The Captain's Log Vol. 47 Issue 22

The Captain’s Log THE VOICE OF CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS @CNUCAPTAINSLOG

W W W.T H E C A P T A I N S LO G . O R G

VOLUME 47, ISSUE 22

APRIL 6, 2016

S.S. Senior

Not all on board with leadership

204

The number of those freshmen who graduated as members of the leadership program in 2015. illustration by chris whitehurst/the captain’s log

59%

The percentage of class of 2015 PLP students who stayed with the program for four years after joining in 2011 staff reports Clog@cnu.edu

S.S. Freshman

346

CNU’s President’s Leadership Program started as a 20-person experiment in 1998 and has grown into one of the main selling points of CNU. The class of 2019 consists of 400 members of PLP, a 1,000 percent increase since the first class of leadership students.

But bigger is not always better.

Similar to CNU’s current freshman class, the class of 2015, which came to CNU in 2011, had 346 students in the leadership program.

Only 204 of its members walked across the stage in front of Newport Hall as members of the leadership program last May, said CNU Director of Public Relations Lori Jacobs in an email.

Jacobs added that the retention rate for PLP students in the class of 2015 was 59 percent. The overall graduation rate that year was higher than 70 percent, the highest in CNU history, according to University President Paul Trible.

The number of freshmen who entered CNU in 2011 as members of the President’s Leadership Program. illustration by chris whitehurst/the captain’s log

leadership continued on page 4

Whatever it takes to get the job done

Part 3: Juanita Staton performs her job while handling issues with her health and problems in her personal life. by lydia johnson lydia.johnson.13@cnu.edu

Junita Staton, a housekeeper in the Trible Library. This story is the third in a three-part series on Ms. Juanita. We left off with Ms. Juanita dealing with the injuries she suffered after being in a bus accident. Her doctor recommended a hip replacement, which she did not want to undergo.

Her job is more physical than the title implies. On an average day, she dusts the cubbies and tables in the library and starts vacuuming the carpet at 6 a.m. She un-propped the vacuum with her foot and flipped the switch.

The vacuum whirred as the brush spun across the carpet. She pushed and pulled, in and out, forward and backward—the constant, rhythmic hum of the machine is enchanting. juanita continued on page 3

Juanita Staton struggles with physical and emotional trials but continues to work with a smile. lydia johnson/ The Captain’s Log

Check out our video on our FACEBOOK PAGE covering the Intercultural Festival hosted by CAB, SDEC and the Office of Student Activities. The event allowed students to explore food and music of other cultures.

PAGE 2 Weekly pic Sam Nicely and Will Libby perform Panic! At the Disco’s song “Hallelujah” at Trebled Youth’s spring concert on April 3. The concert, which the a cappella group hosted in the Pope Chapel, was fittingly called Treble! At the Disco. Photo by Ben Leistensnider/The Captain’s Log

Online this week

Happened

Happening

Check out these stories on our social media and website.

April 1 Conference on Islam and Islamaphobia Friday, in Freeman 201, the Arabic Club sponsored a question and answer session to shed some light on questions concerning Islam and Islamaphobia in response to the recent attacks around the world.

April 7 China on the World Stage At 6 p.m. in McMurran Hall, Room 101, the CNU Center For American Studies and the Reiff Center present this talk on ‘Understanding China’s Military Rise & Human Rights Record,’ featuring Dr. Larry Wortzel and Dr. Yawei Liu.

Intercultural Festival CNU TV captured the highlights of the Intercultural Festival, which showcased food, activities and performances from around the world.

Student Assembly Voter Turnout Student Assembly’s executive board elections experienced lower voter turnout than previous years. Find out why on our website.

Captain’s Log Snapchat Scan this image to add us on Snapchat!

Follow our updates, watch us behind the scenes in the newsroom, and keep up with commentary on campus life.

Corrections In “A night of student art and entrepreneurship,” the graphic was designed by Jack Hurley, but was attributed to Chester Porter.

April 1 Belly Dancing Night with E.A.S.T. Friday E.A.S.T. hosted a cultural evening event which was sponsored by S.D.E.C in Freeman 202.

It began with a belly dancing performance, then transitioned into a dancing class. Free authentic Indian food was served.

April 5 Young Democrats versus College Republicans At 7 p.m. in the Gaines Theatre, with the political climate higher than it has been in recent years, CNU’s political student organizations came together to debate each others’ platform issues.

April 5 Deaf Jam: Film Screening Yesterday in the Music and Theater Hall, as part of the On Screen/In Person Film Series, director Judy Lieff came to attend and discuss the screening of her fim, “Deaf Jam,” a story of a deaf Israeli immigrant who connects with a Palestinian slam poet, and transcends divisions with poetry.

The Captain’s Log Staff 2015-2016 Josh Reyes Editor-in-chief Melanie Occhiuzzo Assistant Opinions Editor Jack Jacobs News Editor Madeline Monroe Assistant News Editor Ben Leistensnider Sports Editor Bethany Pyle Lifestyle Editor Victoria Lurie A&E Editor Katherine Gittman Assistant A&E Editor Kelsey Berg Digital Content Editor

Faris Sleem Co-Digital Content Editor Chris Whitehurst Creative Director Macy Friend Photography Editor Sarah Martin Copy Editor Collin Brennan CNUTV Editor Jacob Hudson CNUTV Assistant Editor Kelsey Schnoebelen Marketing Director Brandon Hubbard Business Manager Terry Lee Faculty Advisor

April 7 Night of Homelessness From 7-9 p.m. in the Trible Plaza, Social Work Association invites students to join them in this yearly event to spread awareness of homelessness. All proceeds will be donated to Faces of Joy, Inc. April 7 Drag Ball “Queens in Space!”

7:30-11 p.m. in the DSU Ballroom, Spectrum will hold its 11th annual Drag Ball. Professional drag queens from the Virginia area will perform as well as amateur CNU student performances. Money raised will be donated to Access AIDS. April 9 CAB Presents... COLORlympics From 1-4 p.m. on the JR Fields behind James River Hall, CAB will host an afternoon full of color-infused activities. Sign up with a team of 6-8 people from 12-2 p.m. in the DSU. White clothing is encouraged.

THE CAPTAIN’S LOG is the official student newspaper of Christopher Newport University. It is a public forum, which is published Wednesdays throughout the academic year.

THE EDITOR welcomes letters from readers. Editors reserve the right to edit letters for length and AP style, as well as to refuse publication. An email with a “.doc” attachment is preferable. Reach us through: - Email: clog@cnu.edu - Drop off: The Captain’s Log newsroom, DSU Suite 393 Join the staff The Captain’s Log is always open to students who are interested in writing, photography and editing. Editors assign stories every Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Jefferson Room of the DSU. want to advertise? Circulation inquiries, advertising rates and policies are available upon request via email at clog@cnu.edu or telephone at (757) 594-7196. For more information, visit our website at thecaptainslog.org.

FROM THE FRONT PAGE

Whatever it takes to get the job done Juanita Staton still wears her engagement ring as she strives to overcome the trials she experienced in her marriage.

Juanita continued From page 1

She moved with speed and grace, almost like she was dancing a jig. Juanita and her vacuum escort chair after chair through their dance, moving them out of the way as the vacuum glides through the performance. There’s no hitch, no sign of a stroke or hip contusion or spinal cord damage, but she completes this task—and all her other tasks—daily while dealing with her injury. “You don’t let the job work you. You work the job,” she had told me.

Juanita goes to physical therapy and sees an orthopedic doctor for her injury. “My right leg sometimes gives out on me because of the nervous system. I try not to let it bother me.”

Juanita giggled as she remembered her first encounter with Abe Staton, her second husband.

“I met him at the CasBar on Shell Road,” she said. “He had come in there every Friday.

I was a bartender there. He would order food and he would tip me good.” She raised her eyebrows and chuckled.

“He seemed like a nice guy.”

Juanita and Abe dated for nine years before they married on Jan. 21, 2008—the same year Juanita had her stroke. Abe spent six years in the army, and they released him on honorable discharge for medical reasons. She’s unsure what the exact reason was behind his release; he never wanted to talk to her about it.

“He’s a quiet person, very quiet,” she said.

“It seems like when I wanted to have a conversation, he wasn’t willing to talk. He’s afraid that I’ll hurt him.” These communication problems continued to plague their marriage and the couple eventually separated.

One evening after they split, Juanita decided to visit Abe. “I went there to go check on him,” she said. “I was still doin’ the wifely duty.”

It was pouring rain when she arrived at Abe’s one-story house off Westwood Avenue.

She approached the yellow house, protecting herself with an umbrella as rain trickled around her. She got out her key to open the front door. But the knob would not turn. She only tried it once before she walked to the back of the house, umbrella still in hand. She attempted to unlock the back door. Nothing happened.

“He had changed the locks,” Juanita said, a crease forming between her eyebrows. “It felt like he took a knife and just stabbed me.” She made a cutting sound with her mouth and motioned as if she’s jabbing an invisible knife into her heart.

On the hand she pretended to stab herself with, she still wears her engagement ring, a marquis-shaped diamond with a gold band.

Juanita was left with a broken heart.

“You changed the locks, so that told me you didn’t want to be bothered with,” she said, addressing a husband who wasn’t there.

All of Juanita’s clothes were still inside when Abe locked her out of the house.

Later that night, Juanita’s brother-in-law brought Abe to the house. He unlocked the door so Juanita could retrieve her things.

She didn’t speak to her husband and shook her head furiously while recalling that day. “I just took my clothes and my personal papers and walked out.”

The day Abe changed the locks, Juanita stayed in a boarding house. She remained there from Aug. 14 until Oct. 29, 2015.

From the boarding house she moved into a five-bedroom home. “Not a twobedroom, not a three-bedroom, but a fivebedroom!” she said. Eager to share, Juanita listed the various features of her new house: a den, a dining room, a fireplace, a front yard, a backyard, an alarm system, a new dog and—in her words—a prayer room for “peace of mind.”

“What more would I ask for? That’s good enough for me!” Juanita said with a laugh. Even after everything that’s happened with Abe, Juanita still calls him and checks on him.

“If he needs me to come over there and do anything, I’ll do it,” she said.

W hen asked why she still keeps up wit h Abe, Juanita becomes a school girl—maybe the age of the students in the library she maintains. There’s no sign of a stroke, nerve damage, weak hips, work fatigue, life fatigue or broken hearts.

She grins sheepishly in response to the question. “Cause I still love him. I love him from a distance.” n

(Top) Juanita Staton performs one of her many duties as a housekeeper in the Trible Library. (Bottom) Even though she is separated from her husband, Abe, she still wears the engagement ring he gave her every day.

Lydia Johnson/The captain’s Log

This story on Ms. Juanita is the final piece in a three-part series. The first two segments were published in the last two issues. The online version of the story contains the three parts combined. Find the story featured at the top of our homepage on thecaptainslog.org.

NEWS

Page 4

story Not all on board with leadership PLP hits a snag Students in PLP have mixed feelings about its value, with some declare it lacks obvious applications. leadership continued from page 1

The PLP experience Brian Larson, the former director of PLP and a current assistant dean of students, described merits of and issues with the program. He highlighted that PLP is a source of pride for the university and attracts the best students to CNU and offers them leadership training once they arrive on campus. But despite the fanfare surrounding the program, he acknowledged that PLP is never meant to be the forefront of a student’s li fe ; it’s si mply meant to enhance the college experience.

“I think maybe we need to do a better job of setting [students’] expectations” of the program as they apply to join, said Larson. “I’m okay with the fact that it’s not the central focus.”

“We conceive of LDSP studies as being at least consistent, if not a fundamental, part of a liberal education,” Cusher said.

According to Katie Johnston, a 2008 PLP alumna now working as associate director for PLP, the program hasn’t changed much since her time as a student. Her classes had roughly the same concepts, the summer orientation involved a ropes course, and the speaker series was a cornerstone of the program. With a smaller class size, Johnston said she was able to take many of her PLP courses with the same students, and formed a close bond with her peers.

Jumping ship But not all are on board with PLP. Senior Nicole Beckman the classes were more busy work than substance.

“It got to the point where I not only did not enjoy the classes, I hated the

year echoed Beckman’s sentiments and said, “Dealing with nothing but theories is kind of useless for me.”

He chose to leave the program after realizing he would need to take two semesters with 18 credit hours to graduate in May 2016.

He also said, “I never was that proud to be in it; it kind of was a pain.”

Positive sentiments Other students praised the program.

“Leadership is obviously so interdisciplinary, you can apply it to so many things,” said junior Sidney Intolubbe Thomas, who switched her major to sociology after her positive experience in leadership classes. “I don’t think any job would not benefit from it,” she said.

Sophomore Lindsay Charters said, “It’s what you make of it,” and that students need to stick it out beyond the first couple of classes.

She added that she frequently saw connections between leadership and other liberal arts courses.

Johnston said, “one of the biggest benefits of the program is the staff

The Class of 2019 1,225 students

The most recent class of PLP graduates had a program retention rate of 59 percent. chris whitehurst/the captain’s log

St udent s i n t he prog r a m a r e selected based on an application submitted during their senior year of high school. Those admitted to the program receive a scholarship and class and housing registration benefits, as long as they stay in the program and live on campus. PLP incorporates an academic minor and extra-curricular activities such as mandatory speakers, campus involvement, service and higher behavioral standards.

Assistant Professor of Leadership Dr. Brent Cusher said the minor has several practical purposes. “I think that it’s understandable to say that regardless of what situation you put yourself in, you’ll be confronted with the need to be a leader or a follower or both,” he said. Cusher said he hopes the classes will raise awareness of leadership opportunities beyond the classroom.

He stressed the theoretica l of studying leadership academically.

classes,” said Beckman, who dropped t he prog ra m a nd t he mi nor her junior year because she began to feel like she was losing money by taking classes she did not care about, despite receiving a scholarship.

One issue she found was the curriculum was too focused on theory rather than application. “I’d be sitting in class thinking about how useless this would be. If I’m leading a group of people, I wouldn’t be thinking, ‘I should use this theory in this way,’” she said.

She also didn’t feel support from the administrative office. Beckman said an aspect of the program advertised while she applied was the PLP advisor relationship. Beckman’s advisor left CNU after one year, and Beckman was never assigned a new one.

“That was so off putting because I remember them advertising a great relationship,” Beckman said.

Senior Nick Cedor, who dropped the program and minor his junior

members,” as they serve as a campus networking resource and a support system. However, it takes a couple meetings to get a student to build that connection, Johnson said.

Intolubbe Thomas cultivated a close relationship with her staff guide each year, to the point where her staff guides encouraged her to apply to be a Summer Leadership Adventure Program Facilitator, which is an orientation leader position for PLP students.

Charters said students have the opportunity to give feedback in the PLP end-of-year reports, if they have either praise or suggestions.

In January, the PLP staff sent an email to students encouraging them to communicate their thoughts on the program.

“Change doesn’t happen just by filling out a survey-- We need a dialogue,” the email said. n Staff members who reported on this story are also members of PLP.

Slow release of data stalled newspaper’s PLP coverage By melanie occhiuzzo melanie.occhiuzzo.13@cnu.edu

The Captain’s Log planned to publish a story about the President’s Leadership Program on March 30 but was unable because key information wasn’t released in time for publication, an occurrence The Captain’s Log editor-in-chief considers troubling given the previous speed the newspaper usually receives information.

The story sought to explore the retention rate of PLP students in the class of 2015 and provide a holistic overview of the program’s purpose and value among students, faculty and staff.

Freshman reporter Rachel Wagner, who repor ted on the stor y, said she intended to write a balanced article that treated the program fairly. Wagner is a member of PLP. Wagner submitted an email to Lori Jacobs, university spokesperson, on March 15 and again on March 25 after receiving no word, requesting an interview with Stuart Farrand, coordinator for student success and engagement in the PLP office, and asking for crucial statistics on PLP that were needed to make the article valid. She did not receive any answer to the latter question but was directed to the PLP office to get the answers she needed. Jacobs responded on March 25 and Farrand responded on March 28. By March 29 they had a response.

Senior Josh Reyes, editor-in- chief, wanted the PLP story to publish in the March 30 due to the high volume of prospective freshmen and parents on campus, a section of the readership that would be particularity interested in reporting on PLP. He felt that this was a strong piece that showed The Captain’s Log reported on real issues facing the campus. Reyes is also a member of PLP. “We knew it was a good issue and a good cover and we were excited to get it out during admitted freshman week.”

Reyes said. The PLP story was intended to run on the cover of the issue.

The PLP office had the statistic by its deadline, 10 a.m. on March 29 but needed to send the number through university spokesperson Lori Jacobs before they could clear it for print, according to Farrand.

However, the public relations office was unable to approve the number before deadline and sent it on Thursday, March 31.

“Although PLP did provide data in response to the request, it needed to be verified by Institutional Research, and this took some time,” Jacobs said in an email.

Reyes said the time it took to verify the number before deadline was unusual because The Captain’s Log staff generally receives information from university public relations quickly, even on Tuesdays when the print edition of The Captain’s Log is being finalized.

“For something so simple the amount of time seemed odd to us,” Reyes said. n

w e d n e s d a y, a p r i l 6 , 2 0 1 6 | n e w s | j a c k j a c o b s | P a g e 5

SDEC gets a seat at the table

The University Council on Diversity and Inclusion includes students and faculty among its members.

The new diversity organization had its first meeting on Feb. 12. jack jacobs/the captain’s log

University officials installed SDEC on the University Council on Diversity and Inclusion after failing to include the group initially.

By LYDIA JOHNSON lydia.JOHNSON.13@cnu.edu

The Student Diversity and Equ a l it y C ou nci l h a s b e en added to the University Council on Diversity and Inclusion after SDEC protested its exclusion from the committee.

SDEC joined the council on March 28 after University President Paul Trible and Dean of Students Kevin Hughes recognized SDEC’s role in representing student diversity. Hughes admitted the council made an unintentional oversight by not including SDEC. “We want[ed] to get this thing moving,” Hughes said. “We felt like we had some things we wanted to address. We didn’t want to wait any longer.”

Hughes said CNU formed the council to broaden the focus of diversity to faculty and staff and not just university students. The council held its first meeting on Feb. 12.

Trible sent an email informing the CNU community about the new council on March 23.

The council consists of administrators, students and board of visitors members.

A p o r t i o n o f T r i bl e ’s announcement to the university reads, “We want all people to feel welcomed, honored and fully engaged in the life of our academic community.”

Quinton Pace, president of SDEC, said SDEC had no prior knowledge about the council until it received the email.

“We were a little shocked,” said Pace.

SDEC sent a letter to Trible on March 25 requesting ways to get involved in the council.

Pace said Trible responded to SDEC within a few hours, leading to a meeting between Trible, Hughes and SDEC on March 28.

Trible and Hughes decided to add SDEC to the council during the meeting. Pace said SDEC and administration are now working to unify their efforts on campus diversity and inclusion.

Pace said he felt that the council would have reached out to SDEC sometime in April to join the council had SDEC’s letter not been sent.

Dean Hughes described the council as an evolving process.

“I don’t think there’s any plan to say ‘We need to add this group in two months’ and ‘this group in six months.’ That’s not how it was working,” Hughes said.

Pace said he feels administration has recognized the important piece SDEC adds to the council.

“They’re not here with our students, and that’s the biggest thing,” Pace said, in reference to administration’s assessment of campus diversity and inclusion.

“We’re actually here talking to our peers and you’re making policy for our peers,” Pace said.

The council is an expansion of CNU’s Minority Task Force,

which focused on recruiting minority students. Hughes said Trible has been talking about expanding the Minority Task Force since fall 2015.

A s si s t a nt D i r e c t or for Diversit y I nitiatives Ben Cow man wi l l present his work on diversity and inclusion at the council’s next meeting. Hughes said the counci l’s next meeti ng is expected to take place during the week of April 11. An official date has not yet been chosen.

Though he is not on the council, Cowman said he is excited about its formation.

“This is an important and positive step for our campus community as we seek to foster a campus climate of care and inclusion, Cowman said in an email.

Hu g h e s s a i d a lt h o u g h Cowman is not an official council member, he will present at council meetings on a case-by-case basis.

SDEC ’s re c ent proje c t s include the implementation of 21 all-gender restrooms t h r ou g h out c a mp u s a n d efforts to bring gender-neutral housing options to CNU. Pace said the council’s next meeting will take place April 14. n

The idea behind the IDEAs While seen as a chore by some students, IDEAs provide guidance to improve classes.

By Kelly nicholas kelly.nicholas.14@cnu.edu

Student feedback is key to improving the academic experienc e at CN U, t hou g h t he process is plag ued by some problems.

Accordi ng to CN U’s web site, the IDEA, or Individual Development and Educational Assessment, is used to asses course instruction through student feedback. It is provided by an outside, nonprofit organization whose goal is to help faculty through targeted research, according to ideaedu.org. CNU pays for the service.

Professors try to relay the importance of the IDEAs to students for the benefit of the student and the teacher. High participation rates offer validity for the responses so that professors can alter their curriculum for future classes.

Assistant Professor of English Dr. Anna Teekell has taught at CNU for two semesters, but has worked at other colleges that use similar student feedback assessments. She believes that participation rates would be higher if the assessment was administered on paper, because paper assessments can be proctored in class.

“It’s unethical to incentivize, but usually students tend to fill them out if they really like you or they really don’t. You can get pretty invalid results because the neutral person is not incentivized,” she said.

CNU previously administered paper assessments in class that would be collected and assessed by t he I DE A c ompa ny, but switched to online assessments for easier data collection.

Associate P rofessor of Finance and Economics Dr. T homas Ha l l has t aught at CN U for 10 years. He gives time in class for students to complete the IDEA on their smar tphones to maintain a completion rate of above 8 0

percent. Previously, the IDEA results included information regarding the validity of the results based on the number of participants. According to Hall, this information is not included on the current IDEA result forms because they were negatively impacting professor evaluations.

Hall said participation and validity is important because student feedback plays a large role for professors.

“Professors have to get the feel of the students to be successful,” he said.

Hall has experienced emotional responses in the comment section, but he said those are individual cases. “Some people just go crazy, but we need to absorb the good and the bad. You can’t let that affect the way you see students in general,” he said.

C h e m i s t r y L e c t u r e r D r.

Dmitry Liskin has been at CNU for four years. He emphasized the need for constructive criticism in the written comments section. “ T h e r e ’s n o n e e d t o b e emotional about it, but when responses a re emotiona l, whether constructive or not, they do stil l ef fect my wel l being. It’s unfortunate but we take it to heart,” he said.

Liskin said I DEAs are administered too early in the semester, and Teekell thinks they should be given during the last two weeks of class.

“A lot of students are still in the dark as to where they’ll end up right now. At the end of the semester students are more rational since they have a better sense of their final grade,” Liskin said.

Professors utilize the IDEAs to benefit the students. Teekell said, “we have to know if what and how we [teach] working, so that your classes will be better.”

Students are able to complete IDEAs until April 8. n

Professors said the efficacy of IDEAs suffers from a low completion rate and due to the time period during which they are administered illustration by jack jacobs/the captains log

OPINIONS

“The Captain’s Log is free to write anything it pleases, and CNU fully respects the Freedom of the press.”

Page 6

CNU President Paul Trible

Shun reluctance to engage other perspectives Reading literature by non-American authors offers ample opportunity to learn from other worldviews.

One of the primary values of diversity is its ability to enrich you intellectually.

There’s no better way to have a well-rounded outlook on life than to talk to jack jacobs people that posnews editor sess different perspectives.

Of course, nothing can beat actually sitting down and talking to someone different than yourself, but there’s a decent substitute just a bookcase away.

It’s an often-repeated axiom that books are windows to other worlds. Not only can books take you back and forth in time, and to the other side of the earth or even Middle Earth, but they also can take you into the minds of a multitude of characters with a multitude of perspectives.

I’ve been aware of this power of literature, but I never truly appreciated it until I discovered the works of Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid, specifically his 2007 novel “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” a book I first

read a few years ago and one I consider one of the most illuminating reads I’ve ever experienced.

“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” traces the life of a young Pakistani man named Changez as he comes to detest the United States in the early 2000s.

The novel is noteworthy because of its insight into how perspective influences a person’s understanding of current events and history, providing an example of how the American narrative isn’t the only narrative when it comes to explaining the world.

A particular moment that stuck out to me during the novel is when Changez admits he felt a certain satisfaction when he heard of the 9/11 attacks.

Understandably, this statement is an incensing one in the United States and often attributed to Islamic fundamentalists. However, Changez isn’t some caricature of an Islamist fundamentalist; he’s a conflicted young man I found relatable.

He is a Princeton graduate who works in a successful American financial consultancy firm, and he feels a great deal of gratitude towards the United States. However, this gratitude clashed with his realization over time that American ideals like democracy and human rights were at odds with Ameri-

can imperialism and global domination.

This realization wears on him in tandem with feelings that he betrayed his native Pakistan by working as part of the American economic machine.

As such, when Changez appears to feel there’s a sense of justice that a symbol of American economic hegemony is destroyed, I couldn’t help but feel like I understood where he was coming from, despite how I may feel personally about his opinion. For me, 9/11 was an atrocity that ushered in a new age of terrorism, warfare and a struggle in our national dialogue between safety and staying true to our values that will continue for the rest of my life. For Changez, and some other reasonable people across the world, 9/11 was the almost fated result of the United States’ history of colonialism and bellicose interactions with the world.

Less dramatic, but still fascinating were Changez’s references to the histories of the Eastern and Western worlds. These comments came about in the framing device of the novel—a conversation between Changez and an unnamed American in a Lahore café.

Changez takes a break from recounting the novel’s main narrative to mention every now and again how both the United States and Pakistan were English colonies, how the Indian subcontinent has hosted massive and advanced civilizations for thousands of years and how ugly chapters have marred the United States’ brief history at times.

While minor in the grand scheme of the novel, these comments revealed to me the commonalities that unite disparate cultures, a historical narrative that remembers medieval Europe as a collection of feudal kingdoms fighting one another on the edge of the known world, and that the United States isn’t the flawless bastion of freedom and democracy it so often claims to be.

Granted, this perspective shouldn’t be a mind-blowing revelation. I think any reasonable person can recognize there are legitimate reasons to dislike the United States and that history didn’t begin the moment the Declaration of Independence was written. But there’s something about being exposed to an idea through the lens of a different perspective that reveals the complexities of our world.

I think understanding those complexities is key to solving the problems that face the world today. As I often do when I finish a book, I look at Amazon reviews to see what other people thought about it. One reviewer was so aghast that Changez could feel anything other than fury at the events of 9/11 that the reviewer stopped reading the book.

This is its own kind of horror—the utter inability of some people to recognize the perspective of others. This inability is not conducive to creating a better world and we should guard against it. One of the ways to do that is to read a book by someone different than yourself. n

Opening up discourse on where PLP can improve There are issues with CNU’s leadership program that ought to be publicy discussed for the benefit of PLP.

Josh reyes editor-in-chief

The Captain's Log’s story on CNU’s President’s Leadership Program highlights some issues people have with the program, but more importantly, it opens up a larger dialogue on how to

improve PLP. As far as we know, no media outlet has examined the vitality of the program or assessed its merits and issues. And its issues became clear in our reporting.

The 59 percent retention rate is not strong, especially for what is meant to be a competitive program.

Additionally, students are pushed to apply for this program and pursue the leadership minor without really knowing if they’re interested in studying leadership. One third of the students coming into CNU the last few years have come to school registered as leadership minors.

Talking to students, it was obvious that not everyone who was accepted into PLP really wanted to study leadership. Additionally, with the size of the program, not everyone received the attention they wanted. And when one third of your class is in a special program, is it really that special?

These issues aren’t really groundbreaking. They are common complaints from students that are discussed in casual conversation and issues I have posted in IDEA surveys and in the semesterly PLP mid-year and end-ofyear reports.

Full disclosure, I’m in the program and am hoping to graduate as a member of PLP this May. I’ve hit many, many snags along the way, but with the help of faculty and staff, I decided to stay in leadership because I finished up the first 15 credits of the program early and had a great study abroad experience through it.

And that’s the thing; there are definite positives to PLP. For all the people we found who criticized it, we found people to support it. There are fantastic faculty members in the leadership department, and they care about what they teach. The PLP staff cares about the program too, and PLP

is the impetus for lots of community service—40,000 hours in the 2014-2015 school year, according to university spokesperson Lori Jacobs.

We’re not here to bash the program; we’re here to be constructive. As often as we have heard complaints about PLP in private conversation and questioned aspects of it ourselves, we felt it was time to write about it in a public setting to foster dialogue.

But we couldn’t help but get the feeling the university was nervous about our coverage of PLP. We had little issue setting up the story intended for last week’s paper until we requested the retention rate for PLP’s 2015 graduating class. Usually, when we request figures from the university, they come quite quickly and they have always come directly from the main source. This particular figure was sent back to the public relations office and went through Institutional Research, which we have never experienced before.

This led to the information reaching us two days after our Tuesday deadline, leading us to run the story a week after we planned. We were consistently assured we would receive the information before the initial deadline, and we were confident in this assurance because the university has always responded with requested information before our requested deadlines.

It may have just been protocol that we were unfamiliar with, but it was jarring to realize that a number as simple as the retention rate of the most recent graduates in CNU’s flagship program would not get to the newspaper on a deadline established well ahead of time.

We felt stifled, as if the university didn’t want this story on our newsstands during a week that saw huge numbers of potential students and their families on campus. It was absolutely our intention to publish the story while the university welcomed potential students and their families; they stand to benefit from a deeper knowledge of the merits and issues of PLP. But not getting the story out last week made us feel the like the opportunity to initiate dialogue on PLP and share information on the program at an opportune time was stonewalled. And that is not a constructive approach.

So with all that being said, we encourage students to voice their opinions on PLP. We encourage them to be honest with high school students considering enrolling in the program. We encourage them to be frank with their professors and the administrative staff about their feelings on the program. And we encourage the university to be receptive to what it learns about PLP, so it can improve the program and make its retention rate a figure that is both boasted and shared freely. n

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You are worth more than a brick From humble beginnings to reaching 100,000 views, CNU TV has become a journalistic force on CNU’s campus and shows no signs of slowing down Among the piles of commencementrelated emails clogging my inbox, I was recently asked if I would Collin Brennan consider CNU TV Managing Editor having my name carved into a brick along the Great Lawn. I thought about it for a second and realized how unnecessary that would be; I’ve spent years crafting a legacy here that is way more visible than a brick in a sidewalk.

It was the fall of 2013, I was a sophomore and part of a Captain’s Log staff that was attempting to completely revamp this school’s floundering newspaper. None of us had any real world experience with journalism, and we had no idea what we were doing.

But dammit, we were determined to inform the students on this campus. And part of doing the news right was going beyond just our newspaper. A primary goal of mine was to bring The Captain’s Log into the 21st century of storytelling, and I felt CNU’s first home football game of the year was a good opportunity to try something new.

So I teamed up with Ben Leistensnider, then an eager freshman, and Laura Faragalli, our copy editor at the time, and dusted off two Canon camcorders and set out to film our first CNU football postgame show.

No real plan, no real idea of what we were doing. Just winging it. And with that first postgame show, CNU TV was reborn.

I say reborn because we didn’t start CNU TV; we resurrected it.

CNU TV existed before I came to school in 2012. Captain’s Log editors from years ago took it upon themselves to create news videos, but the operation fell apart after those editors graduated. But after we got a taste of video production, we decided that digital video needed to be part of The Captain’s Log permanently.

While maintaining our jobs as newspaper editors, Laura and I set out to create visual content. A few issues stood in the way: we had no money, resources or experience with visual storytelling. We felt like two 16-year-olds who stole a car—we had the means to do what we wanted, we just didn’t know how to do it.

More than two years later, CNU TV has arrived at a place none of us could have expected when we started this journey. We’ve produced 83 videos and reached more than 100,000 views this academic year

alone. To put that in perspective, the total viewership of CNU TV content the first two years was just over 4,000 views.

From the start, I always said I never wanted the content we put out to be judged by how many clicks it got, but the numbers show how much CNU TV has grown.

Today CNU TV has a staff of interns, a clear line of succession and an enthusiasm for what comes next. Our team members are using what they’ve learned to find jobs and internships. The quality of our content is beginning to resemble that of professional videographers, and judging by our Facebook reach, we’re confident in saying virtually all of campus has seen our videos.

I’ve often called CNU TV my baby—a baby that needed to be tended to almost constantly. Now CNU TV is wandering off on its own, and I’m starting to learn that my baby doesn’t always need me anymore.

As your senior year winds down, you take a step back to see what you have done and what you will be remembered by. Through sheer will, the help of amazing people and a seriously unhealthy consumption of coffee, I established CNU TV as a fundamental part of The Captain’s Log and its mission to inform students on campus.

These two years as managing editor of CNU TV have provided some of the most trying and rewarding memories at CNU. I wouldn’t trade my sleepovers in the DSU for anything, but I also don’t ever want to stay up until 4 a.m. editing videos again.

Through those struggles, I have learned the value of patience in a leadership role. I have learned nothing worth doing can be done on your own. I have learned it is not about what I get out of the experience, but what I do for others who put their faith in me.

Through my job I have found my life’s passion, made incredible relationships and forged a legacy here at CNU. As long as CNU TV exists I will feel a small part of me has remained intact at CNU. And that is better than any fancy brick. n

0 3

CNU TV’s rebirth began with football postgame shows in the fall of 2013. Former photo editor Jordan Schmuckler films Collin Brennan interviewing Cameron Barlow after a CNU football win. file photo by madison moore/the captain’s log

In the fall of 2014, CNU TV filmed full length studio shows covering news, campus life and sports. Former videographer Jonah Lazar films then-Campus Life Anchor Mariah Williams. file photo by Ben leistensnider/ the captain’s log

Beginning in the fall of 2015, CNU TV began taking interns to produce standalone digital video content. Using his phone and Canon, CNU TV intern Evan Thorpe records multiple angles of a Greek life event. Photo Courtesy of evan thorpe/ The Captain’s log

SNAPSHOT

Pa g e 8

Can you e

Thirteen contestants competed to be the most basic man o So You Think You Can Even? pageant, which raised over $1,6 Photos and Story By Ben Leistensnider benjamin.leistensnider.13@cnu.edu

Lilly planners, Starbucks and “Mean Girls” references were not in short supply as the sisters of Alpha Sigma Alpha hosted their second So You Think You Can Even? pageant on March 29. The pageant asked contestants to prove to prove that they were the most “basic” man on campus in an effort raise money for the S. June Smith Center while challenging stereotypes surrounding sorority women.

“Especially having our philanthropy’s focus on those who are often stereotyped and put down in society it’s really good to take stereotypes of us and be playful about it. We aren’t actually our stereotypes and neither are the people we’re raising money for,” said sophomore Sam Salmons, the fundraising chair for Alpha Sigma Alpha who planned the event.

Their philanthropy is the S. June Smith Center. The center provides educational services for children with disabilities to “help children develop the skills needed by children to become fully involved in

their schools and community. By the e the night, Alpha Sigma Alpha raised $1,600 for the S. June Smith Center.

The pageant was comprised of thre ferent portions. The first of these, w took place a f ter each contestant walked on stage by their “life coach,” a trivia contest. Contestants were as variety of questions, covering topics as People’s Sexiest Man Alive to the o of Lilly Pulitzer’s designs (fun fact wanted a pattern that would be able to juice stains).

After Zeta Tau Alpha’s represent Steven Field won the trivia round to the title of Mr. Know-It-All, contes took part in a freeze dance contest. T Brinkley representing Phi Mu ende winning that portion of the pagean the title of Mr. Drop It Like It’s Hot, as as winning the outfit of the day award The final segment of the pageant wa monologue, in which the contestants asked to relate a situation or experien which they “could not even.” Althoug the participants elicited plenty of la from the audience, there was a clear

Nick Friedl, representing Delta Gamma, stunned the audience in his beautiful dress. His monologue featured a liberal use of hashtags in relating his struggles with weekend plans.

Zeta Tau Alpha representative Steven Field (on right) dances with a several other contestants during the dance portion of the So You Think You Can Even? pageant.

Senior Quinton Pace makes his graceful exit while waving to the audience after b pageant. Pace, who was a crowd favorite, represented the women of Gamma Ph

even?

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Jon Toms

Mr. Basic 2016

on campus at Alpha Sigma Alpha’s 600 for the S. June Smith Center.

end of d over

ee difwhich t was ,” was sked a s such origin t: she o hide

tative o earn stants Taylor ed up nt and s well d. as the s were nce in gh all aughs r win-

ner—Jon Toms from Sigma Phi Epsilon.

He took home the title of Mr. First World Problem after saying he “literally cannot even when my favorite TV character has to die.”

I n pa r ticu l a r, he h ad some h a r sh words for the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy.

“Shonda Rhimes: why would you take away McDreamy? I cannot even handle this. I went through an entire tub of Ben and Jerry’s before I could even function.”

The winners of each portion of the pageant received their titles after the monologues, as well as several other awards being given. James Chun and the brothers of Pi Lambda Phi took home the social media award after amassing over 2,000 likes on the Instagram contest leading up to the award, while Sigma Phi Epsilon won the change wars by raising $352.

At the end of the night, Toms proved to be the real winner. In addition to his “life coach” and girlfriend Kaitie McCormick saying yes to his formal proposal, Toms took home the coveted crown of Mr. Basic, as well as the grand prize of a personalized cooler that was painted by Apryl Nalls. n

being eliminated in the dance portion of the hi Beta.

Senior Jon Toms took home the title of Mr. Basic, while also being named Mr. First World Problem. Toms was representing the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon at Alpha Sigma Alpha’s pageant.

SPORTS Catching momentum Page 10

After losing two games to Virginia Wesleyan, CNU responds with a 4-0 weekend on the road.

by Ben Leistensnider

benja m i n.l eist ensn i der.13 @ cn u.edu

T he s o f tb a l l t e a m fou nd itsself on the losing end of a doubleheader sweep against Virginia Wesleyan on March 30. Since then, however, the team has won four in a row in a weekend filled with road conference play.

The Virginia Wesleyan games pitted two of the top teams in t he cou nt ries agai nst each other, as there Captains were ranked fourth and the Marlins ranked eighth at the time.

Both games remained tight affairs as CNU lost 5-4 in game one and 4-2 in game two.

The Captains were hoping to erase that two game losing streak headed into the York doubleheader on April 2. At first, however, it appeared that the Captains would drop their third in a row.

The Spartans managed to score four unanswered runs in the first two innings to start off the series.

Senior Scoop Simon began the comeback when she hit her fourth home run of the season in the third inning. The Captains managed to even the score in the sixth inning.

A si ngle from sophomore Rachael Payne drove in freshma n K ayla Bren na n i n t he seventh inning for the decisive run.

After ending the first game s t r on g , P ay ne s t a r t e d t he second even stronger hitting a three-run homerun in the second inning.

The Captains’ offense continued on unrelentingly, amassing a 7-1 lead by the end of the fourth inning.

York pu l led wit hi n t h ree points headed into the final inning, but a homerun from junior Jenna Sprinkle —who finished the game with two RBIs—dampened the Spartans’ hopes for a comeback.

The next day, the Captains took on their other Pennsylvania-based conference opponent, Penn State Harrisburg in a much more one-sided affair.

T he C apt a i n s t o ok g a me one after securing an 11-0 victory. The game only lasted five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule.

Junior Tara Heatwole was a dominant presence on the mound, allowing one hit and striking out seven over the course of the five innings.

Rachel Shiflett makes a diving grab to secure an out. Shiflett has been an incredibly strong threat on the bases for the Captains as she now leads the team with 15 stolen bases after the team’s sweep of Penn State Harrisburg on April 3. Ben Leistensnider/The Captain’s Log Brennan made her pitching debut for CNU in game two and picked up her first win as a Captain after allowing only one run and five hits.

In a doubleheader in which the Captains scored 23 runs on 23 hits, multiple Captains made an offensive impact.

Si mon had 4 R BI s, whi le homeruns came from sophomore Brit t ney Wa lters a nd freshman Sarah Clark—her first at CNU. The Captains will look to i m p r o v e t h ei r c o n f e r e n c e record as they take on Southern Virginia University at home on April 9. n

Up Next Southern Virginia

Overall Record: 5-21 Conference Record: 0-6 Been outscored 217-62

.750

7

The batting average of Scoop Simon against Penn State Harrisburg. She had a double and two triples.

The number of strikeouts pitched by Tara Heatwole in her 11-0 shutout victory over Penn State Harrisburg.

38

25

The number of runs the Captains scored between the York and Penn State Harrisburg doubleheaders.

The number of RBIs by Brittney Walters after a two-run home run in the team’s last game, a team high.

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Imma let you Finnish CNU tennis standout junior Arttu Fiva has come a long way from his days in Finland to establish a well-involved presence at CNU.

by Caitlin King Ca it l i n.ki ng.14 @ cn u.edu

In addition to all of his off the court achievments, Arttu Fiva recently passed the 50 career wins mark. Ben Leistensnider/The Captain’s Log

While managing to get above a 3.5 GPA, junior Arttu Fiva still finds time to double major in finance/accounting, join two fraternities, two honors societies and play collegiate tennis.

Fiva came from a small town in Finland in 2013 to start his college career here in America.

While over in Finland, Fiva left his home, where he lived with his mother, father and sister and moved two hours away to attend high school in a different town.

At the age of 16 he had to support himself while living in the town of Rovaniemi. There he went to school during the day and played for a club tennis team in the evenings.

Between the ages of 18-28 all males in Finland must do a 12-month training for the army.

Once they are finished they are placed in the reserves. Once Fiva graduated high school, a year later he decided to do his basic training for the army.

The first six months of his training he was a rookie, but the next six months he was able to become a sergeant where he led a group of 12 men. His day

normally started around 5:45 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m. In his free time he was able to practice tennis and plan his future.

“At first I wanted to go to me d ic a l scho ol , but t hen I realized I still wanted to play tennis and study business. The US was the place that was going to help me learn English which is the language in the business world,” said Fiva.

F iva had a f riend t hat attended Christopher Newport University and played on the tennis team, which is how he first heard of the school. After exchanging emails with the tennis coach he decided CNU would be the place to continue his tennis career and starts his studies in the business world.

Stepping into a new culture was i nteresti ng, especia l ly into a country he didn’t know much about. He was positively impressed that everyone was so nice in America and even strangers said “hi” to each other, which he claims is not a common trend over in Europe.

W hen sta r ti ng school his freshman year he decided to join numerous organizations as a way to help hi m meet people a nd lea r n about his new environment. Other than

schoolwork, tennis has become his biggest commitment. Fiva dedicates a few hou rs each week-day to practices and his weekends to matches. Fiva has been assigned one single and one double during the match to help his team win.

As if dedicating just about ever y day to ten nis wasn’t enoug h, F iva’s li fe is even busier because every Sunday afternoon/night is spent participating in multiple chapter meetings. He is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity where he is on the finance and fundraising committee.

F iva ju st rec ent ly joi ned the newly formed fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha where he has been chosen to be scholarship captain because of his 3.9 GPA. Lastly, he is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the top 10 percent of students in the Luter School of Business fraternity and Alpha Chi, the top 10 percent of students at CNU. He has accepted an internship with Canon this summer where he will be working on internal auditing. One day, Fiva hopes to get his masters degree and then move back home to Europe to work on international projects. n

Track and field continues to set records at Colonial Relays The Captains posted numerous personal and school records at William and Mary’s meet.

by Sam Camilletti samantha.camilletti.14@cnu.edu

Last weekend, April 1 and 2, the men’s and women’s track teams continued their successful spring season at the William and Mary Colonial Relays.

Though they competed against a sprawling field of 44 teams, the Captains posted several new program records and a litter of personal records.

Starting of f the meet was a strong performance by the distance squad. Juniors Zach C a mpb el l a nd Bi l ly R abi l , freshman Austin Conway, and sophomore Daniel Read helped establish a new program record

in the 4x1500. The team posted a time of 16:03, which eclipsed the previous school record by 12 seconds. Sophomore Ryan Scott, who posted two new alltime records. In the men’s 110 meter hurdles, Scott finished with a time of 14.75, which is both a personal record and moves him to ninth on the program list. In the 400 meter hurdles, he posted a time of 55.77, moving him to 10th all-time.

Several other speedsters had historic performances. Freshman Evan Fabish moved to fourth in program history when he posted a 9:32 in the 3000 steeplechase. In the unseeded 5000 meter run, sophomore Grayson

Reid finished with a third place finish and a time of 15:16. This moves him to eighth all-time.

Right behind Reid was junior J.J. LaPointe, who moved to ninth all-time after his final clocking of 15:19 in the same event. Campbell also finished with a second place out of 75 runners in the men’s unseeded 1500 with a time of 3:56. Sophomore Jeff Dover posted a time of 4: 00. These performances moved the men to sixth and ninth all-time, respectively.

Earning a new personal record, Read finished with a time of 4:02 in the same event.

The women’s team also found success in breaking records.

For the first time, the Captains fielded a 4x1500. The team comprised of freshman Abby May, juniors Logan Harrington and Bria na Stewa r t a nd senior

Ryan Scott secured a PR and the ninth fastest time in the 110-meter hurdles in CNU history. Ben Leistensnider/The Captain’s Log A lexa Taback ma n f i ni shed with a time of 19:56, establishing a standard for the program.

Stewart also competed in the 1500 meter run and finished with a time of 4:47. Her stellar effort moved her up to fifth alltime. In the 5000, junior Emmie Schmitt posted a time of 18:29.

This performance established a new p er s on a l r e c or d for Schmitt and bumped her to fifth

in CNU’s history. In the field events, senior Lyzan Rashid t h r ew a n i nc r e d ible 4 1 . 5 5 meters in the hammer throw.

That vaulted her to seventh in program history.

The Captains will attempt to continue their string of successes when they compete in the North Carolina A&T Invitational in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 9. n

A+E

concerts Page 12

in theaters

on campus

April 6

April 10

April 1

Chamber music

University Sounds

“The Boss” Rated R

April 6 Matt Glowacki

“Macbeth”

8 p.m. M&T Hall

1 p.m. Gaines

“High Strung ” Rated PG

7:30 p.m. Gaines

8 p.m. Studio Theatre

April 8

New TheaterCNU play puts emphasis on weaponry.

BY samantha Camilletti samantha.camilletti.14@cnu.edu

T h e at e r CNU ’s “ M a c b e t h” won’t open until this Friday, but know that the performance you see has been in the works a long time. The design and props team started in early March to make things “as detailed as possible” for the premiere. These details may be slightly different from an expected Shakespearean play.

“Our production is less 17th cent u r y Scot la nd, a nd more post-apocalyptic,” props manager senior Cian Girven said in an email. “So we are hoping to transport the audience to a desolate area of the world that you may see today, or in the not-sodistant future.”

W h i le t he s et t i n g m ay b e desolate, that doesn’t mean the action is far away. With the play staged in CNU’s smallest, most intimate theatre —the studio theatre —the audience will be fairly close to the actors. This serves to enhance certain play elements, like combat scenes

illustration by Victoria Lurie/ the captains Log

with actual combat weapons.

And a lot of work went into that weaponry. The props and design teams’ initial stages of production required digging into specifics and aiming for accuracy. “Research has been going well so far,” Girven said. “There are many more types of machete variations than I had originally imagined.”

Choosing the proper machete type isn’t the only problem facing Girven and his team, which consists of two

assistants and any volunteers in times of trouble. They also face the challenge posed by the level of detail the props require. “We are in the studio theatre with this show; the audience will be close enough to see any mistakes,” Girven said. “So as a team we have to be meticulous and highly detail-oriented.”

That level of detail isn’t something that can be thrown together in a week.

In fact, the general timeline is more like three to four weeks, but that’s an occupa-

tional hazard of accuracy.

Progress aside, Girven is already proud of the props.“ I get to handle and design many interesting pieces that you will have to come to the show to see,” Girven said. n

“Macbeth” runs April 8-10 and 15-17 starting at 8 p.m.

Local artists and alums showcased at real estate office CNU professors’ and former students’ various works of art will go on display before the Peninsula later this month.

Press Release Join Liz Moore & Associates and the Linda Matney Gallery for a wine & cheese reception as they unveil the work of artists on display at the Liz Moore & Associates Newport News office .

The CNU exhibit at Liz Moore and Associates is a natural extension of what the gallery has been doing for over five years, which is exploring the commercial potential as well as the integrity of art projects as exhibits of cultural importance.

The artists’ statements speak of various interpretations of current life in the US and the work is progressive on various levels with regards to theme, color and design.

These are the very reasons the art has integrity in the contemporary home or office.

Kristin and Alan Skees are helping to shape the Studio Art program at CNU in the Department of Fine Art and Art History. They are also incredibly successful and prodigious artists. Their artwork is contemporary because it takes things from today’s society and processes them through individual filters.

The first filter would be handcrafts in relationship to domesticity with a humorous sensibility and simultaneous metaphorical content. The second

filter would be processing (literally) and disassembling the world into techie tidbits of data and dabbling in the delights of tinkering and programming.

The wonderful ArtCNU alumni included in this exhibit are Shaun Whiteside and Ryan Lytle. They are both prolific and driven as artists.

They embody what they teach in our department, and what art professors intend for students to achieve.

Shaun’s work is very focused on the process of manipulation of materials to create a meditative and dynamic space in order to express uncertainty and error in the political world around us.

Ryan is a recent graduate with an upcoming senior thesis exhibit at CNU. Ryan is infinitely creative, a builder. He can make whatever figment his mind comes up with in a resolved and unified, structurally sound sculpture.

Linda Matney Gallery has watched the careers of some of our represented artists move forward in the cutting edge decorative and investment art categories. Our facilitation and collaborations with these artists have helped to inspire and build the trust of the art-buying public as they explore the deeper catalogues of artists.

Though the artists in this exhibition are very recently associated

The art on display will encompass multiple mediums, such as Ryan Lytle’s fabricated deer mount, and Christi Harris’ canvas work . liz moore & associates with the gallery, they have some of the same qualities of the best artists we’ve worked with over the last five years.

Friday, April 15, 5-7pm 11801 Canon Boulevard, Suite 100 Newport News, VA

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Meet California Death

Album Review: The 1975 Band’s new album splits from their brand, but still offers a good time.

BY michael gamble michael.gamble. 13@cnu.edu

The band (and their obscured drummer) played at The Camel in February. photo by craig zirpolo, courstesy of california death

Indie rock band of CNU (and Tech) students is on the rise.

BY Melanie Occhiuzzo melanie.occhiuzzo.13@cnu.edu

Whether it’s performing at house shows at U.Va. or gallery shows in RVA, California Death can always be sure to give the crowd a great time.

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Obscure Music Magazine placed them as the 40th band on their “Top 50 albums” list, and they won second place in Deli Magazine’s “emerging artist” poll. And with most of their membership graduating from CNU in a few weeks and able to dedicate more time to the band, perhaps more awards will roll in.

W hat success they already have came early for such a young band.

This fairly new, ‘80s-style band started playing together in March of 2015 as a trio, with then-seniors Mike Hayes (singer/g uitarist/song writer) and Chad Hollman (drummer) and thenjunior Sam Atkinson (bassist).

In December 2 015 another CNU g rad, Dave Hulsey, was contacted to join as their keyboardist. Chris G eorge, their g uitarist, joined in August 2015 and brings with him a little diversity to the group as the only Virginia Tech student among them.

George and Atkinson had gone to the same middle school together, and Atkinson recruited him once the band decided they wanted to add another g uita rist to t hei r g roup’s overa l l sound.

The band formed almost a year ago, and their success came pretty rapidly afterward. Last April, Atkinson participated in a Reddit AMA (a Q&A thread with another website user) with Kevin Parker of the noted indie

rock band Tame Impala. In his post, Atkinson had mentioned California Death, and when Parker replied to the thread, he brought with him the attention of the Reddit community.

Parker’s response led to over 10,000 listens on the California Death’s Soundcloud account.

California Death has toured around the Virginia area playing at venues such as Strange Matter in RVA, U.Va., and even a show here at CNU last month. Their end goal, according to Hollman, is to get the attention of an

indie label and possibly do this for a living.

At ki nson is rea l ly opti mistic about the popularity of their band, especially given that they have a new EP coming out this year. He said “[we’re] trying to do it to be able to live, to make music and to help people realize their dreams.”

Each of the band members has a strong connection to listening and creating music, a connection that has allowed them to become the band they are today. Their high energy sets and fun-loving attitudes are what makes the experience that much more exciting. n

When fans of the band The 1975 come to their latest album “I Like It When You Sleep for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It,” they may quickly realize that the album they signed up for will not be the album they receive. The band they knew is gone, and suddenly we are introduced to a band that symbolizes a bright pink sunset filled with sugar coated hooks and an identity crisis.

Behind that identity crisis is lead singer Matty Healy and his every single emotion. ‘I Like It When You Sleep’ seems to be three separate EPs that have come together to form one album, but that doesn’t make the album a loss.

‘Love Me’ is the first single off this album. Consider this song the first sip of a beer after a long week. It’s sweet and over glorified with bright colors and 80’s pop melodies. This high leads into the second single off the album ‘UGH!’ in which Healy belts out “you’re the only thing that’s going on in my mind/ taking over my life a second time.” In this song, he’s showcasing his love and passion for the drug cocaine.

On ‘If I Believe You’ we are introduced to the affectionate church choir of self-doubt and repentance. This choir guides us into the revelatory period of the album and allows Matty to grapple with who he truly is. Songs like ‘Lostmyhead’ and ‘The Ballad of Me and My Brain’ give us a paradoxical sense of wonder that leads to deep thoughts and self-reflection.

The last part of this album ends on a low note in terms of emotions. From realizing that the person you used to care about should just go ‘Love Someone’ else, we then find ourselves courted by the upbeat rhythm of ‘The Sound.”

It’s the closing three tracks where we realize our night has been fabricated by alcohol and high hopes, and we go from wishing we could do the night over again in ‘Paris’ to the stark realization that we “haven’t been doing too well” in ‘Nana.’ The album ends on ‘She Lays Down’ where Healy sings about his mother’s postnatal depression and the themes of the album coincide in the lines “And I’ve no reason to complain, yeah and in the end she chose cocaine but it couldn’t fix her brain.”

Ending on such a note leaves us to think about our choices in life and realize that everything has a reason, regardless of how that makes us feel. n

Rating: California Death onstage at Strange Matter in Richmond, a venue to which the band returned just last week. photo by Zach Whitten, courstesy of california death

LIFESTYLE

Page 14

A new country, a new family, a new start

Pickard may have had a hard time with American culture shock but now she is busy enjoying life at CNU. courtesy of tatiana pickard

As children in the same Russian orphanage, Towne and Pickard never expected to end up at the same Virginia university.

By caitlin King caitlin.king.14@cnu.edu

Freshman students Sasha Towne and Tatiana Pickard didn’t grow up in an average American family. While most CNU students spent their time watching Disney movies and going on family vacations, Towne and Pickard grew up in an orphanage in Russia wondering if they would ever get another chance at a good life.

Pickard was put in her first orphanage at the age of four when her father was put in jail. Oddly enough, Towne was put in the same orphanage a few years later at the age of nine. She had been taken from her mom by the cops and put in the orphanage because of the poor parenting she was receiving.

Towne and Pickard claim to only have known each other in passing at the same orphanage, though they shared the same schedule and living style. They each were placed in different groups with whom they spent a majority of their time. The living arrangements consisted of a room with bunk beds for multiple girls of all ages and a closet for all of them.

While attending school and learning some minor English, the orphanage took the children on many field trips to places such as museums and other historical landmarks in St. Petersburg, Russia. Towne claims to have been given an allowance each month from the orphanage, which just like any other eight-yearold, she spent on toys and candy.

Towne’s adoption process was lengthy, but her two-year process seems speedy in comparison. Pickard’s adoption process took four years because of some challenges her adopted parents encountered.

“I clicked with one of the families, but my real dad didn’t want me to be adopted because he thought he was going to get out of jail and get me back,” said Pickard With her father opposing her adoption, she didn’t know if she would ever get to go to America and start a new life. It wasn’t until her biological father died that she was finally allowed to be adopted by her family. Unlike Pickard’s father, Towne’s biological mother gave her the choice of being adopted. Towne had really liked America when she came over to visit for two weeks and was excited about the prospect of being adopted, but was also a little sad at the thought of never seeing her mom or friends ever again.

Towne was finally adopted at the age of 10, along with a boy named Aleks from the same orphanage. Her parents Diane and Lee Towne then took their new children home to Fairfax County, Virginia.

“I did not like Aleks while in the orphanage; I actually tried to

Towne is currently a freshman at CNU and ballances a marketing major with women’s lacrosse. alexander burruss/the captain’s log fight him one time. When I found out he was going to be my brother I was shocked, but at the same time really not happy,” said Towne Finally, at the age of 12, Pickard was adopted and brought home to Prince William County, Virginia to live with her American parents Rosita Thomas and Mike Pickard. A few years before, her parents had adopted a girl from Pickard’s orphanage who turned out to be Pickard’s biological sister, and together they joined her American parent’s biological daughter, Carmen.

Transitioning into a foreign country for good was equally scary for both Pickard and Towne. They said that having a sibling who was experiencing the same types of feelings definitely helped make the transition easier and more exciting. Both girls claim the best part about their new home was how inviting their family was, how much food they received at every meal and, most importantly, the fact that they were now proud owners of dogs.

Towne and Pickard had been in America for a short time before they were thrown into daily life of an average American student.

Though they went to different elementary schools, they both still had to take a class to teach them English since they hardly remembered anything from the classes back in Russia.

Towne remembers her first day of school as being scary because she was in a new culture and country where she didn’t know a soul.

“The most frightening part about the day was when my teacher made me stand up and introduce myself and say where I was from in front of everyone,” said Towne.

Though she was scared of the children she admits they were all very welcoming and willing to help her out. After attending some birthday parties and joining sports teams she finally started to make some close friends.

As for Pickard, making friends seemed to be a little more difficult.

Pickard didn’t quite pick up on the American customs as fast as Towne did. She fought with her parents and just about every day she tried to refuse to go to school because she didn’t understand what she was learning.

“The first day of school my mom got an email saying that I was flipping off other kids and kicking the boys. She called my translator who then had to tell me that it’s offensive and rude to do that,” said Pickard.

She claims that it’s not as offensive to f lip people off in Russia which is why she thought that it would be okay to do that. Once she started to take her studies seriously and understand other children, she started to create relationships with them.

Though Towne and Pickard had always lived close to each other back in Russia and 20 minutes away in NOVA, they hardly hung out. It wasn’t until they found out that they would both be attending Christopher Newport University that they started to connect.

Each of them has taken advantage of every opportunity that America and their adopted parents have given them. Towne has managed to balance a major in marketing while playing on CNU’s women’s lacrosse team. While sports isn’t Pickard’s main hobby, she has managed to handle her studies while joining the society of engineers club (Society of Women Engineers Club) and working in the Financial Aid office. n

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New club profile: Table Tennis The startup club has come a long way from humble beginnings in the York MPR. By samantha camilletti samantha.camilletti.14@cnu.edu

At CNU, students can find just about anything that they are looking for, especially when it comes to clubs. Options range a ny where from activism to enthusiasm to recreation. The Table Tennis Club, one of the newest to campus, provides the opportunity for students to share their love of table tennis and improve upon their skills by entering tournaments and competitions. “We have two parts to our club,” sophomore Thomas Rosado, an officer of the club, said. “We have a rec side and a competitive side. Our competitive side is eight people that travel to different schools.

And our rec side is just recreational.So once a month we have tryouts for that competitive team.”

The competitive side of the club competes in several tournaments sprinkled throughout the academic year. In the fall of 2015, they tied William and Mary’s team and “completely d e s t r oye d” Vi r g i n i a C o m monwealth University’s team.

This semester, they will travel to University of Virginia and University of North Carolina

in Apri l. For such a young club — only celebrating their first anniversary—they have expanded quickly. Examples of their fundraising expansion include hosting a track meet to raise money, a table donation from Dean Colvin and requesting a small grant from Student Assembly.

Their fundraising will mostly be focused on purchasing better equipment, like tables. They also heavily focused on recruiting; people may have noticed their table tents and stands at the club fairs.

All of this was born out of a simple reason: why not? “Last year, my friend and I were playing table tennis frequently and we just said: ‘Why isn’t there a club?’ and we decided to try and make one,” sophomore Joe Simko, a founder and officer of the club, said. “At first it was just freshmen playing in the York multi-purpose room, that was it. It was maybe eight people just playing in there.

But we decided to advertise for tryouts and get more people and we became an official club.”

What holds this club together is the emphasis on the love of the game. “We just love playing,” Rosado said. “We just

The CNU Table Tennis Club has been busy fundraising and training so that they can grow their membership and continue competing against other schools. photo courtesy of will gibson enjoy playing, and that was really a founding principle of this club.” For freshman Will Gibson, this club also incites fond memories. “In high school, my dad and I would play in the garage all of the time,” he said.

“And that was one of my best memories. Now that I’m in college, I want to be able to keep up my skill so when I get home I can still play with my dad.”

Gibson also joked that this club was one of the reasons he came to CNU. “Right before I came to college, I saw an old f lyer near the Freeman that

listed all of the clubs and it said ’Table Tennis Club,’” he explained. “I searched it on Facebook, it came up, and I was flipping out. I was like: ‘Mom! T hey h ave a T able Ten n i s Club!’”

Being such a new club also teaches the officers valuable le a d e r s h ip s k i l l s . T hou g h they have an advisor, Dr. Jon White of the American Studies Department, he is much more involved in the practices than the planning. Since they are not a part of an official league yet, the team has to rely on

emails and Google to find opponents. Rosado said incredible leadership skills have resulted from this. “We’re all officers and we’ve had to deal with the bureaucracy and people not responding to emails or trying to develop a relationship to get funding,” he said. “And that will definitely help us in any career path we choose.”

Interested members can get involved by attending the Table Tennis Club’s practices, which are held 7-9 p.m. on Sunday or Tuesday at 9-10:30 p.m. on the 4th court in the Freeman Center. n

Nail art that will help you ring in spring weather This simple nail design can bring plenty of color to dreary, rainy April weather.

By bethany pyle bethany.pyle.12@cnu.edu

Wit h bri g hter spri ng weather approaching, try out this nail design to bring a splash of color to your nails. You will need white and yellow nail polish, as well as your choice of any light, pastel color.

Using either a toothpick or a thin-tipped brush, draw lines out from one corner of your nail to form a f lower pattern. This can be any nail you want, but for this design it appears right nex to your accent nail.

All photos bethany pyle/the captain’s log

First, paint all of your nails except for one with the light, pastel color. Paint the remaining nail white and allow to dry fuly before continuing.

To finish the design, use a toothpick to drop dots of yellow nail polish into the corner of your flower.

This will add another bit of color and make your design look more like a flower. n

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