The Appalachian October 30, 2020

The Appalachian

October 30, 2020

Election day polling sites

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Location

precinct(s)

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Buckeye Recreation Center

Beech Mountain

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Bethel School Gym

Beaver Dam Laurel Creek

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Cove Creek School Gym

cove Creek

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Valle Crucis School Gym

Shawneehaw Watauga

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Caldwell Community College BLDG 460

Brushy Fork

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Agricultural Conference Center

Boone 3

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Plemmons Student Union

Boone 2

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Blowing Rock School Gym

Blowing Rock

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Hardin Park School Gym

Boone 1 New River 2

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Watauga High School Gym

Blue Ridge New River 1

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National Guard Armory

New River 3

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Green Valley School Gym

Bald Mountain Meat Camp North Fork

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Stewart Simmons Fire Department

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Deep Gap Fire Department

Map #

Elk Stony Fork

GRAPHIC BY EFRAIN ARIAS-MEDINA JR.

What you need to know on Election Day, Nov. 3

Moss Brennan | Political Editor

The 2020 election is expected to bring a record-breaking turnout. Watauga County is set to break the total vote for the 2016 election in which 30,241 people voted — a 65.33% turnout.

Over 23,500 people have voted early so far in the county.

During early voting — which ends Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. — people can vote at any site. But on Election Day, voters have to vote in their assigned polling place.

In Watauga County, the board of elections dedicated 14 sites for Election Day voting which will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. can vote.

Because of COVID-19, the board of elections has moved many voting sites to school gyms in the adjacent precincts because they allow for more social distancing.

Six precincts — Boone 2, Elk, Boone 3, New River 3, Stony Fork and Beech Mountain — are at the same site this year. All others are at new sites.

Voters can use the North Carolina polling place search tool to find their Election Day voting location and precinct.

Many on-campus students are split be-

tween the Boone 2 and Boone 3 precincts. Many students living on West Campus vote at the Agricultural Conference Center while many living on East Campus vote in the Plemmons Student Union.

If a voter shows up at the wrong precinct to vote — which happened frequently during the March primary — they can vote with a provisional ballot.

Provisional ballots are used when questions arise about a voter’s qualification to vote, the voter’s eligibility to vote in a given election or the voter’s eligibility to vote a specific ballot style.

All provisional ballots are returned to the county board of elections, where staff have 10 days to understand why a voter used a provisional ballot and whether it is valid. Then, the staff provides the results of the investigations to the county board of elections.

The board will inform the voter if there are additional steps that need to take place to approve a ballot.If the provisional ballot is approved, the ballot is removed from its sealed envelope and counted.

Continued on page 6

News

Oct. 30, 2020

App State pushes for climate neutrality with differing opinions across campus Jake Markland | Reporter App State, widely regarded as a sustainable institution, plans to lead the charge for climate neutrality as temperatures across the globe begin to rise.

In the last 140 years, the Earth’s rising temperature has risen by 1 degree Celsius. Experts argue any further increase will lead to severe droughts in the Mediterranean, extreme flooding in the Northern Hemisphere, heat waves, entire species going extinct, raging fires, biome shifts and a crippling economic blow across the globe. App State says it will help.

“Sustainability at Appalachian State University is not a trend, it is a tradition. Through engaged scholarship, we balance critical, creative and global thinking in a living laboratory, transforming theory into practice and fostering responsible citizenship,” said a statement on the university sustainability website.

However, there isn’t a common consensus across campus about App State should be climate neutral or when it should have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

In March 2019, SGA unanimously passed a bill to make the university

to climate neutral by 2025. In October 2019, the App State Faculty Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for climate neutrality by 2035. Presently, the Office of Sustainability is working on their climate action plan and following the UNC System goal to be climate neutral by 2050.

Here is each group’s perspective: SGA As a freshman senator, Devin Mullins wrote and introduced the Climate Neutrality Act, which SGA Senate passed unanimously in 2019. Along with all members of the 52nd Senate Session, 28 organizations and 41 individuals sponsored the bill.

The bill calls for “aggressive action” and exploring “all available options” to be climate neutral by 2025.

It also advocates for full transparency from the university as they begin “systematic and rapid implementation” of the climate action plan.

Now the Director of Sustainable Development, Mullins said SGA’s goal is “the only one in touch with reality.”

“People will continue saying our vision isn’t realistic or practical, but it’s the only one that’s realistic and practi-

Sophomore Devin Mullins seated after discussions about his climate bill last February. Mullins plans to run for student body president.

Hayley Canal

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cal because we’re running out of time,” Mullins said.

Sam Gass, chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee, said there are a plethora of steps that can be taken to achieve the goal. He said App State could reevaluate its contracts with energy providers, restructure campus buildings, produce its own energy and promote renewable energy usage.

Gass said the administration is busy investing in sustainable scooters instead of solar panels.

He said the SGA plan is the only one that takes into account the underlying issues of climate change in relation to the university.

“It’s the only plan radical enough to avert a potential climate catastrophe,” Gass said. “That’s the truth of it.”

Faculty Senate In 2019, the Faculty Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, and complete climate neutrality by 2035. It called on the university to develop a climate action plan as soon as possible, including the establishment of a Climate Action Committee, and to be transparent throughout the planning process.

Brian Burke, an associate professor of sustainable development and senator who proposed the bill, said the fact it was passed unanimously “showed an almost unprecedented degree of consensus that this is a major issue and an urgent issue.”

After the bill was passed, Chancellor Sheri Everts called upon the Office of Sustainability to begin creating the climate action plan that the faculty senate and SGA advocated for. Also in response, App State hired an energy manager after the position was vacant

for three years, a position required under state law, according to Burke. The chancellor’s office agreed to reinvest all the money saved from renewable energy back into more sustainable energy.

Burke, who no longer serves on Faculty Senate, believes that App State should lead the charge as universities begin to tackle climate change. He says it would be financially irresponsible to not start investing now, because App State can save money down the road using renewable energy.

“If we want to walk the talk and we don’t want to be hypocrites, we need to be leaders,” Burke said.

Burke believes the Faculty Senate’s plan is a “reasonable compromise,” and the least ambitious App State can afford to be without having to question its commitment to sustainability.

“I think the student plan is the best plan,” Burke said. “Anything less ambitious than the Faculty Senate plan is morally reprehensible and not supported by science.”

The Office of Sustainability Using the guidance of the UNC System Board of Governors, the Office of Sustainability hopes to be completely climate neutral by 2050. However, Lee Ball, chief sustainability officer, said he realizes “we need to do it sooner.”

The OOS is working on the App State climate action plan, AppCAP. Ball said this document will serve as a blueprint of what it is going to take to become climate neutral by 2050 or sooner.

The first draft of AppCAP will come out in early November for the campus to be able to review it. Ball said that it is a “living document” that will focus on climate justice and the envi-

It’s the only plan radical enough to avert a potential climate catastrophe

ronment.

After considering comments from the university community, the office will make adjustments and release its final draft in January. Ball said the OOS has taken a “thorough” and “aggressive” approach to the plan having worked with faculty, staff, students, SGA and members of Appalachian Climate Action Collaborative, a collaborative group fighting for climate reform.

In September, ClimAct published a press release announcing they were withdrawing from “the official process” and working on their own plan.

“The university’s plan directly contradicts our core values by failing to setscientifically-based goals, pursue systemic solutions, and devise strategies that promote justice and support communities of color, rural communities, and other vulnerable groups,” said Michael Weiss, a ClimAct organizer.

Ball said part of the reason that the plan is still in the works is so the office has adequate time to assess the impact of COVID-19. Office members said COVID-19 has shown them that some aspects of normal life aren’t sustainable, citing that they could attend virtual conferences rather than using gas to drive to in-person ones.

There are over 90 initiatives currently on the AppCAP, each with varying timelines. There are short-term goals that will take one to three years, medium-term goals that will take three to five years and long term that will take more than five years.

Ball said he appreciates the sense of urgency that the students and faculty share and believes the OOS has the ability to get changes implemented.

“We have the relationships necessary to get this work done. Our plan is collaborative and pragmatic, but we also like to push hard,” Ball said.

“We’re really good at finding solutions to perceived barriers.”

News

Oct. 30, 2020

App State closes three dining locations, lays off student employees Ethan Hunt | Reporter App State Campus Dining facilities have laid off at least 60 student employees and closed three dining locations.

McAlister’s in the Student Union, Rivers Street Cafe in Roess Dining Hall and Wired Scholar in Belk Library closed Oct. 6.

The part-time student employees working in these locations were laid off. But full time, permanent staff who worked in the three closed facilities were reassigned to other areas on campus, according to Pam Cline, director of Campus Dining.

“We’ve been working to minimize the impact on the 148 part-time, student employees,” said Cline.

Currently, only 88 students are employed in Campus Dining facilities, according to a former student coordinator for Campus Dining who wished to remain anonymous.

The recent closures only account for part of the layoffs. Students have been laid off from various Campus Dining locations throughout the semester.

Students who were laid off prior to the closures say managers cited lack of funds as the reason for their termination.

“I got an email from my manager that said basically ‘we can’t afford to keep you hired,’” said Lilly Leonard, former freshman employee at Park Place in Roess Dining Hall who was laid off a month ago.

The units closed for the same reason.

“We are a receipt-supported operation,” Cline said “and unfortunately, with fewer students, faculty and staff on campus, we cannot currently sustain the operations of our three least-patronized dining facilities.”

Despite the closure of three Campus Dining locations, the food trucks on campus remain open. Student employees have pointed to the food trucks as an example of Campus Dining administrators’ mistakes.

“We realized they weren’t the best idea because they were closing their own units while still hav-

McAllister’s in Plemmons Student Union closed Oct. 6. The restaurant’s location in Trivette Dining Hall is still open.

Bella Zerrillo

ing outside businesses run on (Sanford Mall),” a former student coordinator said.

Campus Dining has not commented on whether operating food trucks on campus has impacted the decline in campus facilities’ food sales.

Fewer students, faculty and staff on campus due to COVID-19 has led to a 41% decrease in food service transactions from previous years, according to Cline.

Student employees whom Campus Dining laid off still wonder how the university didn’t predict the reduced demand.

“Why are you looking to hire new people when you would have an idea from last semester, when COVID hit, how that impacted your ability to pay people?” Leonard said.

Campus Dining implemented a hiring freeze in late August, but before the school year started, people like Leonard were still being hired.

“At first (Campus Dining) were saying we were going to need more than the normal number of people, that's why they were pushing us to hire so many people,” said a former student coordinator for Campus Dining.

The source said the student coordinator’s office was involved in hiring at least 100 people before the semester started, although a similar number quit because of COVID-19 concerns.

Initially, Campus Dining cut part-time student employees’ work hours and moved them to different dining locations to avoid laying them off. Additionally, Campus Dining attempted to implement a work study in late August. The goal was to provide student employees federal tuition aid as compensation instead of a Campus Dining-funded hourly wage. However, most students did not qualify for work study, according to a former student coordinator for Campus Dining.

Student workers in Campus Dining have been laid off due to lower demand for on-campus dining. Along with students being laid off, three campus dining locations have been closed.

Bella Zerrillo Individual locations began laying people off and an anonymous student who worked at the bookstore market had their hours cut. The following week their shift was cut entirely.

The source said when they arrived at work, their supervisor informed them their shift was cut. They were not given a warning or time to look for another job.

“It’s stressful because I don’t live on campus. I have other bills that most people on campus don’t have to worry about,” said the former employee.

Cline said that Career Development is working with Campus Dining to support students who have been laid off through an interim employment coordinator.

“Kato Thompson is communicating directly with students who have been terminated, providing them information about available jobs on campus and other existing resources,” Cline said.

In her termination email, Leon-

ard was provided with a link to other available jobs on campus, but was not given any references for securing an off-campus job. Other terminated employees described a similar experience.

“I was hung out to dry, they didn’t give me any references or anything. I had to start looking for a job immediately when I got home,” said the former bookstore market employee. “I reached out to the guy who hired me for the job at the market, but they didn’t have any more jobs on campus that fit with my schedule.”

Both Leonard and the other student have yet to find other forms of employment.

Pam Cline encourages students to use the presentation “How to Find a Part Time Job” and the Handshake portal in their search for work. She also names the Career Center as a resource for resume help.

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News

Oct. 30, 2020

Recent App State grad manages Ray Russell’s

re-election campaign Silas Albright | Sports Editor

Lee Franklin, a May graduate of App State serving as North Carolina representative Ray Russell’s campaign manager, had an interaction with a political science professor at freshman orientation in 2016 that made a lasting impression on him.

“You guys should not major in political science if you are not trying to make connections and get involved,” Franklin recalled the professor saying.

“If you don’t make connections and you don’t get involved, you will never get a job in political science.”

Shortly before orientation, Franklin walked into a shoe store back home in Chapel Hill. There was a young guy working the cash register, probably a recent college grad, Franklin guessed.

They struck up a conversation, and coincidentally, the guy turned out to be an App State graduate with a political science degree.

After that experience, when Franklin got to orientation and heard the professor “almost trying to deter us” from pursuing political science, he knew what he had to do to find success in the field: make connections and get involved.

“I was trying to take the advice, so I went to College Democrats and I went to student government,” Franklin said.

It was through getting involved with these organizations early on as a freshman that Franklin said he fostered connections that ultimately helped him advance his career.

Franklin joined the App State Student Government Association and started working alongside former Student Body President Anderson Clayton on the external affairs committee,

which he eventually became director of in 2018.

Through the College Democrats, Franklin met Clark Streets, who was the field director for the Watauga County Democratic Party. In the fall semester of 2016, Franklin volunteered a lot of his time to help with voter registration.

He helped the party register some 2,000 voters in total that year. In the spring semester, Franklin ran into Streets and mentioned that he’d love to get involved in any way he could.

“Later on, he invited me to come to a Watauga County Democratic Party staff meeting,” Franklin said. “When I showed up, they were basically like ‘Welcome to the team!’ and I was like, ‘What?’”

The Democratic Party’s plan was to hire Franklin in a “deputy” position, where he would learn the ropes by working under someone with more experience. But, the person Franklin was set to learn from ended up leaving the job, so he was named field director for the county’s Democratic party in the second semester of his freshman year, with his only prior experience being “a few shifts of voter registration.”

“He really just showed a lot of promise right from the bat,” said Christine Behrend, Watauga County Democratic Party operations director. “Right from the take off, he was really very enthusiastic and very able to pick up the reins.”

Franklin was in charge of running voter registration in 2017, when they registered another 2,000 voters.

In charge of registration again in 2018, Franklin helped the county Democrats

Lee is just about putting in the work and being dedicated and passionate...

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to a “big year,” due in part to the “blue wave” they were hoping for.

“That year, we were able to register 3,000 voters, and we were able to flip our state house seat when we got Ray Russell elected,” Franklin said.

“He performed well all over the district, but we had record youth turnout in 2018, so that kind of pushed him over the edge.”

Franklin was in charge of registering many of those youth voters who he said helped elect Russell, which Russell noticed. In the summer of 2019, Russell was looking for a campaign manager for his 2020 re-election campaign.

At the same time, Franklin was looking for work as a campaign manager, knowing he would graduate in May of 2020.

“I worked the 2019 election for

the Democratic party, we registered another 3,000 voters, and then I started working for Ray Russell for his re-election campaign, and that’s what I’m doing now,” Franklin said.

App State College Democrats president Dalton George, a colleague and friend of Franklin’s, said the humble yet dedicated mindset Franklin approaches his work contributes to the success he’s found early in his career, landing a campaign manager position while still in college.

“Any other person our age would be shouting that from the rooftops, because I think that’s really impressive,” George said. “Lee is just about putting in the work and being dedicated and passionate about it.”

Franklin said the pandemic has

made this campaign different from what it would be during a normal year, such as switching to cold-calling many voters because they can’t go door to door.

Franklin said a lot of his time on the campaign has been spent raising money, since elections tend to get more and more expensive each year. As Election Day draws near, Franklin said much of the campaign’s attention will shift to getting voters to vote and getting them the information they need.

Franklin will work on Russell’s campaign through the end of November, and after that, he isn’t sure what he’ll do, but he said it’ll probably be something within the politics arena. After all, that’s been the goal since the advice he received at freshman orientation.

Lee Franklin, App State political science graduate, campaigns with local community members in support of re-electing Ray Russell to the NC House of Representatives.

Courtesy of Lee Franklin

Politics

Oct. 30, 2020

Kamala Harris’ husband campaigns in Boone, encourages early voting Abi Pepin | Senior Political Correspondent Vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ husband encouraged early voting in front of a small masked crowd gathered around picnic tables in support.

Douglas Emhoff told Boone voters every time he visits North Carolina, he sees an incredible amount of enthusiasm.

“I’m seeing it all over the country because we are traveling to these swing states,” Emhoff said. “They’re sending me(to) the places where they think it’s gonna be close.”

According to FiveThirtyEight, Democrat Joe Biden is leading Republican President Donald Trump by 2.5 points in North Carolina.

Rep. Ray Russell, representative for House District 93, opened the event with remarks about early voting.

“We all know this is the most important election of our lifetime,” said Russell, an App State professor.

Russell said that for the last nine days, he’s worked the polls and greeted voters.

“The biggest thrill I have had, though, was last Friday in Ashe County,” Russell said. “A family got out of

the car yelling ‘Mr. Ray, Mr. Ray. It’s my wife’s first time ever to vote as a U.S. citizen.’ That whole family was so thrilled.”

Russell said he believes most people have taken the opportunity to vote for granted and this election is not something to take for granted.

After Russell, Charlie Wallin, county commissioner and candidate for Board of Commissioners District 5, said he wants voters to ensure they vote in every race on the ballot.

“We need to put our foot down on the gas pedal and keep it moving forward,” Wallin said. “We have to elect Democrats up and down this ballot for this nation and this state.”

Emhoff began his Biden for President Early Voting Mobilization Event at Campus Gas, a refurbished gas station in Winston-Salem.

To follow, Emhoff made a stop at the original Krispy Kreme.

Emhoff then headed to Mazie Woodruff Center, an early voting site in Winston-Salem, to greet voters casting their ballots.

After an hour and a half drive, Emhoff arrived at Booneshine Brewing

Co. — a local Boone brewery.

Emhoff ended the event by telling attendees about the record early-voting numbers in North Carolina.

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, 23,313 Watauga County residents have cast ballots as of Oct. 25. Of that total, 18,644 have been during early voting.

Emhoff said if people aren’t happy with what’s going on, they have to vote.

“People are showing up because they’re just sick and tired of the lies,” Emhoff said. “They want new leadership and they want to elect Joe Biden as your next president.”

Emhoff said the current administration’s handling of COVID-19 is the “most epic failure in the history of our country.”

Emhoff said if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are elected, their administration will enforce masks, social distancing, and free, accessible testing with fast results while improving contract tracing and follow science for a vaccine.

In regards to the economy, Emhoff said Biden has a plan.

“We’re going to invest in small businesses,” Emhoff said. “Trump is fo-

cused on wealth, we need to focus on jobs and get manufacturing back in this country with American workers.”

Emhoff said Biden and Harris’ plans to build a clean energy infrastructure will result in millions of high-pay-

said.

Collins said.

Collins said one of the organization’s biggest struggles is their party’s signs being stolen or defaced.

“We’re doing our best to keep our signs on campus and replace them as they’re taken,” Collins said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

Collins said the organization still has regular meetings and encourages more students to get involved. The College Republicans are also pushing volunteers to vote early so more people can hand out literature with conservative candidates on it on Election Day. Like the College Democrats, the College Republicans want more people to phone bank leading up to the election.

ing jobs.

“We’re going to win North Carolina,” Emhoff said. “We’re going to win around the country and we’re going to win big.”

Doug Emhoff, husband of Kamala Harris, gives a speech to inspire voters in Watauga County to get out and vote for candidate Joe Biden during an early voting mobilization event held at Booneshine Brewery on Oct. 26. Emhoff said the current administration’s handling of COVID-19 is the most epic failure in the history of our country.

Jesse Barber

College Democrats and Republicans motivated for Election Day

Abi Pepin | Senior Political Correspondent The App State College Republicans and Democrats are pushing for more voter outreach as Election Day approaches.

Because of COVID-19, College Republicans and Democrats are changing what they do to increase voter participation.

Dalton George, president of the App State College Democrats, said a big focus is encouraging students to vote for state and local races, not just the national candidates.

“We have tried to provide information about those races to make folks more likely to vote,” George said.

George said they canvass through neighborhoods, hand out voting-related

information at nearby apartments and make phone calls encouraging students to vote.

Jenna Kubiak, vice president of the App State College Democrats, said having a strong presence is essential for electing progressive candidates.

“We have to find different ways to reach out by virtual events and urging them to vote up and down the ballot in this election,” Kubiak said.

A group of App State College Democrats members stand outside of Plemmons Student Union during early voting to help voters with any questions.

“The main and consistent goal is to get turnout at the student union as high as possible with young voters,” George

The App State early voting site has been involved in at least four lawsuits in the past 10 years.

Republicans have tried to move the site outside of the student union, which has led Democrats to think they’re trying to suppress the student vote.

River Collins, president of the App State College Republicans said his biggest effort is putting candidate signs around the Boone community.

The College Republicans put out about 150 signs a week.

“We want to make sure voters have the candidates’ names in their heads so when they go to vote, they’re voting for the candidates that they remember,”

“We have been calling voters for our candidates and enlisting more people to start phone banking and become involved with other volunteer roles,” said Collins.

Since the start of early voting, both organizations have focused on reaching out to students to make sure they are aware of the opportunity to early vote.

“We want to make sure students know that this is a great way to increase turnout, so people don’t wait until Election Day to vote when the lines are substantially longer,” Kubiak said.

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Politics

Oct. 30, 2020

Speaker of the NC House of Representatives stops in Boone, campaigns for Ray Pickett Moss Brennan | Politics Editor The Republican speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives campaigned in Boone for state house candidate Ray Pickett Tuesday.

Tim Moore (R) represents the 111th District in North Carolina and leads the Republicn-majority North Carolina House of Representatives.

“As a Western North Carolina legislator, I care greatly about this region,” Moore said. “I know that Ray Pickett is someone who’s fully invested in the community and cares a lot.”

Moore campaigned outside Watauga County Administration Building — one of six early voting sites — with Pickett in the early afternoon after campaigning in Ashe County.

After stopping by the early voting site, Moore spoke at the Watauga County Republican Party meeting.

“You are doing everything you are supposed to do. You are doing an amazing job,” Moore told the roughly 15-person crowd. “That’s why I know on Election Day that you’re going to have a new representative in Ray Pickett.”

Moore also spoke to the party during the executive session, which was closed to the press and had members who were present via video conference.

“It was a real honor to have him

and (representative) Kelly Hastings up here campaigning for me and having faith in me being a part of the house,” Pickett said. “It was a real honor to have him come up here and work with me.”

Hastings is the Republican representative for the 110th House District and an App State alumnus.

Pickett is running against Democrat incumbent Ray Russell for the 93rd District seat.

Moore said he has concerns about Russell, which is one of the reasons he is campaigning for Pickett. Moore claims Russell signed a pledge to defund the police.

“He, and members of his caucus, received a total of about a half million dollars from this radical organization in exchange for agreeing to a platform that basically calls for defunding the police,” Moore said.

A spokesperson for the Russell campaign said there is “not a word of truth” in Moore’s statement and that it is a “complete fabrication of Tim Moore’s imagination.”

The pledge in question comes from a group called the Future Now Fund, which has a pledge candidates can sign to work toward “America’s Goals” — seven goals related to health care, the environment and jobs.

Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Tim Moore speaks at the Watauga County Republican Party meeting Tuesday night.

Moss Brennan

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The group also promotes several model policies under a website titled “America’s Goals.”

One policy under the “America’s Goals” website includes the “assessment of police funding and a reallocation of funding toward community-based programs,” but that is not listed on the pledge Russell and 1,010 other candidates and elected officials have signed.

Future Now has given the max campaign contribution — $5,400 — to 11 North Carolina Democratic candidates for state house, including Russell, according to the News and Observer.

Both Moore and Pickett are excited for the turnout so far in the 2020 Election.

“I’m thrilled at the high turnout,” Moore said. “Whether someone is voting Republican or Democrat, I applaud them for turning out and making sure their voices are heard.”

North Carolina and Watauga County has seen nearly 50% in voter turnout so far during early voting and absentee votes. In 2016, North Carolina had just under 69% of registered voters turnout to vote.

Pickett said he feels pretty confident about his race headed into Election Day. “This is a competitive, competitive race. It always has been tight, and it’s going to be tight again this time,” Pickett said. “But I will have a positive outlook and I feel that we can win.”

The 93rd District was Republican controlled before Russell won in 2018 after defeating Republican incumbent Jonathan Jordan, who held the seat for four terms.

Jordan was elected to his first term in 2010 by fewer than 200 votes, according to data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Russell won in 2018 by about 1,500 votes.

Continued from pg. 1

Election results are not finalized until all eligible provisional ballots are counted. During the March primary, Watauga County Director of Elections Matt Snyder said about half of the provisional ballots are counted while the other half aren’t.

According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, the peak times for Election Day voting are in the morning and right before polls close. To avoid a long wait, the board recommends people vote during off peak times.

Voters can not register to vote on Election Day. If a voter is not registered, they can still register at a one-stop early voting site. After early voting ends, they cannot register to vote.

A voter has to be registered in Watauga County to vote on Election Day.

A&C

Oct. 30, 2020

Looking at Boone buying and selling community App State Classifieds Sophia Lyons | Chief Copy Editor Some people sell their old clothes, or they buy someone else’s fashion secondhand. Other people sell household items and furniture when they move, or buy the pieces and parts to furnish an apartment below face value. Still more people seek child care, advice on living in Boone, new friends, lost pets, yard work or misplaced mail. But this isn’t a thrift store, yard sale, or flea market: it’s all online.

Facebook group App State Classifieds has accumulated over 47,000 members since its inception in 2012, when a freshman started the group and solicited help from members of her class. Although he no longer remembers her name from the class, page administrator Addison Folcher signed on to help in 2012. Over the course of eight years, he says the page’s numbers exploded. Word-of-mouth spread pushed community members to the page, as well as a few ads for the group Folcher financed that Facebook placed on other pages. Over the years, he’s paid more than $500 out of pocket for the ads.

Despite the connection to App State, people from surrounding areas — such as Todd, Vilas, Seven Devils and Blowing Rock — post alongside students, faculty and staff.

The group has nearly 28,000 more members than Boone has residents — 19,667, according to the Census.

Out of nearly 50,000 posts per month, most of them are related to buying and selling between private parties meeting in Boone.

“People sell literally everything,” Folcher said.

When rapper Lil Wayne came to Holmes Convocation Center, people resold tickets “within five minutes” at such exorbitant rates the page had to ban reselling those tickets, he said.

Folcher said most of the items for sale are housing related, and those buy-and-sell posts spike around December and May, when students tend to move between housing.

“I am looking for someone to sublease my room (a female) in a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment in New River Farms. Rent is $570 a month and utilities are included!

I can sublease ASAP or in January! I have 3 sweet roommates. Message me for more info!!!” reads a post by Kara Greene in the group.

Subleases allow a renter to rent their room or apartment to another individual for a specified period of time; when they come from the App State Classifieds group, subleases tend to follow the App State calendar, beginning around when semesters do and when students usually go home for the summer. While Greene didn’t include any photos of her room, most people seeking to sublease do.

Other people sell big-ticket items like furniture: desks,

chairs, beds, bed frames and tables are commonly sold. School supplies, electronics, and crafts attract a lot of attention around holidays. Clothes also sell quickly turned up from closet cleanouts, upcycled thrifting projects and unwanted gifts. Others sell collections or use the page to generate regular income by selling many clothing items at once.

“Lots of different vintage jackets for sale, sizes vary, most are in good unworn condition, prices $10-25,” reads one post by Ryan Murphy.

The post features images of eight brightly colored late ‘90s windbreaker-style jackets in three different sizes.

The jackets range from branded, such as Champion, to advertising Hendricks Motorsports, to a black jacket with black-and-white-striped cuffs, collar, trim and a Twilight Anglers of Asheboro fishing club back patch.

Within an hour, three jackets had sold.

Read more online at www.theappalachianonline.com

PLAYLIST Jean Holman Reporter

Graphic by Camryn Collier

It’s that time of the year again –– carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and dressing up for Halloween. It’s the perfect season to watch scary movies, eat sugary sweets and become someone else.

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This week we created a fun, spooky playlist of 13 songs that will bring you back to childhood favorites

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and Halloween classics. Listen to these when you are enjoying Halloween activities safely on Oct.

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31. The playlist sets the mood for a cozy nap by the fire or a scary run through a corn maze.

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A&C

Oct. 30, 2020

FEAR FACTOR HAUNTED ATTRACTIONS REMAIN POPULAR DESPITE PANDEMIC CONCERNS

10 movies to binge on this Halloween

Ansley Puckett | A&C Editor Clowns, zombies, grim reapers and masked figures, unlike those walking around the streets today, surround the willing victims walking into an annual haunted house.

Terror by the River, located on Big Hill Road in Todd, once again opened its doors for business Sept. 25 despite a global pandemic, and this year, the haunted house has seen an unusual increase in customers.

Kristina Ward, Terror by the River’s manager, said she believes the surge in visitors is from scare fans looking for some normalcy amidst a time of uncertainty.

“I think that maybe people are just looking for outside things they could do, and us being outside is bringing people in. It’s a huge difference actually from last year,” Ward said.

Ward and her husband began preparing the haunted house for Halloween in early September, and Ward said the crowds are the only thing that has changed from the previous pandemic-free year.

“One good thing about a haunted house is they’re already wearing masks,” Ward said. “So, besides the sanitizers and a little bit of extra cleaning — well, a lot of extra cleaning, I must say — that’s basically the only thing that’s really different.”

Terror by the River uses numbers to keep track of customers waiting to enter the haunted house. When it’s a customer’s turn to enter the attraction, employees call their number. This reduces the proximity of traditional lines and allows people to social distance while they wait.

Ashlyn Jennings, a self-proclaimed horror fan, has visited both Terror by the River and nearby haunted attraction Lake Hickory Haunts. Although she was wary of the number of people at the attractions, she still felt safe, Jennings wrote in an email.

“When I first visited Terror by the River and Lake Hickory Haunts, the atmosphere was very much enjoyable,” Jennings said. “It felt the same when visiting any haunted house attraction, except only people were wearing masks. It was very much fun being scared but at the same time, being safe.”

Ward said she wants to make Terror by the River’s customers, like Jennings, feel as comfortable as possible while they enjoy the attraction.

We’re going out of our way to make sure that we’re safe over here and where people can still get out and have a good

8

time,” Ward said.

Lake Hickory Haunts customer Macey Earl wrote in an email that she visited the haunted attraction to take advantage of “the best time of year” and enjoy some normal October activities.

“People want a way to get out of the house, everyone, including myself, are tired of being stuck at home, and we all want a chance to just have a normal life like it used to be,” Earl said. “I think it is good for people to still get out and be able to have a good time even if you do have to follow certain precautions.”

Ward hopes that Terror by the River’s fear factor will allow people to decompress after months of real fear.

“I’d say this has taken a toll on a lot of people, most people actually, and for people to get out and let loose and have some fun, I’m sure it feels good, I know it does for me,” Ward said.

According to Terror by the River’s website, the haunted trail, which costs $20 per person, will remain open until Oct. 31 from Friday to Sunday evenings and asks that customers “wear a mask whenever indoors.”

Halloween will look a little different this year amidst COVID-19, leading many people to opt for at-home movie marathons or video conferencing watch parties. There are countless spooky movies to choose from, which can make compiling a watch list difficult. Luckily, we’ve narrowed it down and curated a list of the best movies to binge on the upcoming holiday.

“Us” (2019)

Available for streaming on Amazon and HBO Max. Jordan Peele’s new-age horror film investigates döppelgangers and the reality of fear: you are your own worst enemy. The film, starring Lupita Nyong’o, will leave you trembling long after the television goes dark. Perhaps what is the most terrifying of all is how Peele’s cinematic ideas focus on societal issues as opposed to just classic jump scares and gore.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993)

Available for streaming on Amazon and Disney Plus.

Tim Burton’s animated classic is aimed for viewers of all ages who enjoy a bit of a fright. Star pumpkin king Jack Skellington creates enough screams to last until Christmas — literally! Don’t be fooled, the animation takes nothing away from the cult-classic horror.

“Hocus Pocus” (1993)

Available for streaming on Amazon and Disney Plus.

This family-friendly movie is perfect for those who love a mild scare and fantasy.

Kenny Ortega’s Salem classic provides enough witchy action and laughter to satisfy any viewer.

“Twitches“ (2005)

Available for streaming on Disney Plus.

The Disney Channel classic, starring twin witches Tia and Tamera Mowry, is a must-watch this Halloween. The fantastical family-friendly horror will take you back in time and keep you on the edge of your seat. If you find yourself wanting more after the credits start to roll, you’re in luck, because there’s a sequel: “Twitches Too!”

“Hereditary” (2018)

Available for streaming on Amazon.

While trick or treating and going to parties may not be the same this year, there are plenty of alternatives that ensure Halloween lovers’ safety. There are plenty of movies to give viewers a scare, a laugh and even nightmares if so desired. Stores are still full of candy and movies are still packed with horror.

Pair the two together, and you’ve got yourself a sweet and spooktacular Halloween!

A&C

Oct. 30, 2020

Western-themed concert venue invests in recording studio, seeks to attract local artists David Brashier | Reporter West Jefferson, N.C. — For Mike Jones, owner of Saloon Studios in West Jefferson, the pandemic meant total shutdown for his 19th-century Old West Town replica and saloon-themed concert venue. Unable to host shows, Mike Jones and his staff invested in business alternatives to make his establishment more well-rounded: opening a production studio for artists.

“We have reconfigured the staging and equipment for a live stage recording studio,” said John Littlewood, production manager at Saloon Studios. “We’re planning with a very positive frame of mind right now, hoping we don’t go through 2020: part two.”

For a music venue meticulously designed like an old western saloon, the stage itself is the least Western thing about it. This design choice was intentional in order to make the venue appealing to any artists looking to use the space to record regardless of genre.

Saloon Studios is offering discounted rates this winter to attract local artists looking to produce work in a professional setting. The studio is currently booking clients for recording songs, music videos and concert films on a stage with state-of-the-art acoustics, Littlewood said.

“We are trying to combine experiences here at Saloon Studios with great acoustics and 4K video,” Littlewood

said. “We don’t just want to give you a place to record a song, but give you an MTV-ready video.”

Mike Jones and Littlewood hoped the venue could resume hosting outdoor shows by summer. However, even with restrictions lifted on the size of outdoor events, the venue would have been unable to break even hosting shows with fewer than 50 patrons, Mike Jones said.

With live events no longer an option, Mike Jones and Littlewood were willing to try just about anything. They considered pay-per-view concerts for some of their regularly scheduled shows, however, this proved too low of a profit margin. As summer turned to fall, they invested heavily in recording studio equipment and considered other uses for the property.

“We’re also courting anybody who would like to use the Old West Town as a movie set,” said Littlewood. “I’m willing to do anything people in commercial media would like to do. We’ve even discussed the possibility of making Saloon Studios a mini TV station.”

Littlewood also intends to host masterclass workshops taught by well-known musicians. He and Mike Jones are also booking those same performers for a podcast they will produce at the studio, where they’ll discuss classic and southern rock and their respective communities in the mu-

John Littlewood in the recording studio of Saloon Studios in West Jefferson. Owner Mike Jones and his staff invested in a recording studio to make the western-themed concert venue more appealing to artists.

Courtesy of Saloon Studios

sic industry.

Saloon Studios is just one component of the Old West Town replica that Mike Jones constructed in 2017. From Mulatto Mountain Road, where the property is located, one would have no idea that a town straight out of a Clint Eastwood-style film would be nestled on an Appalachian mountainside just beyond the trees.

The Old West Town contains a mix of buildings, including a general store that serves as a gift shop, a functioning cantina, a post office, a dress shop and others. The saloon, positioned at the north end of the property, was to be the centerpiece of the town and serve as a speakeasy, but during construction, Mike Jones thought about expanding it into an intimate concert venue.

“I built this old Western town just for me and my friends to have fun with,” Mike Jones said. “The music stuff didn’t really come in until it was almost done.”

Some of the replica’s furnishings such as the saloon’s 160-year-old roulette table and the saddle barstools are authentic, purchased from antique dealers across Ashe County.

“Given that it’s an old Western town, it had to look authentic,” said Laura Jones, co-owner of Saloon Studios.

“We did a lot of research into what the style was. We’d watch classic Western movies, take screenshots and say ‘Yeah, that’s how we want the saloon to look.’”

Other details, however, are more deceiving. Canvas paintings, wallpaper and even doors appear fully functional but are actually soundproofing material to make the sonic experience more enjoyable for patrons.

For Mike Jones, the patrons’ experience is paramount to everything else. He specifically designed the saloon to host no more than 100 guests so that they can experience once-in-a-lifetime experiences with classic rock icons and never be too far from the stage. Artists who have hailed the saloon’s stage include Artimus Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Alto Reed from Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band and a host of others.

“The whole idea behind this venue is small capacity,” said Mike Jones. “Everyone is a VIP. When the band finishes playing, they walk down the stairs, say ‘Hello,’ shake hands, sign autographs and take pictures with you.”

Mike Jones and Littlewood encourage local artists of all genres in the High Country to book recording sessions during the winter and take advantage of their discounted seasonal rates. They hope to resume their regular performance schedule in late May 2021.

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A&C Disrupted trips and virtual traveling

Oct. 30, 2020

App State still reeling from COVID-19’s impact on study abroad Mickey Hutchings | Managing Editor

S

he thought she’d gotten by. She thought she escaped the crisis facing so many of her peers. But, she was enjoying her second dinner course, celebrating and mourning the last night of the Italian adventure for her classmates who hadn’t been as lucky, when she got the email.

“Appalachian said come home,” senior Grace Puffer said.

Puffer was one of 21 App State students who studied abroad in Italy in the spring 2020 semester. All 21 were sent home in March when the novel coronavirus trickled from Asia into Europe.

The pandemic has halted thousands of U.S. students’ study-abroad experiences this year, and for the foreseeable future. According to the In-

stitute of International Education, 22,041 U.S. students were studying abroad during the spring 2020 semester. Universities evacuated nearly 81% of those students when COVID-19 began its global spread.

App State’s Office of International Education and Development canceled all classes abroad on March 13.

From Europe to Australia to Samoa, App State told nearly 120 Mountaineers to pack their belongings and get home before March 22.

“I was basically outrunning COVID” Puffer had spent almost a month in Florence when the university told her to evacuate.

She was excited to continue her commercial photography and studio

A photo Puffer took of a gondola floating down the Venetian Lagoon. Puffer said she was “basically outrunning COVID” as she tried to evacuate Europe.

Courtesy of Grace Puffer.

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A photo Puffer took of “Ponte Vecchio”, an ancient bridge, standing over the narrowest part of the Arno River that runnings through the heart of Florence. Puffer spent almost a month in Italy studying photography and studio art before App State told her to evacuate due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Courtesy of Grace Puffer art classes at Lorenzo de Medici, a top institution for globetrotting scholars.

She’d been lucky to travel to Italy before. It felt familiar. It felt safe.

App State told her to leave just two days before LDM sent students home. Some of her classmates were called back before she got the news.

But her parents were army rats.

They’d been abroad during variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, a degenerative brain disorder that emerged in the ‘90s in the United Kingdom, acquired from eating meat from cattle affected by mad cow disease. Coronavirus wasn’t going to be an issue.

Little did the Puffers know, the Lombardy region, a few hours away from Florence, would become the first area severely devastated by the virus outside of Asia.

It was time for a back-up plan.

Leaving Europe wasn’t an option yet.

She contacted some family friends in Germany. When App State asked for proof that she was leaving Italy, she sent OIED a picture of her boarding pass to Frankfurt.

Once word got around that App State was sending its students home, friends started reaching out to Puffer.

She broadcasted what was going on in an Instagram story: “It’s fine. I’m working on it,” Puffer said. “I had a breakdown in the Frankfurt airport, and my luggage fell completely apart, but I’m not sick, and I’m working on it.”

After a week in Germany, where she thought she broke free of the virus’ grip, it was time for her to embark on a pre-planned 10-day trek across the continent. She would have eventually met up with her mom in Portugal.

The first stop was Salzburg, Austria. Puffer spent only two days there until her family decided it was best for her to come home –– the virus was beginning to cast its dark shadow across Europe, as COVID-19 infected thousands, and several had died.

Coronavirus had won, and she was going home.

In just a few weeks, Puffer had

I had a breakdown in the Frankfurt airport, and my luggage fell completely apart, but I’m not sick, and I’m working on it. evacuated from Italy, spent a week in Germany, enjoyed a couple of fleeting days in Austria, caught a connecting flight through London to New York, and finally made her way to South Carolina after landing in Charlotte.

“I don’t know what I was on or what someone put in my coffee,” Puffer said.

Puffer drove to Spartanburg to quarantine at her grandparents’ empty house before reuniting with her fam-

ily in Asheville.

During her 14-day isolation, Puffer recovered from all the moving she’d been doing.

“I was basically outrunning COVID,” Puffer said.

She mourned the end of her Italian semester. She felt cheated.

“It was entirely different to have been living just a normal semester full of great, cool, fun study abroad memories and seeing so many people all the time,” Puffer said. “To traveling by myself for two days and then quarantining by myself for two weeks.”

She spent her time in isolation collaging, sketching, going for walks and scrapbooking her “tiny little moment abroad.”

Although ephemeral, her scrapbook-worthy memories of her Florentine experience are aplenty.

Puffer said her warmest memory was taking a Sunday morning solo visit to the Uffizi Gallery. Though tourists flock to the museum for Sandro Boticelli’s famous “Birth of Venus,” Puffer remembers being awestruck by his painting “Primavera.”

She remembers her walks through Florence. She would round the corner from her townhouse and see the “Piazza della Repubblic” and the “Duomo de Firenze.”

Read more online at www.theappalachianonline.com

Sports

Oct. 30, 2020

“The Mayor”

Hannon leads Mountaineers on and off the field

Jayson James | Reporter

As junior running back Daetrich Harrington (#4) scores a touchdown, captain and senior center Noah Hannon (#60) looks for a defender to block. Hannon has started every game at center for the Mountaineers since he arrived on campus.

Andy McLean

As an experienced captain and centerpiece of the App State offensive line, captain and four-year starting center Noah Hannon is often the guy who teammates look to for guidance and answers about football, or just life in general. This helped earn him a nickname.

“Noah is without a doubt ‘The Mayor,’” senior wide receiver Thomas Hennigan said. “He is one of the hardest workers I know, he always has a plan and is one of the most selfless people I have ever met.”

Through middle school and high school, playing college football wasn’t Hannon’s focus.

“I loved playing baseball in high school and thought at one point I would go to college for baseball,” Hannon said.

His goal of being a college baseball player ended after injuring his throwing shoulder during a football game.

After that, Hannon’s goal became playing college football.

Hannon played the quarterback position through eighth grade, and likes to joke that he can still play it, before moving to the offensive line in high school. Hannon played center as a freshman before playing tackle the next three years, starting on the varsity O-line all four years.

After his senior season, Hannon earned an invite to the Shrine Bowl, which is a postseason all-star game between the best high school players in North and South Carolina. Even without any game experience at center for over three years, Hannon played at center in the Shrine Bowl.

Hannon gives his mother credit for helping him hone his skills at the center position.

“We would go out in the yard and she would stand there and clap, and I would snap the ball to her from different distances, just to get in some extra practice and extra reps,” Hannon said.

Parker Collins played offensive guard for App State

for four years, and many of his teammates looked to him as a leader. Collins graduated from App State the spring before Hannon arrived on campus, and coaches were looking for the right guy to step in and fill that position.

“Having that opportunity in front of me made me want to go in and work hard,” Hannon said. “Nothing was given to me, I had to work hard that whole summer in order to tackle that challenge.”

Being a student-athlete can be very overwhelming at times, especially when it comes to balancing being an athlete, classwork, and social life, but Hannon has a simple solution to balance everything: sacrifice.

“Sacrifice is who I am and what I am about. If you come to school and you choose to be just an athlete, you miss out on a huge part of what you have been given,” Hannon said.

While football is a big part of his life, Hannon also understands the importance of making an impact off the field as well.

“I go to Samaritan’s Purse to pick up Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that we as a team fill out, because there are so many people around this world that do not get the same blessings and same opportunities as we get on a daily basis, so I choose, along with my teammates, to go out and be a blessing to them,” Hannon said.

Hannon is a three-time bowl and Sun Belt champion, with a goal to win one more of each by the end of the season. He’s won all-Sun Belt first team, all-Sun Belt second team, and was voted a preseason all-American honorable mention by PFF College this year.

Throughout all of his accomplishments on the field, Hannon knows there is more to life than football.

“I want to be the best at anything and everything in my life, both on the field and off the field,” Hannon said.

“Football is just one of the many ways I look to be successful.”

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Sports

Oct. 30, 2020

game day

Game 5 | Saturday, Oct. 31 | 4 p.m. | ESPNU | Malone Stadium (25% of 30,000) | Monroe, LA

GAME NOTES App State (3-1, 1-0 Sun Belt)

After having big Sun Belt matchups against Louisiana and Georgia Southern postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks on the tea, App State opened conference play last week with a convincing 45-17 win over Arkansas State at Kidd Brewer. The Mountaineers will travel to winless ULM looking to pick up their first Sun Belt road win of the season and move to 2-0 in the conference. Last season, App State blew past the Warhawks 52-7 in Boone. The last time the Mountaineers took the trip to Monroe was in 2017, and Scott Satterfield’s last team at App State lost a shootout 52-45. The Mountaineers are 4-1 all-time against the Warhawks.

ULM (0-6, 0-3 Sun Belt)

1,000TH GAME IN APP STATE PROGRAM HISTORY

ELITE MOUNTAINEER DEFENSE

QB ZAC THOMAS FRESH OFF BEST GAME OF 2020

After holding the high-powered Arkansas State offense to 17 points in last week’s win, look for the App State defense to have another strong showing against a ULM team averaging less than two touchdowns per game in 2020. In the last three seasons, only three teams in the country have held Arkansas State under 20 points in a game: Alabama, Georgia and App State, who has done it twice. The App State defense is tied for first in the nation with 7.5 passes defended per game. The Mountaineers are also holding opponents to a 44.8 completion percentage, which ranks second lowest in the country.

Since taking the field for the first time in 1928, the Mountaineers have a current record of 632-339-28 through 999 games.

This is the 91st season of App State football, and it’s the seventh FBS season the Mountaineers have competed in since moving up from the Southern Conference to the Sun Belt in 2014. Through their last 50 Sun Belt games, the Mountaineers are 45-5.

In the win against Arkansas State, Thomas tied his career high with four passing touchdowns and rushed for another on a 60-yard third down scramble. The preseason Sun Belt offensive player of the year completed 16-of-23 passes for 216 yards and rushed seven times for a season-high 82 yards. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Christian Wells also broke out against the Red Wolves, catching three passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas and the Mountaineer offense will look to capitalize off the momentum and pick up their first road win of the year.

Points Per Game

34.75 Points Allowed Per Game

18.75 Passing Yards Per Game

204.75 Rushing Yards Per Game

278.3

PLAYER TO WATCH Daetrich Harrington JUNIOR RUNNING BACK In last week’s win against Arkansas State, Harrington was the most efficient of App State’s running back trio, including himself, senior Marcus Williams Jr. and sophomore Camerun Peoples, who have been sharing snaps for most of the season. Harrington rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against the Red Wolves, while Williams Jr. rushed once for 53 yards but lost a fumble on the play, and Peoples totaled 21 yards on 12 carries.

Harrington leads the Mountaineers with 438 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 2020. His seven touchdowns rank 10th in FBS and first in the Sun Belt. After his 211-yard, four-touchdown performance against Campbell Sept. 26, Harrington is one of four players in FBS to score four rushing touchdowns in one game.

Through six games, ULM has had trouble stopping opposing run games, allowing 246.3 rushing yards per game. With Harrington looking poised to take over as the Mountaineers’ feature back, expect him to continue his strong play against the porous Warhawks defense on Saturday.

Points Per Game

13.5 Points Allowed Per Game

36.5 Passing Yards Per Game

243.67 Rushing Yards Per Game

63.2

Sports

Oct. 30, 2020

App State women’s soccer gets revenge against Coastal Carolina on senior night

app state golf coach navigates transition from the basketball court to the golf course

Jhyrah DeLapp | Reporter

Cameron Burnett | Reporter

App State women’s soccer ended its season with a 1-0 win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Oct. 25, finishing the regular season at 4-81 overall and fourth out of six in the Sun Belt East Division.

Earlier this year on Oct. 4, the Mountaineers suffered a 1-0 loss at Coastal Carolina in the last minute of the second overtime period. In the loss, App State was missing its leading scorer, senior forward Mary Perkins due to contact tracing from a positive COVID-19 test.

“They always say, ‘Make your presence known, but make your absences felt,’ and I would say if anything, Mary’s absence was absolutely felt every minute she wasn’t around the team,” head coach Sarah Strickland said. “Especially in that game, the way Coastal plays, and the way their midfield shape is, it’s a game that Mary’s gonna be very successful in.”

The rematch on senior night was similar to the first match, with sophomore midfielder Hayley Boyles scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute after her shot ricocheted off a Coastal Carolina defender into the net. Sophomore goalie Kerry Eagleston tallied six saves en route to her fifth shutout of the year. One of her six saves was from a penalty kick in the 16th minute.

Showing the team’s aggressiveness in this game, App State recorded 12 total shots with eight in the second half. Out of App State’s 12 shots, three were on goal.

“That’s how we have to be in the box. You got to hunt the ball down,” Perkins said.

While quarantining because of contact tracing, Perkins missed five games out of App’s 13 total in the regular season. She said the news was hard to believe when she found out

After the the spring season was cut short for App State’s men’s golf team, head coach Danny Forshey resigned. Now, the program has a new interim coach: Jason Allison.

App State Athletic Director Doug Gillin reached out to Jason Allison, who was then an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team, and had been for six years. Allison has history as a head golf coach at both LeesMcRae College and King College.

Allison took the job in June and immediately reached out to players and began bringing them together as a team in a sport based on individual scoring.

“I try to bring the team concept to the whole thing,” Allison said. “That’s the difference … the team was ranked 27th according to Golfweek, it wasn’t one individual, it was our team.”

Having a history of coaching basketball at App State, some of the strategies Allison used have transitioned into his position with the golf team.

“We’re having a unique program this year. We’re separated into two groups, and like in basketball, we play each other in matches,” junior Timothius Tirto Tamardi said. “Every time we play each other, we gain a point, and it’s building the team effort and being a part of the team so you have to be responsible for helping your team win.”

When Allison joined the basketball staff, he was a part of a team that wasn’t accustomed to much winning.

Senior midfielder/forward Tess Cairney holds off a defender during App State’s 1-0 loss to Georgia Southern Oct. 11. Cairney and the Mountaineers ended their regular season on a high note, knocking off Coastal Carolina 1-0 Oct. 25 on Senior Day. Andy McLean she couldn’t play.

“Then, it set in that it was real, and I just thought, ‘OK, how do we use the next two weeks to make sure that I don’t miss any more time than I need to?’” Perkins said. “Two weeks for a soccer player to be stuck inside is a lot of time off.”

App State’s young roster, consisting of eleven freshmen and six sophomores, went 1-3-1 during the span of Perkins’ absence. As a leader of the team, Perkins took it upon herself to mentor her younger teammates as she prepares to graduate and leave the team.

“The best thing I can do, as being on a younger team as one of the older girls, is to set an example of what being a good teammate is and being able to switch on and compete whenever you can,” Perkins said. “I think as a leader, just trying to show them how

important it is to compete when they step onto the field on game day.”

Perkins, along with fellow seniors Amber Anderson and Tess Cairney, were honored with senior night celebrations before the game.

Strickland said Perkins’ leadership is an important part of the team, and the Mountaineers will miss her locker room presence after graduation.

“I think that the respect they have for her and what she gets out of people is something that is an intangible thing,” Strickland said. “It’s really hard to replace.”

Now done with the regular season, the Mountaineers will have a week and a half to prepare for the Sun Belt Conference tournament, which starts Nov. 4 and goes through Nov. 8 in Foley, Alabama.

After last year’s 18 wins, the most in a decade, the basketball program seems to be on the right track, Allison says.

“I feel like I helped in some way to establish the program and help get App State basketball back on track and to respectable grounds,” Allison said.

During this first fall season as the head golf coach, Allison has led the team to three top-three finishes, and he says the team is proud but not yet satisfied.

“We’re looking to pull off a win or two and finish higher. The guys know they have the ability to do it, and it’s just getting the five or six on the same page and having a great weekend,” Allison said.

Although winning is at the forefront, Allison believes it’s only a small part of his job as a coach, and he wants to have a lasting impact on his players on and off the course.

“You hope that you can impact lives in a positive manner and for 15 to 18 years as a basketball coach, giving away a full scholarship and changing someone’s lives for the better was very important,” Allison said. “We get into coaching for competition, but we get into it to be around people and to help other people. That’s the way I look at it.”

In just under four months, Allison has already created a great relationship with his players, especially Tamardi.

Read more online at www.theappalachianonline.com

He’s kind of like a father to all of us because he cares about our grades, manners and ethics off the course.

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Opinion

Oct. 30, 2020

caleb’s

CONCEPTS A critique of statistical reasoning Caleb Garbuio | Opinion Editor Here’s a joke: what is two plus two? To a mathematician, the answer is clearly four. However, to a statistician the answer is between 3.99 and 4.01, while the accountant makes it whatever you want it to be. This comical joke illustrates an uncomfortable truth about numerical and statistical evidence: it is not absolute.

In our everyday lives we are bombarded with data on how we should live. For example, the Brookings Institution ranks universities based on their median starting salary of graduates and within 10 years of graduation. This “empirical” reality aims to inform prospective students and their families, helping them choose their universities wisely. It is no secret that Ivy League graduates earn higher starting salaries than non-Ivy alumni. Based on raw data, Ivy Leagues guarantee success, compared to other universities. Therefore, Ivy Leagues are better schools.

This conclusion is built on the idea that universities, and not the students, are responsible for economic success. Yet, researchers that prove empirically that Ivy schools often overlook a question challenging their assumptions: what happens if a Harvard student opted to attend a less-prestigious institution? Economists Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale looked at the data to find answers.

They found the impact of an Ivy League education is often reduced when accounting for other factors, such as GPA and SAT scores.

To put it simply, Ivy League universities attract the students who make exceptionally-high test scores, therefore giving the impression that the higher wages are a product of the university versus the student.

This error in statistics is known as omitted variable bias, which makes significant re-

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sults greater than they actually are. Think about it, many variables that seek to answer a question often are related to each other. For example, think about wage growth: there is a high correlation between wage growth and years of experience. More-experienced workers typically earn more than less-experienced workers. In this model, there is a significant difference between workers that have experience and workers that do not. However, experience alone cannot explain all the differences in wages. So, we add variables to the equation, such as productivity. Productivity and experience are highly correlated as well. So, the experience’s impact is drastically reduced if productivity is included within the model. Therefore, productivity is a better predictor for future wage growth, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

However, this conclusion has been disputed in recent years because some metrics suggest that wages have not kept pace with productivity, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The point here is not to determine the causality of productivity and higher wages, but to highlight the power of omitted variable bias.

Ultimately, the goal of statistical reasoning is to make predictions based on the available data. One such method is the Ordinary Least Squares, which aims to minimize the difference between different data points. This method reduces the difference between data and gives a simple equation where you input a certain amount number and receive a certain number. For example, to determine the effect poverty has on crime, we would regress crime levels on income. This would result in an equation seeking to explain the variation in the data.

However, most simple models cannot accurately predict all the data’s variation. This is called

the R-squared or the difference between a perfect relationship depicted as one and the residuals of the model. The higher the R-squared the better the prediction, while a perfect R-squared is equal to one. Yet, there are rarely any relationships that are actually perfect. Take for example, the link between cigarette smoking and cancer. These variables are highly correlated, but not perfectly correlated and cannot with 100% certainty be said to cause cancer. In other words, not everyone that smokes will have cancer. Think about it, maybe you’ve heard of someone’s grandparent that smokes a pack a day and is still kicking it at 90. These people are known as outliers and cause mayhem to otherwise-sound models. Does that mean we should ignore the model? Absolutely not. Rather, we should use statistics as a general rule versus an objective and unchanging truth.

The goal of statistics is to make inferences on people based on available data. It is impossible for statisticians to accurately depict an entire group of people. Rather, they rely on random sampling within that group to make generalizations about the entire population. Obviously, the more people sampled, the better the results and the closer a sample gets to infinite, the more accurate the results are.

In his treatise Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant dissects this claim and proves its ridiculousness. Think about it: do you need to flip a coin an infinite amount of times to realize that its probability of landing tails is 50%?

You don’t, and you don’t need an infinite sample to reasonably assume the probability of a population. However, you can never assume that your data is perfect. Rather, it is conditional on degrees of confidence or the likelihood of obtaining results, should we draw a sample

from another population. The more confident we are about our sampling, the greater the likelihood of obtaining the same results from another randomly selected sample.

In other words, the results returned from any analysis are subject to constraints, or how likely it is that the results are accurate. Most statistically-inclined people, namely economists and statisticians, will tell you that we should only look at results that have confidence intervals of 90% or above. The greater the confidence interval, the greater the result’s accuracy.

However, not every statistically significant variable has any significant effect. Therefore, results must be both statistically significant and have a significant effect to have discernible impact.

So what does this mean? Statistics should never be treated as an “objective” source of information, like mathematics. Rather, they are tools to summarize complicated problems in understandable ways. They should never be treated like mathematics –– where there are clearly defined right and wrong answers –– rather, it is a tool that should be used to explore complicated problems that do not have right and wrong answers.

The beauty of statistical reasoning is that it is falsifiable, which according to philosopher Karl Popper, makes it scientifically sound. However, unlike mathematics, statistical reasoning is not absolute, which makes its practitioners prone to bias. One such bias is motivated reasoning where statistics are used to empirically verify deep seated beliefs that researchers have.

Therefore, take great care to avoid jumping to conclusions automatically. There are many factors to consider.

Et Cetera

Oct. 30, 2020

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