Slippery Rock community members have been airing their grievances online in regard to the fate of the large, white and red “Rocket Barn” that sits at the entrance of Slippery Rock High School’s campus.
A Facebook post by Slippery Rock Town-Crier on March 23 called attention to the possibility of the barn being demolished, which opened online discussion amongst community members.
Slippery Rock Area School Board held a meeting Monday about the status of the barn, an engineering study that was performed in December and possible outcomes for the structure.
According to the engineering study performed by Barber & Hoffman Inc., posted on the school district’s website, the barn was once used for unheated storage and should either be fixed in a timely manner or no longer used.
“Although the majority of framing was in good condition, localized deterioration, foundation shifting, and framing modifications have resulted in potentially unstable
conditions,” the study said. Barber & Hoffman Inc., recommended the district install structural bracing as soon as possible to counteract the barn from additional shifting, or discontinuing use of the building, according to theDuestudy. to the complexity of the barn’s issues and the age of the structure, the study reported that the necessary repairs may not be feasible for the district.
“As an alternative to repairing the existing building, the district may consider constructing a new storage building that could offer more efficient use of space, more convenient access for equipment, and lower long- term maintenance costs,” the study
barn could be costly, up to $300,000, according to Slippery Rock School Board Member Mark Taylor at the meeting Monday. “I think the district can spend the money in better ways,” Taylor said. “Other than sentimental attachment, [the barn] doesn’t have value as far as storage or anything.”
Slippery Rock School Board Member Vito Pilosi III continued the discussion after Taylor. “I think, as a board, we can all agree that none of us want to
take the barn down,” Pilosi said.
Pilosi said fixing the barn is not something people can just get together and do. He said to fix the barn, the district will have to look at the legal aspect of liability, follow state laws, and hire someone with insurance to fix the structure.
“If we take the barn down, what can we do to commemorate it?” Pilosi asked.
“I think we should try to get input from people, what do we do with it?”
The barn has been sitting on the property since the early 1930s, far before the school came into ownership, according to Butler County resident Larry Palmer.
Palmer, who attended the meeting, said that the barn used to belong to his grandparents, John and Estella McNees, before the property was sold to the school district.
Palmer said that he felt terrible about the possibility of the barn getting demolished.
“I want to see it fixed up,” he said. “That’s the first thing people see when they pull up to the school.”
Arleen McCurdy, 62, is a cousin to Palmer and has been living near Slippery Rock all her life. She said that her class was the first class to walk through Slippery Rock Area Middle
School back in 1972. She did not speak at the meeting but said she had been in contact with the superintendent about her idea to honor the barn. McCurdy said that if the barn gets demolished, she would like to see wood from the structure painted and made into a frame that can hang in the high school’s library.
Online, some community members were calling to save one wall of the building that includes it's most defining feature, red letters that read "This Is Rocket Territory," and use it as a billboard. While no decision was made on how to proceed in regard to the Rocket Barn, the school board plans to reconvene and discuss the issue again in June.
Until then, the board will be accepting ideas on how to commemorate the barn and the sentiment it holds. Community members with ideas they would like to share should call Alfonso Angelucci, Slippery Rock School District’s superintendent, at 724-794- 2960 x1001 and leave a message.
Since the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, women have been searching for birth control options to prevent unintended pregnancy, and for young women, the options are even more limited.
As birth control becomes more regulated and less accessible around the country, some young women have made the decision to stop relying on routine contraceptives, making the permanent switch to sterilization.
There are a few types of tubal sterilization procedures for people with uteruses: Essure sterilization, a placed block in the fallopian tube; bilateral salpingectomy, removal of fallopian tubes and tubal ligation.
The standard tubal ligation is an outpatient procedure that involves pumping the abdomen full of gas then removing a section of each fallopian tube through a small incision in the abdomen with a thin, lighted tube.
The procedure takes 15 to 20 minutes, according to Dr. Ron Cypher, an OB/GYN in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Patients can resume normal activities quickly.
Cypher recalled performing a tubal ligation on a 21-yearold patient who decided longacting reversible contraception (LARC) was not for her because she had already had two kids.
The procedure, which is usually covered partially by insurance, is considered simple, safe and effective. However, many doctors do not recommend it and sometimes even deny the procedure to young women due to their own ethics and the permanence of the procedure.
Abbi Mazzocco, 23, is a pharmacy technician and
recent graduate from PennWest Edinboro with a bachelor's of science in biology and health science.
Mazzocco was 13 years old when she first started researching tubal ligation. She was 22 years old when she got the operation.
“It was something I knew I wanted for a very long time,” she said.
There is no federal age requirement to receive sterilization, but many states have an age requirement to sign the consent form. States like Tennessee and California require patients to be at least 21 to sign, and some states like Massachusetts require patients to be at least 18.
In Pennsylvania, women looking to receive tubal ligation must sign a consent form confirming they are over the age of 21, of sound mind and that the operation is something they truly want.
The more research Mazzocco did, the more she was intimidated by the process of getting approval for the operation.
“It seemed like it was a very hard thing to try to do as a woman in the United States,” she said.
Mazzocco said she read other women’s stories about tubal ligation online, which included things like having a certain number of kids, being over 35-years-old or having their husbands sign off to even be considered for the operation.
Some women have invented abusive family members hoping their doctor will empathize with their situation and perform the operation. Many women say they have been referred from physician to physician in search of someone willing to perform the procedure.
After finding out her insurance would help cover the operation, Mazzocco started looking for a doctor who was up to the task. She said she was looking specifically for a physician that was a young
woman, and she found who she was looking for at the OB/ GYN Associates of Erie.
Mazzocco said that when she arrived at her appointment, she was ready to plead her case. Bringing along a binder full of papers, she prepared as if she would be delivering a presentation.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends doctors provide individualized counseling to patients including conversations about alternatives and permanence. They also advise against discouraging or refusing the procedure to medically fit patients old enough to consent. These conversations help the patient understand their decision and give doctors insight into their patient’s circumstances.
“I thought I would have to have an arsenal of reasons as to why I wanted to get it done, just to be believed,” she said. “It was actually such a huge relief that it didn’t take much convincing or explaining.”
Her initial appointment took about five minutes, which Mazzocco was not expecting after what she had read online. She explained that her doctor was very supportive and acknowledged that it was Mazzocco’s decision to make.
Even with a doctor supportive of her decision, she could not get the operation right away due to the cost.
“I was waiting until I was in a better position financially to go ahead with the surgery,” she said. “Even though I paid a pretty penny for it out-ofpocket, it was worth it for me in the end.”
Financial restrictions are a common barrier that can stop or prevent patients from receiving sterilization.
The cost of tubal ligation can range from no cost up to $6,000 when including follow-up visits, according to Planned Parenthood. While
some insurance companies like Medicaid may cover the procedure in full, it does not mean they will approve the procedure for coverage.
Roadblocks like this cause only about 53% of desired tubal ligations to be completed, according to The New England Journal of Medicine.
Mazzocco said that with her insurance, she had to prove that she tried other contraceptives before her insurance would help assist with the cost.
As of 2018, private health plans and companies that provide employer-based healthcare can opt out of covering the preventive surgeries and contraception, after regulations expanded allowing them to deny coverage based on religious beliefs and moral convictions according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
For patients with Medicare, coverage for sterilization is limited to “necessary treatment of an illness or injury,” meaning sterilization will only be covered in life threatening cases, such as removing a uterus because of a tumor, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Many women seek birth control for a number of reasons: Some may struggle with irregular periods and extreme cramps or suffer from endometriosis, while others use it as a preventative care for ovarian cysts and unintended pregnancies.
Instead of tubal ligation, many doctors recommend LARC methods like intrauterine devices (IUD) or Nexplanon, which goes in the arm. Both can have some side effects but are 99% effective against unintended pregnancies and are easily reversible.
Doctors do not recommend the procedure because of the high rate of regret. An Oklahoma State University study found that 28% of patients feel regret later in life, and another study showed
patients under 30 are even more likely to feel regret.
Only 50-80% of patients who get a reversal have successful pregnancies later. Reversal also increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy, which is a life-threatening complication that occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus.
Patients also may be able to become pregnant again after with in vitro fertilization (IVF), which is a common method of assisted reproduction for people with fertility problems. IVF is also less invasive but more expensive than tubal ligation reversal. Since Mazzocco was 14-years-old, she was taking routine contraceptives. After trying different birth control methods like the pill and an IUD, she said tubal ligation seemed like the best method of care.
She received the most common type of tubal ligation, bipolar coagulation, which uses an electric current to cauterize sections of the fallopian tubes.
“In plain terms, they burn out the lining of your uterus,” she said. “My ovaries are still intact, and for my fallopian tubes, they cut out a little
portion of it and cauterized each end.”
Another type, hysteroscopic tubal ligation, provides access to the fallopian tubes at their insertion point into the uterus through the cervical canal without any incision.
Sterilization is a permanent, but effective form of contraceptive. Sterilization may not be right for everyone, but for people like Mazzocco who don’t want a future with children, it made the most sense.
“Definitely do your research, make sure it’s right for you. It’s not right for everyone,” she said.
Mazzocco said that as of now, she is happy just being a cat mom. After all the years she spent on birth control, she is happy to no longer worry about routine contraceptives. Mazzocco noted that if she ever does change her mind about motherhood, there are plenty of kids that need adopted.
“I did kind of have a tiny feeling of ‘what if this was not the right thing to do’ but I think that’s normal, and I think that’s okay,” she said. “Because deep in my heart, I know it was the right decision for me.”
"Rocket barn" "Rocket has rocky future has rocky future
Slippery Rock University has partnered with four community colleges in western Pennsylvania to provide 3+1 articulation agreements to address the nationwide nursing shortage. The articulation agreement with Butler County Community College (BC3), Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) and Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC) allows their students to take an additional 21-24 credits beyond their associate’s degree in nursing (RN) before transferring to SRU to complete their bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN).
“It’s always good to work with the regional institutions,” Robert Lagnese, SRU’s director of transfer admissions and orientation, said. “We have longstanding relationships with deans and faculty at the community colleges.”
SRU has previously partnered with the local community colleges, and the articulation agreement was made possible with the addition of one of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's (PASSHE) first online nursing programs. These colleges also already had nursing programs, making them easier to partner with.
By the time students get to this point in their academic career, they have already completed the required clinical and hands-on experience for their associate’s degree. The bachelor’s degree adds business management and leadership skills to their portfolio.
At SRU, students may attend full-time or part-time and finish the 30 credits in one semester or spread them out over fall and spring.
“Our nursing students are often working, have family and home commitments and balance a full plate as it is,” Emily Price, associate director of transfer admissions who leads transfer articulation and facilitates the transfer advocacy council, said.
Nursing chairperson Michele Crytzer and Price began the partnership with BC3, and Price created a curriculum for their students to continue at SRU before adopting that model to the other colleges.
“The others came along quickly once they realized it was an easy fit,” Lagnese said, “and there’s a potential for others, but we want to focus on where our top [nursing] students are typically coming from, which is the regional community colleges.”
Crytzer often shares that the nursing faculty have all graduated from a similar experience of completing their RN program at a community college or hospital school
before transferring to complete their BSN.
SRU hopes to expand the partnership to more colleges and industries using the articulation agreement as a model. For now, they are sticking with nursing since SRU already has an online program that works well with an associate’s degree.
The partnership began in the fall of 2022, so results will not be able to be measured for several years. The partnership also addresses the need for nurses. According to the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, there is a 31% vacancy rate for RNs and approximately 20,345 open positions, which is among the highest in the nation, according to an SRU news article.
The nursing shortage has been consistent for about 20 years, according to Lenora Karenbauer, the nursing supervisor at the SRU health center. The health center had also lost nurses and reduced their hours as a result.
Karenbauer has been a nurse for 30 years and has been at SRU for 18 years. Before coming to SRU, she worked in an emergency room.
Nursing has historically been a female-dominated field. The turn of the century has opened more career paths for women, meaning fewer are going into nursing.
“Even though men are doing nursing more, it
doesn’t even out to the number of women that are not doing nursing,” Karenbauer said.
Nursing is also not a glamorous career path. Healthcare workers were held in high esteem during the pandemic, but that support has diminished as public frustration regarding lockdowns and COVID-19 aftereffects has grown.
There are also very few options in the field for working from home unless teaching or in an administrative position. Karenbauer worries that there are not enough nursing faculty to train and educate a larger number of nursing students.
In the emergency room, Karenbauer
saw the effects of the nursing shortage firsthand on both patients and the hospital itself.
“We would literally run out of space,” she said. “There would be people in the hallway because there were more patients than rooms and no way to put people that needed admitted upstairs because there wasn’t anyone to take care of them.”
Transfers could sometimes be arranged, but most often, the other hospital was in the same situation or did not accept the patient’s insurance.
The shortage hurts hospitals financially by forcing them to hire agency nurses, which
are often better paid, and lowering their bond rating, which assesses the facility’s long-term viability.
Some of the big health systems that have relied on agency nurses are now becoming financially unstable, Karenbauer said.
Karenbauer is optimistic though that SRU’s partnerships will bring more nurses to the region.
“We have faculty who are progressive in their thinking, and they are their students, so they know that this kind of setup works, and they’re going to make sure it’s beneficial for their students as well,” Langnese said.
By Matt Glover News Editor
CONTENT WARNING:
This article contains mentions of rape, sexual assault and mild depictions of a person's experience with getting an abortion. Please use caution before reading.
On March 17, Wyoming became the first state to ban abortion pills and passed another bill outlawing abortion except in cases of rape, incest or lethal anomaly.
The pills ban makes the state the first to tackle chemical abortions themselves instead of the entire practice and takes effect July 1.
According to CNN, the ban makes it a felony to dispense, distribute, sell, prescribe or use mifepristone and misoprostol, the two most common and effective abortion medications.
Violating this law is punishable by a fine of up to $9,000 and six months in prison. Violating the Life is a Human Right Act, which outlaws abortion, is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $20,000 and five years in prison.
Under the act, abortions will still be permitted for ectopic pregnancies and other exceptions such as women needing or receiving cancer treatments. It will go into law without the governor’s signature.
When the law passed, Republican Gov. Mark Gordon expressed concerns that “this new
law will only result in a new lawsuit, which will delay any resolution to the constitutionality of the abortion ban in Wyoming,” according to his office.
Wyoming District Court Judge Melissa Owens blocked enforcement of the Life is a Human Right Act on Wednesday citing a 2012 amendment to the state constitution. The amendment was originally passed by the state GOP to curb the Affordable Care Act.
According to the amendment, “each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own healthcare decisions.”
However, the act does not define abortion as healthcare and instead defines it as “the intentional termination of the life of an unborn baby.”
Camille, who requested her last name remain anonymous, had two abortion procedures years earlier when there were fewer
restrictions in place. She did not have other safe methods to choose from because of where she was in her pregnancies.
“I can’t even imagine what I would have done at the time because I was so young,” she said. “I probably would have just freaked out.”
Wyoming was one of 13 states that enacted trigger bans when the Supreme Court overturned Roe. V. Wade.
“It’s a really scary time to be a woman or person with a uterus,” Camille said.
She is worried that the abortion pills ban and the potential passing of the overall abortion ban will cause an increase in illegal, fatal and botched abortions.
The FDA approves using mifepristone and misoprostol up to 10 weeks into pregnancy. Other evidence and patients outside the U.S. suggest the medications work safely beyond 11 weeks.
Of patients in the U.S. who received medication abortions, 90% of them occurred in the first trimester. It is the most common first-trimester abortion method.
The two medications work by inducing a miscarriage. M ifepristone is taken first and blocks the hormone progesterone which is needed for a fetus to grow inside the uterus. Misoprostol should be taken 24-48 hours after. The process can also be completed with misoprostol only. The medication causes uterine cramping and
bleeding similar to a heavy period while softening the cervix to expel the pregnancy.
Many patients describe symptoms as not much worse than their menstrual cycle. Patients also commonly experience flu-like symptoms which subside in one to five hours.
Roughly 5% of patients may experience incomplete abortions, but this can be solved with a second dose or surgical removal depending on how significant the case is.
Around Wyoming, Colorado is the least restrictive state for people seeking abortions. Nebraska allows abortions up to 20 weeks postfertilization, and Montana allows abortions up to 24
weeks. The Montana legislature tried to reduce that time to 20 weeks in 2021, but it was blocked by a judge.
“Do what you have to do. Go where you have to go. As much as you can, use your voice,” Camille said. SRU does not provide abortion medications or procedures of any kind, but they do offer referrals, according to Lenora Karenbauer, a nurse supervisor in SRU’s student health services. The closest center they can refer to is Allegheny Reproductive Center in Pittsburgh.
“Our role is to give patients accurate information that includes safe and affordable healthcare and includes all choices,” Karenbauer said. “We’re here to
support them and what’s right for them.”
SRU can prescribe Plan B and birth control medications to help prevent pregnancy. The student health center administered 185 pregnancy tests in 2022 and four were positive, according to the student health center fiscal report.
Karenbauer attributes these numbers to the wider accessibility of birth control. Many students also come into college with IUDs or Nexplanon, two common types of longterm birth control.
“I want women to know that there are other women out there, and men, who are supporting them,” Camille said, “and women who have been through it, so they’re not alone.”
"It's a really scary time to be a women or person with a uterus."
– Camile, an anonymous source
By Matt Glover News Editor
On March 22, SRU welcomed its eighteenth president, Karen Riley, to campus before she officially steps into the role on July 1.
“It will be my honor to serve as your next president,” Riley said. “I’m both excited and humbled by this opportunity.”
SRU President William Behre, council of trustees chair Domenic Ionta, trustee Jeffery Smith and student trustee Brooklyn Graham introduced Riley to the community. Riley wore a sling on her right arm because of a torn rotator cuff but expects to be back to normal in a couple of months.
“I’m sure you will have many goals and objectives during your tenure as president,” Smith said, “and I want you to understand that you have a council of trustees that is very caring and very supportive and will certainly embrace those goals and objectives.”
Riley plans to do three things to ensure SRU thrives for the next 133 years. First, she plans to listen.
Incoming presidents no longer have the time to say their first year will be spent listening, she said. However, she believes in subsidiarity and that the people closest to the problem should know the most about it and probably have the best solutions.
“I think we’re in the human development business,” Riley said. “Our jobs are to facilitate growth for people along the entire human development pathway.”
"We are not bound by degrees, credentials or certificates," she said. "We are bound by what society needs and how we can help it grow."
Riley thinks SRU is positioned perfectly to move into that space.
Second, she wants to work with the strategic planning committee to formulate a plan central to their work instead of one that “sits on the shelf.”
She said many strategic
plans fail to bring people together who are invested. She wants the strategic plan to be clear, active and for everyone to be completely invested.
“We want to position ourselves with programs that are upstream of changes in our employment and workforce development,” Riley said. “We want to be thinking ahead about upcoming trends and how we can position ourselves in those spaces.”
Third, Riley believes partnerships are the foundation of success. She wants SRU to be a good partner within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and the community, and to be the first university considered when creating industry partnerships.
Higher education is commonly criticized for being too slow and having too much bureaucracy. Instead, she wants SRU to be a university that gets things done while producing a great product.
“Pitt is too big. Penn State is too big. We’re not too big,”
she said. “We can be nimble; we can be agile; we can adapt. We’re the perfect size in the perfect location to be the partner of choice.”
Riley is also knowledgeable of West Chester University’s and SRU’s status as one and two in the PASSHE system. Riley has not previously worked at a university which is part of a state system like SRU, but she said the strength of our system is in learning from each other to better address community needs.
However, her competitive nature strives to see SRU at the top of the PASSHE system.
To get to that position, she plans to grow SRU’s enrollment, retention and student sustainability, and also its partnership and fundraising potential. Riley met with SRU’s vice president of enrollment management later that day to examine previously chosen strategies.
Riley has a lot of experience fundraising. She was proud that one year at a previous institution, she out-fundraised
the College of Education dean, the business school, the law school and the engineering department.
Being a good president requires understanding the totality of the job, she said. The president is both internally and externally focused by being an ambassador for SRU and serving the community. She had also considered how to better serve and target prospective students who may not have considered a future in higher education.
Riley is familiar with the area as her husband is from the Pittsburgh region, but she was drawn by SRU’s mission. She recognizes SRU’s faculty and staff are dedicated to their students, education, social mobility and the desire for community service.
The best part of her visit was the students she met, and she hopes to remain accessible to them.
“The whole reason I came here is because I felt like people that work here are dedicated to students,” she said.
Riley also wants to help the university address employment shortages in various industries. In the healthcare field, SRU has already partnered with four community colleges to address the nationwide nursing shortage.
Riley wants to expand upon this by partnering with local healthcare systems to address their needs. She’s also interested in growing SRU’s young engineering program, safety management program and liberal arts programs.
“A strong liberal arts foundation prepares students to go into the jobs of the future,” she said. “Especially if we’re able to provide them with great internships and practicums.
Riley is also glad SRU provides opportunities for student athletes to continue to do what is meaningful for them while getting an education. She acknowledged student athletes graduate at a higher rate than the typical population.
Volume 106, Issue Number 8
220 Eisenberg Classroom Building
Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 16057
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Fax: (724) 738-4896
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Carson Denney
Editor-in-Chief
It's no secret that when one student gets sick, soon the entire campus will be coughing and sneezing.
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Assistant Copy/Web Editor
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You wake up in the morning and feel the start of a cold. Thinking about your own health and your peers, you decide not to go to class. Is that the second class you have missed or the third? If you miss another, will your grade drop?
Instructors are responsible for implementing their own attendance policies in each class, according to SRU's attendance policy. Most class attendance policies say students cannot have more than two or three unexcused absences.
The repercussions of missing classes beyond that limit are up to the professors. At that point, there are a few things that could happen, ranging from receiving a zero for attendance or missing an in-class activity.
But depending on how many days a student has missed, missing another could
result in a significant drop in their course grade. Some explicitly state in their syllabi that you will fail the course if you miss a certain amount of class.
Missing out on the lecture is punishment enough in most cases. For some classes, once a class or two is missed, there's no coming back from that.
Oftentimes, being absent and missing one 50-minute or one onehour and 15-minute lecture sets a student back, why does it need to be even more stressful by attendance and participation policies?
We aren't saying these policies need to be removed, but maybe restructured.
Most professors have their own definitions of what an excused or unexcused absence is, and what "proof" of absence a student must have.
For example, a death and funeral can be an excused absence, but some professors require an obituary. Some professors may
be as strict that if you aren't mentioned in the obituary, then it doesn't count as an excused absence.
Many students come to college to gain responsibility and independence in the pursuit of entering the “real world.” Strict attendance policies do not afford students enough freedom to make conscious decisions about going to class and doing work even when they don’t have to.
This will lead to students not understanding their own tendencies when given freedom, and failing jobs as opposed to failing classes.
In-state SRU students are paying $3,858 for their tuition per semester. Out of state SRU students are paying $7,716. Both of these amounts are for fulltime students, which is someone taking 12-18 credits.
Students pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to be enrolled in classes. If they don't show up to class and are failing, that's on them.
"I'm very punctual, so I really don't mind them, personally. But I can understand when there's issues coming up in someone else's life that you can't prepare for."
Angelana Russo Freshman Marketing New Castle"So far, most of my professors' [attendance policies] have been mandatory. I have one professor where attendance is bonus, so I like that one the best. I don't normally skip classes anyway because I'd struggle pretty hard [if I did]."
Either way, the university and faculty are going to get their money, so why are these policies so focused on keeping students in the classroom?
Public high schools receive funding from the state based on attendance and standardized test scores. This means if students aren't showing up, the school is actively losing money. But universities do not lose money if a few students doesn't show up to class. The practice of docking grade points for being sick, depressed, anxious, etc. is outdated and counterproductive. Being punished for attendance can lead to an accumulation of missed classes, and then it becomes a vicious cycle. At the end of the day, there is too much focus on if students are sitting in the classroom as opposed to the quality of their education and their mental and physical well-being.
What do you think about your professors' attendance policies?
Taha Ramahi Graduate Student Civil Engineering Erie, PA
"If you go to class, you're gonna do good in class. If you don't [go to class], then you don't [do well]. Most professors don't care, but some people are strict on it."
dump radioactive leachate from the landfill into Black Run, which flows into Wolf Creek, which then goes into Slippery Rock Creek.
The landfill was given a permit to bring in radioactive fracking waste in 2020, but the Citizens’ Environmental Association of the Slippery Rock Area (CEASRA, Inc.), along with Liberty Township, is appealing to overturn this permit.
David (they/them/he) is a senior philosophy major, with a minor in cognitive science, and a certificate of sustainability. They also have a certification of marketing and advertising from UAFS.
Did you know that Slippery Rock Creek could one day be radioactive?
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) gave a permit to the Tri-County Landfill in Grove City on March 10 to
The oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania has created a large amount of radioactive fracking waste in the last few years. The Marcellus shale, which is currently being drilled, has one of the highest levels of naturally occurring radon in the nation.
In addition, some drillers add uranium and other harmful chemicals to the fracking fluid, which at great pressure is used to “frack” the underground rock, releasing the profitable gas.
In response, the PA legislators and the DEP have allowed fracking waste to be taken to municipal landfills throughout the state.
Vogel Holdings, Inc., which owns the currently
closed Tri-County Landfill, also owns Seneca Landfill in Butler County, where SRU garbage is dumped.
According to the DEP’s own 2016 TENORM study, Seneca Landfi ll is among the top nine in the state for the volume of radioactive waste received. That report also documented that the DEP is allowing Seneca Landfill to dump radioactive leachate directly in the Connoquenessing Creek.
Leachate is the liquid that is created after rainwater percolates through a landfill. The level of radium-226 dumped into the creek was 118 picocuries per liter. The drinking water limit for radium-226 is 5 picocuries per liter. Somebody downstream is drinking that water.
What can you do about this? Check out the CEASRA website and join. You can also follow them on Facebook at “No Trash Mountain.”
You can also attend for free a climate conference that will be held at SRU from March 30 to March 31. Join regional environmental groups to help unify, strengthen,
likely watched Fox News become the first network to correctly call Arizona for Joe Biden. The call caused other conservative networks like Newsmax and One America News to see a temporary boost in ratings before viewers switched back to Fox.
The shrinking viewership caused internal conflict within the organization to spiral.
Matt Glover
Matt is a senior converged journalism major with a political science minor. He is the current news editor of The Rocket.
In March 2021, Dominion Voting Systems launched a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit at Fox News and Fox Corp. for claiming their voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election to boost ratings. Dominion also launched a judicial investigation that would unknowingly reveal not even Fox News believes the election was rigged and that its ratings matter more than the truth.
Throughout Donald Trump's presidential term, Fox was his champion. He interviewed with Fox personalities eight times more than any other network, and he granted zero interviews to "fake news" CNN.
Fox knew that by echoing what the president said on air since the beginning, they would retain his supporters for at least the next four years. So, they often avoided asking him difficult questions like the other networks would have. Fox knows their audience, and it is not hard to convince them of what they already believe.
Fox could not report in Trump's favor forever, though.
Republicans gathered around the television on election night most
Tucker Carlson said minutes later on his show “there has been a great deal of pushback from the president, his staff and the governor of Arizona.”
He criticized the decision desk, claiming there were more than 1 million ballots to be counted, and he did not understand how the decision was made or how the math works out.
After the network called Arizona for Biden, Trump's political advisor Jason Miller called Fox News asking them to retract the call, which signaled the first flip from red to blue between the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Trump also tweeted multiple criticisms of Fox, and his supporters protested in Phoenix outside vote counting centers condemning the network.
Fox provided Trump with an easy way to communicate with his supporters. Fox knew when Trump was watching because he would tweet about events being discussed on primetime shows, which he knew his supporters were watching.
Bill Sammon, a highranking editor at Fox News, texted former colleague Chris Stirewalt and said, “In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I’ve seen to an existential crisis – at least journalistically.”
Stirewalt, a former Fox politics editor who played a key part in calling Arizona for Biden, replied, “What I see us doing is losing the silent majority of viewers as we chase the nuts off a cliff.
no
Fox.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a private group message between Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham days later showed the hosts were still upset about the Arizona call despite the decision desk calling the state correctly. The messages were made public in the Dominion lawsuit.
WSJ is owned by News Corp. where Rupert Murdoch is the executive chairman. Murdoch also chairs Fox Corp. and Fox News. If the decision desk called the state correctly, why were the hosts upset?
As the most-watched cable news network on television for seven straight years, Fox News has built a brand and ratings which they have fought harder to protect than our democracy itself.
Fox News distinguishes itself from the “media mob” with a culture that does not tolerate dissent.
When Fox White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich fact-checked a Trump tweet clarifying that top election officials said, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted, lost votes or was compromised,” Carlson called for her termination.
“Please get her fired,” he said in a text chain with Hannity and Ingraham on Nov. 12. “Seriously…What the f[***]? I’m actually shocked… It needs to stop, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”
Carlson's quote captures the network's ethics perfectly. Fox has attacked factcheckers before when they highlight anything contradictory to Trump's words. When one of their own fact-checks him, it spells disaster for the company since its strong partisan reporting has alienated every other audience but Trump's.
Michael CannistraciMichael is a senior theatre major with a concentration in acting and a general history minor. He is an aspiring poet and a member of Phi Alpha Theta Rho Iota chapter at SRU.
and strategize our efforts to protect our waters, ground and air. Register online for free at https:// actionnetwork.org. Langston Hughes once asked if Death Would find the life of
a white Multi-Millionaire more important than A Black cotton-picker. It does Make you wonder. I, today, Ask if the life of Governor Ron DeSantis Is worth more than that of activist And actress Laverne Cox?
It is my opinion, if I may, to say That ALL life is created equal And worthy of dignity and Love. In the end, Death sees us As all the same, and is the Ultimate, unbiased individual.
*Written with inspiration from “Question [1]”, by Langston Hughes, influential Harlem Renaissance poet, author, and playwright.
on the part of state and local governments as well. But what do I mean when I say your speech is not free?
I’m challenging you to consider what makes us “free” in the first place? Is it simply freedom from government restrictions? That’s somewhat of a narrow definition.
Eric Gondella
Eric is a political science major with a concentration in professional politics, as well as a minor in gender studies. He is president of the SRU College Progressives, his academic interests include: left-wing politics, redistricting and post-colonial theory.
Is your freedom of speech really free? I’m sorry that I have to be the one to tell you, but your speech is indeed not free. This isn’t to say that the First Amendment doesn’t exist, or that in some (but not all) cases, it protects your rights to speak without being prosecuted by the government.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
This clause has been incorporated by the judiciary to protect against infringement
I contest that we do not have true freedom of speech in the United States because the ways in which social norms dictate what we say.
This may seem obvious to us, but if we really pull back the curtain, it’s alarming to see the many ways in which we are not free to speak. Our autonomy to speak is mitigated by many factors, some good, but bad.
For example, most would agree that it should be socially unacceptable for someone to say something racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise discriminatory.
The social norms that dictate what we say are everywhere.
When we go to work, we are limited to what we can say because we need to make a living to survive. In class, we are limited to what beliefs we can say for fear of backlash from classmates or faculty. With friends, we aren’t fully able to speak what we think because we’re afraid of losing a friend or making someone uncomfortable.
In the interest of social justice, I do think that making harmful and discriminatory beliefs known should generally result in forms of backlash from your peers. Without these cues, your speech will continue to harm those it targets.
So, what kind of speech do I believe needs to be free? What speech can exist but doesn’t, and thus must be liberated?
If we understand activism to be a form of speech, I believe the social norms regarding what is considered acceptable
speech often limits the kinds of activism we see. Those in the majority, or in groups, often dictate what is socially acceptable. With the rise in violence and physical harm committed against minority groups, what does that mean for the right of those groups to speak?
When I read about conservative politicians and speakers decrying the left for limiting their free speech, I can’t help but roll my eyes. Which side is banning books? Which side is muzzling teachers? Which side is banning DEI programs in universities? I rest my case.
The ideology of many conservatives like Milo Yiannopoulos, Michael Knowles and their supporters is not just a political belief. These are not your grandfather’s conservatives, and these are not just opinions.
There is a direct line from hate speech to hate crimes. Yiannopoulos is espousing white supremacist ideas; Knowles is calling for “transgenderism” to be eradicated.
To those clowns, I have no sympathy.
For the rest of us, I want us to realize that our right to speak freely without persecution is on shakier ground than we might think.
In many states, legislation is popping up and many have already passed that limit expression of ideas in Academia and expression of gender identity. Th ese are just the first frontiers in the fi ght for personal privacy, rights and expression.
The convenient scapegoating of minority groups is just the first step. If we don’t speak up for those having their speech taken now, who will speak up for us when our speech is under attack?
“First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak for me,” Martin Niemöller said.
"Seneca Landfill in Butler County [is] where SRU garbage is dumped. Seneca Landfill is among the top nine in the state for the volume of radioactive waste received."
Upon hearing director of the Gender Studies Program Cindy LaCom would be retiring, one of my first concerns was whether another instructor would be comfortable teaching a porn class to college students (a bigger task than most would understand).
I did not think that I would be debating the value of my degree with the university I received it from.
I graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2020 with a Bachelor's of Arts in political science and philosophy and a Bachelor's of Science in gender and diversity studies.
Questions about the value of humanities degrees, at this point, are boring to me. For all of you capitalists who feel that degrees only have value based on their marketability, I have indeed gotten not one but two jobs with my gender studies degree.
Gender and diversity studies lend themselves as uniquely useful, especially on a campus, which has struggled with incidents of racism, homophobia, suicide and sexual violence.
Feminism, Lesbian Feminism, Women's Studies, Gay and Lesbian Studies, and Queer Theory seem to have reached a point in university discourse in the United States in which they are the heated, exciting, and often conflicting topics of classroom, essay and conference debate. At stake are issues of recognizing and theorizing difference, acquiring resources, visibility, representation, and ultimately institutional power: a power not to be taken lightly. These issues are not unique to Slippery Rock University.
However, their prominence combined with an increasingly divisive political climate demands a department dedicated to challenging hierarchical structures that prevent marginalized students from receiving equal access to education.
At a time when critical race theory has come under fire, abortion is banned in 12 states and restricted in 22 others, teachers are being fired for being openly queer, transgender children are being denied affirming lifesaving medical care, Black women die at three times the rate of white women in childbirth, and one in four college-age women will be sexually assaulted during their time in college, not hiring a replacement for Cindy is a disservice to the Slippery Rock community.
The campus as a whole, not just gender majors and minors, will deeply suffer without a qualified individual in this position.
The two biggest issues I see with leaving a department without a head are a lack of oversight and loss of a huge resource for students. Students majoring in gender and diversity studies will have no academic advisor focused
on their major, and minors will have to seek advice from their primary advisors who may have little idea about gender studies. Gender studies, being widely intersectional, needs a figurehead in order to ensure the curriculum goals of the program are being met and to determine what classes meet the criteria to satisfy degree requirements.
Every semester, Cindy created a detailed list of every class offered in a semester that outlined options in various departments. They also held meetings for faculty teaching gender studies courses that centered student voices and experiences.
It is disgraceful to suggest that removing a chair from a department will not result in its demise. Without a replacement, there will be no one to recruit majors, no one to guide them, and no one to oversee a curriculum in an ever-changing and increasingly growing field.
Marginalized students lose a huge resource without a department that is dedicated to educating campus about understanding unjust systems and advocating for change within the institution.
The department held various programs and workshops centered around enhancing understanding of gender within an intersectional context and awareness of current and relevant issues.
Cindy was dedicated to making every student, regardless of their race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, body size, religion, etc. feel like they were welcome at Slippery Rock. They deserved to be there just as much as anyone else.
Not only that, but they gave students the space to share their experiences and be heard. It is vital someone else takes this responsibility upon Cindy’s departure.
Since graduating from SRU, I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of vulnerable populations. My education in gender studies has increased my empathy by giving me the ability to question the why behind people’s actions and the lack of care that may have led them to make those choices.
I have a deep understanding of differences of gender, sexuality, race, culture, and social class and the way this can limit someone’s choices.
My knowledge has made me a great fit as a counselor and although challenging, direct care is a rewarding field that I do not believe I would have found myself in without gender studies.
I am able to show up to my job, walk past protestors screaming in my face, and help people with empathy and grace because of the knowledge that this program gave me.
I cannot imagine Slippery Rock University without a gender studies department, and I strongly urge the administration to reconsider its decision.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE B-2
Previous conversations also made public in the Dominion lawsuit show Heinrich was only saying what hosts and executives had been thinking.
On Nov. 16, Carlson said Trump ally Sidney Powell was “lying” about election fraud and that her claims without evidence were “shockingly reckless,” according to USA Today. Ingraham, a former attorney, also found her claims “unbelievably offensive.”
In his Aug. 31 deposition, Hannity said regarding Powell’s election fraud claims that he “did not believe it for one second,” according to the 192-page lawsuit. This would explain why Hannity said on his Nov. 30 show, “I don’t vet the information on this program that I give out,” and later redacted the claim.
On Nov. 9, 2020, he said on his show, “Let’s let the people tell their stories. Let’s let the American people decide if we believe them or not. Let’s look at, for example, what the law says and let the courts do their constitutional job to adjudicate.”
One month later, Republicans had lost more than 50 election challenges. The courts have done their constitutional job and upheld the will of the people.
Fox News claims Dominion “cherry-picked” quotes absent of key context and even misattributed them at times. They also said they were reporting on newsworthy allegations made by Trump associates, and the lawsuit is an attack on press freedom.
Fox also claims Dominion vastly overstates their own value and cannot directly tie losses to Fox coverage.
However, Fox’s enthusiastic reporting quickly shifted to endorsing. In his Nov. 9 opening monologue, Carlson floated many voter fraud accusations without providing evidence and admitting “false claims of fraud can be every bit as destructive as the fraud itself.”
On Nov. 12, Lou Dobbs invited Rudolph Giuliani, another Trump ally and his lawyer, on the show where he spewed lies about Dominion, according to the lawsuit.
Dobbs replied, “It’s stunning…they have no ability to audit meaningfully the votes that are cast because the servers are somewhere else…This looks to me like it is the end of what has been a four-and-a-half—the endgame to a four-and-a-half year-long effort to overthrow the president of the United States.”
In his Dec. 13 and 14 deposition, Murdoch said several Fox Hosts including Hannity, Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro had all endorsed claims that the election was stolen on the air.
Murdoch calls them “commentators” instead of
hosts or journalists. Perhaps he considers them no longer worthy of the title, or he recognizes his network no longer reports objectively.
Former Fox employees and guests also believe the network has become simply "a mouthpiece for the president."
Some hosts may be happier without Trump constantly making headlines. Other texts revealed in the Dominion lawsuit show Carlson never liked Trump despite frequently praising him as president.
“What he’s good at is destroying things,” Carlson said in a text days after the
You’re no longer free, period.”
However, Fox started requiring employees to report evidence of their vaccination status in October 2021.
According to AP, more than 90% of full-time employees had been fully vaccinated.
Then, in a memo the week of Sept. 13, 2021, Fox Corp. began requiring all unvaccinated employees to be tested each day to work in company facilities.
In people ages 18 to 65, there is a causal relationship between exposure to Fox News and lower vaccination rates, according to a 2022 Centre for Economic Policy Research study.
women left her and Bartiromo too understaffed to properly vet claims made against Dominion on air.
At times, she was the only full-time employee dedicated to Bartiromo’s Sunday morning show, she said, and she and other women endured blatant and open sexism from coworkers and superiors.
Sexual harassment claims have been rampant for years from the top down at Fox News. Bolling, the Newsmax commentator, was fired in 2017 after an independent investigation into allegations that he sent lewd photographs to three female colleagues. In 2016, a co-founder and CEO was fired with several sexual harassment allegations.
“That’s what the culture is there,” Grossberg said in a March 20 interview. “They don’t respect or value women.”
As part of the Dominion lawsuit, texts between Grossberg and Bartiromo were released. One message from Bartiromo asked Grossberg if she thought she should have pushed Trump to answer if he would peacefully transition from the presidency in an interview.
Grossberg replied, “To be honest, our audience doesn’t want to hear about a peaceful transition.”
Since Grossberg filed the lawsuits, Fox has filed their own lawsuit against her, and she has been placed on forced administrative leave, according to her lawyer.
Public defamation cases against news media are famously hard to win. For Dominion to win, they must prove actual malice, which means Fox News knowingly aired false claims and recklessly disregarded the truth.
election. “He’s the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson said in a Jan. 4, 2021, text. “I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately.”
Outside the newsroom, journalists are still average Americans entitled to a partisan opinion. However, if a commentator continuously praises a political candidate on air, their viewers may reasonably conclude they believe in what they are reporting. This is not always the case. On Sept. 15, 2021, Carlson devoted much of his first 20 minutes to Biden’s COVID-19 response, saying the rules force people into submission.
“You can’t allow people to force you to take drugs that you don’t want or that you don’t need,” he said. “If you allow people to force you to take drugs you don’t want, you’re done. They own you.
Fox was later attacked by former employee Eric Bolling who now works for fellow conservative outlet Newsmax.
“So while Fox hosts bemoan and complain about the liberals who are forcing Americans to get vaccinated,” he said, “they themselves are doing the same thing – and that is the textbook definition of hypocrisy.”
Fox News also has a history of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. Fox producer Abby Grossberg added even more when she filed two lawsuits against the company on March 20, alleging Fox lawyers coerced her into giving misleading testimony during her September deposition in the Dominion lawsuit.
She said the lawyers coached her in a “coercive and intimidating manner” to avoid mentioning prominent male executives and talent to protect them from blame while putting her own reputation at risk.
Grossberg alleges the network’s disregard for
Fox is correct that losing the case would have vast negative implications for broader news media. The news industry is driven by tight deadlines and competition to report first, but outlets know that sacrificing accuracy or ethics for speed will cost their credibility and audience.
Fox, however, has leaned into partially accurate and inflated reporting that is often too extreme for even center-leaning conservatives and Republicans who have stopped supporting Trump.
Fox is not the only offender but the most dangerous in today's media climate. They should be held accountable for spreading misinformation and disinformation but via ratings and viewership instead of the law.
Fox has shown repeatedly by saying one thing and doing another that their brand and ratings are more important than American democracy. Republicans must find a more reliable news network.
BY MAX ENCK, FRESHMAN PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR
"[Fox] should be held accountable for spreading misinformation and disinformation but via ratings and viewership instead of the law. Fox has shown repeatedly by saying one thing and doing another that their brand and ratings are more important than American democracy. Republicans must find a more reliable news network."
Not too long ago, one could walk into the women’s basketball office and be greeted by the smiles of the late coach Robert McGraw and coach Chenara Wilson. It did not matter what was going on that day–both could be found together cracking jokes.
It became commonplace for McGraw and Wilson to shoot back jabs at each other about random things, whether it was Wilson’s fandom of the Cleveland Browns and other Cleveland teams or anything else.
Being from Cleveland, one learns a lot about commitment and what it means to stick by someone’s side.
“Dealing with the Browns, you’ve gotta be all in…but being a part of what they call mistake on the lake and having our teams’ be so up and down, you can imagine what that championship in 2016 felt like,” Wilson said.
Cleveland is who Wilson is. Now, though, she has also become fully immersed as a big part of Slippery Rock.
A little under a year after McGraw’s passing, Wilson now sits in the seat that he sat in during those lighthearted arguments. The promotion is one that came under the worst circumstances possible, but Wilson took everything in stride and through it all was able to help lead The Rock to do some things they had not accomplished in a long time.
“I’ve been coaching for 10 plus years now, I’ve had the role of being
both a head coach and as assistant at both [junior college] and Div. II,” Wilson said.
Nothing could have prepared her for what she would have to lead an entire team through this past season, however. When Wilson first arrived on campus in 2017, things were much different. Wilson had just come from a school called Mercyhurst North East where she had led the school to a 49-34 record over three years.
The Rock was in a place of still trying to figure things out back in 201718 when Wilson got here. McGraw had only made the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament once in his first three years as head coach. In Wilson’s first season on campus, the team made their return to the PSAC tournament.
Wilson knew that she wanted to stick around. Slippery Rock immediately made her feel at home.
“Slippery Rock is just a good place, the atmosphere and the student support that we get is just always great to have,” Wilson said. “It’s nice to have fans, especially when you’re the [Indiana University of Pennsylvania] IUPs of the world.”
In the few years she had with McGraw, she spent time with someone who was more than just her colleague. They were really good friends, and she learned so much from him.
“He was a very energetic guy and always into the athletes and the program, so that was something that was good to be around and be behind,” Wilson said. “You really got a feel for what it was like to be for your team.”
The biggest lesson she took away from McGraw was the need to be there for the student-athletes.
“Just being there for you student-athletes, knowing that some of them are an hour away versus five hours away,” Wilson said. “Being there for them outside of basketball is important, and he really taught me to just genuinely be there for them.”
A lot has changed since she got here. But the most difficult thing any coach on the Slippery Rock campus has had to do is lead a team after the death of someone that everyone was so close to.
Wilson did exactly that and exceeded all expectations for what the season should look like.
In an email, SRU APSCUF president Jason Hilton explained exactly that.
“Our great hope for Coach Chenara and her team was that they would be able to come together, care for and support one another throughout this year,” Hilton said. “Coach Chenara and her team went on to exceed every hope we had for them.”
It was already impressive that just a few months after the passing of McGraw, the team stepped onto the court to play their first game without him.
Wilson’s message to them was simple.
“I just wanted to kind of put it in their minds that no matter who we played against, we were going to compete,” Wilson said. “No matter who it is, no matter what’s going on, when it’s time to step onto the court we’re going to go out and compete.”
The team did just that and more. After dropping their first game to Lincoln University, The Rock went on a sixgame winning streak. The push had them looking good early, but Wilson still had some goals set for them.
One of those goals was accomplished not once but twice. The goal was to finally take down IUP. McGraw came close a couple of times when he was at the helm but never beat the Crimson Hawks. One can only imagine what his reaction would have been after a series sweep. “I don’t know which one was better, but they both felt great to accomplish, and that was one of our goals,” Wilson said. “No matter
who the team is, every night you go out there, you can beat anybody and I think with that mentality we were able to reach that goal.”
The ultimate goal of reaching playoffs was not reached. Nonetheless, the year was a success. The Rock posted a 15-13 record, their best record since 2002. That was also the last time they had a winning season. The season came down to the last couple of games, and if you put them in a couple of previous seasons, they are in the playoffs comfortably. But all that matters to Wilson is that she created change and helped everyone through such a tough time.
“Those accomplishments were great for us, especially under the circumstances, and like I said it just felt good to be a part of a team that was successful,” Wilson said. “Although we didn’t make playoffs, we accomplished our goals, so obviously you set the bar higher moving forward.”
Every player on the team and all who surrounded the program this past season made Wilson proud to be a part of the Slippery Rock family.
“I’m overly proud of them for just stepping up through those tragic times. I mean you just lose someone suddenly and having to make that adjustment, they were still able to excel not only on the basketball court but also in the classroom,” Wilson said. “To be able to do it on both ends really says a lot about them.”
Perhaps no one should be prouder than Wilson herself.
Now the process has begun for her to attempt to get the full-time head coaching job.
“The process started about a week ago, the job was posted, and I’ve applied,” Wilson said. “Obviously, hopefully, I will get interviewed and go through that process to get the job here.”
However, it goes much further than that. What Wilson was able to accomplish is something that some people can only dream of. Wilson took The Rock Women’s Basketball team and brought a new style and a bit of a culture update through tragedy.
Posting 15 wins in her first season is a game changer, but now she will look to lock down the job and drop "acting" from the head coach title. She has a whole campus behind her and students and faculty alike rooting for her no matter what happens. That means the world to her.
“It definitely was a good feeling knowing that people support you, especially on a college campus,” Wilson said. “But rooting for you specifically means a lot, and even if I don’t get the job, the experience was great.”
One thing is clear, she wants to be back and have the opportunity to continue what McGraw started back in 2014. Her journey is one that everyone can look up to, and her message to young people is a simple one.
“Just stick with it, if it’s something you really have interest in, then learn about it so you’re prepared,” Wilson said. “You can never stop learning basketball, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at.”
By Tyler Howe
Sports Editor
"It was definitely a good feeling knowing that people are supporting you, especially on a college campus."
– Chenara Wilson, Acting SRU Women's Basketball CoachBy Aidan Treu Assistant Sports Editor
Most coaches, managers and team owners, including Slipper Rock’s own extensively successful head baseball coach Jeff Messer, would agree that winning is easier with a team of experienced veterans. While true, there are few things more exciting to watch than a young star who can hold their own with the best of the
She was immediately excited about Slippery Rock’s campus and environment. It didn’t take her long to come to a decision.
“The atmosphere around campus, just walking around, I really loved it,” Hurd said.
“Whatever will help the team win,” Hurd said.
Her ERA was good for third on the team when considering pitchers who threw above ten innings, as was her strikeouts per nine. She was able to pitch the third most innings on the team as a freshman with 66.0.
Hurd broke onto the scene as a freshman and hit .309 in addition to the team lead in slugging with .603 and triples with
Alexsa Hurd has given that to the Slippery Rock
Before college, she lettered four times in softball and volleyball at Field High School. She was a two-time All-Ohio honoree, Portage County Player of the Year in her senior season, 2021 Metro Athletic League Player of the Year and an
While true, there are f ew t h in g s more excitin g to watc h t h an a young star w h o can h o ld t h eir ow n wi th t he b es t t he ve te ra ns A l exsa Hur d h as g iven t h at to t h e S l ippery Roc k so f t b a ll program. B e f ore co ll e g e, s h e l e tt er e d f ou r ti me s in so f t b a ll an d vo ll ey b a ll at Fie ld Hi gh Sc h oo l . S h e w as a t w o-time A ll - Oh io h onoree, P l a y er o f t h e Year in h er senior seaso n, 2021 Metro At hl etic Lea g ue P l ayer o f t h e Year an d an h o no r ro ll s tu d e nt
with 603 and with 6. S he w as a ls o se co nd in b ot h h ome runs an d R B I, with four and 20 respectively. She cou p led her elite b at wit h a p er f ect 1.000 f ie ld in g percenta g e on d e f ense wit h 48 assist s. A two-way pl ayer, H ur d a l so pitc h e d h erse lf to a 4.67 ERA an d 4 5 stri k eouts over 66.0 inni ng s pitc h e d . Hur d h as ma d e h erse lf va l ua bl e in man y scenarios b ecause of her versatilit y, and that can be a b ig boost to any roster. She wants to p lay w h atever ro l e s h e can
Her best game of the season came against Clarion on March 31, as she went 4 for 5 with four RBI, two runs scored, two doubles and one triple.
field so far in the 2023 season. Last year after six PSAC games, The Rock had fallen to 1-5 in conference play. This year they have played the same number but have come out at .500 with a 3-3 conference record. One two-game set in particular will likely be remembered by the squad for the rest of the season. SRU opened PSAC play
momentum,” Hurd said. “It gave us the motivation to keep working hard.”
Hurd put forth a masterpiece in the circle for the second game, throwing a complete game shutout, her second of the year, and striking out nine while only allowing one hit.
rough stretches, but the resilience and ability to salvage a win in the midst of a small, albeit frustrating, three-game losing streak shows how The Rock has been able to band together and embrace the talent currently on the roster.
“We had a setback this past week but being able to bounce right back from those games will continue to motivate us,”
By Tyler Howe Sports EditorThese numbers got her honored as the AllPSAC West second-team
She also quickly bonded with the team. She said the team routinely makes plans off the field and all get along together well.
“It feels like an actual family. We’re all close,”
That bonding, along with adjustments from head coach Stacey Rice, has helped the team perform better on the
went RBI, two runs score d , two d ou bl es an d trip l e T hese numbers go t honore d PS AC Wes t se co nd -t ea m U ti l it y /Pitc h er. Sh e a l so q uic kl y b on d e d wit h t h e S h e sai d th e team routine l y ma k es p l ans o ff t h e f ie ld an d a ll g et a l ong toget h er we ll “It f ee l s l i k e an actua l f ami l y. We’re a ll c l ose,” Hur d sai d. Th at b on d in g , a l on g with ad j ustments from head coach Stace y Rice, has hel p ed the team p er f orm b etter on t h e
SRU PSAC ag ainst t h eir b itter riva l I n d iana Universit y (PA), a team they split with last y ear and had a -1run differential a g ainst. Not on ly d i d T h e Roc k swee p IUP, b ut t h ey a l so d ominate d On Marc h 21 SRU d e f eate d IUP 7 -3 in th e f irst game, on l y to c ome b ac k aroun d an d s h ut t h em out 8-0 in t h e secon d matc h up. For a t eam t h at was .500 at t h e t ime, it was a boost to morale to take d own s u ch a lo ng -lasti ng rival
“It g ave our team g reat
If there was any doubt, she was also an offensive catalyst the whole day, going 5 for 7 with two home runs, eight RBI and four runs scored.
The next doubleheader didn’t go so well. SRU was swept in their home opener by Clarion by scores of 1-4 and 5-6. They also dropped the first game of their doubleheader at California University (PA) before rebounding to win the second game 7-4. Hurd advanced her record to 3-1 after striking out seven over six innings in the ladder
Every team will have
going 5 for 7 with two h ome runs, ei gh t RBI a nd f our runs score d T he d o u blehea d e r d idn’t g o so well. S RU was swe p t in their home op ener b y C l arion b y scores o f an d 5 -6. Th ey a l so d ro pp e d t h e f irst g ame o f th ei r do ub le he ad er a t Ca l i f ornia (PA) b e f ore re b oun d in g to win t h e secon d ga me 7- 4. Hur d a d vanc ed h er recor d a f te r strikin g out seven ove r six inni ng s in the ladde r ga m e. Ever y team wi ll h ave
The last win against Cal U is what brought SRU back to .500 in conference play, a mark that was good enough for a PSAC tournament berth one year ago.
Hurd and Slippery Rock softball returns home to Kasnevich Field April 1 for a doubleheader against Pitt-Johnstown as they look to continue strong play toward a shot in the PSAC tournament.
continue to m Hu rd s ai d. T h e l ast w C al U is w h S RU t conference p th at was go f or a PSAC b ert h one ye a Hur d an d Ro ck s of tb a ho me t o Ka sn A pri l 1 f or a d ag ainst Pitt as t h ey l oo k stron g p l ay t o in t he P SA C t
The process of finding where you want to be can be a complicated one sometimes. For Brooke Wisniewski, it was never complicated. It was all about finding which place was going to give her the best opportunity on the field and in the
findin g w here y ou want to be can be a com p licated one so me ti me s. F or B ro ok e Wisniews k i it was never com p licated. It was all about findin g which g oin g to g ive her the best o pp ortunity fiel d an d c l ass r oo m
spring sports. Just l i k e that, Wisniewski got her first test of PSAC action. T h e season d i d n’t go as p lanned for Sli pp ery R ock , but Wisniewski saw th e fi el d fo r al l 12 games played in the 5-7 campaign. Not only that,
b ut s h e starte d t h ree g ames.
W isniews k i’s f irst f u ll-time
but she started three 2022 served as Wisniewski’s first season as a full-time starter. A lot of changes were made. The biggest one by far was Coach Taryn Burkholder taking over
When the time came to find the place where Wisniewski was going to go, it wasn’t a tough decision. She knew one thing for certain: she wanted to major in
“I got recruited by a lot of schools, but I came here for lacrosse obviously, but I wanted to study exercise science,” Wisniewski said. “Being that [Slippery Rock] had one of the top programs in the country, that’s why
W hen to find the p lace where Wisniewski was g oin g to g o, it wasn’t a tou g h d ecision. thin g for certain: she w anted to ma j or in ex er ci se s ci en ce “I g ot recruite d b y a lot of schools but I obviousl y, but I wanted to stud y exercise scienc e, ” said. “Bein g that [Sli pp ery pro g rams in the countr y, wh y I ca m e h e r e.”
A ma d e. T h e b i gg est one b y far was Coach Tar y n B urkholder th e h e l m ha pp y when she g ot it, because s h e m y freshman y ear and left we wante d h er to get it ,” Wisniewski said. “I coac h es a f ter t h e season , a
“I was very happy when she got it, because she was our assistant my freshman year and once our head coach left, we wanted her to get it,” Wisniewski said. “I know we had to rate our coaches after the season, and I know I gave her a very high score.”
Un d er Bur kh o ld er , W isniews k i turne d a t eam f i ll e d wit h a l ot o f o ff ensive f irepower. W isniewski man ag ed t o score 15 goa l s in 17 g ames. S h e score d two o f E d in b oro
year, t h ey sti ll cou ld n’t find their rh y thm in t ime. They ended at 10-7 a n d h a d some c l ose l osses t hat h u rt them d own t h e st re tc h. The s ea so n serv ed as a remi nd er o f what the y can and should accom p lish to W is ni ew s k i t hough “L ast season we h a d u ps a nd downs t h er e we re g a m es th at w e lost that we s h ou ld have won , b ut after th at we came t oget h er a s a team ” W i sn ie ws k i sai d . “I f ee l like we gr e w a s a t eam t o e ventua ll y win t he games th at we l ost .”
a ne w at ta a ck an d l ettin g th e m kn o w t ha t they c an im p ortant].”
Th at di d dn’t start w wi th t th eir
When she came to The Rock, though, things weren’t how anyone would have envisioned them to be. The 20202021 school year began online. Wisniewski had to wait to hit the field, but she didn’t have to 2021 was the return to the field for all PSAC
W hen Roc k , t h ou gh , t h in g s w eren’t how an y one w o u l d have envisione d 2020be g an ha d field b u t d i d n’t w
Under Burkholder, Wisniewski turned into a reliable scorer on a team filled with a lot of offensive firepower. Wisniewski managed to score 15 goals in 17 games. She scored two in a 26-1 onslaught of Wisniewski also had the opportunity to learn under playmakers like Emily Benham and Charleigh Rondeau in her sophomore year.
Wisniews k i a l so h a d t he o pp ortunity l earn un d er p l ayma k ers l i k e Emi l y Ben h am an d C harleigh h er so ph omore year.
and downs, clear after last year for
a new attack and letting them know that can score [is into the season.
t oget h er, an d fa m On the tri No. U 1 r th g a m Pa lm Atla l ntic U
together, and we’re one big happy family.”
On the trip, they lost No. 14 Lynn University 15-8 but rallied for their second game to beat Palm Beach Atlantic University 226. It helped contribute to their fast start.
“[Benham] was here last year, she was our captain and I’m sad she’s gone,” Wisniewski said.
“Charleigh is probably my best friend on the team, she’s such a good Even with all the chemistry they had last
“[Ben h am] was h ere captain an d I’m sa d s h e’s g one,” Wisniews k i sai d probab ly my b est f rien d on t h e t eam, s h e’s suc h a goo d draw taker.” Ev en wit h al l th e c h emistry t h ey h a d l ast
This year the g oa l s are prett y cl ear a f ter l ast year f or W isnie w ski “For myse lf , comin g in as a starter I just wa nt t o be a t ea m p l ayer b ecause we h ave a l ot o f new faces because we lost so many starters, W isniews k i sai d Building up th eir co nf id ence b ecause we h ave
every second of our days together, but honestly it was a good time
spring break t rip, b ut t h e t rip p l aye d a la rg e role in h e l ping to a ccomp l is h on e of h er g oa l s comin g into t h e season. “We s p ent e very secon d o f o ur d ays toget h er, was a goo d time in F l ori d a , we lost our first g ame, b ut we th oug h t we were goin g t o win it ,”
W i sn ie ws ki sa id “F lo ri da b roug h t us a ll
6. It c start I thihink k our lost to IUP in a we H another PSAC went 1-1 agains sai this and we tea 60 minutes.” Wisniews k i hu ge p art of i n t h e ear l y a l rea d y ta ll ie d two separat season. She’s a just ni a
“I think our confidence is very high right now, we just lost to IUP in a close one, but we beat Lock Haven who is another PSAC player that we went 1-1 against last season,” Wisniewski said. “We have a couple more PSAC games this week, and we know that we have the team that we can pull it together and play a full
Wisniewski has been a huge part of that success in the early going. She’s already tallied five goals in two separate games this season. She’s also surpassed her totals but her first two years combined with 20 goals through just nine games. She still has a lot of time to build on what she’s started. But one thing is clear: she’s here to make history and
“I have two years to still make history and win a PSAC playoff game, at least,” Wisniewski said.
“This year I think we have a very good chance of winning a PSAC game, but we’ll see.”
But one h ere to ma k e to win I h ave two ma k e h istor y playo l east ” Wisn i “ T h is year g o f b ut we’ ll see. ”
"For myself coming in as a starter I just want to be a team player because we have a lot of new faces because we lost so many starters. "–
Brooke Wisniewski, SRU lacrosse playerEDDIE CLANCY / THE ROCKET
The Slippery Rock Outdoor Track & Field season is officially underway as the team competed in the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge and Shamrock Invitational in South Carolina over spring break.
The men’s squad took first place at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge with five event wins and 28 top10 finishes. Their scores were good enough for 126.5 points. They finished above several Division I programs.
“We were just going into the meet to get our kids some great experience and to get our kids some competition. It was a great experience,” head coach Bill Jordan said. “They really showed that they’re capable of competing on any level."
Sophomore AJ Virata was The Rock’s most valuable athlete, finishing first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.94 and second in the 100-meter dash at 11.07. Virata accrued 18 points during his events, good for the highest score of any male athlete in the challenge. He also teamed up with Kadin Johnson, Jeremy Uher and Matthew Crow to finish third
in the 4x400 relay at 3:25.49.
“AJ is definitely one of our key individuals on the team. He’s able to score a bunch of points in the sprints and the high jump as well as working on our relays,” Jordan said.
“The kid is very versatile for us.”
Crow joined Virata as a Slippery Rock athlete to take first in an event, as he set the pace at the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.63.
The Rock’s other first-place finishes were Dan Hyatt with a 4.45-meter pole vault, Joshua Gose with a 15.60-meter shot put and Dalton Anderson with a 59.71-meter javelin throw.
Anderson’s throw was good for an NCAA provisional mark, SRU’s only instance at the competition, which puts him in consideration for a place at the national NCAA meet.
“He helps us out in both a leadership role and a performance role. He’s not even cracked his potential yet, he’s just getting rolling,” Jordan said.
The relay teams were successful, gaining points in all three events by taking third place in the 4x400-meter relay finishing at 3:25.49, fourth place in the 4x800-meter relay at 8:13.26 and seventh place in the 4x200-meter relay at 1:38.91.
Virata was joined by Kadin Johnson, Jeremy Uher and
Matthew Crow in the 4x400. The 4x800 team consisted of Ryan Corbitt, Troy Hart, Michael Novak and Devon Navaroli and the 4x200 event was run by Jared Martone, Ian James, Mason Reed and Ethan Folmer.
The Slippery Rock men had 24 athletes finish with a top 10 result across all individual events. Additionally, they had 15 athletes achieve Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying marks.
“There are people in all aspects of our team that are contributing, all the different event groups,” Jordan said. “I pride ourselves on having a great all-around track team that’s able to score points in every one of the domains and that’s why we’re being successful.”
The women’s team also fared well with a third-place finish. They were the highest-scoring non-division I squad and accrued 102 points.
Senior Tiffany Jolayemi took home The Rock’s lone event win as she took first with a 42.97-meter hammer throw.
SRU women had three second-place finishes: Rachel Veneziano had a 1:06.11 400-meter hurdle time, Anna Igims had a 4:41.71 1,500-meter run and Kendall Grossman had a 3.50-meter pole vault. Chaley Younkin and Olivia Heckman were
the other top three finishers in 100-meter hurdles and shot put respectively.
Jolayemi, Grossman, Veneziano, Igims, Heckmen and Younkin were joined by Hanna Zeiler, Grace Parrett, Alice Bogia and Aleks Brozeski in achieving PSAC marks.
The Rock totaled 25 PSAC marks between the men’s and women’s teams at their 2023 outdoor opener.
The Slippery Rock men also enjoyed success at the Shamrock Invitational at the same location as the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge. They only trailed Division I Duke University in the standings. This time around, the team earned three NCAA provisional qualifying marks, all three from throwers. John Eakin took first in shot put with a 17.14-meter throw, Joshua Gose took second in the same event with 16.70 meters and Dalton Anderson once again achieved his NCAA mark in javelin throw with a better score than last time at 63.53 meters.
Devon Navoroli was The Rock’s highest finisher in track events as he took second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:14.30 which was good for a PSAC mark.
Navoroli was joined by Kadin Johnson, Matthew Corw, Brenden Lewis, Kyle Adams, Cade Adams, Bryan Dworek,
Seaton Wozniak, Joshua Rohland, Joshua Gose, Zach Gose, Joshua VanDeMark and Brandon McCray in achieving PSAC marks.
The 4x100-meter relay team earned fourth place with a time of 42.29. The team consisted of Johnson, Crow, Dworek and Cam Lindsey.
The Rock men had 20 athletes with a top-ten finish between all events.
The women’s team took fourth place, which was also the highest ranking of a nonDivision I program.
Jordan Klick achieved a firstplace finish in the 800-meter run which she completed in 2:41.71. This was the highest placement for any Slippery Rock women’s athlete at the meet.
Katie Plassio and Sarah Corrie both earned second place in the 10,000-meter run and shot put respectively. Both athletes were awarded PSAC auto marks for their performances. Anna Igims, Marianne Abdalah, Maddie Grillo, Marie Scarpa, Allie Taylor, Kendall Grossman, Olivia Heckman, Lorne Speigle and Dani MacBeth joined Klick, Plassio and Corrie in achieving top-five finishes.
The Rock women had 17 top-10 finishes across all individual events. They also had 17 total PSAC marks.
Pichardo, a pitcher and utility player, became the first women to play Division I baseball for Brown University on March 17.
This comes almost exactly a year after Alexis “Scrappy” Hopkins was drafted eighth overall to the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes of Atlantic League baseball. Hopkins is believed to be the fi rst woman ever drafted for an on-fi eld role in American professional baseball.
“I’m really excited for this,” Hopkins said to MLB.com. “About two or three years ago in one of my college classes, they said to write down a dream of yours. I was going to put down 'professional baseball player,' but I actually didn’t because I was like, ‘That’s never going to happen.’ But I guess here we are today, making a dream come alive.”
Hopkins proved herself and many doubters wrong. Baseball has long been a sport where it was believed that women would never be able to advance to the highest levels, but every few years, there are advancements many never expected before.
Another similar case was Melissa Mayeux. In 2015, she was a shortstop on the French U-18 junior national team. She became the first
known women to be added to MLB’s international registration list.
Technically speaking anyone could be added to the list, but only players who have a legitimate shot at being signed by MLB organizations are added.
Regardless of her future, this confirmed her talent to the international baseball world.
"She's a legitimate shortstop who makes all the plays and is very smooth and fluid in the field," MLB
Director of International Game Development Mike McClellan said, to MLB. com’s Lindsay Berra. "She swings the bat really well and is fearless."
Mayeux didn’t end up getting signed to a major league organization, and it was unclear whether that was her goal anyway as she said she simply wanted to play for as long as possible, but another hurdle had been cleared for women in baseball.
This brings us back to Pichardo.
Baseball for All, a nonprofit that is trying to make women’s baseball an NCAAsanctioned sport, listed that 24 women, including Pichardo, have played college baseball. None had played at the Division I level.
Brown head baseball coach Grant Achillies announced in a typical hitters and pitchers meeting that Pichardo had made the
The Shamrock Invitational brought more flowers still to SRU athletes, as John Eakin and Lorna Speigle were named PSAC Male and PSAC Female Field Athletes of the Week.
“That’s not the norm for sure. You have a lot of great competition out there in the PSAC,” Jordan said. “Those individuals in particular are capable of doing great things… it was great to see that they got rewarded for their efforts.”
Slippery Rock Track & Field returns to action April 1 for their home opener, the Dave Labor Invitational. It also marks Jordan’s first home outdoor meet as head coach.
“We’re really excited to be hosting this weekend and put on a high-level meet for all the teams coming in. We’re looking at about 1,000 total athletes coming in,” Jordan said. “We’ve got our staff up here at the stadium right now, we’re making this place look as nice as we can.”
With several athletes already qualified, The Rock looks to qualify more athletes for the most important competition they will have this year at the PSAC championships.
“Our first goal for the entire team is to strive for everybody to make it to the PSAC championship meet.”
they can be the next one to do something that was thought to be impossible.
It is uncertain if she will have more playing time, but the barrier has already been broken down.
Coach Achilles hopes that Pichardo’s achievements will show the baseball world that pure baseball abilities and character should be the only factors to go into talent evaluation.
"I hope it shows people that if a player is talented enough to be given the opportunity that they should be judged solely on their baseball abilities. No other factor should play into that. And Liv is an example of that," Achilles said to ESPN.
spring roster, but it was still unclear if she would ever play.
Then, on March 17, she once again made history. Pichardo was substituted in for an at bat Brown’s home opener. In the bottom of the ninth inning, she grounded out to the first baseman, but it was much more important than an average groundout, it was a statement to every young girl out there in love with the game of baseball than
Given all the recent female success in baseball, including stories like Rachel Balkovec being named the first full-time female manager of a minor league affiliate of an MLB team, in addition to the successes of female baseball players, it may only be a matter of time until one of these women is able to make their way on to an MLB team’s minor league affiliate roster.
Hopefully the future holds more advancements for women in the game of baseball, for the game is more enjoyable when everyone is involved.
After a rocky start to the season, the Slippery Rock Men’s Baseball team found a way to pull off their first win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play when they defeated Mercyhurst Tuesday.
In the teams opening PSAC series of the 2023 campaign, The Rock found themselves down 0-3 to Mercyhurst in a four-game series. The squad ended the fourth game in an 8-7 nailbiter where Slippery Rock came out victorious.
Coach Jeff Messer thinks his squad is capable of big
things this season and the early woes are a testament to excellent pitching on the side of Mercyhurst.
“Mercyhurst has as good a pitching staff as I have ever seen. Our guys competed with them but a key hit with runners in scoring position could have been different,” Messer said.
The Rock started conference play with a thrilling twenty-inning game against Mercyhurst where they fell 2-1. To play such a lengthy game early in the season takes a toll on all players and proper precautions must be taken after.
With that type of game coming so early in the season
for Slippery Rock it is even more difficult to manage than if it were to come later. Games in the PSAC have been being postponed left and right due to inclement weather. The Rock have done the best they can to keep up with such a difficult schedule.
“It’s tough, there’s teams that are getting all their games in, and there’s teams that are missing out on games,” Messer said. “Yesterday wasn’t a weather delay for us, it was just a five-and-a-half-hour game. To say that it’s easy, it’s not.”
College sports take a toll on all athletes as they must maintain their performances academically and physically.
For The Rock baseball squad, it’s no different. It is crucial that players stay up to date on classwork and necessary involvements off the field.
“The players must make sure they get their followup, their treatment, and everything that needs to be done with athletic trainers,” Messer said. “Then, making sure they stay up with their classwork so that when we do have a mid-week make-up game, not to leave anyone behind and be sure we can all still play.”
After getting the first PSAC series out of the way, the men look to build off their win against a strong pitching Mercyhurst side and prepare
for rivals Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).
Messer admitted moving forward the squad must be better offensively leaving less runners on base and executing better in scoring positions.
“We’ve got to get our hitters in a good frame of mind where they aren’t thinking as much, but attacking and getting their pitch,” Messer said.
Looking ahead, Messer is confident in his squad and feels good about the team's chances competing in a tightly coached PSAC conference.
Key series against IUP, Seton Hill University and Gannon University will highlight some of the better
competition the team will have this year.
“I don’t know that there’s anything we need to fix,” Messer said. “I don’t think we change anything other than our approach at the plate.”
Slippery Rock’s Luke Trueman has started the season off hot putting up a .455 batting average in eleven at bats in conference games. On the pitching end of things, Jake Norris has collected the only official win of the season thus far for The Rock.
The team looks to rally behind these leaders and build off a massive win where they avoided the sweep against Mercyhurst. The next challenge will be defeating the archrival of IUP on Friday in Indiana.
It is well-known that the United States is behind on healthcare services and policies, especially with pregnancy and childbirth. People who are able to get pregnant have varying experiences when it comes to maternity leave.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows for 12 work weeks of leave within a 12-month period for various circumstances.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), this leave can be used for the birth of a child and care of a newborn within one year of birth and the placement of a child for adoption or foster care that the employee is caring for, within a year of placement.
An employee can receive FMLA if they have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 month at their place of employment. They also must work at the location
where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of that location.
Both parents are able to take FMLA leave for the birth and care of a newborn. There are many situations that are covered in fact sheets on the DOL website.
Although FMLA mandates a 12-week leave for child birth and care, it is not federally required to receive pay.
Many pregnant people do not take the entire 12 weeks off. This is mainly because these families are not in a financial position to go that long without having income.
In Pennsylvania, as of October 2020, the Human Resources Policy (HRP) was updated to establish a Commonwealth-wide paid paternal leave benefit for Commonwealth employees. The HRP applies to all departments, offices, boards, commissions and councils under the governor's jurisdiction for human resources management.
This updated HRP policy allows for six weeks of paid leave for full time eligible employees. For other Pennsylvanians who can get pregnant, there are options to help support them financially, like applying for Medical Assistance (MA) through the state. A pregnant person can apply for coverage as soon as they are informed they are pregnant. According to the PA Department of Human Services (DOH), some of the benefits of the MA program are providing health care coverage to underinsured or uninsured pregnant people and infants, coverage continues until 60 days after birth, prenatal care, early detection and treatment of health problems and a few more. There are different income requirements when applying for MA for children and pregnant people. There are different criteria to determine how much assistance a household receives.
Finances are a large factor that is taken into consideration when people are planning to have or expand their families.
Being a woman in demanding fields brings on various challenges, even without the barrier and challenges that pregnancy brings.
Lindsay Ward, who is currently pregnant and a KDKA morning news anchor, describes the broadcast industry as a rollercoaster full of amazing and depressing challenges, even before starting a family.
The field is maledominated. But in the last 20 years, she said she's seen an increase in women in the industry. This started the conversation about what women and families need to be successful.
For Ward, she is lucky enough to be working somewhere that her maternity leave was easy to obtain. In her field, she
is starting to see a shift in attitudes towards women and family-planning.
"I think [the change is] really great," Ward said. “I hope it brings a comfort to women and men, [you] don’t have to hold ourself back from wanting something because you feel like you may lose your job, or you’ll be replaced.”
[We] are human and why can’t we have the career and the family? Why can’t we still be successful in both?” Ward will be on maternity leave for about 19 weeks, which she said is phenomenal and is lucky to have this option from her employer. She thinks it is important for people to take as long as their employer may let them, and whatever is financially possible.
Melissa Ford, associate professor of history at SRU, was pregnant in 2021 when classes were still being taught online. These circumstances ended up working in her favor as she navigated the morning sickness early on in her pregnancy.
"I have a vivid memory of throwing up, going into my home office and pretending everything was fine," Ford said. "I gave a presentation in front of [about] 30 people, and I had to be normal. I was fortunate to be home and be able to do that."
When returning for the first in-person semester, there were some barriers Ford faced. The biggest one was trying to manage being masked while pregnant and teaching to a classroom full of students.
In the classroom, Ford, who is normally a very active and engaged professor, had to alter her teaching style, which limited her normal range of engagement. Between getting out of breath and being on her feet moving around, she had to adjust to this major change.
In the newsroom, Ward was conscious of her energy levels, projecting her voice and how much breath she used while speaking. She
said she was lucky to have a coach that was helping her.
Pregnant people can also request accommodations from their employer, if needed. These include light duty or help with labor, temporary transfer to a less physically demanding or safer position, and longer, more flexible breaks for drinking water, eating, resting or using the bathroom.
Ford had the opportunity to teach the spring 2022 semester online so she could still spend time with her baby, while also avoiding the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge of the omicron variant.
Accommodations will look different for every pregnant person, and it relies on what type of work someone is doing.
Pregnancy and identity
When starting a family, feeling supported makes life changes easier. Balancing the demands of professor and motherhood, Ford had to negotiate some parts of those identities, as do many parents.
”In general, it’s really hard to step into the classroom
and pretend like you didn’t only get three hours of sleep the night before,” Ford said. “The flip side is when you’re mothering, you’re pretending you’re not a professor.”
You’re being silly, you’re coloring. Oh, in two hours you need to go give a lectyre,” she added on. “I think every parent has to deal with that, we all have these different sides of ourselves [that have different demands].”
Ford joked that there isn't enough stylish clothes for pregnant people. The lifestyle change is one thing, but not being able to reflect your personal style in a pregnant body can also be frustrating.
In recent years, policies have been changing. Ward said when she had her son a few years ago, she only had nine weeks of maternity leave which is half of what she has now.
"I feel like things are changing, [people] are recognizing that they want that balance," Ward said. "They want work and career. You can still be successful in your career and have a family."
On Monday, March 20, SRU students received an email to complete a Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) survey. The email reads that the survey “provides us with insight about your experience at SRU, what is most important to you, and how satisfied you are with various areas of your college experience.”
Occurring about every three years, the data helps understand different parts of the campus experience, according to Director of Analytics & Decision Support Kevin McCarthy.
Students are able to access the survey through their own individual links sent to their university email addresses. These links will direct students to the survey, which can only be taken once.
Results of the survey are anonymous, despite emails being collected. This piece of identifying information is not tied to responses and is only used to view who has completed the survey.
Every student who completes the survey will be entered into a raffle.
Winners will pick from the “prize closet,” which includes one of four $50 Visa gift cards, one of 30 $20 gift cards to your choice of Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks or Sheetz.
There is also a studentfavored prize that includes one on-campus parking pass for use in either student or staff parking lots. The SSI is one of three major institution-wide surveys. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership are two other major surveys the university participates in.
NSSE asses “university student engagement in academics and co-curricular activities according to SRU’s institutional surveys webpage. The most recent data is from 2019.
According to the MultiInstutional Study of Leadership’s official website, the survey is “used by higher education professionals in institutional research; student life; campus climate; diversity; equity; inclusion offices; among others.”
Data from these reports is sent to various different sources. A majority of the data goes to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), where all 14 universities participate in the same surveys.
Information also goes to the United States Federal Government and other third-party surveyors such as U.S. News and World Report, Princeton Review and more.
The shared data includes information about enrollment statistics, retention rates and graduation rates, among others.
The Office of Analytics and Decision Support is regularly updating statistics for SRU. Fall semesters are when the office completes a census of the university, and
occasionally there will be updates in the spring.
They also have internal data that is updated daily with enrollment statistics, class lists, faculty workload, course enrollment and various data points about the “student experience.”
Surveys sent out by the university are completely optional but the data from
them is used when assessing and making changes for SRU. “[We] really hope students are being authentic and honest in telling us about their experiences,” McCarthy said. “We do use this data and this is one of the best, most efficient ways for us to kind of check in with such a [large group] about these particular aspects of their student experience.”
PHOTOS BY: EDDIE CLANCY
PAGE DESIGN BY: SARAH ANDERSON, EDDIE CLANCY, NINA CIPRIANI
they knew many LGBTQ+ individuals that were openly out. They explained there was occasional harassment, but it was still relatively safe.
Life on the west coast in the 1960s through 70s is worlds away from life in Slippery Rock, PA today. On two opposite sides of the country, the two areas differ greatly when it comes to social issues, atmosphere and opportunities.
Cindy Lacom, who uses they/them pronouns, can recall the freedom they had where they grew up in the west coastal region of the country. Coming from a middle-class family, they had numerous opportunities to travel and do things.
They reminisce on a time they traveled to Berkley just to go to a small, local bookstore. They were surrounded by transportation and an endless bound of experiences.
"Growing up in the East Bay was pretty profound, even if I didn't know it at the time," Lacom said. "Especially in terms of diversity."
In high school, in the early to mid-70s, Lacom talks about
Their parents even had friends who were a part of the LGBTQ+ community. All of this to say, where they grew up is very different from living in Slippery Rock over 30 years later.
A feminist since the age of 12, Lacom has been deeply passionate about intersectionality and social issues for the majority of their life. This was a part of daily life and beliefs, and also can be seen in their academic career.
During their time in undergrad at California State University Chico, Lacom was involved in various social justice movements. They continued this advocacy through their graduate program and decided to make a commitment.
Lacom's doctoral dissertation focused on women writers, using feminist theory in their research. Th e dissertation
also had focus on intersections of disability, infirmity, sexuality and maternity. More specifically they looked at disabled embodiments, sexuality and compulsory maternity in the 19th century. Th eir thesis was female sexuality is often seen as monstrous and disabling. They see this as one of the many things that prepared them to ultimately come where they are now, as the director of gender studies. Lacom received two bachelor's degrees in English and philosophy, with a minor in creative writing. Th ey joked that, "some people [may] say the most useless degrees possible."
They went on to receive a master's degree in English, before heading to University of Oregon to earn their doctorate in English, Victorian literature and culture.
They have made a commitment to National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) early in their graduate school career. This took them down a path of leadership where they became the president of the
local NARAL chapter. They also were the vice president of the union for teaching fellows and graduate students during graduate school. Working closely with the union, and their mother being in a union, it was something that had appeal when looking for a job post-grad.
Slippery Rock wasn't even on the map to the West Coast native.
"Pennsylvania wasn't even a real state when I applied, I wondered if it actually existed," Lacom said with a laugh. "When I interviewed and did my research, [SRU's] campus reminds me a little bit of my undergrad campus."
Lacom expressed their undying love for the Ski Lodge on campus.
After graduation, they called SRU (and the beloved Ski Lodge) home. They didn't know this would be home for the next 30 years.
Defining passions at SRU Lacom began at SRU in the English department, but quickly found their home within the faculty of women's studies. When they first interviewed, they
met three people who became important mentors.
"I had met [who] was director of women's studies at the time," Lacom said. "They took me out for lunch and I was [thinking] 'who is this white haired, hippie woman at lunch. [She introduced herself] and said 'if you get this job, you need to join [this] committee.
I wanted to be in a place where feminism was supported, so I knew this was the job for me [in that moment]."
Recent findings report that male and female employees, including those at SRU, are unequally represented within faculty ranks across schools in the
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). This has indirectly led to a gap in pay between men and women who work for the state system. The PASSHE Women’s Consortium conducted a study from the years 2005-2020 which examined average pay rate and rank across male and female faculty in the 14 PASSHE schools. The study was compiled into a report that was published and shared with consortium members at a conference in 2021.
According to the report, “Female faculty are more likely to be in lower rank positions than male faculty, are more likely to be in temporary positions and are more likely to be in part-time positions. This is true for every year, and for every institution overall…”
When describing rank, the report is referring to the different levels faculty must climb to become a full professor. The faculty ranks in the PASSHE system from lowest to highest pay grade are instructor, assistant professor, associate professor and full professor.
“Women are really well represented at the instructor rank…” previous president of the Women's Consortium and associate professor at SRU, Emily Keener, said. “If you go to the other end of the
continuum where the highest rank is full professor, women are underrepresented.”
It was reported that, in that 15-year period, just over 50% of PASSHE faculty were female. However, male faculty accounted for 60% of full professors.
At Slippery Rock specifically, 51% of faculty were female during this period, while only 41% of full professors were women.
The report also found that 26% of total fulltime male faculty at SRU were full professors, compared to the 18% of full-time female faculty.
“If you were to compare the average rank of men versus women, men would still be at a higher rank overall,” Jana Asher, a statistician at SRU, said in a video presentation of the report.
Aside from rank, women in the PASSHE system were 0.91 to 2.84 times more likely than men to be in a temporary faculty position. At SRU, women were 1.24 times more likely to be temporary workers and 1.26 times more likely to be in a part-time position as of 2020.
“In other words, female faculty are disproportionately represented in temporary positions, and male faculty are disproportionately represented in permanent positions,” an official summary of the report said. “That’s not good,”
Asher said in the video, “those are the positions that go away, the positions that don’t pay as well.”
Still, rank and permanency are not the only determiners of salary.
“We found that overall within rank, women still have a lower average starting salary than men,” Keener said. They mentioned that this statement is not true for all years at all schools, and was most notable at the instructor rank.
The report stated that female full-time tenured instructors at SRU made an average of $3,315 less than males in the same position. Female assistant professors made approximately $216 more than males in the position, and women associate professors made an average of $723 more than men.
Full female professors made an average of
$995 more than their male counterparts.
This equated to female faculty members making an average of $345.25 less than male faculty members at Slippery Rock. This difference was more apparent in the salaries of faculty at other PASSHE schools
“After 30 years, a couple hundred dollars starts to add up,” Asher said.
“Although some gaps seem small, they are consistent (some with wide ranges) and are thus a troubling indicator of systemic gender bias,” the report summary said.
According to that summary, the gap affects not only faculty but students as well.
“The ratio of female students to female professors is significantly higher than the ratio of male students to male professors…” it said. “Female students seeking female faculty
mentorship will have more difficulty gaining the time and attention of those faculty… female faculty might bear mentoring as compared to their male counterparts.”
Keener stated that, while the promotion gap is likely a result of system bias, there may also be several sociological factors affecting the data as well.
“Culturally, women are taught that they aren’t good enough or that they’re not smart enough,” Keener said.
“It’s like an imposter syndrome…it could be due to something like low self-esteem, but there can be other barriers too.”
“Academia claims to be a meritocracy, but it's as vulnerable as any workplace to bias and discrimination,” an SRU professor, who preferred to remain anonymous, said.
Gravy started the night with electricity, he opened the show with “oops!” The crowd went into a cheering frenzy, welcoming him to The Rock. The crowd was going wild all night. Although people were advised to stay on the floor, some couldn’t contain their excitement and had to get a better view. Throughout the evening, Gravy and Tiiiiiiiiiip were giving goodies to the audience. Gravy ended the giving frenzy by throwing roses into the crowd. Gravy performed hit songs like "Betty," "Tampa Bay Bustdown" and "Mrs. Worldwide." Gravy took breaks throughout the set list to throw items into the crowd like zebra cakes, Lunchables and bottles of water. Just in case the audience was getting hungry, Gravy launched a box of fruit loops and shook them into the crowd. The little bits of cereal went flying through the ARC. The Slippery Rock crowd flooded the stage with bras, which Gravy donates to women’s shelter and breast cancer charities. “Per capita, y’all got titties,” Gravy said to the audience. Gravy hypes up the crowd by telling them to jump when the beat drops. The power of the crowd shook the entire building. GRAPHIC BY: SARAH ANDERSON"Although some gaps seem small, they are consistent (some with wide ranges) and are thus a troubling indicator of systemic gender bias." –
