The Patriot - October 29, 2020

Letter from the Managing Editor

Dear Patriots,

I find it hard to believe that it is already time to celebrate Halloween. Somehow 2020 has been the longest and, yet, the fastest year of my life. With each challenge this year has brought, I hope that we have all grown stronger. I’ve started to reflect on how quickly each year goes by. I’m sure many of you tend to set goals that don’t always get met by the end of the year. I know that, while I have achieved some of my goals, there are many that I pushed aside.

I am challenging myself and all of you to pursue one more goal, no matter how small, before the end of 2020. My goal is to spend two hours a week with God with limited distractions one day a week in time. I may fail in doing this perfectly, but the effort will be there. I think a new small goal could be good for all of us.

This edition of The Patriot has a few fun additions for the Halloween season. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a massive fan of Halloween, but I do love fall. I’m excited about this second biterm because we will get to celebrate fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and look forward to Christmas while we study. Something about the holiday season makes everything better. I expect this upcoming holiday season will be even more full of reflection and thanks than in the past. Each of us has been affected by Covid this year. Thus, I have found that people are more appreciative of what we may have taken for granted before.

I may be getting ahead of myself. I mean, we are just now finishing October. How about this: let’s all give our best effort in this biterm. It’s easy to get burnt out with school around this time of year, but we need to stay focused. I plan to enjoy the next seven weeks as I work toward another strong biterm. Good luck, everyone; I know you’ll do great!

Only by grace,

Editor-In-Chief

Haley Bullock

Managing Editor

Jenna Rose

Social Media Coordinator

Abigail Fletcher

Faculty Adviser

Jeremiah Massengale

Staff

Emilee Agee Makayla Durham

Alex Nunn

Elizabeth Underwood

Maranda Young

Front cover by Makayla Durham

Back cover by Haley Bullock

Email comments, concerns or tips to: thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu or call us at 606-539-4172 7000 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Kentucky 40769

The Patriot is the student publication of the University of the Cumberlands. Our goal is to provide timely and original content by highlighting campus news and views.

Award-winning member of the Associated Collegiate Press and Kentucky Press Association.

Jenna Rose, Managing Editor

Left or Right?

UC students share their thoughts on the leading 2020 Presidential Election candidates

BY HALEY BULLOCK Editor-in-Chief

The presidential election has rolled around again and this year’s top candidates are President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. the stakes seem higher for this election than ever before, with each person running off to cast their ballot to make sure their voice is heard. I spoke with two UC students who are voting for the candidates on the differing ends of the political spectrum to see what they had to say about their pick for the 2020 Presidential Election.

Drew Shannon, UC junior

Who are you voting for?

DS: “I voted for Joe Biden.” Why are you voting for this candidate over their biggest opponent? (Trump/Biden)

DS: “I voted for Joe because I think Trump has done a lot of damage to the country. I think he has damaged the influence of the Republican Party; he has made the conservative platform a joke and has severely hurt the reputation of Evangelicals. Not only that, he has also been enormously divisive and has damaged the country’s reputation worldwide. He did have the economy going for him, but once Covid hit, the economy went and I see no benefit in voting for him.”

What are some of the pros and cons that you associate with your chosen candidate?

DS: “I think Joe Biden can help restore the dignity of the office and the country. I think he is a more likable and respectful person to have in the office. I also like some of his policies. His climate change plan is important as well as his approach to social issues. He isn’t my favorite candidate ever. He is somewhat meek and mild. I think education is of utmost importance and it isn’t for him. I’m also pro-life so that’s a big area of disagreement. However, I’m very much against the idea of single-issue voting, meaning I’m not going to let my stance on one issue determine my vote. Many people do this and I find it incredibly unhelpful.”

What are some things you wish to see from your chosen candidate if they are elected/stay in office?

DS: “I personally very much dislike politics and under Trump’s presidency our country has grown very tribal in our political thinking. I’d like to see Joe find ways to unite the country despite all our differences. I’d also like to not really know what’s going on in the White House. With Trump, there’s some new controversy every week it seems. I’m tired of hearing about it. I want Biden to just go do his job and be quiet. I think the country needs a break from all the noise of Trump.”

Logan Cornett, UC junior

Who are you voting for?

LC: “I would have to say my vote [is] for President Trump.”

Why are you voting for this candidate over their biggest opponent?

LC: [This] has mostly to do with overall performance over the last four years along with a closer reflection of my own views, some. The last four years, we’ve seen a booming economy, the lowest unemployment rate in decades (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) and tax breaks that have made living in a lower middle class family, like my own, much easier. Biden on the other hand has been a career politician for 47 years in which he has repetitively voted for legislation that has placed more regulation and more tax. I also recall the monetary havoc that Obamacare caused in my own family as well. My point is that I view a vote for Biden as a repeat of all of the economic strife of recession, high taxes, less job opportunity, and increased international conflict. I feel as though the president and most of the, note I say most of, the Republican Party more closely represent the direction that I would like to see the United States go in.”

What are some of the pros and cons that you associate with your chosen candidate?

LC: “My complaints with President Trump are his use of Twitter and oftentimes the way he says things. Sometimes the way that Trump phrases things also may be unnecessarily aggressive, granted it is perhaps sometimes warranted and can be chocked up to human nature in certain instances, nonetheless, I feel that it is a way that he turns a lot of people off and distracts from the administration’s main goals and activities. On the flip side however, I think that he has handled our international affairs very well, especially for someone who is by no means a career politician. The US has the best relationship with North Korea that we have had in more than at least a decade, not to mention since his first election we have heard very little of ISIS, both of which seemed to be the bane of the Obama/Biden administration.”

What are some things you wish to see from your chosen candidate if they are elected/stay in office?

LC: “I would love to see an even more clearly defined stride towards health insurance reform. What the President has done so far has been mostly key changes to the current Obamacare which were definitely necessary, but in my opinion there needs to be a bigger change, how that would look I’m not sure as bipartisanship is vitally important in this issue which is something that I don’t foresee being possible with the push towards socialized medicine coming so heavily from the Democratic Party.”

Graphic by Haley Bullock

Williamsburg is Growing

I new park will be added near downtown

BY ALEX NUNN Staff Writer

Williamsburg, Kentucky has been expanding quickly over the past few years. Businesses blossoming in downtown have led to more reasons to come by. On top of all the additions, the newest attraction to downtown will be a new park. Williamsburg partnered with Why Whitley and the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK), two non-profits that seek to turn the empty land between Third and Main Street, with features such as umbrella-covered seating, solar-powered charging stations and a stage for events. The city hopes that these new additions will bring more foot-traffic and attention to downtown.

Noah Fladie, a UC junior, commended the idea as, “Amazing for more people to go downtown and will have a lot of foot traffic.” Fladie said he would most definitely be going there more often with the addition. Many students agree with Fladie’s opinion, in consensus that they would enjoy downtown more if it had a dedicated place to just settle in.

As for settling in, Aaron Schell, a senior at UC, said, “With being a college student that lives a fairly good distance away from home, having more activities while living on campus will be a good idea to bring attention toward downtown.”

As for other attractions on campus, UC senior Yu-Chien Huang said she’d find more reasons to go downtown once the park has been fleshed out, having already gone more often, “Recently, I[‘ve] already [been] go[ing] downtown more because of the new coffee shop and the ice cream shop.”

Macy Daulton, a UC junior, agrees that the foot-traffic will most definitely go up, saying, “I am already attracted to downtown because of the hobby and game store (Gideon Games), and I’d absolutely head to the park as a place to relax and get out of the dorm.” There are many reasons students want as many attractions as possible and UC senior Keithen

Harris, agrees that the park will be a great place to socialize, and important to him, a good place to visit while also social distancing effectively. He added, “Being outside would help students rather tremendously due to the uncertain times of Covid-19. Having more ways to do stuff outside should lower anxiety and help students get out of their rooms and not focus on being completely isolated.”

Though the idea of the park sounds appealing, some had inputs of other things they hope to see. Lydia Barbour, a UC junior, agrees that the park is a nice addition, but has more hopes for downtown. She said, “Restaurants that are downtown could work with UC to put items from each business on the meal plan, that would be a sure-fire way to get people to come downtown.

Schell mentioned, “I think it will get foot-traffic downtown. However, there needs to be more parking downtown in order to draw more attention to the downtown activities.” Fladie also mentioned he hopes that eventually more small businesses are made “for the community members to showcase the things that they have made and sell them.”

With so many students’ ideas for things to come to downtown, hopefully the park, funded by Why Whitley and CEDIK, will be motivation for others to see the potential of downtown Williamsburg and it will continue to grow.

Photo by Abigai Fletcher

Photo courtesy of CEDIK

Photo courtesy of CEDIK

UC Swim Team prepares for meet

Nic Cecioni, Maria Basto and Elise Weiler swim together.

Swimmers in their own lane lap throughout the pool.

Trey Wolfman swims a lap in the pool.

Multiple athletes swim laps all at once.

Swimmer takes a breath while doing a lap.

Two swimmers pass each other while they finish multiple laps within the pool.

Photos by Makayla Durham

Review: “Remote” by Wallows

A quarantine made EP by the indie trio

Rank: 9/10

BY ABIGAIL FLETCHER Social Media Coordinator

Since their first EP release of “Spring” and their debut album “Nothing Happens,” the Wallows have tracked some major popularity. On Spotify, the band sits at 8,905,778 monthly listeners and their iconic lead single on their debut album “Are You Bored Yet?” has over 227,115, 750 listens. The song has now gone platinum according to their label Atlantic Records. Members of the band Dylan Minnette, Cole Preston and Braeden Lemasters worked on “Remote” virtually through Facetime sessions and sending voice memos to each other making it a quarantine recorded EP. In an interview with DIYmag, Dyan Minnette stated about the EP, “[I]n making this, we wanted to separate it as much as we could from 2020.” “Remote” is great for this because it is an upbeat EP that showcases a lot of songs about love and finding people who just support and love you through the bad times. Differing from their debut album this song is like the epilogue to the coming of age saga that “Nothing Happens” introduces. The EP consists of six up-beat tracks that perfectly blend into another making it a smooth listen from start to finish. The tracks “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” and “Virtual Aerobics” were initially released before the EP. The first track “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” features Braeden Lemasters on vocals. It exhibits that Wallows staple sound with a synth coming in the beginning giving that 80’s vibe. That with a mixture of a clean electric guitar gives an upbeat paced song. This song is about finding someone who

helps you through the rough times. It is about finding someone who knows you better than yourself sometimes. I think it’s something we all strive to find someone who can just completely get us. Lemasters sings, “So many people and people/ And nobody gets me like you.”

“Coastlines” which is one of my favorite tracks on the EP talks about relationship difficulties and pushing through them. This song is more mellow and laid back. Dylan Minnette is the lead vocalist on this track. This song is about the issues of long distance relationships and having trouble with rumors. Minnette sings, “I don’t want to think about it/When we’re on different coastlines.” later singing. “Shut the door and we can lock them out/ Things look different when you’re not around.” This track has a consistent static like sound, which could bring to life the blocking out the noise. The only criticism I could think of for this EP is the lack of slower paced songs. I am a sucker for a nice ballad or just a sad song. This is a biased opinion and the band was going for a more upbeat EP. Minette stated in DIYmag, “[I]t is funny how there’s moments on this that seem like our most joyous of any of our songs and it was created during the least joyful time maybe any of us have experienced in our lifetime.” The EP showcases very different sounding tracks that can leave fans wanting more in a future album.

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Records

Photo courtesy of The Wallows’ Instagram

Halloween Movies Then and Now

A survey of students’ spooky-season movie favorites

BY JENNA ROSE Managing Editor

Questions

1. What was your favorite Halloween movie as a child? Why?

2. What is your favorite Halloween movie now?

Amanda Gault, Sophomore

1. “My favorite Halloween movie growing up was ‘Casper Meets Wendy.’ I’m not sure if that is technically a Halloween movie so if it doesn’t count then it’s ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.’ I hated scary movies growing up so I loved those.”

2. “My favorite Halloween movie now is ‘Halloweentown’ because it’s a classic.”

Chloe Istre, Sophomore

1. “I was a big scaredy cat as a kid, and still am honestly, so I only liked light-hearted Halloween movies such as the 2002 ‘Scooby Doo’ movie and the original ‘Clue’ movie.”

2. “I’m starting to branch out on watching scarier movies and my favorite is ‘Goosebumps’ with Jack Black.”

Savanna Hill, Junior

1. “It’s pretty hard to pick one but when I was growing up I always had a soft spot for the movie ‘Casper.’ I felt that the movie tied into the spirit of Halloween but it was family friendly enough for everyone to watch and wasn’t all about extremely violent and dark stuff.”

2. “‘Casper’ is still one of my favorite Halloween movies to watch.”

Miah Carey, Senior

1. “My favorite Halloween movie growing up was ‘Return to Halloweentown.’ I wish there was a great reason why but it was mostly because I had a crush on Lucas Grabeel growing up.”

2. “Now I don’t really have a favorite Halloween movie but I absolutely love scary movies. Anything that’s a thriller or horror movie is definitely a must watch.”

Cole Perry, Senior

1. “Wow, favorite Halloween movie. ‘Scooby Doo Spooky Island.’ It’s just classic Scooby Doo and Shaggy. I thought it was funny at the time.”

2. “I don’t know if I have a new favorite. I guess maybe ‘Hocus Pocus’ because my mom likes to watch that movie on Halloween.”

2020 is scarier than Halloween

Please enjoy these fantastic in the Halloween spirit song choices! Halloween may be scary but 2020 really did bring the best custome to the party!

Photo courtesy of Production Co.