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Eagle the
Giving voice to Chadron State College students since 1920
Time to end the ‘Long era’
Time’s up.
For six straight weeks,
CSC football fans have watched as the Eagles have tried but failed to win a game, with each loss cutting a little deeper.
In last weekend’s Homecoming game against Colorado School of Mines, the coaching staff and players appeared to give up on the sidelines during the second half of the game as the offense struggled to move beyond the 50-yard line into Oredigger territory. At 0-5 with six games remaining, many fans, including us, are wondering if we’ll win a game this year much less enjoy a winning season.
Our doubts aren’t new, arising from this year’s dismal start.
Under Head Coach Jay Long and his staff, the Eagles have posted seven winning seasons since his arrival in 2012. But three of those seven seasons the Eagles barley made it, finishing each at 6-5. Overall Long’s record of 60-43 at Chadron is .582 and the Eagles haven’t sniffed a shot at the RMAC title much less a shot at the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Even though Long has been unable to lead the Eagles to victory in the RMAC, the Nebraska State College System (NSCS) has continually given him a pay raise every year. When he started in 2012, Long was paid $78,275. This year, he was contracted to earn $105,754. He is the highest paid head coach in the athletic department and yet he is bringing in the least numbers of wins right now.
According to the CSC athletics website, Long’s highlights include: > CSC having “the No. 1 thirddown conversion percentage in the nation in 2013, along with the league’s best rushing offense and fewest sacks allowed.” > “The team led the conference for the second consecutive season in sacks allowed and third-down conversions in 2014, had the best net kickoff average, and was second in scoring average.” > “The 2015 team again led the league in kickoff coverage and had the second best pass defense.” > “The Eagles were the top passing defense in the RMAC, allowing only 179.5 yards per game through the air in 2016.” > “In 2017 the team led the RMAC in kickoff return average, net punting, opponent fourthdown percentage, and were second in sacks produced and red zone defense.” > “The Eagles offense in 2018 gained the fourth-most yards per game in program history, and its average yards per rushing attempt was seventh-best all-time.” > “In 2019 the Eagles boasted the No. 2 offense in the RMAC and the 21st total offense in NCAA Division II.” > “CSC was one of only 10 NCAA Division II programs nationwide to take the field in the fall of 2020.”
Those are impressive statistics.
But at 0-5 with six games remaining, it appears only Fort Lewis and Adams State are opponents the Eagles likely can beat to finish this season at 2-9.
In light of Scott Frost’s firing three weeks ago with a 1-2 record this season and a 3-9 record last year, this state’s football fans have a low tolerance for losing.
Because we are a smaller school, are we expected to lower our standards for what should be considered a successful football team?
With a losing season looming as we speak; we think it might be time that Chadron State starts looking toward a new future. One that might not include Long.
Football is one of the biggest recruiting opportunities for the college.
If we continue to drop within the conference, what is stopping new recruits - players that could bring a lot of talent to the team - from signing with a different school because of our current ranking?
Chadron State football is the pride and joy of the college and the Chadron community. We feel that it should be treated as such.
While it easy to understand that every team has a bad season, the current track the Eagles are on needs to change.
Yes, the Eagles lost some real talent after last season, but there are still plenty of players on this team who can match it. Those changes can only be an excuse for our lack of wins for so long.
It is time to acknowledge what many have been ignoring and admit that Long is failing the team. It’s time to bring the ‘Long era’ to an end.
As You Said It!
We asked: What is the most childish thing you still do?
Harrison Gocke 21, Senior, York
“Everytime I take my medicine I give myself a treat.” Aspen Lund 19, sophomore, West Point Spencer Knuth 21, senior, Holdrege
“I never make my bed.” Danielle Simpson 19, junior, Torens, California Thomar Smith 23, junior, Jesup, Georgia
EDITORIAL
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Participation on The Eagle staff is open to all Chadron State College students. The Eagle is a student newspaper produced by and for students of Chadron State College. Opinions expressed in editorials and columns written by the student staff belong solely to the authors. As a public forum, The Eagle invites guest columns and letters to the editor from all readers. Opinions expressed in submissions belong solely to the author(s) and DO NOT necessarily reflect the opinions of The Eagle staff, its adviser, CSC students, staff, faculty, administrators or governing body. Please limit all guest columns or letters to 400 words. Deadline for submissions is noon Monday for consideration in the following Thursday’s edition. The Eagle reserves the right to edit or reject all submissions. © Copyright, The Eagle, 2022.
6Oct. 6, 2022 | The Eagle | csceagle.com Opinion
As We See It
Anonymous apps shed light on bad ideals
u By Velvet Jessen
Opinion Editor
Every afternoon when the boredom hits and I can’t force myself to study I, like a lot of college students, open Yik Yak. Now, I know there are much better things to do but like a good amount of people with the app, sometimes I can’t resist.
You just have to check and see what someone is mad about today. What drama is happening in other people’s lives that shouldn’t worry you but is way too fun to hear about. The issue is that it’s anonymous, meaning there aren’t any real consequences for those who go too far. That’s the whole premise behind the app, you can say things anonymously for people in your area to see.
There are so many studies about how people act when they can be anonymous, and the students here are certainly the rule not the exception on that.
Some of the negative yaks I’ve seen recently are rumors about a ton of people having STDs, people saying homophobic slurs or ideas, a ton of things fat shaming people on campus, someone trying to physically fight people who make comments about the football team, a ton of comments about people’s love lives, calling women ‘sluts’ or ‘whores’ any time they think the person behind the screen could be a woman and many more negative things.
Now that’s not to say there aren’t some positive things. Recently I’ve seen some yaks that are optimistic about the football team, offer relationship advice, a few just telling people to have a great day, or even the “Weather chic” who reports the weather every morning on the app.
But those are far and few between all the negative things on the app.
According to an article on physicologicalscience.org by Joe Dawson, “Scientists have found a tendency for many people to act rudely, aggressively, or illegally when their faces and names are hidden.” This isn’t a surprising fact; everyone knows how easily people can act very differently depending on the situation. This is especially true in group situations, no one wants to be the one person going against the crowd.
So, it’s especially sad going onto an app where we can see how people in Chadron think or are willing to admit they think when their faces aren’t attached.
So many seem to be willing to admit and voice that they’re homophobic, fatphobic, sexist, or overall, just full of awful opinions that only hurt others.
The people behind the screen might think that it doesn’t matter because no one will know it’s them. And maybe it won’t come back to directly bite them in the butt.
Unfortunately, the sharp words they write can hurt real people and I think that can be too easy for people to forget. They can say just put down the phone and walk away or just don’t get upset about it.
But for some people you could be voicing their insecurities and it’s hard for them to not feel badly or take it to heart. It might just be words on a screen for you but for other’s it’s someone telling them their biggest fears. It’s sad to think that these people who write such awful things when they can hide are the people I have to go to class with. It feels like a good number of students have forgotten what empathy is.
And although it’s not surprising, it’s sad to know the majority of campus thinks so poorly of each other.
Velvet Jessen
Over the Garden Wall and into Halloween
u By Adeline Beason
Staff Editor
Late September marks the beginning of Fall, our collective favorite time of year.
Affectionately dubbed “spooky season,” this is the season when many of us will enjoy apple cider, dressing a little more warmly, and settling in to watch our favorite comfort movies.
This October, I made time to rewatch my favorite miniseries, Over the Garden Wall (OTGW).
Set in a gloomy, New England-esque forest, OTGW follows two brothers, Wirt and Greg, who are trying to find their way back home after mysteriously getting lost on Halloween. As they travel through the woods, they encounter talking bluebirds, dancing pumpkin-people, and ghost-possessed colonial witches who help guide them.
However, not everyone means well.
Loosely inspired by Dante’s “The Inferno” epic, each episode in the 10-part series takes the boys through a few of the circles of hell: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, heresy, violence, and treachery.
Even if you haven’t read “The Inferno”, it’s impossible to miss the creepy, old church vibes, and that’s not just because the characters Adeline Beason
look like something out of the Salem witch trials.
Like any good spooky movie, Over the Garden Wall is not complete without its evil villain: The Beast.
As the name implies, The Beast is a thinly veiled version of the Devil, whom Wirt and Greg must defeat to escape the permanently-Fall forest and get home.
What makes The Beast so scary is not his deep, glowing eyes or huge tree branch horns, but the slow realization that Wirt and Greg are perhaps not in a forest at all, but an in-between world where The Beast is after their souls.
If you are a fan of flannel shirts,
crunchy leaves, and the feeling ““It is endlessly charming and just creepy enough to of that first chilly breeze of the season, I cannot recommend Over The Garden Wall enough. It is endbe enjoyable lessly charming and just without gore.” creepy enough to be enjoyable - Adeline Beason without gore. Each episode is 11 minutes long, making it perfect to binge all the way through (and rewatch every year, like I do!). Streaming on Hulu.
