA, while striking out 22 batters through five games. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Sydney Nester has also impressed, compiling a 1.45 ERA through five games and striking out 19 batters. Gardner-Webb provides another earlyseason opportunity for NC State. The Runnin’ Bulldogs are a quality opponent, and the Wolfpack will have to be well prepared to win this weekend’s games. Still, NC State returns a lot of weapons from the successful 2020 campaign. If the Wolfpack continues to swing for the fences as a part of head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift’s home run mindset and continue the strong pitching performances, it can walk away with a weekend series win. Friday’s game will start at 3 p.m., Saturday’s doubleheader games will start at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, and Sunday’s matchup will begin at noon. All games will be played at Dail Softball Stadium and will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.
Devonte Brown looking to continue batting dominance in his fourth year with Wolfpack Tristan Tucker
Assistant Sports Editor
Junior outfielder Devonte Brown is a staple on the No. 13 NC State baseball team. The star athlete broke out in the 2020 season and is looking to carry that authority throughout the course of this year’s spring season. “The only thing I can do is just be aggressive in the box,” Brown said. “I can’t really try to change anything because the more changes you try to make during the season or right before the season, things probably won’t go your way right away. So, I think I’ll just try to keep hitting the ball like I was this past season, try to be aggressive in the box, look for fast balls and try to hit them hard.” Brown originally joined the team as the No. 5 high school shortstop prospect out of Georgia and helped lead his high school’s team to a 22-8 record and regional title. A hard worker in every sense of the term, the 5-foot-11, 208-pound shortstop was a multi-sport athlete in high school, and used his frame to play as a bruising running back for his high school’s football team. In his f irst two seasons with the
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Wolfpack, Brown turned in 13 combined runs and appeared in 62 total games, with 19 of those being starts. Brown’s best series as an underclassman came against Seton Hall as a freshman, where he earned his first career triple. However, it was as a junior that Brown really began to emerge. In 17 games during the abbreviated season, Brown started in every game and posted the team’s third-best batting average at .338, and the best slugging percentage on the team of players that appeared in 10 or more games, with a .692. What made Brown a fan favorite, however, was his ability to soar absolute rockets out of the park, picking up five home runs in just 17 games, to go along with 19 RBIs, 22 hits and 19 runs in 65 at-bats. Aside from the eye-catching hits, Brown is a versatile player that does a lot of things for the Pack that are understated. The fact that he can switch between the outfield and third base, along with shortstop experience, makes him especially valuable to the team’s success. Brown’s best game to date came against
James Madison in mid-February of 2020, a game in which Brown finished with career highs in hits, RBIs and total bases. The dual infielder/outfielder finished that game with two doubles and ultimately finished the season tied for first on the team in multi-hit games, with seven, and led the team in multi-RBI games, with six. This all ultimately culminated in Brown earning the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on Feb. 24, 2020. While Brown broke out in every way possible last season, Brown still sees room for growth on a team that’s hungry for more following disappointing ends to the last several seasons. “Definitely, I think so,” Brown said on if there is added motivation this year from having play abruptly ended last season due to COVID-19. “I feel like we were off to a great start [last season]. We all had the same idea of thinking we were gonna go to Omaha. So, the way the season ended this past season, I think we’re going to try to just carry that on to this year and hopefully have that same idea and carry that to Omaha and try and win a World Series.”
So far through three games this year, Brown has a .333 batting average in 12 at-bats, along with one run, four hits, two RBIs and five putouts in the field. “I think you have to enter the season with confidence,” Brown said. “I mean it was kind of sad, a lot of people were down, the way the season ended. But we’re back now, we have some new guys, we didn’t lose too many guys. But I think the season will be really fun for us.” With a tough series against Georgia Tech slated for this Friday, Feb. 26, Brown isn’t treating the opportunity any differently than earlier in the season. “To me, I think they’re all the same,” Brown said. “You can’t treat any at-bat differently. If you try to value one at-bat over another, it’s not really going to get you anywhere...we just have to treat all these games the same.” DAVID TRACEY/TECHNICIAN
Sophomore outfielder Devonte Brown approaches first base against ECU on Sunday, June 2, 2019 at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville. Brown went 1-3 with one strikeout and one error in the Wolfpack’s 9-2 season-ending loss.
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out with going into the season, especially in ACC play. Guys aren’t really going to be looking for that.” Now that Klyman is able to close out his career the way he wants to, the sky’s the limit for him and his team. The 2020 squad only lost two regular starters, so experience is something the 2021 Pack9 team does not lack. “We have a lot of good guys returning,” Klyman said. “So I was like ‘hey, we can give this another go around and get back to Omaha hopefully.’” Klyman and the Wolfpack, after starting 2-1 in early nonconference play, will begin ACC play this Friday at Doak Field against Georgia Tech. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. with the game being streamed on ACC Network Extra. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
NC State baseball seeks revenge in ACC opening series against Georgia Tech Rachel Umbach
it’s capable of having another great season offensively, there has been a little rust on defense, leading to a total of 10 errors alThe NC State baseball team will open ready to begin the year. Combined with conference play this upcoming weekend, inconsistent pitching, including an 11-walk Feb. 26-28, at home against the Georgia performance on Saturday, this could defiTech Yellow Jackets. nitely be a problem for the Yellow Jackets After suffering a brutal midweek loss to against NC State’s powerful offense. UNC-Greensboro on Tuesday, the WolfThe Pack has had a similar start to 2021, pack (2-1) is vengeful for redemption and struggling defensively in its most hopeful for a strong start to ACC recent matchup against UNCplay this season. Greensboro but showing plenty of Georgia Tech (3-1) began its signs of having a strong and deep season with a home series against offense. the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Names to watch for from the winning the series but losing the Wolfpack include junior first basesweep game on Saturday. While man Austin Murr, who is coming the Yellow Jackets outscored the off of a career-best 5 for 6 outing, Colonels 25-16 during the weekand junior outfielder Jonny Butler, end, their bats just weren’t powerwho has now reached base in his ful enough to overcome a few key past 23 games, which dates back to defensive errors and a multitude 2019. Murr is the first Pack player of walks, giving Eastern Kentucky to have five hits since Andrew the advantage. Knizner in 2014. The Yellow Jackets also played These are must-have wins for the their first midweek matchup of Pack to start a very competitive 2021 against Mercer on WednesACC schedule and bounce back day, Feb. 24, winning 7-3 and alafter Tuesday’s loss. most securing a shutout if they The series will start in Raleigh on hadn’t given up three runs in the Friday, Feb. 26, and the first pitch ninth inning. is scheduled for 3 p.m. All games This first weekend showed just will be televised on ACC Network a glimpse of how successful the Yellow Jacket’s offense can be, esADITYA PENUMARTI/TECHNICIAN Extra, and @TechSports on Twitter will be providing live updates. pecially with the help of infielder Redshirt Junior Dillon Cooper hits the ball during a scrimmage at Doak Field on Jan. 25, 2019.
Staff Writer
Drew Compton. With a .625 batting average in eight at-bats against Eastern Kentucky, Compton not only leads the team in average but is also tied for 14th in the entire NCAA. He finished the weekend with five hits, two home runs and five RBIs with only one strikeout. Infielder Luke Waddell, infielder Andrew Jenkins and outfielder Stephen Reid are
also other names to look out for, rounding out the list of Georgia Tech players with a batting average above .300 after the weekend. The Yellow Jackets have also been successful on the base path to start the season, successfully completing all five stolen-base attempts over opening weekend. While the Georgia Tech roster has proved
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