ChatGPT: AI Altering Education Landscape — Technician 01/26/23

WHAT

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NC State’s GLBT Center celebrates 15th anniversary

The GLBT Center will host celebrations to honor its 15th anniversary starting Jan. 23. The reception and afterparty, called “Our Journey Forward,” will be held Tuesday, Jan. 31 and will celebrate identity, strength and community. The center will unveil its new name at the reception.

SOURCE: NC STATE NEWS

North Carolina’s auditor faces hitand-run, traffic charges

North Carolina elected State Auditor Beth Wood was cited for misdemeanor hit-and-run and for an unsafe movement infraction Dec. 8. In a statement, Wood apologized for leaving the scene of an accident after she drove her state-issued vehicle into a parked car. A Wake County court date is scheduled for Jan. 26.

SOURCE: AP NEWS

NASA plans to test a nuclear thermal rocket engine to send astronauts to Mars

NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a collaboration to test a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space. If successful, the demonstration will enable manned missions to Mars with reduced risk for astronauts. NASA and DARPA hope to design and demonstrate this engine as soon as 2027.

SOURCE: NASA

6 pound ‘Toadzilla’ discovered by park rangers in Queensland, Australia

Park Rangers in Queensland, Australia spotted a 5.9 pound cane toad near Airlie Beach after stopping their vehicle to let a snake cross the road. Toadzilla may be the largest cane toad recorded and was removed from the park after the rangers deemed it a potential threat to the habitat.

SOURCE: UPI

THE RADAR

Events to keep an eye on for the week of January 26

NC STATE MAKE-A-THON

Friday, Jan. 27 to Sunday, Jan. 29, times vary

JAMES B. HUNT LIBRARY, DUKE ENERGY HALL Free

Head to Duke Energy Hall to witness the three-day rapid-prototyping competition where students work together to pitch solutions to sustainability challenges.

THE BLACK FLEA MARKET

Sunday, Jan. 29, Noon-4 p.m.

THE CORNER Free

Support Black-owned businesses at the Black Flea Market on Centennial Campus featuring shopping, music and food.

YOUNG

ALUMNI:

TIPS FOR ENSURING FINANCIAL SUCCESS

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 6:30 p.m.

VIRTUAL Free

Financial advisor and recent NC State graduate Ralston Turner shares advice for building sustainable systems for personal finance.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH KICKOFF

Wednesday, Feb. 1, Noon-3 p.m.

TALLEY STUDENT UNION, LOBBY Free

Join the African American Cultural Center to kick off Black History Month with tabling, hot cocoa and a scavenger hunt.

BY ELLIE BRUNO

Expert weighs in on party safety as spring semester takes off

Kate Denning Correspondent

In recent weeks, students have been celebrating the return to campus by attending parties and gatherings on and off campus. While partying and drinking carries risks, there are ways to reduce the likelihood of a night out going awry.

Whitley Grant, alcohol and other drugs prevention coordinator for Prevention Services, offers insight on how students can remain safe in crowded party settings when substances are involved.

“The main way to keep yourself safe in an environment like that is to manage your own substance usage,” Grant said. “I highly encourage students to be aware of their tolerance. There’s something called the biphasic effect that happens around .005 [BAC], depending upon if you are male or female, but typically takes place around [one to three] drinks in.”

The biphasic effect describes the feelings of happiness and sociability consumers experience when drinking alcohol. Grant said once drinkers surpass this biphasic effect, their drinking often gets out of control and the negative effects of alcohol can take effect.

“Even though the legal limit is .008, what typically happens when you get past .005 is when your judgment can be cloudy, bal-

ance can be off and your behavior is really impacted,” Grant said.

Although the assumption is that all college students drink, often to excess, Grant says this is not necessarily accurate.

“Most students on college campuses do not drink,” Grant said. “It might appear that is the case, even though there are 200 or 300 students [at a party] and we can make the assumption that every student there is intoxicated, some students probably haven’t drank anything at all or maybe only had one drink.”

In addition to monitoring one’s alcohol intake, Grant says to drink water in between alcoholic drinks, eat before and during drinking and make a plan for transportation to and from the event.

Julianna Roseland, a second-year studying political science, weighed in on how she keeps herself and her peers safe as she begins to attend parties for the first time.

“It’s something that I’m still figuring out how to do myself,” Roseland said. “I make sure I know the people I’m around, and the people I see around me, especially women, are okay.”

Grant said she encourages people to go out in a group and be responsible for your friends.

“If you came with someone, you need to make sure you leave together as well,”

Grant said.

In the event someone has consumed too much alcohol, and the situation has potential to become dangerous, Grant says signs to look out for include changes in the color of their face, slowed breathing and stumbling. In this case, students should not hesitate to call an emergency number.

“If you call 911 and say that you think someone is experiencing an alcohol over-

dose, they will send EMS,” Grant said. “They would not send the police for a situation like that. Ultimately, you could end up saving the person’s life.”

If you are interested in learning more about alcohol and drug safety, information can be found on Prevention Services’ website. Students may also email Whitley Grant at wegrant@ncsu.edu to schedule a meeting to discuss substance use.

AI Program ChatGPT presents useful resource to students, educators warn against cheating

Matthew Burkhart Staff Writer

ChatGPT, an artificially intelligent chatbot created by OpenAI, has sparked discussion and debates among educators about its potential uses and implications in the field of education and whether its use constitutes academic dishonesty.

“ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI,” ChatGPT responded when prompted to describe itself. “It is trained on a dataset of conversational text and is designed to generate human-like responses to text-based prompts. It can be used for tasks such as language translation, text summarization, question answering and text generation.”

Thomas Hardiman, director of the Office of Student Conduct, said ChatGPT can be a very useful tool if used correctly, with some professors at NC State expressing interest in using the program in their curricula in the future.

“I anticipate that in the years to come, you are going to see certain disciplines train their students on how to use [ChatGPT] effectively because it is going to be a tool that is used in that discipline

and in that professional world,” Hardiman said.

ChatGPT can be used to generate anything from essays to lines of code. By

detecting patterns from thousands of examples on the internet, ChatGPT produces professional, near-perfect results. Hardiman said it’s too perfect.

GRAPHIC BY AVERY SZAKACS

“Sometimes you’re going to see deviations in what just normal human writing

GRAPHIC BY KATE WARREN

Students gather to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy at March Like Martin event

Emily Vespa Assistant News Editor

&Heidi Reid Assistant News Editor

On Friday, Jan. 20, students marched from Stafford Commons to Harris Field during the second annual March Like Martin event to conclude the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Campus Commemoration Week.

The event was organized by the African American Cultural Center (AACC) and Multicultural Student Affairs. angela gay-audre, director of the AACC, said this year’s march theme was “Move” and was inspired by Beyonce’s “Renaissance.”

“The only way that we can be euphoric, we can have unapologetic, unequivocal Black joy is that we just move,” gay-audre said. “And we’re talking about moving in different ways; you can move your body, you can move your mind, you can create movement around you. Movement is organizing, it’s activism, it’s also who we are as a people.”

Melanie Flowers, former student body president, spoke at Harris Field and reflected on her experience as the first Black woman student body president at NC State and discussed the challenges of addressing COVID-19 during her time in office.

“I spent my summer days concerned ideating on how the state’s largest university — and best — would address operating with a communal virus and continue to contend with its own history and activate its own chapter of reckoning,” Flowers said. “I remember this as a time of great uncertainty and great conviction. It was a summer of taking up space and taking over space. We marched and we

CHATGPT

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is,” Hardiman said. “You can tell this is like a computer-generated thing because it’s stylistic. There’s a stock style that comes off; it’s just not human about it. Whether it’s dry, whether it is somewhat robotic.”

Henry Schaffer, professor emeritus in genetics and biomathematics and former coordinator of special IT projects at NC State, said he has been working and keeping up with new innovations in the fields of computing and the internet ever since the internet was first invented. He said he has used ChatGPT as a tool to quickly learn subjects from different sources without repeating the same information.

Due to ChatGPT’s ease of use and free accessibility, some of the largest school

moved.”

Flowers said King’s legacy shaped her understanding of activism and leadership.

“Dr. King did more than dream we would love one another,” Flowers said. “He dreamed and understood it to be crucial that we loved ourselves, especially we as Black people. …

If I didn’t love myself, my skin, my people, I wouldn’t have had the courage to move. I would have only marched.”

gay-audre said the march was the final event of the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Campus Commemoration Week to help students reflect on the events throughout the week, which

districts across the country have banned it for the opportunity it presents students to let it do classwork for them, according to Chalkbeat. In terms of academic dishonesty when using the program, Hardiman said the University has no intention of banning the program, and instead is letting professors decide whether it can be used or not in their classes.

“When we talk to faculty members, it’s not the use of plagiarism software that ticks them off or alerts them to say, ‘Hey, this looks like the student plagiarized,’ or, ‘they copied,’ or something like that,” Hardiman said. “Generally speaking, when they’re reading through a student’s paper, they’re like, ‘This doesn’t sound right. I’ve read the student’s other work. This doesn’t sound like them.’”

Schaffer said ChatGPT raises many questions that push the boundaries of what plagiarism is known as.

“I asked a group of faculty if I copy 100

was centered around the theme of renaissance.

“We wanted to culminate the end of a week of keynotes, to think about the Renaissance and to deliver a message of movement, of ‘What does it mean to physically move, as well as to engage in movement throughout the course of a week?’” gay-audre said. “So we wanted to culminate with a march that’s demonstrative in nature.”

Flowers said she was excited to engage with members of the campus community as an alumna.

“There are only nine other Black [student body] presidents who have served, and so

sentences sequentially out of somebody’s work, if that’s plagiarism — yes,” Schaffer said. “If I have 100 books in front of me, and I copy one sentence out of each book and put them, and that’s my essay, is that plagiarism? And people said, ‘Ah, I’m not sure.’ Well, if I copy two to fourword phrases out of 10,000 books, is that plagiarism?”

When prompted to use the program for the first time, Matthew Watson, a second-year studying agricultural business, asked ChatGPT to write a rap song about his life.

“Well, I’ve never heard of it before, but it is kind of mind blowing that–I mean, it’s still writing out like we’re on the fourth verse now,” Watson said. “I definitely feel like it’d be plagiarism just because they’re taking the information from the internet somewhere, and you’re not citing it.”

Schaffer said other new developments

many of them immediately messaged me after I won and said, ‘I’m here to support you, if you have any questions, if you just need to rant, if something’s going wrong — I’m here, others were here for me,’” Flowers said. “And so when I got a call to potentially come speak, I was excited to share about my experience and enjoy campus and be back especially after being interestingly positioned during COVID-19. It’s great to see how lively things are.”

The AACC is holding events throughout the month of February to celebrate Black History Month. To learn more about upcoming events, visit their website.

in technology that are widely used now have also garnered negative attention in the past, such as spell-checkers that are built-in to programs like Google Docs.

Hardiman said using ChatGPT for the purpose of letting the program complete assignments is not only going to be obvious in some cases but detrimental to the value students get out of college.

“At the end of the day, you’re paying money to come to NC State,” Hardiman said. “At the end of this experience, the goal is to earn a degree to say that you’ve demonstrated proficiency in whatever discipline and that you should be able to go off and utilize this now and [in] whatever workforce environment you want. The goal should be to actually learn the material. So we often share that if you’re using these — any of these are engaging in any acts of cheating — first and foremost, the primary person you’re cheating is yourself.”

JERMAINE HUDSON/TECHNICIAN

Members of the NC State community participate in the March Like Martin event on Jan. 20, 2023. This year’s march theme was “Move” and revolved around asserting the need for movements.

NC State’s WellRec Center offers ways to improve physical and mental well-being

Cameron Rhinehardt Brand Manager

If you’re an NC State student, you’ve likely heard this word circulating around campus: wellness. With this topic being relatively widespread at NC State, several questions are raised: what does wellness mean, how can you maintain it and what can you do to be well while adjusting to college life?

Eric Hawkes, executive director of Wellness and Recreation (WellRec), said wellness is often viewed as physical, but extends to much more than that. Wellness can apply to finance, emotions, mentality, community and of course physical activity.

“It’s more than just physical, and we’ve worked hard to get that information out,” Hawkes said. “All these elements intersect with each other, and our goal is to provide the campus community with resources and allow them to use what they need based on their specific situation.”

Madison Brown, coordinator of fitness for WellRec, said wellness can be implemented in a lot of ways and does not apply the same way for any two people.

“Wellness means doing whatever it takes to make you feel good both mentally and physically,” Brown said. “For me, wellness is movement of any kind.”

Students have opportunities to improve and maintain their wellness on campus, from physical activities to community building. Hawkes said finding time to just move can drastically improve wellness, physically and mentally.

“Exercise and movement has so many benefits,” Hawkes said. “That doesn’t mean you need to come to the facility gym every day, it means just moving … taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or hanging out outside and finding time to decompress and think.”

Wellness also looks like finding a place of belonging or taking time alone, away from any stressors. The WellRec center offers wellness coaching through ThriveWell, a peer-lead center where students can talk to certified health coaches about wellness, goal-setting and making connections.

“We have an internal wellness group that is catered to focusing on wellness,” Brown said. “There is coaching for anything from goal-setting to time management, and students get four free wellness coaching sessions.”

The WellRec center also offers several opportunities for fitness and wellness, with at least 50,000 square feet of fitness

space and smaller programs, such as the climbing center or intramural sports.

“We are always trying to find ways to break down the scariness of getting involved,” Hawkes said. “There’s so many ways to get connected, and we have a lot of opportunities for that.”

Group fitness classes are another way to intersect wellness and fitness, because anyone at any athletic level can take the classes and enjoy them.

“Every class that we provide, someone who’s never worked out could come and be successful,” Hawkes said. “You have a student leading a class who can help you on your journey, and you get a sense of belonging.”

Group fitness instructors are taught to use a specific type of language that is inclusive and energetic to make participants feel comfortable, Brown said. Group fitness classes also act as an environment to make friends and have fun.

“This setting is a great place to make friends,” Brown said. “You feel energy

and accountability, and you aren’t doing it alone, so the environment is super empowering and energetic. A big focus for us is using empowering and inclusive language and creating a comfortable environment.”

The WellRec center offers education sessions and fitness basics programs every Friday. The education sessions have over 15 wellness workshops that educate about self-care, financial success, setting boundaries and goal-setting. The fitness basics programs reduce barriers by teaching about the fitness center and how to use it.

The center has private rooms to help students feel comfortable and ensure that there is no worry of judgment. Hawkes said the center is working hard to make sure everyone has a place and can feel comfortable finding ways to maintain wellness that works for them.

“We recognize that walking into this building can be intimidating,” Hawkes said. “We emphasize creating a space

where people feel like they belong. Society has made fitness less inclusive than it should be, and we are working hard to make sure everybody has a place here.”

Brown said the WellRec center is working to debunk the idea of putting a number to success when it comes to wellness.

“Be reasonable with your expectations,” Brown said. “Something is better than nothing, and small steps overtime is enough to benefit you.”

Hawkes advises students to find time to be active when struggling or anxious, from classes and work to mental health, and any other stressors.

“When you’re worried about classes, that’s when you need to be here the most,” Hawkes said. “Being active and moving can help you during times of stress. Be mindful of and take time for yourself. Finding joy, fun and a sense of belonging at NC State are all important, and whenever you’re feeling down or stressed, always ask for help.”

GRAPHIC BY WYLIE PHU

I’m done with Proctorio — you should be too

When I went to download Proctorio, an anti-cheating Chrome extension, the first thing that stuck out to me was the overwhelming number of one-star reviews.

The answer is, of course, we shouldn’t.

At first, I thought NC State students had repeated the best practical joke of 2020 — when Wuhan students flooded their online homework app DingTalk with bad reviews to get it taken down from app stores — but the poor reviews raised much more serious concerns about the programs’ ethics, privacy policy and data usage.

Amelia Russell Correspondent

I thought there was no way I had the right app. I ran a quick Google search and a flurry of damning articles came up in its wake of students, professors and industry pros declaring Proctorio — and other artificial intelligencepowered testing services — a dangerous invasion of privacy.

I was shocked. When this service had so much controversy, why was my professor electing to use it? If there are serious ethical and logistical concerns about a program, why should students be required to use it to participate in our class?

For context, Proctorio’s AI records the testtaker during the test and sends video snippets of any suspicious behavior to the instructor. This includes looking off-screen for an extended period, background noise or strange web activity. Even when the recording feature is off, Chrome warns when installing Proctorio that it can also “read and change all your data on all websites,” “capture content of your screen,” “change your privacy-related settings” and more.

Beyond the already eerily Orwellian premise, students and non-students alike are mainly concerned with how Proctorio’s AI collects and uses your personal information. In order for Proctorio to detect things like eye movement, Proctorio’s AI takes measurements of a student’s facial anatomy to recognize any anomalies that may suggest cheating. Proctorio claims it uses facial detection technology to do this; however, a Reddit user found a now-deleted tweet where Proctorio stated it actually uses facial recognition, a process that collects much more data than facial detection.

This may seem harmless enough — after all, we give our phones biometric data every time we use Face ID, but swarms of students belonging to Black, Latinx and other communities

have reported Proctorio having trouble recognizing their faces. This caused serious issues and even completely prevented some students from taking their exams. Proctorio claims it has addressed the issue, but facial-recognition AI notoriously struggles to be racially unbiased.

Since the majority of NC State courses are in-person, why should we risk it all? Even if a class is online, professors can utilize NC State’s DELTA testing center to schedule on-campus exams. Why not eliminate the potential struggles and take our tests in person, with a proctor who won’t have any problem recognizing you as a human being?

Additionally, the biometric data Proctorio collects to monitor students’ activity is extremely sensitive, — and it may not be safe in their hands. In July 2020, ProctorU, a similar company to Proctorio, suffered a data breach that exposed data from nearly 500,000 students. This data did not include biometric data but did include full names, addresses, passwords and more. Three Illinois students sued ProctorU, alleging the company did not properly protect student data.

ProctorU responded that the security risk was minimal because the data was from 2012. This did little to help its defense. What reason,

the opposition asked, did ProctorU have for holding on to students’ data for eight years? Outdated data is still data. There shouldn’t be a time limit for protecting it.

Proctorio may not have had any security leaks yet, but with fellow companies falling to malicious hackers, the risk is not worth the reward. Furthermore, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy-focused research center, submitted a formal complaint to the District of Columbia accusing Proctorio of deceptive trade practices. This means our data may not be vulnerable just to hackers, but to Proctorio itself. We shouldn’t have to worry that videos of our faces, IDs and homes might be stolen or used unethically — not now and certainly not eight years down the line — just so we can get our degree.

It’s understandable that professors would turn to this kind of software to prevent cheaters. It requires minimal effort for them to tackle a large problem. However, the NC State Student Code of Conduct asks students to respect each other’s academic rights and freedom, so it’s only fair that the University respects our right to privacy in return. I’m done sacrificing my liberties to sites like Proctorio. NC State needs to be done with it, too.

Snapchat filters are pushing Eurocentric beauty standards for women of color

When you open Snapchat to take a picture, it’s natural to use a filter — I do it all the time. We all know that filters, with the clear skin and bit of makeup they give you, set unrealistic beauty standards. However, we don’t talk enough about how the standards those filters hold disproportionately target women of color.

Recently, when I’ve swiped through filters for my pictures, I’ve noticed that filters lighten my skin tone and make my nose thinner. I’m not the only person, either. As far back as 2016, people were noticing the microaggressive racism in these lenses, citing beauty filters’ tendency to shrink and/or whiten ethnic features. It’s a bit jarring when I open the camera and see features on myself that I’ve finally learned to accept being altered with the intention of mak-

ing me pretty. The camera is telling me that, in order to be beautiful, I need to look more white.

What’s frustrating to me, though, is that the exact features I sought to change growing up are features that white women appropriate now. For example, while the filters make my nose and jaw smaller, they tend to make my lips larger. I remember being made fun of for the size of my lips in elementary school, but now lip filler has grown increasingly popular among white women.

There are also some filters dedicated to making you look tanner. It reminds me of being in high school and seeing my white friends obsessing over getting darker during the summer. It’s ironic because they certainly don’t want to be Black, yet having a bit of color to their skin makes them feel prettier.

A similar situation can be said for Asian women. The makeup some filters apply make the eyes more narrow, accomplishing the “fox eye” makeup trend. Again, this exact look

is something that Asian women have been mocked for.

Women of color’s features should not be a trend. We should not only be considered beautiful when our beauty serves the oppressor. For me, I try to avoid filters that change my face too much, but those aren’t always easy to find. The ones that make my face adhere more closely to Eurocentric beauty standards are the ones that show up first in my suggestions.

Kids are more involved with technology and the internet nowadays, and filters like these are easily accessible. I worry about what this access is going to make young people of color think of themselves.There is already a generally large discrepancy in media representation, shaping the way children of color view themselves. What’ll happen to their self-perception if we use social media to perpetuate the idea that Black cannot be synonymous with beauty?

I know that if I had been able to use social media filters at a young age, the contempt I

had for my skin color would have been much worse. After all, those filters make me look how I wanted to look as a kid.

I don’t want young girls to grow up as insecure as I did — hating their large lips and lack of a button nose — because those insecurities have followed me to this day. I notice it when I walk into a classroom and I’m the only person of color in the class. I notice it when I go shopping and the majority of models are white. I notice it when I read a book and the main female love interest is white. I notice it every time I’m worried about whether or not someone will be attracted to me because I don’t have European features.

Eurocentric beauty standards are ingrained in the everyday lives of Black women, and it’s exhausting. We open our phones and are met with standards we never can and never should have to achieve. Our features are beautiful as they are, and Snapchat needs to stop telling me otherwise.

Skye Crawford Staff Columnist

We need to start believing survivors of sexual assault

Editor’s Note: This article contains references to sexual assault and violence.

Lauren Richards Staff Columnist

“I think the women belong to the man.”

This is only one out of dozens of misogynistic statements made by Andrew Tate, whose recent rise in popularity is just a reflection of how our culture has treated women for some time. Now that he’s facing charges of human trafficking in Romania, we’re seeing those attitudes manifest themselves into a disturbing reality — survivors often receive the wrath their abusers deserve.

It’s time to put an end to that pattern. In these types of cases specifically, women deserve to be heard. That doesn’t mean that women are never wrong by default — it means that they face unique challenges in our culture that must be taken into consideration first before any accusatory finger is lifted.

College campuses are no exception to this problem, as demonstrated by the recent assaults at Wolf Village. Sexual violence affects female students three times more than males. For women who aren’t straight or white, that percentage goes up almost twofold. Despite these high incident rates, only 20% of female students report to the police, sometimes waiting decades to do so.

Women are often criticized for not immediately taking action after a sexual assault, but there are several reasons why this occurs.

One of the primary reasons is risk of retaliation. This can come from the accused abuser and take the form of threats and rumors, or from an institution, which includes faculty, staff or administrators. In the context of the workplace, retaliation can look like a demotion or being fired altogether.

Another is the high chance of not being believed. As seen with the case of Anita Hill, women who come forward are often subject to intense scrutiny from outsiders. Their motives are questioned, with many accused of seeking attention or money. However, it’s extremely uncommon for survivors to lie about their assault. Compared to how it’s represented in popular media — take the Duke lacrosse case for instance — the rate of false reporting is very low, between 2% to 10%.

A third major reason is distrust in the

justice system, which isn’t completely unfounded. Out of every 1,000 sexual assault cases, almost 99% don’t lead to a felony conviction. Furthermore, progressing through the legal process is an invasive and timely experience, usually requiring survivors to recount their trauma over and over. As many police officers also engage in victim blaming, it’s no surprise why retribu tion is rarely sought.

In terms of addressing the unique issues that survivors face, NC State is succeeding in several ways. They make sexual assault data available through their annual Security and Fire Safety reports. It’s important to note that recent reports show an uptick in sexual assaults, but this may be partially due to more sur vivors feeling comfortable with the system. Nevertheless, a commitment to transparency helps keep these is sues from being swept under the rug.

Also included in these reports are recommendations for how to report and file complaints with University Police, as well as resources and poli cies that specifically address sexual assault. Some resources listed include the Women’s Center, the GLBT Center and the Sexual Assault Helpline. Among the policies detailed, one is non-retalia tion, which prohibits any individual from taking action against any person who exercises their right to report.

NC State can fur ther improve and re duce sexual assault

If you or someone you know is experiencing relationship violence, sexual violence, stalking or any other form of interpersonal violence and are in need of advocacy services, the NC State Women’s Center has trained advocates available to offer crisis intervention, emotional support, resources and referrals. Students can contact the 24/7

Sexual Assault Helpline at 919-5154444 or email ncsuadvocate@ncsu.edu to schedule an appointment with an advocate.

Advocacy services through the NC State Women’s Center are available for all students inclusive of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

through annual bystander interventions. All incoming students are required to take a training in sexual assault prevention, but this is only done once throughout a student’s history. Requiring students to retake this program at the start of each school year may help to reinforce knowledge surrounding sexual assault and reporting. It can also help increase confidence in using prevention strategies. We also have the power to create change as students. Quelling the tendency to victim-blame is an important first step. Victim-blaming can help us feel like we have the power to keep ourselves from harm, but what happens to an individual is not their fault. Anyone can experience sexual assault regardless of what they look like or what they do.

Although NC State provides comprehensive measures to address sexual assault, there is room for improvement. Sexual assault continues to be a constant concern for students on campus, and the rate of reporting remains low. In order to ensure survivors receive the respect and justice they deserve, we must strive to create a culture that holds abusers responsible for their actions and not the other way

For more information on advocacy services, please visit go.ncsu.edu/ supportsurvivors. If you would like to talk to a confidential resource, you can also connect with the NC State Counseling Center at 919-515-2423. You may also visit go.ncsu.edu/safe for additional information on resources and reporting options.

GRAPHIC BY ELLIE BRUNO

Discovery Sophie Gabriel, staff cartoonist

A second-year studying art and design

Nova and Comet: First Snow Pearl Knight, staff cartoonist

A fourth-year studying art and design

A Friend Avery Szakacs, staff cartoonist

A second-year studying art and design

Just One More Lucy Osborn, staff cartoonist

A second-year studying art and design

Playground Fun

Emma Reid, staff cartoonist

A second-year studying business administration

Where to go for H2O: The best (and worst) water fountains on campus

Heidi Reid Assistant News Editor

&Emily Vespa Assistant News Editor

Water fountains — they’re everywhere on campus. When faced with so many options, finding the perfect water fountain is a formidable feat. Our mission? Locate the best water fountain on NC State’s main campus.

We visited the biggest campus hubs and class buildings to assess a variety of water fountains. To determine our judgment, we primarily considered the crispness, temperature and aftertaste of the water, as well as the height and water flow of the stream. An ideal water fountain delivers a cool, refreshing sip of water and supplies a stream that arches at least three inches above the basin so it does not require the user to position their mouth extremely close to the spout.

We also took the overall experience into account; fountains with a water bottle filler provide an added convenience for users with a reusable water bottle, and a large button is crucial to provide ease of access for parched individuals in desperate need of a drink.

Thirsty? Here are the top three spots to get a drink of water.

Caldwell Lounge

The water fountain next to Caldwell Lounge is a hidden treasure on campus. We had low expectations for this unassuming water fountain. However, it was love at first sip with this glorious Halsey Taylor water fountain.

According to the Halsey Taylor website, this water fountain projects two separate streams of water that converge to create an “abundant pyramid of water at the apex of the stream.” We have no objection to this method.

In regards to temperature, this fountain delivered an exquisite, chilled drink that’s

wholly unrivaled. Although it has a small button, this fountain is mighty.

This water fountain is mounted on the wall across from a large window that overlooks the Court of North Carolina and — when it’s sunny out — bathes the fountain in resplendent gold light.

Third floor, Witherspoon Student Center

This fountain is always there for you when you need it the most. It isn’t necessarily the best water, but it is reliable. It will never be warm and it’s always shiny and clean.

This water fountain has an excellent design — it features both a long button on the front and a button on the side if that suits your fancy. It has an automatic water bottle filler so you can take a sip of Witherspoon water with you.

Climbing three flights of stairs to this fountain can be an enjoyable side quest to break up your mundane day of classes,

and this fountain is well worth the walk if you are concerned about temperature or cleanliness.

Eighth floor, D.H. Hill Library

This fountain was an unexpected shining star in the search for the best fountain. It’s awkwardly placed immediately off the elevator, next to a desk and two study room windows. If you venture to this water fountain for a drink, be prepared to be keenly aware of awkward tension between yourself and anyone sitting immediately next to the fountain to study.

What this fountain lacked in ambience, it made up for in delivery. We were astonished to find that this water was somehow colder with a more consistent stream than other fountains in D.H. Hill. Although the water wasn’t as crisp as the beloved Halsey Taylor fountain, the journey to the eighth floor is worth it.

Finally, here are the water fountains to avoid.

Third floor, Dabney Hall

This fountain had the worst tasting water and was illuminated by yellow flickering lighting. We felt like we were wandering the catacombs to find this secluded, single water fountain that was mounted on a wall near a window that looked out on the Brickyard.

Although it didn’t have a water bottle filler, we noticed a shelf labeled “free” containing various chalices and cups in a nearby hallway that you could utilize to transport some water if you so desire. If you want a little sip of lukewarm water that tastes like pennies and is sourced from the backrooms, the third floor of Dabney is the place for you.

Next to the indoor track, Carmichael Complex

Sandwiched between the indoor track and a fitness center, this water fountain is in a convenient location to quench your thirst during a taxing workout. However, it appears it’s also a convenient location for gym bros to spit into after a grueling lifting session. As long as you don’t mind looking at a little saliva while you drink, this fountain isn’t completely terrible.

Beware the stream on this water fountain. The height of the stream is unpredictable, which has the potential to splash onto a user’s face or clothes if they misjudge the distance necessary to take a sip. The buttons are round and offer the user no control over the strength of the stream or when the water comes out. Use with caution.

Third floor, D.H. Hill Library

This fountain not only has a bad temperature and aftertaste, but an unreliable stream as well. The user will inevitably be hit in the face by the tepid stream of water leaping up and down as they try to drink. The user will face humiliation in front of their peers and likely won’t even quench their thirst, which is too high a cost for the water it provides.

JERMAINE HUDSON/TECHNICIAN

A water fountain sits in Witherspoon Student Center on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.

Behind the Scenes at University Theatre:

‘Urinetown’ director Danica Jackson

Karsyn Westerbeek Staff Writer

Opening at Stewart Theater on Feb. 23, University Theatre’s upcoming production “Urinetown” features director Danica Jackson, an assistant director of performance with the University Theatre program.

After being involved with theater for most of her early life, Jackson took the University Theatre position at NC State and also started teaching acting classes. She said being a professor helped her in the transition to her first directing role.

“It’s been a really great process for me to be able to go from one to the other and then gain more and more confidence in terms of how I communicate with these students, because they’re different from most other students and because they’re all a lot smarter than I am,” Jackson said. “So it’s a big change.”

Working with students at University Theatre is very fulfilling for Jackson, even though she found the position a little daunting at first.

“For most of our students, theater is like the safe place where they come to to forget about all of the high stress classes that they have,” Jackson said. “It’s intimidating, but it’s also super rewarding to be part of the group that helps them feel comfortable.”

When “Urinetown” was decided as this year’s musical in January 2022, the students were one of the deciding factors. On top of that, Jackson said “Urinetown” has always been one of her personal favorites, and it was a great time for University Theatre to have another go at producing it.

“Part of it was because I really enjoyed the show and the music is really fun, and it’s also that [the scenic designer] getting another whack at doing the show that he really likes,” Jackson said. “We knew that the students would appreciate the humor in it and have fun with something that’s really goofy.”

Jackson’s job includes spending numerous hours every week working on the production, helping students and collaborating with the crew. The time commitment might seem alarming, but Jackson experiences the benefits of all of her work by seeing students grow throughout the production process.

One of the students that has grown immensely from this experience is Emma Fornes, a first-year studying business administration, who is also the assistant director of “Urinetown.”

Fornes originally auditioned for a role in the production, having acted in the past. When that fell through, she reached out to Jackson with interest in being in the crew.

“It just all kind of fell into place,” Fornes said. “I’m interested in directing professionally, and I thought this was a good way to get my foot in the door.”

Being a first-year and having such a big role in the production of “Urinetown” has been a struggle for Fornes. Luckily, she has people all around her that she can learn

from.

“It’s definitely been daunting because I’m one of three freshmen in the show, and it’s hard to direct kids who are more experienced and older than me,” Fornes said. “But it’s been fun overall. Everyone’s really receptive, and Danica is a really great mentor to learn under.”

Learning is not only for the students at University Theatre, which Jackson emphasizes when navigating her responsibilities as director.

“We’re here to learn,” Jackson said. “We’re here to develop more skills. We’re here to have fun. Being able to be that point of contact between, yeah, I’ve done lots of professional theater, but I also understand that my role here is to make sure that people understand what they’re doing.”

A close-knit community is sure to help production go smoothly. Luckily for Jackson, she has some of her best friends working right beside her.

“I’ve very rarely had a production team

that I got to work with that I felt this comfortable with,” Jackson said. “I’m constantly getting to work with, now, some of my best friends, and it’s just the coolest feeling.”

Having a common interest and goal in mind has helped both Jackson and Fornes have a great time during the production process of “Urinetown.”

“It’s been really great for me to develop relationships outside of my typical everyday ones, and it’s also neat to share a passion for a certain project,” Fornes said. “It’s like this thing that we’re all growing together and I feel like that’s a really unique experience that you don’t really get a lot.”

Of course, a positive community environment cannot be achieved without good leadership. Jackson works to use her position in a way that makes sure that people feel confident throughout the entire production process.

“I try to install a bit of understanding and make sure that they know that I’m not worried about it so that when they get in there, hopefully they’re not as worried about it,” Jackson said. “We already know that they’re extraordinarily talented, so I’m really not concerned.”

Jackson cannot wait to see this mindset continue when performances start. She said that seeing how students react when they have an audience is one of the things that she looks most forward to.

“As soon as you get an audience, everything kind of shifts and goes up to 11, and everybody is just having the greatest time,” Jackson said. “So I’m most looking forward to seeing how they react to an audience reacting to them.”

After everything that goes into making a production like “Urinetown,” the performances are what will make all the hard work and long hours worth it.

“I’m just excited for everyone else to get to experience it and what I’ve been seeing,” Fornes said.

Bailey Knight’s Crafts Center exhibition ‘Colors from the Earth’ captures woven medium

Valerie Pymento Correspondent

Bailey Knight, a recent alum from the Wilson College of Textiles, is the face of a groundbreaking exhibition at the Crafts Center until April 20, 2023.

Through her use of natural dyes, Knight weaves her love for the infinite cycles of Earth to create thought-provoking art-

work. Her colorful designs inspire viewers to reflect upon their unique connections to nature and how they interact with it.

“I wanted to make people think about where their clothes come from, where our textiles come from,” Knight said. “It creates conversations that we participate with Earth through living with it. Everything we own should be a special artifact, not things we have that we want to throw away in the end.

I want people to think about that slowness in regards to textiles. It’s a really special feeling when you participate in that slow movement.”

Knight expressed awe at seeing its completion after spending so much time on the endeavor.

“Being able to see it all come together [was] so breathtaking,” Knight said. “This is why I’ve been doing this for 12 months.

You really don’t see it until it’s done.”

Lauren Alvarez, a graduate student in computer science and an attendee at the opening reception that took place on Jan. 20, admired the significance of the art, and its far-reaching impact for students and faculty alike.

JEREMY BYRNE/TECHNICIAN

Assistant director Emma Fornes (left), in the Poole College of Management and director Danica Jackson (right) answer questions made during the spring musical production meeting in Frank Thompson Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. The NC State spring musical is “Urinetown” and is set to perform at the end of February.

2023 Grammy nominations prove to be both unsurprising and disappointing

Heidi Reid Assistant News Editor

Mary Kate Giuffrida Assistant Copy Desk Chief

Music and other audio types are subjective, so nominating options that please everyone isn’t realistic. Regardless, the majority of 2023 Grammy nominations were excruciatingly painful to read and listen to, even with the correct amount of leniency granted for subjectivity. The Grammy Awards appear to have completely given up on awarding musical competency and have instead asked themselves, “who will make us the most money?” when handing out nominations. Here are our thoughts on a few of this year’s categories.

Album Of The Year

Heidi Reid, Assistant News Editor: Although this album wasn’t necessarily to my taste, Beyonce’s “Renaissance” has definitely earned Album of the Year. “Renaissance” is an imaginative masterpiece, paying homage to her culture and luring fans out of their comfort genre. Beyonce captures the emotions of sexual liberation and pays homage to those who paved the way for her by sampling from various tracks from ‘90s drag icons, giving revolutionaries in the industry the credit they deserve. With the exception of “Harry’s House,” none of the albums nominated were particularly infuriating, but the quality, creativity and homage to the industry in “Renaissance” sets it apart from the rest.

Mary Kate Giuffrida, Assistant Copy Desk Chief: The years of the Grammy’s lifting new and groundbreaking artists into stardom appear to be over, and maybe have been for a while. The Album of the Year nominations seem to be more about big names than big innovations, and there’s something to be said for artists being too comfortable in their fame to really push themselves. Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin

Ti” definitely earned its spot among the list, as did Kendrick Lamar and arguably even Harry Styles, but ABBA, Adele and Coldplay? It wouldn’t have been my first choice. When it comes to picking a winner I couldn’t have said it better, “Renaissance” has earned this one fair and square, especially when you remember that Beyonce hasn’t taken home a Grammy in one of the top categories since 2010, despite being tied for most nominations in Grammy history.

Wilson College of Textiles project coordinator Bryson Keen said viewing the exhibition can offer new perspectives.

GRAPHIC BY HEIDI REID

Song Of The Year

HR: This year’s nominations for Song of the Year are a nightmare. I am convinced they selected these songs by listening to a pop radio station for an hour and picking the first ten songs they heard. When I say that, I am directly targeting “As It Was” by Styles. Styles is now what Justin Bieber was for our generation a decade ago. No talent or creativity in his music, but thrives off of an over-glorified personality and appearance.

His album is agreeable enough for a passive listen, but by no means employs the innovation deserving of a Grammy. The majority of the other nominations are surface level pieces as well, including their production, instrumentals and writing. I’m sorry, Taylor, but “All Too Well” sounds like a poem clumsily written by a high schooler going through their first break up. I’m sure the emotion is there, but the skill level to convey that emotion is not. Out of this category, I would like to see Steve Lacy or Kendrick Lamar win. Both artists had a large impact on the industry this year and deserve recognition. I just don’t think the selected songs are the right representation of their work.

MKG: Besides the (undeserved) Taylor Swift and Styles hate, I have to agree when it comes to these nominations. So many of these felt like they were derived from TikTok hype rather than any actual innovation or unique qualities. Gayle’s nomination especially is literally a joke. That specific breed of overdone pop-punk with gimmicky lyrics that seems to thrive on the For You page is perfect for scrolling and reposts, but definitely does not represent one of the best songs of the year.

The other nominations don’t stand out to me. “As It Was” is maybe the last song from “Harry’s House” I would have chosen, but once again we fell down the pipeline of only awarding lead singles which, in my opinion, are usually the worst songs on the album. While “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” holds a special place in my heart, and in my opinion represents a lot when it comes to the music industry and Swift’s battle for autonomy in her music, I don’t see it winning nor do I really think it should. Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” is probably the most surprising pick on the list, and while I don’t think it’s deserving of a win, I do think it adds a more heartfelt and genuine feeling to the nominations. In the end I would say Beyonce’s “Break my soul” or Steve Lacey’s “Bad Habit” have my vote.

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“[I] personally know Bailey,” Alvarez said. “I have learned a lot just from the way she got the colors. It’s all from plants, bugs or mud. It’s very interesting to me because my background isn’t art or creative at all. It’s interesting to see someone super excited about what they learned and have done, and we support her.”

“[It] definitely opens up your creative side a bit,” Keen said. “Look at the different types of natural dyes. For me, it was like a history lesson of how these colors come about. It’s a good learning opportunity.”

Regardless of an individual’s background or experience with art, the exhibition can be meaningful to all fields of study.

Haylie Clayton, a second-year studying biology, talked about how the project can open up new mediums for art enthusiasts.

“I think Bailey’s artwork is important because usually when you think of art, you think of 2D or clay, but there’s a lot more to it,” Clayton said. “This entire exhibit is all fiber stuff. Having people that want to do art but aren’t good at the other forms, having them explore other things by seeing other people’s projects — I think that’s really cool.”

Arynn Baginski, a first-year studying fashion and textile design, said that Knight’s exhibition unplugs us from the technology we use daily and reconnects us to our roots in nature.

“I really like how dreamy this exhibit is,” Baginski said. “These days I feel like things are so focused on technology. That’s not a bad thing, but I really appreciate things that are connected to the Earth. It feels like you’re using materials [the Earth is] giving you in a way that kind of gives back as well.”

For more information about Knight’s work, check out her website.

MBB Bracketology: NC State vying for first tournament appearance in five years

Wade Bowman Managing Editor

Head coach Kevin Keatts has NC State men’s basketball primed to make the NCAA Tournament this season, a feat he’s only accomplished once in his tenure with the Wolfpack.

Even with last weekend’s loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC State is sitting on what many expect to be somewhere in the range of a five to an eight seed. Before last Saturday’s loss to North Carolina, ESPN’s bracketology expert, Joe Lunardi, had the Wolfpack listed as his five seed in the East region, setting up a tournament run that had NC State battling through the likes of Kansas, UConn, Virginia, Tennessee and plenty of other prominent men’s basketball programs.

The loss last weekend changes that place-

ment for the time being, with Keatts and company yet to prove they can win the big ones on the road. For a program that hasn’t made a tournament appearance in the past four seasons, a five seed felt a tad high. In Andy Katz’s most recent bracket predictions, released 50 days before Selection Sunday, he had NC State dropping down to an eight seed with the likes of Iowa, New Mexico and San Diego State.

Katz’s prediction is a far more likely outcome for the Wolfpack based on how the team’s played so far. Granted, the loss in Chapel Hill came to a rival and saw one of the largest free throw disparities in Keatts’ time in Raleigh, reaffirming the belief that this team has some maturing to do in hostile environments. With the rest of NC State’s schedule affording the team plenty of opportunities to change that notion, includ-

ing an upcoming date with Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the Pack can absolutely hold on to its tournament hopes.

Having dominated in a stretch where NC State knocked off two top-16 opponents at home, earned a quad one win in Blacksburg, Virginia against the Hokies and avoided the trap laid out by Georgia Tech in Atlanta, things are still trending in a generally positive direction for a program that suffered its worst season in history a year ago.

While the Wolfpack has played a solid level of competition this far, it won’t get any easier down the home stretch. The aforementioned head-to-head against the Demon Deacons has a lot of implications for conference standings that could prove vital come time for ACC Tournament seeding, with NC State vying for a top-four seed

and double bye.

Following the game against Wake Forest, outcomes of road trips to No. 7 Virginia, Syracuse and Duke will be pivotal in the Pack’s resume heading into March. Earning a win or two in enemy territory surely locks NC State into a top-nine seed under the assumption that the team takes care of business at home before ending the regular season.

The loss to North Carolina was a blow to the chest for many NC State fans, but it only hurts so bad because this year’s squad is worth investing in. The team has proved capable of delivering in memorable moments, such as decimating then-No. 16 Duke and edging out then-No. 16 Miami at home, and if it can continue to match that pace — NC State will be dancing come springtime.

CATE HUMPHREYS/TECHNICIAN

Redshirt junior forward Greg Gantt, junior forward Ebenezer Dowuona and graduate forward Dusan Mahorcic cheer on their teammates during the game against UNC-Chapel Hill in the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. The Wolfpack lost to the Tar Heels 80-69.

WBB Bracketology: Wolfpack poised for top-five seeding in NCAA tournament

Cunningham Staff Writer

Head coach Wes Moore has once again led the NC State women’s basketball program to a winning record despite sustaining several setbacks this season. Despite losing a lot of depth on the bench and sustaining injuries to key players, Moore has his squad primed for its sixth-consecutive tournament appearance.

The No. 20 Wolfpack is currently on a two-game win streak with victories against Miami and Louisville after suffering a loss to a ranked North Carolina on Jan. 15. As of Jan. 20, ESPN bracketology expert Charlie Creme has NC State slated as the five seed on its respective side of the bracket, setting up a collision course with UConn, Stanford and Duke.

As it stands, NC State is only scheduled

to play one ranked opponent for the rest of the regular season — No. 7 Notre Dame on Jan. 29. This would be a huge win for the Wolfpack and could solidify its spot as a top-five seed, whereas a loss could potentially knock the Pack out of the top five without other games to prove itself worthy of a high ranking.

NCAA’s Autumn Johnson has NC State going into the tournament as a four seed along with Duke, Michigan and Oregon. This, along with Creme’s prediction, indicates a strong finish for NC State with weaker ACC teams left on its plate — with the exception of its local rivals in UNC and Duke.

The red-and-white still has some turbulence to face this season, especially with lingering lower body injuries hindering the play of its top-two scorers in junior guard

Diamond Johnson and senior forward Jada Boyd. However, NC State had stretches of play that look worthy of a deep tournament run.

The Pack dominated in and out of conference games, winning its first four games of the season by massive point differentials, the most being back-to-back 48-point wins against Mount St. Mary’s and UNC-Charlotte before being brought back down to earth by a loss at UConn. Since then, the Pack has traded wins and losses within the ACC, currently holding a 5-4 record.

NC State can pad its resume to end this season with six of its final nine games scheduled against opponents not projected to make the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack hasn’t played down to opponents that it’s favored to beat and is also aware of the trap games left on the schedule. After an upset

loss to Duke on Dec. 29, the Pack learned that opposing teams can get hot on any given night, and after the red-and-white’s upset losses to Boston College and FSU, it’ll be ready to take on the easier opponents on its schedule.

The outcome of the Pack’s game against Notre Dame will show how prepared the Wolfpack is to go up against the toughest teams in the country. The Fighting Irish will be a much tougher opponent than the Tar Heels, who held the Wolfpack to a seasonlow 47 points in its most recent loss on 29% from the field.

NC State won’t be the dominant No. 1 seed that it was last year but has a chance to get hot going into March in order to host its first two matchups in the tournament before heading to the next round.

ANNA HANSEN/TECHNICIAN

Sophomore point guard Saniya Rivers guards the ball at the game against UNC-Pembroke in Reynolds Coliseum on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. Rivers made five rebounds and the Wolfpack defeated the Braves 81-22.

Griffin

Pack women’s basketball deserves more respect — and an apology

Erin Ferrare Correspondent

The state of North Carolina will always be in the spotlight when it comes to college basketball. There is a long history of winning programs here within the Tar Heel State, with the legacies of UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke men’s basketball shining above the rest. But the title of the true “winningest program” doesn’t belong to a men’s basketball team, rather, it belongs to the NC State women’s basketball team, and it’s time to recognize it.

With this statistic in their favor, I find it hard to understand why the women don’t get the same respect as men across North Carolina college campuses and student bodies in recent seasons. We want to promote a “winning legacy” here on campus, but instead we focus on the teams that aren’t winning in the moments that matter.

Since the 2017-18 season, the NC State women’s basketball team has an average winning percentage of .8297, while the men’s team has a disappointing average of .5899. You would think with results like that, more students and on-campus organizations would be women’s basketball fans first and foremost, but unfortunately, that just isn’t the case.

On sidewalk corners you see posters and signs for upcoming men’s basketball games at PNC Arena, prompting students to drive the three miles down the road to watch a less successful team play, distracting from the winning atmosphere located in Reynolds Coliseum on Main Campus. While it is important to make sure every sports team on campus is recognized, prioritizing a team just because it is male is unacceptable.

Students specifically seem to be lacking in promoting campus-wide excitement for the women’s team. A popular Instagram page frequented by many students and alumni, @barstoolpack, is known as the go-to page for all things relating to being a member and fan of the Wolfpack. The account posts funny pictures, videos and memes about NC State, and on game days, they typically post anything to get Wolfpack Nation, or their 52,600 thousand followers, hyped. While this account shouldn’t be taken too seriously, the lack of attention they give to the women’s basketball team, or any women’s teams in general, is very concerning.

The last time the women’s basketball team received a significant post on @barstoolpack was March 26, 2022 when the team clinched a spot in the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1998. The men’s basketball team has been posted about 10 times since Dec.

18, 2022. The account didn’t even post when NC State runner junior Katelyn Touhy and the women’s cross country team won both the NCAA Women’s Cross Country National Championship and the ACC Cross Country Championships in 2022. It might seem silly to complain about how many times something is posted, but when the account has so much influence over the student culture at the University, it is hard to miss when women’s moments of success go unnoticed.

With the rise of head coach Wes Moore, the women’s basketball team has seen a burst of recent success to add to its already impressive resume. After making the NCAA Sweet 16 for the past three seasons,

along with winning the ACC Championship in each of those three seasons as well, an argument can be made that the team is the crown jewel of Wolfpack athletics.

The University however, just doesn’t seem to see the appeal of the women’s basketball team, and it’s reflected in its athletic spending budget. Reporter Russell Steinberg reported that in 2018, NC State spent a shocking $9.6 million on the men’s basketball program, and unsurprisingly, the women’s basketball team got significantly less than their male counterparts. DIY College Rankings reports that the University spends $2.7 million on the women’s team here on campus. A team that has sold out Reynolds Coliseum five times this season

and has this much success on the court should have more financial backing from the University to put towards recruiting, player development and facilities.

It’s time to stop focusing on the gender of a team and using it as an excuse to not give them the attention and respect they deserve. If the women’s teams are doing better then the men’s, is that something to be embarrassed about? Women’s sports have been pushed aside for far too long and it’s embarrassing for a student body to spend their time supporting a moderately successful program rather than cheering on a once-in-a-generation team like the Pack women’s basketball squad.

EMILY PEEDIN/TECHNICIAN

Graduate forward Mimi Collins (center) and graduate center River Baldwin (right) cheer on their teammates during the game against Virginia inside Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. The Wolfpack won 87-62.

DJ Burns: NC State men’s basketball’s fun-loving, unstoppable big man

Gavin Gallimore Staff Writer

NC State men’s basketball’s “Smooth Operator,” also known as graduate forward DJ Burns, has quickly cemented himself as a fixture of Wolfpack athletics. The graduate transfer’s fun-loving personality and fearlessness under the rim have quickly turned him into a fan favorite, on and off the court.

After transferring from Winthrop as the reigning Big South Player of the Year, Burns has been everything promised and even more in his first season with the Pack. Last season, an obvious struggle for NC State was the absence of a big man to play in the post, so head coach Kevin Keatts knew exactly what he was doing when he turned the former Eagles star into a member of the Wolfpack.

In the beginning of the season, Burns saw steady playing time, averaging around 16 minutes per game. In his debut against Austin Peay, he got his red-and-white career off to a hot start, posting a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. However, his playing time remained limited until the Pack’s Dec. 6 matchup against Coppin State. It was there that senior forward Dusan Mahorcic went down with a scary knee injury.

Since then, Burns has averaged around 25 minutes per game, propelling him and his desperately needed physical presence to the forefront of NC State’s lineup.

Since stepping into the spotlight, Burns has truly taken off. With many comparing him to former NC State standout Beejay Anya, Burns has shown that his large frame doesn’t make him one-dimensional by any stretch. He’s been able to score just as well as he’s been able to haul in rebounds, currently boasting a solid average of 10 points and four rebounds per contest. It’s safe to say that Burns has been a large reason for why the Pack has achieved the level of success that it has this year.

Immediately following the Coppin State game, he posted 16 points and eight rebounds in a road loss to Miami. A week later against Vanderbilt, he put up a very similar statline of 18 points and nine rebounds. A home matchup with Louisville was also a promising one for Burns, scoring 17 points and grabbing five more rebounds, so it’s clear that he’s one of the Pack’s most consistent performers.

Despite his early-season signs of success, he truly began to take off in a huge home matchup with then-No. 16 Duke. His im-

pact was massive, coming off the bench to a raucous crowd inside PNC Arena. With fans across the venue chanting his name, he went to work against the Blue Devils’ fearsome big men and tallied 18 points in the Pack’s upset win. During the game, he was poked in the eye, resulting in the big man wearing sunglasses during the team’s postgame celebrations. This soon went viral and continued to build the legend Burns, or the “Smooth Operator.”

The following week, Burns and the Pack welcomed Miami, another ranked ACC foe to PNC Arena. Playing for an astounding 34 minutes, Burns flirted with a triple double, recording 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. His efforts helped the Pack gain yet another resume-building victory. He also put together a strong showing against Georgia Tech, scoring 10 points and grabbing six boards.

Going into last weekend, the Pack had a highly-anticipated showdown with UNC provided a chance for Burns to clash with preseason ACC player of the year, Armando Bacot. Throughout the season, Bacot has been unstoppable under the basket, constantly getting rebounds and trips to the charity stripe. This was no easy task for

Burns, but he was prepared for it. He showed he was up to the challenge, playing great defense against Bacot which helped him alleviate some stress on the rest of the team. Even though Bacot turned in a double-double, it was not entirely on Burns and the big man wasn’t too shabby himself, pouring in 18 of his own points against the Heels.

Over the course of the season, Burns has done more than enough to prove his worth to the Wolfpack. With a team like NC State that heavily relies on the play of its guards, having someone like Burns down low to grab rebounds and pounce on second chance points is crucial. He is able to use his size to play “bully ball,” and his fluid motion to the basket, which involves a sweet stepback consistently helps him fill up the statsheet night in, night out.

Moving forward, the Pack will certainly keep leaning on Burns to help guide the team as he continues to establish his presence in the paint. He will be a crucial piece to the Pack as it hopes to continue making a strong bid for the NCAA Tournament.

The next opportunity to see Burns in action is on Saturday, Jan. 28 when the Pack visits Wake Forest. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ACC Network.

CATE HUMPHREYS/TECHNICIAN

Graduate forward DJ Burns Jr. drives to the basket during the game against Miami University in PNC Arena on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. Burns Jr. had nine rebounds and seven assists. The Wolfpack beat the Hurricanes 83-81.