The Stylus- Volume 127, Issue 4

s u l y t S e h T

Volume 127

ISSUE

2021-22

#4

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FB: ParkUniversityStylus stylus@park.edu April 8, 2022

Ukraine-Russia conflict impacts Park community Skyler Jensen Editor-in-Chief Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Americans have experienced economic ripple effects – an increase in gas prices and a decline in the stock market maybe chief among them. This holds true for most of the Park University community. But for some, this conflict has more meaningful and personal effects.

Arty Pavlov, Park MBA alumnus, is from Ukraine. He still lives in the United States and is getting his second masters in higher education from the University of Louisville, but he has family in Kyiv, Ukraine.

“It’s just really sad, how the whole thing is going,” he said.

According to Reuters, a news agency, a lot of tragedy has occurred since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the start of a “special military operation” on Feb. 24. Since then, Reuters estimates there have been at least 24,000 deaths, approximately 1.9 thousand non-fatal injuries, at least 11 million people displaced and around $565 billion worth of property damage as of April 6.

This destruction has also affected the Russian people.

The Stylus spoke with one Park University grad student

from Russia who asked to be kept anonymous for fear of retribution. She said that the hardest part for her has been the uncertainty of when she will see her mom, who lives in Russia, again. The Park student lives in the U.S. with her husband, whom she recently married, and stepson.

She doesn’t think Americans understand how connected Ukraine and Russia are. There are have been

regional, Slavic tribes that lived in both Russia and Ukraine for centuries connecting the two countries according to this student who added that Ukraine has been Russia’s brother country for a long time as well. This student even has family in Ukraine, in the city of Uman, including her mom’s cousin.

Ukrainian flag PHOTO COURTESY/Unsplash.com

Russian flag PHOTO COURTESY/Adobe Stock

See International struggles on page 4

Updated policy only requires masks in classrooms Park University President Shane Smeed Nathan Dunn Editor explained that a significant factor in the Masks are not required at Park University campuses throughout the nation for the first time in two years.

Unless otherwise required by federal, state or local mandates, Park University will only require face masks in classrooms and university-sponsored transportation, effective March 7.

decision was when Platte County’s community level was removed from the high category in late February. The CDC looks at the combination of three metrics: new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients, and total new COVID cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days

to determine the community level.

According to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review, the reported cases seven-day average dropped by nearly 38% while the daily hospitalizations seven-day average dropped by nearly 30% when the university made the announcement.

“The classrooms were a place that we felt like it was important to continue to have

See Mask policy on page 4

In This Issue: Entertainment...2-3 Campus Life......4-5 Sports.................6-7 Features................8

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 2 April 8, 2022

“Inventing Anna” deserves all the attention

The fascinating story of a 25-year-old fooling NYC Mariana Figueroa Editor When Anna Sorokin was jailed in 2019, many first learned the incredible story of a master of deception, one of the most remarkable scammers to ever immigrate to the United States. It is difficult to simplify the criminal actions of Sorokin, or Anna Delvey, the identity she adopted

to commit a series of impressive frauds.

She had many identities and her immense act led her to be represented in the tabloids as: “the criminal who duped the New York elite by posing as a European heiress.”

Sorokin was born in Russia, at the age of 16 she moved to Germany with her parents, it was there that she discovered her facility for learning languages. Sorokin moved to New York with only one goal in mind: being at the top of the New York society.

The Netflix original miniseries “Inventing Anna” takes this story from real life, revolving around an interview conducted by journalist Jessica Pressler for her investigative article “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People,” published in New York magazine.

In the show, the journalist goes by the name of Vivian and is played by Anna Chlumsky, while the role of Sorokin is played by the talented actress Julia Garner, known for playing Ruth in the acclaimed series “Ozark.” Garner has interpreted the character to perfection and gives the best performance of the show.

“Inventing Anna” is one of those series that improves episode by episode. The

build-up of the script makes the audience eager for the next episode to know what’s going to happen. It keeps people hooked to the TV because every episode you think you got to the bottom of it, but at the end it’s another of Anna’s lies and you go back to knowing absolutely nothing about her.

The intensity of its narrative increases as Anna Delvey and the scope of her actions are discovered on screen. Her personality makes the audience like her in a way. Some episodes you want to side with her and see her succeeding and in others you realize it is all lies.

“This whole story is completely true.

Except for the parts that were completely made up.” This sentence is shown at the beginning of each episode which makes clear that some of its material is not accurate to Sorokin’s real-life story. It is not a step-by-step reconstruction of the events surrounding her, but rather takes different narrative paths. However, the biggest frauds of Sorokin’s case, and the most spectacular ones – such as the bank fraud, her long stay in luxury hotels or and the theft of a private plane – are true.

This TV show portrayed Sorokin as a visionary genius with a special talent for

PHOTOS COURTESY/ Netflix business, but the show doesn’t deny that she was also a liar, manipulator and scammer. It shows the audience every part of Anna as confusing as it can be. Just as Jessica Pressler said, “The truth is, the more you know about Anna Delvey, the less you might understand her—but that’s

Lecrae’s “Gravity” is still meaningful, enjoyable 10 years later Bryce Butler Reporter Lecrae’s only Grammy-nominated studio album is one of the most impactful pieces of music I have ever listened to.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper’s sixth studio album was released in 2012, when I was 10 years old. At that age, music was a very crucial part of my upbringing.

Growing up in a Christian household, my music choices were restricted by my parents who were very intentional about the type of music they allowed. It is no wonder then why I have been listening to artists like Lecrae for as long as I have been alive.

This album, in particular, came at a time when I was just a kid going to a youth group every Wednesday. A lot of my memories connected to “Gravity” involve either riding in the car or being around my friends at church.

Can you think of a song or album that reminds you of a specific chapter of your life?

I’m sure that those memories appear to you pretty vividly. That is exactly how I feel

when I hear Lecrae’s track “No Regrets” featuring Suzy Rock.

When I hear this song, it always takes me back to riding home from church with my dad at night. I give much credit to him for the music that he passed on to me, more specifically the hip hop.

“No Regrets” remains my favorite song on the entire album, largely due to its relatability. In the song, Lecrae raps prospectively about not only the meaning of life, but what happens when life comes to an end.

I feel that this track best highlights the album’s concept: that the force of gravity and the choices that we make are two things that we are all affected by. He also does a great job of incorporating his own experiences into this song to add credibility.

Nonetheless, I find myself consistently going back to the songs on this album. I consider them to be timeless, and many of them are relevant to the things I’m going through right now as a young adult.

It is for these reasons that “Gravity” will remain locked in my all-time favorites list.

The album is available for listening on all music streaming platforms.

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 3 April 8, 2022

“Bridgerton” season two feels lackluster but still enjoyable Skyler Jensen Editor-in-Chief The second season of Netflix’s hit show “Bridgerton” released on March 25, and it is almost as good as the first season.

This historical drama focuses on the Bridgerton family, one of the most well-regarded families of the ton, as it’s said in the show. Last season, the show focused on Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) falling in love with Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page).

This season focuses on the eldest son, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey).

At the beginning of the season, Anthony decides that this is the year he will marry to continue his family’s line. He is a viscount, so it’s his duty to marry and have kids, but Anthony refuses to marry for love. He decides to marry the socalled “diamond of the season,” the woman named the best of the eligible women in London by the Queen of England. That woman is Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandran). However, as the season pro-

gresses, he becomes closer with her sister, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley). It is obvious to the audience that although Anthony is courting Edwina, he is actually falling for Kate, and she is falling for him, too, despite their dislike for one another and constant jabs.

This season felt very different from the first. In the first season, the relationship between Daphne and Simon began early on, and the climax of the show hit at the middle of the season. Then, there was some falling action before the show tied up the story in the resolution.

In the second season, most of the episodes are spent building up the plot.

The audience sees less of the actual relationship between Anthony and Kate and more of their longing looks and mutual senses of duty to their respective families that force them to push their feelings aside. It felt like the ending was rushed because of this.

There was a lot put into the final episode that is only about an hour long. It felt like way too much. Because of the pacing

it didn’t feel like the story had any falling action or total resolution.

Even with these pacing issues, it was still a very enjoyable show.

In part, this is because the actors bring the show to life and enrapture the audience in the story. Each actor conveys the wide array of emotions that their character goes through while also showing the subtleties of each character’s plot line that need precision to be expressed.

It is also great because two of the actors, Chandran and Ashley, have an Indian background which brings in more diversity. By having this representation, Indian girls can see Indian women in mainstream media. Chandran’s character is even named the prettiest of the women. Importantly, this representation is not turned into a stereotype or relegated to a supporting role.

The story is also just interesting and fun. The Regency era way of life is so different from today’s society, so it’s nice to take a break and watch this to imagine what life was like back then. There are

Park documentary premieres at WWI Memorial Bryce Butler Reporter On Thursday, March 24, the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City opened its doors to anyone interested in viewing the 25-minute documentary film “More than a Medal.” The film highlighted the Valor Medals Review Project. This project is a key initiative of Park University’s George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War. The event began with an introduction made by Park President Shane Smeed, in which he commemorated the efforts of all of those involved with the project. This was followed by a word from Associate Professor of History Timothy Westcott, Ph.D., director of the Robb Centre, in which he showed gratitude for his ability

to help honor those who sacrificed their lives for the United States.

The short film explains how in September 2018, a Valor Medals Review task force was assembled in order to collect military service records that were eligible for review. The project focused on minority veterans that who were possibly denied proper awards due to their race.

The categories of minority veterans consisted of five groups: Jewish Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.

In the film, Ashlyn Weber, associate director of the Robb Centre, talks about some of the difficulties in conducting this type of review. One example she shared was the 1973 fire that broke out in the National Personnel Records Center.

This unfortunate event resulted in a major loss of personnel records that could have proved acceptable for the medals review. Weber explained that a paper trail was one of the most effective ways of uncovering minority veterans.

After the premiere ended, a question-and-answer period was held by Alex Goldstein and Clark Slater, the producers and directors of the documentary. They discussed their perspectives throughout the making of the film.

The importance of this project is rooted in the fact that this is the last chance for a review for valor medals related to World War I. To learn more about Park’s Valor Medals Review Project, you can visit GSR. Park.edu/Valor-Medals-Review-Project.

PHOTO COURTESY/Netflix also a lot of side stories to focus on that add to the overall story. This includes the friendship between Penelope Featherington and Eloise Bridgerton, the sister dynamics between Kate and Edwina and many more.

This show had me laughing, cheering for characters and enjoying my downtime. Overall, I would definitely suggest watching it, even though I don’t think the second season is as good as the first.

Staff List Editor-in-chief Skyler Jensen

Editors

Nathan Dunn Yi Li Mariana Figueroa

Reporters

Bryce Butler Jaylynn Tucker Natalya Nalivaiko

Adviser

Kristin Shaw

CAMPUS LIFE

April 8, 2022 PHOTO/Skyler Jensen

Mask policy changes as COVID-19 decreases

New flyers have been put up around campus to inform students about the change in policy. Students, faculty and staff now only have to wear masks in classrooms and in university-sponsored transportation.

Everywhere else on campus, masks are now optional.

Continued from page 1 masking this semester,” Smeed said. “Outside of the classroom, we would utilize the data that we had coming from the CDC, the county, as well as our medical hospital partners.”

This decision was made in consultation with local authorities, medical professionals and Park’s shared governance. The shared governance included many faculty members who favored keeping masks as a requirement in classrooms, said Smeed.

With these new rules, Park also confirmed that masks will be optional for the following events this semester: Dr. Doris Howell Leadership Awards, Honors Convocation, Presidential Inauguration, Nursing Pinning Ceremony, International Sash Ceremony and the Kansas City Area Commencement.

“Being in the classroom with masks, I see that as a barrier,” said Andrew Johnson, Ph.D., professor of psychology. “I cannot wait for the time when we don’t have to have masks in the classroom.”

While he understands the reasoning behind masks, he believes masks interrupt learning.

“Masks provide a physical layer of distance. For some students, I see that manifesting in the classroom,” Johnson said.

Johnson explained he has noticed that students are engaging less in class. He believes masks also allow students to not answer direct questions posed to them.

“With a mask off, that’s a little bit more difficult to do,” he said.

Other negative effects Johnson has witnessed include comprehension issues for international students who aren’t as proficient in English as native speakers, as well as the missing social aspects of communication.

“We are social creatures. We use a number of the cues in our face to understand what people are saying. When we talk, it’s not just the words; it’s the intonation of it; it’s the inflection, and also what our faces say,” Johnson said.

Students and faculty at Park have been coping with masks in the classroom almost

Page 4

two full academic years. For the 2020-21 school year, the university required masks all over campus, even outside. Then for the first seven months of the 2021-22 school year, the university required masks when inside any building.

The most recent modification to the masking policy, requiring masks in classrooms and university-sponsored transportation, is the closest Park has come to getting back to a pre-pandemic, no-masks normal.

Smeed is hoping that the fall 2022 semester is more like those pre-pandemic semesters and is optimistic that the masks will be made optional everywhere. For Park’s face mask policy to be completely lifted, Smeed said the trajectory will need to continue going in a positive direction.

“We have seen that there is a reduction in severe cases,” Smeed said. “As we review that, we will continue to discuss with our faculty, staff and students about the comfortability of going without masks in the classroom.”

For those still wary about returning to in-person learning with the possibility of no mask requirements next semester, Park will still offer distance education options.

“We want to continue to create spaces for students to be comfortable learning,” Smeed said. “Not only in a face-to-face environment but also in a virtual environment.”

International struggles front-and-center for Russian and Ukrainian students at Park Continued from page 1 She also struggles with seeing posts on social media that dehumanize Russian soldiers and make fun of them. She said that she feels really bad for them because it is presented differently in Russia. For example, some soldiers might not have known what they were getting into or think they’re fighting for the complete truth, so seeing those posts are heartbreaking for her.

“There should be some compassion for people who are, you know, dying,” she said.

Here at Park, President Shane Smeed wants international students to know that Park supports all students from all 59

countries that Park currently has students from.

He said, “We’ll do whatever we can to be able to support our students that are having challenges back in their home country.”

“We continue to stand with any of our international students who are in a place of conflict to provide them with support so that they can continue their education and they can be in a safe place,” he added.

Pavlov says he feels support from his community.

“It was nice knowing people care about Ukraine and Ukrainian students here in the States, but it’s definitely difficult time

for all of us,” he said.

It’s also difficult for anyone to truly know what is going on in those nations.

The student from Russia said that she watches the news from Russia, Ukraine and the United States. She said she’s feels there’s propaganda and bias from everywhere, so it’s very difficult for her to know what’s going on. However, she said, “It’s not as simple as Russia invaded Ukraine,” and just not a simple situation in general.

Overall, both Pavlov and the Russian student hope for peace. Pavlov said that, “I just hope that the war will end sooner rather than later.”

The Russian student said that she

hopes for peace and understanding between people. In addition, she also hopes that all the governments involved in this conflict will be thinking about people.

As Smeed put in his statement, “We encourage international students to contact our International Education office for guidance and support. We encourage any student who is feeling anxious to contact our Counseling Center and Health Services. Licensed counselors are available at no charge to Park University students.

Likewise, faculty and staff can visit the HR page in MyPark for details about support offered via our Employee Assistance Plan.”

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 5 April 8, 2022

Technology resources vary widely among programs, buildings Natalya Nalivaiko Reporter Technology has become an essential component of learning. It is used every day by almost every school and university. Many schools rely on technology to teach, provide student resources, give assignments, communicate and more.

Park University is no different. Most students and faculty will use Canvas to get course material, assignments and grades. But technology is more essential to some academic programs, and students in those disciplines have noticed disparities around campus. Some buildings are new and have high functioning technology, whereas others are outdated and the computers have limited functions.

Senior multimedia journalism and public relations major Savanna Wyatt said she does not benefit from technology at Park. Because she is a journalism student, most of her classes are in Copley-Thaw Hall.

Wyatt said, “I don’t like that a lot of the technology, in Copley-Thaw specifically, is outdated. For example, the computers in the labs are very slow and sometimes don’t log on until the end of class.”

Despite the slow computers, Wyatt does appreciate the broadcasting equipment provided for the journalism majors in Copley-Thaw. She says it is fun to learn how to use the equipment to create various things, yet it is still outdated.

Other students around campus have a different outlook on the technology the university provides.

Junior nursing major Jaime Tonasket explains the beneficial technology that nursing students use to learn. In their labs, Tonasket said, “We use simulation mannequins that the professors can control from an iPad, to simulate that different things are going on.”

These mannequins can be made to show different symptoms in order for the nursing students to care for the mannequins as if they were real patients.

“I like that we treat the mannequins as

realistic people, because we actually see more outdated technology that needs to their vital signs getting better or worse, be updated and the technology fee could we hear an actual pulse on the manne- help with this,” said Wyatt. quin,” said Tonasket. “This technology is Some of the technology fee is disrealistic, so we can perform as we would tributed by the Technology Exploration in a hospital, while still being able to Committee. Their website says that the make mistakes.” committee, known as TEC for short, is a Each student taking classes on the group of Park University students and IT Parkville campus pays a technology fee advisors working to improve the student of $10 per credit hour, according to Park. experience through technological imedu. So, if a student is enrolled in 12 cred- provements. it hours for a semester, they will contribManoj Khatiwada, TEC treasurer, said ute $120 toward technology needs. Some via email that TEC runs a survey each students question what it really goes to- year to solicit feedback from students. ward.

Their meetings are Associate Vice held every Friday President and “I think the technology fee is used at 3:30 p.m. in the Dean of Students wisely because it goes to each proGibson Room on Jayme Uden, Ed.D., gram for educational purposes.” the third floor of said via email that Thompson ComJaime Tonasket mons and any stuthe fee is applied toward a variety of Junior nursing major dent can join the things, including meeting to share printing kiosks, their opinion. computer labs and the laptop rental maSeth Frye, PSGA vice president and chines. Additionally, the fee is spent on chair of TEC, explained that the commitsoftware and apps like Crew, which is like tee gets a percentage of the technology a student social media platform, TurnItIn, fee. The rest is reserved by Park to spend which instructors use to check student through the IT department. work for plagiarism, Maxient software, “The school is not transparent about which is used by the Student life office, what the specific split is, how much monand more. It has also been used to invest in ey goes to each, and what specifically the study/huddle rooms, The Parkade, which rest of the budget is spent on. Additionis in the underground, and audio/visual ally, this year, a large portion of the TEC upgrades around campus. budget was recalled by the school due to “I think the technology fee is used under-enrollment and a miscalculation of wisely because it goes to each program for the fee. This portion that was recalled was educational purposes like our simulation about 15-20% of the total TEC budget,” patients and Pyxis medicine dispenser,” Frye wrote. said Tonasket.

The IT department plays an important Wyatt on the other hand, does not role supporting faculty and staff at Park. think the technology fee is being used Arguably, those faculty and staff memwell for all the departments on campus. bers use Park’s technology even more.

“For example, there is updated tech- Communication Instructor and Student nology in certain areas on campus like the Media Adviser Kristin Shaw describes all Plaster Center,” said Wyatt. of the technology she uses at Park. She The Plaster Center is Park University’s consistently uses a laptop provided by newest building that has a lot of updated Park, computers in the classroom, printclassrooms and technology. ers for student materials and many soft“Buildings like Copley-Thaw have ware programs. Shaw also works closely

with the media services department of IT to monitor the function of the broadcasting equipment and the radio station.

Shaw believes that Park has been proactive in providing resources to students via device checkout and access to the programs she needs for her classes, like Adobe Creative Cloud. However, she said there are still difficulties.

“I find that I am often left in a position where I have to find or create workarounds to address technology deficiencies. Those can take many different forms,” she said. “I would say no semester happens without at least one significant technology issue.”

For example, Shaw said there have been times where certain equipment has failed and there is nothing to replace it, or she has had to completely change a class schedule or assignments because certain technology or program was not accessible.

Associate Professor of Computer Science Crystal Peng, Ph.D., echoed that technology support for her classes is generally sufficient. IT provides a Linux system on a server and her students use a virtual desktop system provided by Park.

However, she would also like to see more in the way of technology resources.

“I’d really like to have a system with a computer lab classroom where instructors can see student work (in-class practices kind) on their computers directly from the podium computer. That way instructors can know where students are and help them more efficiently,” she wrote via email.

Although Park University has made the efforts to provide technology on campus for students and faculty, it seems there is a general desire for more resources, higher quality technology and more consistency across departments and programs.

Many students, staff and faculty have experienced frustration with technology issues, yet most still appreciate the resources available when they function correctly.

SPORTS

Page 6 April 8, 2022

Men’s volleyball falls in Heart tourney semifinals Mariana Figueroa Editor The men’s volleyball team might consider the Heart of America semifinals match on March 30 a night to forget.

The Pirates lost to the William Penn University Statesman 3-1 in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

While the first set started rough, everything turned around in the Pirates favor after Coach Mike Talamantes called a timeout at the 6-3 point. Following that, and thanks in part to five service errors by the Statesmen, Park closed out the first set 25-21, taking a 1-0 lead.

However, this would be the only set won by the Pirates. William Penn came back strong after losing the first set. The Pirates didn’t hold the lead at all in the second set. At 23-18, the Pirates tried to rally, going on a 3-0 run. But the Statesmen showed their determination not to let another set slip away. They regained possession of the service and won 25-22 to draw the match level at 1-1.

The Statesmen seemed to get into gear in the third set. The Statesmen found success and continuity on both sides of the court thanks to 18 kills from outside hit-

ter Ike Papes and 21 kills from right side Landon Krause.

Krause also finished with the best attack percentage, confirming himself as the most effective of the match with 21 kills. William Penn’s hitting stats were brilliant in this set as they hit with a .500 percentage against the Pirates’.083. This time the set ended 25-20 for the Statesmen.

The fourth and final set started 3-0 in favor of the Pirates, but it was just a sad illusion. Five points later, the set was tied 4-4, and soon after that William Penn managed the largest lead of the night – eight points. The protagonist of the goldblue comeback was Kraus’ serve that inflicted several aces on Park’s receiving line. The Statesmen closed the set earlier this time at 25-18.

The timeouts and the numerous changes made by Talamates didn’t bring the success the Pirates needed. This confirmed the difficulties the Pirates faced all season when they found themselves away from the Breckon’s friendly walls. Five of the team’s six losses have been on the road this season.

For Park, Joao Friedrich ended the game with 12 kills, and Daniel Isernhagen

PHOTO COURTESY/William Penn For the second time this season, the Park men’s volleyball team lost on the road against William Penn. with four individual blocks, matching his season-high.

Despite being denied access to the conference finals, the Pirates were seeded seventh for the NAIA Men’s Volleyball

National Championship tournament. The team is headed to Des Moines, Iowa, to begin pool play on April 12.

Track and Field competes at Emporia State Jaylynn Tucker Reporter Park University Track and Field athletes performed this previous week on Friday and Saturday at Emporia University. All team athletes were able to participate in this two day meet.

Shikayla Walker, a senior thrower, felt she performed well on both meet days, despite battling with a sprained MCL. She said it was good to compete, “finally getting back across the ring and taking full control.”

Along with Walker’s great perfor-

PHOTO/Jaylynn Tucker The track and field teams are preparing for conference championships in May. mance Malike Calahoun, freshman jumper, also had a good performance at the meet.

“I think I performed pretty good after finally staying consistent throughout each

jump approach and getting a legal jump,” Calhoun said.

Allyson Anderson, junior sprinter and one of the team co-captains, participated in the 400-meter dash.

“This is my second race post-injury after being out for the bulk of the indoor season, so I am happy with the fact that I am continuing to progress in a decent peace safe and healthy manner,” Anderson, said.

She said she went into this meet with certain goals in mind.

“My initial goal was to win my heat and run a 59 or 60 second 400. I met my goal of winning my heat, but fell short on time,” Anderson said.

The Park Track and Field athletes will next compete on Saturday, April 9 at Pittsburg State University.

SPORTS

Page 7 April 8, 2022

Park esports introducing new games for 2022-23 Nathan Dunn Editor

Esports and video games, in general, have become more popular throughout the world. Park’s esports team has been part of that movement for four seasons, competing out of the Parkade Battlegrounds in the underground.

“The bigger esports gets in the collegiate space and the scholastic space; the better for everyone as more and more people buy-in,” said Adam Farm, Park esports head coach. “I think it’s going to grow much more rapidly, especially when high schools start picking it up.”

According to Harvard International Review esports are, “…video games that are played in a highly organized competitive environment. These games can range from popular, team-oriented multiplayer online battle arenas, to single player first person shooters, to survival battle royales, to virtual reconstructions of physical sports.”

Farm has been part of the local esports movement both collegiately and in high schools. He described esports as “a multi-player competitive video game.”

The esports program at Park currently competes in League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. With 14 players on the roster, Park’s team is looking to grow its esports program to include more players and more games.

Farm said he is hoping to introduce more mainstream games such as Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Halo, Rainbow Six Siege and Fortnite. In addition to those games, Farm would welcome recruits who play sports-based video games such as FIFA, NBA 2K

Upcoming Games April 8 Baseball @ Evangel April 9 Track/Field @ Gorilla Classic Baseball @ Evangel Softball @ Graceland April 10 Softball @ Peru State April 12 Men’s Volleyball Nationals Pool Baseball vs Columbia Softball @ Central Methodist April 13 Men’s Volleyball Nationals Pool April 14 Men’s Volleyball Nationals Pool April 15 Track/Field @ Mule Relays Men’s Volleyball Semifinals Softball vs William Penn Baseball @ Baker April 16 Men’s Volleyball Finals Baseball @ Baker Softball vs Grand View April 20 Softball vs Benedictine April 21 Beach Volleyball Nationals April 22 Beach Volleyball Nationals Softball @ MidAmerica Naz.

PHOTO/Nathan Dunn Park esports is looking to expand its program to include more gaming options and more gamers. Below: Park esports head coach Adam Farm. and Madden.

As his first year at Park concludes, Farm sees the esports team as a community that presents students with the opportunity to compete in non-traditional college athletics.

“We’re not super exclusive at Park.

We’re not trying to look for the best of the best. We just want to give a really good community to those that want to find it or feel like other communities don’t fit for PHOTO COURTESY/Park University them.”

Farm said that a boost in recruitment would allow his program to implement a varsity and junior varsity setup for next year.

At Park, Farm said esports players can expect two days of practice before playing the match. After the match, players will review their performance before returning to practice.

“If players have the desire to compete, the desire to improve and the willingness to take a more serious approach to the games they play at home, then Park’s probably a right fit for them,” Farm said.

Farm said there are scholarships available. The monetary amount varies based on in-game skill, academic performance and an individual’s financial situation.

Since not enough schools have esports to participate in the NAIA or NCAA, collegiate esports is governed by the Kansas City-based National Association of Collegiate Esports. The esports season lasts all year. Tournaments run for eight to 10 weeks.

For those that don’t want to make a commitment to the team, the Parkade is still open 24/7 for recreational play.

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 8 April 8, 2022

Festival of colors

PHOTOS/YI LI Park International Club and Park Rotaract Club jointly hosted the color festival on April 1. They brought brightly pigmented powder to throw in celebration. This is similar to how the Hindu festival of Holi is celebrated. Holi was March 18 this year.