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In Memory of Professor Peter Carmichael: Colleagues reflect on the “larger-than-life” personality and legacy of Pete Carmichael
A Note From the Editor: Living in ‘Interesting Times’
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
It’s always something in Gettysburg. From the ‘black bear incident’ this semester to the time that a first-year attempted a bank robbery, unexpected things just keep happening on the Gettysburg College campus. The campus is ever-changing and constantly evolving as classes graduate and new students join our ranks.
The Gettysburgian serves as an archive of these changes, documenting the College’s evolution since the paper’s founding in 1897. This publication has gone through many changes since its first print edition 127 years ago. Just a few years ago, the paper transitioned from biweekly newspaper to monthly magazine, and just over a decade ago the Gettysburgian’s website launched.
Gettysburg students are lucky to live in such a pretty, historic and unique town in south-central Pennsylvania where students are able to grow into their best selves (shoutout to the amazing faculty and staff who work tirelessly to make this possible). The Gettysburgian’s goal is to capture a slice of life on campus and dive into the many ongoing changes happening right now.
In this magazine, we discuss Conversations for Change, which seeks to bridge the political divide plaguing this country in the wake of a particularly polarizing election cycle, while the administration pushes for changes to ensure the College’s future despite lowering enrollment and increasing costs. We investigate the administration's salary increases despite ongoing financial constraints and discuss the recent changes made to Dining Services.
We cover the thriving student culture on campus, looking into two of the activities and organizations that drive student life at Gettysburg — Spectrum Yearbook and El Centro. We talk about pop culture and sports, feature the Eisenhower Institute’s Tracie Potts, and leave the fun — the crossword — for last.
We remember and celebrate the life of Professor Peter Carmichael, a giant of this campus whose “larger-than-life” personality touched so many in the Gettysburg community.
This magazine is the culmination of countless hours of work from a team of dedicated student journalists who want to keep the community informed. No matter what happens over the next year, the Gettysburgian is committed to providing prompt and accurate reporting to keep the Gettysburg community informed.
Vincent DiFonzo ’25 Editor-in-Chief, The Gettysburgian
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
Ella Prieto, Managing Editor
By Ainsley Green, Staff Writer
By Sophie Lange, Features Editor
By Ella Prieto, Managing Editor
By Kenzie Smith, A&E Editor
By Benjamin Sarnitsky, Guest Columnist
In Memory of Professor Peter Carmichael: Colleagues reflect on the “larger-than-life” personality and legacy of Pete Carmichael
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
Professor Peter Carmichael, a husband, father of two, 14-year director of the Civil War Institute and beloved Gettysburg College professor, died on Sunday, July 21 at the age of 58. Carmichael left behind a legacy of compassion for others and a genuine passion for his students' success, in addition to deep historiographical insights into the American Civil War era. His funeral, held on the Saturday following his death, was attended by hundreds of his colleagues, former students and friends. Attendees flew in from across the country to honor his legacy. On Friday, Sept. 20, friends, students and colleagues gathered in the Majestic Theater for a celebration of Carmichael’s life, another example of how big Carmichael’s loss is to members of this community.
The Gettysburgian met with a number of Carmichael’s colleagues to collect reflections, stories and tributes on his life and the legacy he leaves behind. This story is the culmination of these conversations.
Jill Ogline Titus, professor of history & CWI interim director, worked closely with Carmichael since her
arrival at Gettysburg in 2012. She characterized him as “a really special person” whose personality was “so huge and so vibrant,” while also describing him as “very genuine and truly interested in everyone around him.”
Titus continued, “People weren’t props to him. People were friends, colleagues and students. Even though he just radiated all this energy and all this light, he made sure everybody else felt really valued and important too, and that is a rare gift.”
She recalled when Carmichael survived brain cancer after being diagnosed in the fall of 2013.
“People weren’t props to him. People were friends, colleagues and students."
-Prof. Jill Ogline Titus
“The prognosis was not good at all — he thought he was going to die, we all thought he was going to die. I remember him and Beth, his wife, it was on the day of his diagnosis. And I remember the grief and the difficulty, and how hard it was for all of us,” said Titus. “But first of all how determined he was to fight it and get all the treatment he could, and secondly his sense that ‘I’ve had a wonderful life and I’m grateful for
everything that I’ve had.’”
Titus expressed gratitude that Carmichael survived the cancer.
“I am grateful that he got those additional 11 years that we never thought we’d have with him. I’m grateful for everything that happened in those 11 years and all that we were able to do with students, all that he was able to experience with his daughters and cheer them on through and all the students lives he was able to touch in that time, as well as all the pranks he played on us and all the jokes and the funny stories,” said Titus.
Titus shared a humorous experience with Carmichael during the planning of one year’s CWI summer conference.
A speaker at the conference had “a lot of requests” from CWI, including a car service to pick them up and drive them all the way to Gettysburg, which would be very expensive for CWI.
When Carmichael saw this, he sent a satirical email to other CWI staff requesting they arrange a car service to pick him up from his home and drive him to work. He also jokingly requested a golf cart to drive him between buildings on campus. At the time, CWI had a new administrative assistant who did not realize the email was a joke.
“For perfectly understandable reasons, she didn’t know that
he was kidding and she spent all this time calculating the costs,” shared Titus. After a few hours, the two realized the miscommunication, and Titus recalled that she “could hear the laughter coming through the door from both of them.”
Ashley Whitehead Luskey, assistant director at the CWI, was a colleague and close personal friend of Carmichael. She shared how important students' involvement at CWI was to Carmichael.
“He would tell us numerous times that the most important thing we did was placing students in internships. He strongly believed that,” she said.
Carmichael worked extensively to establish the CWI’s internship programs, which place students at historic sights across the country. He also worked to raise funds to offer students stipends for their work over the summer. Luskey also pointed to how Carmichael was able to switch between personal and professional on a dime.
“He and I would co-interview a scholar about a recent publication, and I clearly remember those discussions well. We would get on Zoom, and we’d have some great laughs as well as some great discussions about the scholarship. And it shows perfectly Pete’s ability to go back-and-forth between
personal ribbing of someone or asking about their interests — a type of cuisine or a sports team — and then all of a sudden go into a deep historiographical discussion. That was the epitome of Pete,” she said.
One time, Carmichael came into the CWI office wearing part of the wardrobe of famous Indiana Pacers player Paul George. Luskey explained, “He came in sporting these [clothes] and joked ‘Did anyone tell you I have the body of a professional athlete?’”
Besides the jokes, she said Carmichael made friends
everywhere he went because “he literally relished talking to people because he loved learning about people’s lives.”
Carmichael served a dual role between the history department and CWI through his 14 years at the College. History professor Michael Birkner served on the panel that hired Carmichael back in 2010.
“He was a person who could get along with people and understood that part of being a historian is learning how to disagree in
a civil way,” said Birkner. Birkner spoke on Carmichael’s achievements regarding the public history minor offered by the College.
This fundraising allowed students to receive a stipend and have their housing covered during CWI-sponsored summer internships. Birkner also focused on his work on the CWI summer conference.
“What he wanted to do was to not make it so focused on a few big names giving lectures to draw people in, although he got big names here. It was to emphasize more participation from the people, the paying customers, the history buffs who came to this every year.”
Birkner explained that he created small groups to facilitate “substantive conversation” between attendees and invited experts, as opposed to solely lectures. Regarding his work as a historian, Birkner praised Carmichael’s work in investigating the lives and experiences of individual soldiers.
“He was known nationally because of his ability, not just to talk about what we would call the macro elements of the Civil War and military history, but he was very interested in the lived experience of the private soldiers, both north and south, and how they experienced being in the service,” said Birkner.
Carmichael’s 2018 book, “The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies,” focuses on the lived experience
of individual soldiers through the Civil War.
“Carmichael put it into a different context, shaped into a different way, and really gave you the felt experience of those soldiers because he quoted them so extensively, because he was empathetic to what they were experiencing,” said Birkner.
On Carmichael’s impact in Gettysburg, Birker commented that he “was a person who, from top to bottom, was in demand and he met that demand by appearing just about everywhere. And he did all of this while running the CWI, while being a good professor, while mentoring students toward graduate school or professions in public history. He did all of this while writing his own scholarship and, of course, by being a colleague here. A teacher, husband and father — he did a lot during his time.”
Birkner characterized Carmichael as charismatic and genuine, while emphasizing the large impact he had at Gettysburg. “His passing leaves a big hole here, not just in the department but in the CWI and at the College generally. I don’t know of anybody I can think of who had more impact in the time he was here than Pete Carmichael,” said Birkner.
History professor Bill Bowman recalled
Carmichael’s passion for his work and his sense of humor while praising his work at CWI and on the public history minor.
“He and I missed each other by one day in late December 2023, when they were visiting Vienna. We had plans to share his favorite Austrian dish, Tafelspitz, which translates rather poorly to ‘boiled beef,’ and to tour the city together,” said Bowman.
“Professor Carmichael was a gifted teacher and advisor, a major scholar in his field and a good friend.”
Bowman recalled his conversations with Carmichael on a wide variety of topics such as basketball, especially regarding Carmichael’s “beloved Indiana Hoosiers.”
On a personal level, Bowman noted Carmichael’s “dedication to and affection for his wife and daughters.”
Carmichael did not only impact students and faculty involved in history and civil war studies. Theater arts professor Christopher Kauffman shared that he and Carmichael became close when their daughters met each other at school.
“Passion was at the heart of his work, and it’s a good way to describe his life, too. He loved his life. He fought for it fiercely as a cancer survivor. He loved his wife and daughters. And he loved his job,” Kauffman said. “When he was recovering from cancer, he was dedicated to getting better and wanted to move all the time — to work
out and lift and get stronger. I couldn’t really hang with the lifting part, but we would walk in the battlefield regularly for exercise and to catch up, a routine that we kept up until the end.”
Kaufmann reflected on Carmichael’s passion for teaching, saying, “Teaching for him was not just something to do between writing sessions or appearances on CNN. He loved it. He knew so much, but also was always learning, and loved to learn about history; about what made people strive and fail; about what we love and why; and how to keep from going gently into that good night.”
Supplementing Servo: Upgrades to College Dining Services
By Brandon Fey, News Editor
Several students were surprised this August when they returned to campus to find that the interior of the dining hall had been given a new appearance. As the primary dining center at Gettysburg College, Servo is responsible for providing food for the student body every day of the week. Given the importance of the facility to the student experience, the President's Council had decided that it would benefit from some timely renovations.
The planning of this project began in early January 2024, during which the President's Council collaborated with Facility Services to hire contractors and begin creating some designs. These focused on the dining area of Servo which had not
been refurbished for about 15 years.
Renovations include new paint colors and new sound barriers along the walls to reduce the level of noise in Servo. The lighting was also entirely replaced with more energyefficient LED lights to improve both brightness and sustainability. The project also included new signage and two large television screens to provide information about dining specials and upcoming events.
“It seems a lot more modern and fresh in a classic way,” said Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Michael Bishop describing the upgraded dining hall.
The renovation project began the
day after Reunion Weekend: June 3. Contractors started with some mild demolition, mainly involving the removal of the wooden shapes that previously hung along the walls. They then replaced old ceiling tiles and began work on the lighting.
“It seems a lot more modern and fresh in a classic way.”
- Michael Bishop
Students can expect to see the popular student life photos of their classmates return by early October, as new pictures are being printed to fill newly purchased frames.
In addition to building renovations, the College has also sought to improve its services offered to the students. To assess the needs of its targeted audience, the planning group requested insights from students across campus.
“We met with a bunch of different focus groups,” said Bishop. “We met with some of the groups from the Senate and some academic groups for input.”
Per the suggestions of the students, Servo now offers new meal plans and new Servo to-go boxes. Students have the option of checking out a reusable container which they may fill with food items of their choice to be taken out of the dining hall. The containers are available in both large and small sizes, and students can choose to check out either one large container or up to two small containers to count for a single meal swipe. The containers are labeled with waterproof barcodes, which keep track of which are being used so they can be properly cleaned upon return. Dining Services has also launched a new mobile app, FD Mealplanner, with menus and information about food items being offered at both Servo and
the Bullet Hole. The app has been in development for over a year and one of its aims is to specifically serve students with food allergies. It does this through a feature that lists the ingredients of each meal item, highlighting potential allergens.
This links to the Department of Agriculture’s database, providing the most current information.
The upgrades to Servo are expected to positively impact the Gettysburg College experience for several students in the future.
“I don't think it's going to go out of style,” said Bishop. “It will definitely look good for years to come.” ∎
Tax Filing Reveals Executive Salary Increases Amid Financial Constraints
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief, and Ella Prieto, Managing Editor
Recently released Gettysburg College tax filings, which shows the salaries of the College’s top administrators, revealed that President Bob Iuliano’s total compensation including benefits rose to $731,660 last year.
The Form 990 tax filing, required to be released as public record by law due to the College’s nonprofit status, was published by ProPublica and is reviewed annually by the Gettysburgian. It shows that Iuliano’s base salary increased from $511,504 in the 2021-22 fiscal year compared to $621,127 in the 2022-23 fiscal year — an increase of $109,623. The most recent Form 990 filing shows the College’s finances and executive salaries between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023.
The president’s salary is set by the College’s Board of Trustees and only disclosed through the annual Form 990 filing.
In her last full fiscal year at the College, former president Janet Morgan Riggs made a $471,608 base salary according to that year’s Form 990. With benefits, this came to a total of $529,162. This means the president’s total compensation has increased by 38.27% since Riggs' last full fiscal year, June 2018 to May 2019. Iuliano began at the College on July 1, 2019.
Amid the increase, the College experienced several budget cuts to programs and departments across campus. The administration terminated The Gettysburg Review after 25 years at the school while the Civil War Institute Fellows program was stripped of its stipend to pay students and the
Provost’s Office limited funding for the language department's teaching assistants. Additionally, a College report last year found that faculty salaries fall below other averages at schools and that their salaries have lost significant purchasing power due to inflation.
The 2023 Faculty Salary Report, prepared by Director of Institutional Analysis Suhua Dong and presented to faculty in November, showed that the College pays professors an average of $12,734 less than its “like-schools,” schools of a similar size and ranking identified as comparable to Gettysburg College.
Gettysburg’s like-schools were identified as Connecticut College, Denison University, Dickinson College, Franklin and Marshall College, Lawrence University and Union College.
This means the President's total compensation has increased by 38.27% since Riggs's last full fiscal year, June
2018 to May 2019.
Associate professors were found to be paid an average of $5,017 less than their counterparts at like-institutions. Assistant professors were paid $1,977 less. The five-year average annual
faculty salary increase for Gettysburg was 1.7%, compared to the 2.82% average at like-schools. The report also found that “faculty retirement benefits fall below peers” and that “healthcare costs have risen for the College and will continue to rise.”
This report predates a general 2% raise given to faculty in the summer of 2024.
Iuliano’s salary is higher than that of the presidents at the like-schools Dickinson, Lawrence, Union and Connecticut, but lower than that of Franklin and Marshall and Denison, according to the most recent ProPublica data.
The Gettysburgian reached out to the College for comment on the president’s pay increase compared to that of faculty. Charlie Scott ’77, Emeriti Board of Trustees member and member of the search committee that hired Iuliano, spoke with the Gettysburgian and explained that Iuliano’s salary is well-aligned with College norms and has not significantly fluctuated since Iuliano’s hiring in 2019.
“I'm glad you wanted to talk about [the raise], because on its face, it looks pretty substantial, and certainly not in line with what the rest of the organization has had to experience,” said Scott. He explained that Iuliano initially started on a three-year contract at a $550,000 base salary with an additional $50,000 set aside each year in a deferred account that he would receive upon completion of the contract. After this, Iuliano signed a new five-year contract at a $600,000 base salary with raises given in-line with other faculty and staff raises.
Scott explained that the deferred account is “one of the reasons that will make the pay fluctuate the way it looks like it has. But since then, since he started that second contract, he has received a salary increase percentage as everyone else.”
Scott said, “It's had ups and downs that have made certain years look really strong and other years look really weak.”
A faculty member contacted the Gettysburgian to discuss Iuliano’s salary increase and faculty morale. The Gettysburgian agreed to publish their comments anonymously to protect their identity.
“The President’s 2023 salary increase sounds alarm bells about priorities, transparency and honesty,” the faculty member said. “[Iuliano] stood in front of the faculty last fall and told us he had foregone raises. It’s in the approved minutes. The figures for that year were not public yet, but now that they are, it seems that Bob was at that very moment enjoying a $110,000 raise over the previous year.”
"The President's 2023 salary increase sounds alarm bells about priorities, transparency and honesty."
The Gettysburgian obtained the official faculty meeting minutes report from Nov. 16, 2023 in which Iuliano was questioned by a faculty member about salary increases based on public data, which states the following: “President Iuliano disputed those figures and said he has foregone pay raises and gave back
15% of his compensation during the pandemic.”
Scott confirmed to the Gettysburgian that Iuliano did take a voluntary $84,500 pay cut during the pandemic.
The faculty member added, “That one-year raise alone exceeds the annual average salary for Gettysburg’s full professors, our most senior faculty rank.” While Iuliano’s raise added $109,623 to his base salary, the average full professor salary was reported at $107,366. They also highlighted the closure of the Gettysburg Review and staffing issues as examples of cuts made due to financial constraints.
“In the same year the College shuttered its nationally recognized journal and fired its staff, lost respected faculty to other schools without replacing them, asked staff to take on the jobs of their former coworkers and recruited our smallest incoming class in decades,” they said. “Morale is the lowest I’ve seen in my time here.”
On faculty salaries, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates pointed to previous investments in faculty raises that the College has undertaken, stating, “Over the summer, Provost Bookwala announced that by using some of the savings from the curricular efficiencies put into place last academic year, we were able to distribute $257,000 toward equity adjustments for faculty salaries. You might also be interested to know that the College invested another $225,000 toward equity adjustments in administrator salaries in the last academic year, and in the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022, the College provided a little over $1.5 million to our support staff colleagues to address compression and ensure fair compensation.”
Iuliano has recently addressed ongoing financial constraints and lowered enrollment. At the first faculty meeting, held on Aug. 29, he recognized that there is lower enrollment seen with the class of 2028 and that there is less enrollment to colleges and universities nationwide.
“Ten or so years ago, there were far more students seeking a liberal arts education than there were spots. Today, it is precisely the opposite. Our students are applying to a dozen or so schools; they have choices,” he said.
Iuliano highlighted that the College received record applications, more than 8,300, but because less accepted students chose to enroll, he said “the underlying financial challenges actually intensified.”
510 students joined the College in the class of 2028, compared to the class of 2027’s 610 and the class of 2026’s 649.
Another faculty member who chose to remain anonymous reached out to the Gettysburgian to comment:
“The whimsical 2% raises faculty and staff have sporadically received over the last decade are striking when one looks at the exorbitant salaries and pay raises given to administrators and institute staff who are rarely on campus. The fact that the board is boastful about ensuring a competitive salary for those individuals while knowingly underpaying faculty and staff who have devoted their lives to the College — and while simultaneously cutting healthcare coverage to barebones and refusing to restore retirement contribution to pre-COVID levels — is wholly dispiriting.” ∎
The Sunderman Conservatory of Music Hosts The Crossing at Gettysburg College
By Ainsley Green, Staff Writer
On Friday Sept. 6, Gettysburg College proudly welcomed Grammy Awardwinning chamber choir The Crossing directed by Donald Nally. The critically acclaimed ensemble first gave a workshop for students of the College at 3 p.m. during the Conservatory’s regularly scheduled "Now Hear This!" recital hour in Paul Recital Hall. Later in the evening they performed a program titled “What belongs to me?” in Christ Chapel. Admission to the concert was free to the Gettysburg community, and a wide variety of audience members came out to witness the incredibly unique musical charisma that is The Crossing. The choral group has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has won three Grammys for Best Choral Performance across their 34 studio releases. The Crossing is best known for their connection of music to social, environmental, and political issues and innovating what most would imagine a choir performance to be like through a twenty-first century lens.
At the workshop conductor Donald Nally, with four members of The Crossing: Rebecca Myers, Chelsea Lyons, Michael Jones and Daniel Schwartz, talked about the history of the ensemble and gave more insight as to what the concert would be about that evening. Students and faculty of the Conservatory came out to listen and ask questions to this panel of professional musicians, and they even performed a brief excerpt of the first piece on their program “What belongs to me?”
Nally further explained the goals of the ensemble’s beginnings, stating that “[We would] eventually get to the point where we are commissioning and building an American repertoire largely of full concert length works [since] there aren’t a lot of those that exist.”
The Crossing has worked closely with many composers, including David Lang, Shara Nova, Gabriela Ortiz and Ayanna Woods, to create the perfect songs that reflect their talents and the messages that they want to convey to their audiences. MJ Johanson ’27 was just one of the students that The Crossing reached with their messaging. They participated in the workshop and attended the concert.
Beforehand, Johanson remarked, “I am studying music [at the Sunderman Conservatory] so that I can hopefully make a living off of ensemble and solo performance like this.” Through workshop sessions, students are able to learn from professional musicians on a personal level, an experience that can be very valuable. “I would love to be able to ask them [questions] and their thoughts on if it is a viable goal,” Johanson continued, excited about the prospect of gaining wisdom from the performance.
At 8 p.m., The Crossing took the stage at Christ Chapel to perform their concert program, consisting of a continuous set of pieces that flowed together to make up a cohesive story with music pulled from multiple albums by a variety of composers. As explained in the earlier workshop, the pieces depicted a journey through
many emotions and settings, from the darkest depths of anger to the most hopeful moments. Many soloists were featured on the pieces with the most climactic moments bringing the entire choir together. The music showcased many abstract musical effects with the singers’ voices, including spoken words, chromatic dissonances, hints of atonality and wide dynamic ranges. In addition, all of the members of the ensemble used handbells, clapping, glockenspiel, crystal glass harp and more to add percussion to the pieces. After the entire program was finished, the ensemble immediately received a standing ovation from the audience. Jocelyn Little ’25 was an audience member after ushering the event, courtesy of the music service fraternity at Gettysburg College Sigma Alpha Iota.
“The Crossing was such a moving performance. All of the voices blended together as one and were indistinguishable from one another,” said Little after the concert finished. “It was by far one of my favorite performances I’ve been to while at Gettysburg. It’s something I’ll remember forever!” ∎
(Photo Kevin Vondrak)
Postcard from Abroad: Observance in Lancaster, England
By Beatrice Slevin-Trigo, Contributing Writer
LANCASTER, ENGLAND —
When I first said to a Gettysburg acquaintance that I would be studying abroad in Lancaster, I got a puzzled squint in response. “Like, with the Amish?” Not quite.
Though my semester at England’s Lancaster University has yet to begin, I have spent the past two weeks jumping from London to Manchester to Preston to Liverpool, analyzing artifacts from the world wars and staring up at memorial statues as part of Professor Ian Isherwood’s threeweek seminar exploring how the events of WWI and WWII are memorialized by British society. I am not sure I could have spent my time any better without this seminar. There were times when I wondered how I would navigate my life for the next three months away from home, but after a crowded and humid head start on the London metro — for the first, empty train car was suddenly terminated, and I was crammed into a cramped second before I knew what terminated meant — I felt remarkably at ease. Everything lay ahead to explore and know, and every day was new.
I’ve visited the H.M.S. Belfast, stepped inside St. Luke’s bombedout church, and explored the Churchill War Rooms. I’ve admired John Singer Sargent’s “Gassed” for not long enough at London’s Imperial War Museum and got the rest of my artwork fix at the National Portrait Gallery. At the Lancashire Archives, I stood inches away from an ornate
book of hours that was faded on two of its most intricate pages from having been exposed to sunlight for too long; and, through cold, rainy waits at the bus stop, I visited second-hand bookstores and listened to live music at the famous Cavern Club, where the Beatles once played, though the place has gone through major changes since.
The most interesting sight here, though, is the constant juxtaposition of modernity and antiquity. Gothic
pillars and glittering stained glass windows share a streetside with glossy, sharp skyscrapers. Antiquarian bookshops are often snuggled up beside chain restaurants. The university bus can take you away from the dense cluster of cobblestone and stoplights into indefatigable green fields punctuated with white sheep, which go on and on until another townscape breaks the pastoral stretch.
One can’t help but notice how consistently this architectural dichotomy stands, and after learning that many of the modern-looking buildings replace those destroyed in the wars, it is especially difficult to resist stopping in the middle of a crowd to look at everything without seeming like a gawking tourist.
Yet the trope of the gawking tourist in the middle of a crowd exists for a reason. Much of travel is noticing — or at least travel grows the habit of slowing down and observing. To me, the most important aspect of travel is this observation, the collation of multiple worlds, all to inform one’s own life with new experiences and habits, which is why our global study programs are so vital. They provide the sort of independent learning experience that little else can deliver, to enrich an otherwise stationary and routine life. There is nothing like waking up and deciding what to make of the day and where to go, and then learning outside of what one is used to — there is nothing like it, and it has meant everything to me over the past two weeks. I believe it will continue to mean everything to me long after my semester’s start, and still more when I make the eventual eight-hour flight back to Pennsylvania and return to the familiar and the routine. ∎
‘El Centro’ Empowers a Future
By Sophie Lange, Features Editor
Among the many community service opportunities organized by the Center for Public Service at Gettysburg College is El Centro, an afterschool program that aims to provide enrichment to the lives of local elementary school students by offering academic support, mentorship and opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities. Each individual is paired with a Gettysburg College student, known as a “tutor.” The tutors meet with the children once a week for the entire semester, and often, the tutorstudent pairs form a bond. According to El Centro program coordinator Isleen Justo-Sainz ’25, the majority of the elementary school students participating in El Centro are Latinx and are the children of immigrants or come from low-income households.
“El Centro serves as a huge help to parents who are not able to pick up their kids right away because they are working and provide kids with help in their academics,” said Justo-Sainz.
Earlier this year, Gettysburg College was the recipient of a $1.2 million 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant given by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The grant, which aims to provide enrichment in the areas of academics, art and culture, was awarded to give the campus the ability to establish a community learning center that increases opportunities for bilingual learning for underserved students and families in the Adams County area. Through this initiative, the Gettysburg 21st Century Community Learning Center will work with local partners, including Vida Charter School, the Spanish department and the Innovation and Creativity Lab, to provide greater resources to local
families. Because of this grant, El Centro was able to greatly expand its efforts.
Thanks to the grant, the College will now hold an afterschool program both on campus and at Vida Charter School. The program will also have the funding to provide additional resources for the students, including better supplies, more educational games and off-campus field trip opportunities. The Community Learning Center provides an improved curriculum for the children to receive more practice or assistance in certain subjects, such as reading and mathematics.
Previously, El Centro ran Monday to Thursday for an hour and a half, but with the grant funding, the program is now able to run Monday through Friday. Similar to prior years, the children will still receive a healthy snack provided by the South Central Community Action Programs each day. Because the goal of the program is to increase literacy in both Spanish and English, the majority of activities after homework are designed to assist the children in reading and writing in Spanish. They play games, do crafts and attend field trips to places on campus. Of El Centro, JustoSainz said, “I think it is an extremely important program because it allows the kids to imagine themselves in higher education, and now that this is a possibility for them, as many of these students will be first-generation college students.”
The campus community is very involved with the program. El Centro typically works with the Spanish Department to ensure they have enough volunteers since Gettysburg students can use their time volunteering with the program as a fourth-hour credit. That being
Generation of Leaders
said, any student can volunteer with El Centro, and it is not limited to those majoring in Spanish or taking a Spanish course. Beginning this semester, Gettysburg students have the option to volunteer either on campus or at Vida Charter School. The program also utilizes on-campus spaces such as the planetarium and Schmucker Art Gallery. For example, El Centro took a trip to the Painted Turtle Farm on campus last fall, where they collaborated with volunteers at the farm to teach the children about plants. In addition to these trips, El Centro volunteers plan and host Halloween and Christmas parties for the children each year in the Office of Multicultural Engagement’s basement.
“I wish more people knew how much of an impact the tutors make on the children,” said Justo-Sainz. “They remember [their tutor’s] name and always ask about them if one day they can’t show up. It is an extremely fun and uplifting community that helps these kids imagine themselves in higher education, as there is a lack of representation for students of color in the higher education space.”
Justo-Sainz also explained that, being a first-generation Latina college student herself, her role as the program coordinator allows the children to envision themselves in
“I think it is an extremely important program because it allows the kids to imagine themselves in higher education.”
- Isleen Justo-Sainz ’25
leadership positions and know that they are able to become leaders within the community.
Justo-Sainz said of her role in El Centro, “Although the role is timeconsuming, I can honestly say there is never a day I dread going to El Centro because I love all the kids. Whenever I’m feeling homesick or having a stressful day, they always have something funny to say that makes my day. I love watching them be curious and learn new things and I hope I make an impact on their lives just as much as they have on mine.” ∎
Conversations for Change Seeks to Encourage Dialogue, Bridge Political Gaps
By Brandon Fey, News Editor, and Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
Political polarization in the United States has reached record highs in recent years, leading to disagreement, distrust and a lack of effective communication between political adversaries.
Last academic year saw major protests on college campuses across the country — most were peaceful, but some turned violent. Following the Columbia University encampment, protests and counter-protests regarding the IsraelHamas War quickly spread nationwide and beyond, with major protests on at least 60 campuses in the U.S. alone.
No matter which side comes out on top, the 2024 election cycle will likely result in extremely tight down-theballot results between the two major parties, a culmination of the widening gap between the political left and right. This semester, the College has taken up a new initiative to reduce polarization in Gettysburg, create constructive dialogue and get students civically engaged.
The new College initiative, officially titled “The Unfinished Work: Conversations for Change” and stylized as C4C, launched this semester with lectures, skill-building workshops and engagement activities scheduled throughout the year. It seeks to encourage respectful dialogue not only in politically-charged conversation, but in any disagreement or conflict that may arise between community members.
“While political polarization on college campuses has made constructive conversation across differences more challenging than ever, college campuses are precisely where those conversations
are most needed,” said Vice President of College Life Anne Ehrlich.
C4C is led by College Life, the Eisenhower Institute and the Office of Multicultural Engagement, with assistance from the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life. President Bob Iuliano also partnered with the Institute of Citizens and Scholars and signed onto their College Presidents for Civic Preparedness initiative.
Through C4C, the College strives to encourage students to meaningfully consider their beliefs and values and then challenge them to expose themselves to those with differing opinions.
According to Ehrlich, “This may result in someone changing their mind, or it may not. But, if done well, it definitely facilitates empathy, community and the ability for us all to bring our diverse perspectives together to make positive change in our communities.”
Assistant Director of OME Mauricio Novoa emphasized that the initiative extends beyond politics, saying “It's not exclusively for the election. It's like, you know you have interpersonal conflicts with your friends or with other people, you're able to have those skills, to have that conversation first because that's the baseline you want to have.”
The initiative also involves the creation of two small dialogue groups aimed at giving students the opportunity to develop and practice critical skills in engaging across differences. These will include
seminars on sustained dialogue with EI and the Garthwait Leadership Center and intergroup dialogue through College Life.
Student clubs and organizations are also encouraged to contribute by developing their own programs for advancing the C4C’s goals, for which they may apply for “minigrants.” Novoa expressed hope that the mini-grants will be used by a variety of student clubs to host events on more focused topics related to C4C.
The effectiveness of the initiative, according to Ehlrich, will be measured by any change in the campus community’s desire to have conversations across differences and by the community’s confidence to converse in a respectful and meaningful way.
Ehlrich commented that the initiative has “had people from all corners of campus approach us with their own ideas and programs that have similar goals and want to work with us and align with us. I think the problems I outlined above are on everyone’s mind, and we all know that none of us can solve them on our own; it’s exciting to feel the campus rallying around this critical work.”
College Life, EI and OME will continue to plan workshops and speaker events throughout the year, with the goal of involving more and more members of the community as the initiative progresses. ∎
Gettysburg College’s Yearbook ‘The Spectrum’ Reimagined
By Ella Prieto, Managing Editor
Gettysburg College’s yearbook, The Spectrum, has served as a pillar of campus culture dating back to its founding in the 1890s. It captures each year’s activities, events and memories for the student body. On its pages, one can trace the history of various clubs, organizations, sports teams, Greek life and more. Despite The Spectrum’s important role, some feel as though it has faded into the background of student life at Gettysburg. Editor-in-Chief Piper Pokorny ’27 is striving to change that.
“I think [The Spectrum] is really important to the start of the College, and it’s a little sad that it kind of got forgotten. So I think my goal this year is to get people to remember,” said Pokorny. “The value of a yearbook is to show the memories of every year, capturing what was important that year or putting a name to a face. All students have so many memories of their time in college, and I feel like the yearbook really accentuates that and helps them to remember.”
to tag students and let it be mainstream,” explained Pokorny.
Much of the work she is doing to build The Spectrum has also been person-to-person.
“I’ve been handing out stickers and just talking about it to people I know,” said Pokorny. “We’ll also have a table at the fall activities fair so that incoming first-years know who we are and what we do.”
The staff Pokorny already has are dedicated and exhibit the same enthusiasm about the yearbook that their Editor does.
He added that he hopes The Spectrum gains popularity among students “by fostering more interactions with student-led organizations and communities, inside and outside of school so they feel seen by the students, the school and the community.”
The entire staff, especially Pokorny, is working towards leaving a legacy for The Spectrum behind, despite the majority of them only being underclassmen.
(Photo Abror Niyazmetov/The Gettysburgian)
Pokorny stepped into the Editor-inChief role of The Spectrum this fall and has aspirations to grow the yearbook’s presence on campus in a variety of ways, including social media. The Spectrum’s Instagram page has been relaunched and Pokorny also plans to create a TikTok account. Part of their social media presence includes shouting out students. “I just want people to tag or repost what we’re doing. Like, I want
“I enjoy contributing to the community and gathering the memories [of campus],” said social media manager Doreen Madama ’27. She elaborated that it was also a great avenue to explore her joy of photography.
marketing chair James Miller ’27 added “What I most enjoy about working in The Spectrum yearbook is definitely the people I work with and the people I get to meet because of Spectrum. It is extremely interesting to meet different people across campus whom I would have never thought to be peers with.”
“[I want] to be the person who revived the yearbook and brought it back to what it once was like so many years ago,” disclosed Pokorny. “I want things to look good, and I want people to know that and for our existence to come back to campus… I want this to be something bigger than it has been.”
Interested students are invited to join The Spectrum’s staff by contacting Pokorny at pokopi01@gettysburg.edu. ∎
"The value of a yearbook is to show the memories of every year, capturing what was important that year or putting a name to a face."
- Piper Pokorny ’27
Opinion: The Vital Role of Narcan Accessibility in Preventing Overdoses
By Reese Koch, Guest Columnist
Narcan, also known as naloxone, is a vital medication used to quickly reverse the respiratory depression caused by opioid overdose. With the opioid crisis affecting communities nationwide, college campuses are also seeing its impact. Over five-thousand Pennsylvanians die every year from opioid overdoses, with almost thirty percent of those victims being people from the ages of 19 to 29. The availability of Narcan on campuses has become increasingly important, as many overdoses involve young adults. Ensuring that Narcan is accessible, while also promoting education and awareness, can save lives and create a more secure environment for students. Narcan works by blocking opioid receptors in the brain, which helps to reverse the effects of an overdose. Once administered, the drug acts within minutes, allowing breathing to return to normal and reducing the risk of brain damage or death. It is a non-addictive drug with no potential for misuse and is safe to use even if the person is not experiencing an opioid overdose. Narcan comes in both injectable and nasal spray forms, with the nasal spray being the more commonly used option due to its simplicity.
Narcan availability on campuses is crucial in preventing overdose
deaths. Since an overdose can turn deadly in a matter of minutes, immediate access to Narcan in dorms, health centers and public areas is essential. Equally important is training students, campus security, and staff on how to recognize an overdose and properly administer Narcan. In many cases, the person nearest to the overdose victim has the power to save a life before emergency responders can arrive.
The opioid crisis has affected a wide range of people, including college students. While alcohol is still the most prevalent substance used by students, opioids, whether prescription medications or illicit drugs like heroin or fentanyl, pose a significant threat. Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse shows that young adults aged 18 to 25 are particularly at risk for opioid abuse, often starting with the misuse of prescription painkillers. Many students may initially take prescription opioids for legitimate medical reasons, such as after an injury or surgery. However, the risk of dependency is high, and some may begin using opioids recreationally, unaware of the dangers, especially when combined with other substances like alcohol. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid far stronger than heroin, is increasingly found in counterfeit pills and recreational drugs, leading to accidental overdoses.
A significant barrier to Narcan programs is the stigma around drug use. Some believe that providing Narcan could promote drug use, but this is a misconception. Research shows that access to Narcan does not encourage drug use but serves as a crucial safety measure for those who might experience an overdose. When Narcan programs are paired with broader harm reduction and drug safety education, they foster a culture of empathy and responsibility, helping to dismantle the stigma associated with addiction.
In conclusion, Narcan is more than just an overdose antidote; it’s a lifesaving tool that must be readily available on college campuses. With opioid overdoses on the rise among young adults, making Narcan accessible and ensuring students understand how to use it can save lives. By promoting Narcan distribution and educational initiatives, colleges can create a safer environment and prevent tragedies before they even occur.
Narcan can be accessed at Campus Safety, the Health Center, as well as the Gettysburg Police Department during an emergency. If you need help or need to help a friend or loved one in crisis, please call 988 or the National Rehab Hotline at 866210-1303. ∎
Tracie Potts: Forming a Network from Gettysburg College to Washington D.C.
By Heather Wirick, Staff Writer
One of Gettysburg College’s self-noted appeals, coming from Admissions, is that “students have an abundance of opportunities to get involved as they follow their passions.”
Tracie Potts, Executive Director of the Eisenhower Institute, has certainly made this possible for students who are interested in public policy, government and more.
Potts, who was hired in 2021, has helped to both expand and diversify the endeavors of the Institute through her extensive background in political journalism and experience with public policy. She grew interested in journalism in her sophomore year of high school. She had just transferred to a new school and was seeking new friends and opportunities. The school offered a closed-circuit TV station, and this was where she found her niche in production and news. Through her time at the station, she grew a passion for informing people with fair, balanced stories. This makes sense, as her parents noted she was always talking to others.
Potts went on to major in journalism at Northwestern University. After graduating, she began her formal journalism career at local stations in Alabama and Tennessee. She then took a position with NBC in Los Angeles, later transferring to one of their locations in D.C. After an impressive 30-year career, she was considering some sort of transition, but had gotten
into a groove with her work. She had mentioned this to a colleague, who later encouraged her to branch out by introducing her to a mutual who was conducting the search for Gettysburg’s next EI Executive Director.
She felt some sense of imposter syndrome — she was concerned that her credentials wouldn't match the needs of the position and feared that she wouldn’t find
the same success that she had in journalism. However, with some external encouragement, she decided to take the risk, a skill that she learned through her transition to an academic environment. Throughout her years as a journalist, she learned a number of vital skills, such as how to connect with people and tell stories, along with how to translate what decisions are being made for the public.
Now, she employs these skills at a college instead of in front of a camera. Potts refers to herself as a “lifelong journalist” — she is always ready to converse with people and serve as an unbiased
figure. Through her role with EI, she shares her acumen with students while serving as an additional outlet for them. Potts aims to transfer some of the skills she picked up over her career with a special emphasis on networking. She perfectly aligns with the mission of EI, which aims to connect students with those actively engaged in policy development.
In addition to her emphasis on networking, Potts also uses her skills while developing EI’s annual programming. After considering what global issues students should know about and are interested in, she considers her expansive network of alumni, personal and professional connections, and works her magic to set up both programs and lectures that benefit the entire collegiate community. Current programs, which are all free to students, include the senior-exclusive “Fielding" and “Undergraduate” fellowships in addition to semesterlong experiences such as “Inside Washington,” which brings students to learn about D.C. on-location from EI’s office, located less than 1,400 feet from the White House. The programs often allow students to gain real networking experience.
EI’s website states that applications for spring and summer programs will open in November.
One of Potts’s main goals at EI is teaching students how to network; in other words, how to make themselves seem interesting to others and then allow the universe to decide how their connections will play out. The universe has certainly done Gettysburg College and its students a great favor by adding Tracie Potts to its network. ∎
Chappell Roan:
Your Favorite Artist’s Favorite Artist
By Kenzie Smith, Arts & Entertainment Editor
O ver the past couple of years, female pop stars have been on the rise, from Sabrina Carpenter to Olivia Rodrigo, but over the past few months, a new pop icon has come into the spotlight: Chappell Roan. Although Roan’s stardom appears rather sudden, her career with music started ten years ago when she released her first selftitled EP at the age of 16 under her real name, Kayleigh Rose.
Roan’s path to the fame she now has entered was rocky. In 2019, she took a step back from public involvement to work on her mental health and new music, and then in 2020 she was dropped by her label Atlantic Records due to low profitablity and COVID-19 interfering with her ability to tour. In 2021, Roan turned to TikTok to share her musical abilities, which led her to door-opening opportunities in 2022.
Following Roan's signing to Sony in March 2022, she opened for Olivia Rodrigo in May and Fletcher in October. Roan’s opening for Rodrigo has resurfaced on TikTok as some people share that this performance is what influenced them to look further into Roan’s music, while others share how crazy it is that they had no idea who Roan was at the moment but now are huge fans.
Then, finally in February 2023, Roan headlined her own tour “Naked in North America,” where every date was sold out. 2024 helped propel Roan’s career forward with her performances at NPR’s Tiny Desk, Coachella, the New York’s Governors Ball festival, Lollapalooza and most recently the Video Music Awards.
With these recent performances, Roan has proved her musical talent as well
as solidified her popstar stage presence, such as when she stated “I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist” at Coachella in reference to drag queen Sasha Colby, when she dressed as Lady Liberty at the New York’s Governors Ball festival or when she performed “Good Luck, Babe!” in a full chain-mail knight suit inciting ideas of Joan of Arc at the VMAs, where she was nominated for Best New Artist, which she won, Performance of the Year, Best Trending Video and Song of the Summer.
Not only is Roan having career-defining moments, but she may also be redefining the boundaries between celebrities and their fans. Roan took to TikTok in August to call out “fans” who have been harassing and stalking her, saying that this is inappropriate and crazy behavior. Roan received a lot of support in response, but some people claim that the type of behavior described by Roan is part of being a celebrity.
Roan responded to these posts on TikTok stating, “I don’t care that abuse and harassment, stalking whatever is a normal thing to do to people who are famous. I
don’t care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it okay. That doesn’t make it normal.”
She ended her video emphasizing that she’s “allowed to say no to creepy behavior.”
Roan has also been applauded for clapping back at a cameraman at the VMAs. While Roan was walking the VMAs black carpet, a cameraman yelled “Shut the f*** up,” to which Roan responded, “You shut the f*** up. No, not me, b***h.” Roan later explained her reaction in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“This is quite overwhelming and quite scary. I think for someone who gets a lot of anxiety around people yelling at you the carpet is horrifying, and I yelled back. I yelled back. You don’t get to yell at me like that,” Roan stated.
Some view Roan’s authenticity and boundary-setting as a breath of fresh air to the music industry, while others criticize her in these areas. Nevertheless, her fame is undeniable, and a spotlight will be on Roan as her career continues to grow. ∎
Chappell Roan's debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Opinion: Gettysburg College’s 'Executive Compensation' Problem
By Benjamin Sarnitsky, Guest Columnist
The fall semester looks good for the students at Gettysburg College. Student Rights & Responsibilities policy changes have given many clubs what they need to make Gettysburg look like college; the changes in regulation of alcohol and student events has shifted the campus culture in the right direction, emphasizing student responsibility; and thanks to students, the dining centers have stayed mostly the same.
Even in Student Senate, the angriest buzz can be heard in whines and whimpers about the lines in Servo, or the number of chicken fingers they received on ‘Chicken Finger Friday.’ Bob Iuliano has given students and staff a lofty waiting room to collect themselves while he works his way around financial transparency, but there is one expenditure that he and the Board of Trustees can’t hide.
According to last year's article by former Gettysburgian Editor-in-Chief Laken Franchetti and Managing Editor Ella Prieto, "Investigating the Total Compensations of Gettysburg College Administration Members," Iuliano’s salary has increased by 21% between the years 2019 and 2023.
Iuliano is quoted to have given up pay raises during Covid, while also giving back 15% of his compensation. With the recent decline in the student population, one would think that Iuliano would hold true to this same standard, but one would be dead wrong.
In fact, tax filings on ProPublica have shown that in the last fiscal year, Iuliano’s compensation has increased to a total of $731,660. To put this into perspective, Iuliano’s salary is shy of double that of the College’s Vice President of Student Advancement, Clarence Mullis III. In the fiscal year of 2022, Iuliano’s total compensation sat at a total of $625,894, which means his compensation has increased by over $100,000, or about 20%.
This means that President Iuliano’s compensation at Gettysburg college has increased by more than 30% since he started in July 2019. In light of this, at a recent faculty meeting held on campus, Iuliano is quoted to have stated that the financial situation at Gettysburg College has become much more dire, meaning that “budget cuts” would have to occur. In the words of one of my favorite TV characters, Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys, "Oh, that's greasy. Gree-heee-heeee-eeeeeasy."
While professors wait for raises or tenure, adjunct professors get fired, and students have to fight for an airconditioning unit, Iuliano is able to score one hundred thousand more dollars onto his annual salary. There is no semblance of trust left on the campus of Gettysburg College. If Gettysburg is in poor financial standing, why has Iuliano’s compensation increased so much?
There is no semblance of trust left on the campus of Gettysburg College.
These revelations leave obvious questions in the minds of students: why would the administration shut down The Gettysburg Review and cut back funding to the CWI fellows? If we can afford the WiFi enhancement, how did all the chaos with dining cuts come about last semester? If the campus is losing so much money, wouldn’t financial transparency only support the case of Iuliano and the Board of Trustees? ∎
Opinion: A Simple Solution to Food Service Inadequacy
By Terra Hobler, Opinions Editor
Dining services are an integral part of any school; sustenance comes before all other needs. At Gettysburg College however, a school where off-campus living has become increasingly difficult to attain, the need for adequate food options are even more necessary, as many students lack the means to make food for themselves. Even those that can feed themselves are largely contractually obligated to purchase a meal plan from the school as a result of living on campus. With the vast majority of students being compelled to buy a meal plan at a school with over 2,000 students there is a need to have adequate infrastructure to support this population. However, as circumstances change and schedules become more streamlined, more and more students are running into problems accessing the schools food services they are largely forced to pay for.
The College attempted to redo the meal plan system last semester, with the plan restricting meal swipe usage at the Bullet Hole and therefore encouraging students to eat more meals at Servo. This plan was quickly met with intense opposition from the student body, which left many of the changes abandoned. The effort to reduce wait times at the Bullet Hole aren’t delusional; most of campus would likely agree in saying that the lines are simply too long, and often when you need the convenience of easy, quick takeout, the wait renders the Bullet Hole obsolete.
There are students on this campus
with exceptionally busy schedules. I know a student who doesn’t get a fifteen minute break from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. due to classes, extracurriculars and work. When this student needs lunch the most, right before noon, the lines would guarantee a late arrival to their next class. While having all the classes scheduled at the same time intervals is largely beneficial for taking the classes one wants to take, the downside of a universal lunchtime significantly reduces flexibility. While creating another dining option on campus would be an ideal solution, the financial limitations of such a suggestion make this practically impossible, and claiming
that is the only alternative would lead us nowhere. However, there is a relatively insignificant policy that some students might not even know about that plays a huge role in this discussion: the mandatory one and a half hour wait in between meal swipes.
This policy, for those unaware, means that a student must wait a full ninety minutes in between meal swipes. While there may be some legitimate reason for this policy, such as preventing Higher Bred from being overrun every Sunday night just before the meal swipes reset for the week, I believe the true motivation is to encourage students to purchase a more expensive and expansive meal plan to ensure that they can have enough meals to get through the week.
If a student could use two meal swipes back to back they would be allowed to go to breakfast and grab their lunch ahead of time, ensuring that the wait for Bullet does not determine whether or not they have time to eat lunch that day. Students could get maximum use out of the meal plan they are forced to buy and wait times could be reduced by virtue of students having the option to grab their meals for later and store them for use whenever. This plan would not necessitate new construction, hiring additional staff or any other direct increase in cost. It would increase convenience for students and improve the ability of busy students to make use of their meal plan. ∎
(Photo Sofia Gutierrez/The Gettysburgian)
From Upsets to Triumphs: Memorable Moments of the 2024 US Open
By Owen Kutlu, Sports Editor
The 2024 U.S. Open delivered a thrilling tournament filled with unexpected twists, standout performances and memorable moments. The final Grand Slam of the year, held the quarterfinals of a major before this tournament, and his run brought hope to a U.S. men's tennis scene that has been longing for a Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick's win in anymore as they once thought.
In the women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka triumphed in a hard-fought final over Jessica Pegula. The world No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her third Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win. Her victory was a testament to her consistency throughout 2024, having already won the French Open earlier in the year. Pegula, who was playing in her first-ever Grand Slam final, also had a breakthrough tournament, defeating the favorite, Iga Świątek, in the quarterfinals in a stunning upset. Despite the loss, Pegula's performance represented a major leap forward in her career.
The tournament was also defined by some shocking early exits. Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were both knocked out way earlier than expected. Djokovic, gunning for his 25th Grand Slam, fell to Alexei Popyrin in the third round in a huge upset. Meanwhile, Alcaraz was stunned by Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets, a result that no one saw coming given Alcaraz’s incredible form throughout the year. Some think that the pressure of the Olympics may have worn Alcaraz out leading up to the tournament.
The 2024 U.S. Open will be remembered not just for its winners, but also for the significant upsets and breakthrough performances that reshaped the narrative of the tournament. It was a showcase of grit, mental resilience, and the emergence of new talent, offering a glimpse into the future of tennis. Many players will look to build off of their performances in next year's grand slam calendar. ∎
NFL Week One: Winners and Losers
Brazil Game, Opening Night Thriller Highlight NFL Kickoff 2024
By Charlie Miller, Staff Writer
Winners
The NFL started with a bang, as it always does, as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-20. Or you could say they won by a toe.
Ravens Tight End Isaiah Likely, riding the wave of his breakout game, caught a ball in the end zone with no time left, but replays showed the toe of his cleat out of bounds. This came one play after quarterback Lamar Jackson whiffed on a pass to wide-open Zay Jones that would have tied the game. The thrill of the opening night game continued to Friday but in an unexpected place.
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers kicked off their season in a stadium that usually sees a different kind of football in Brazil. The Eagles won another exciting game in Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil 34-29. Their shiny new tailback Saquon Barkley acquainted himself well with Philly fans, running for two scores and catching another. The highly touted free agent infamously left the Eagles’ bitter rival Giants after last season. For the Packers, the news got worse than the loss, as budding star quarterback Jordan Love is rumored to be out for several weeks with an MCL injury in his knee. Newly acquired Malik Willis will have to take the reins for the Cheeseheads.
This was just the beginning of the action in NFL week one, and it continued Sunday Sept. 8 with several intriguing matchups.
There were several surprise outcomes of week one, with none bigger than the New England Patriots shocking the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow. The Patriots defense stifled the Bengals attack and capitalized on several turnovers by the Bengals. Rhamondre Stevenson paced their offense, rushing for 120 yards and a score, as the Pats escaped with new coach Jerod Mayo’s first career win, 16-10.
There were some big winners in the NFC South, as the bitter rivals Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints both won big (albeit against weaker teams). The Bucs spoiled Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels' debut, as the resurgence of Baker Mayfield continued into 2024. Mayfield, the former number one overall pick, threw for 289 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against a lackluster Commanders defense. Meanwhile, Derek Carr threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns, as the Saints crushed the hapless Panthers, 47-10.
Rounding out the winners of week one were the Buffalo Bills. The Bills, led by quarterback Josh Allen, staged a furious comeback against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals, leading 17-3 near the end of the first half, were outscored 28-3 by Buffalo until the first kickoff return touchdown of the year by Arizona’s Deejay Dallas made it 31-28 Bills. Allen threw two touchdowns and ran for another two, including a spectacular hurdle into the end zone. Buffalo’s defense was able to hold on for an exciting week one victory, and despite losing star wideout Stefon Diggs via trade, their offense managed to click.
Losers
One of the biggest losers of week one was the Cleveland Browns, who were blown out by the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott. Prescott, who just hours before kickoff signed a contract with the highest annual average value in NFL history, threw for a score and 179 yards. He was taken out in the second half, while his Browns counterpart quarterback Deshaun Watson struggled mightily. If there is a player who embodies the loser designation for the Browns this week, it is Watson. He was sacked six times, threw two interceptions and completed just 53% of his throws. His overthrows made Cleveland fans groan, as Watson is in the midst of his publicized $230 million contract, signed amidst ample sexual assault allegations. It later came out that Watson was facing yet another accusation of sexual misconduct, further clouding his murky future on and off the field.
Speaking of tormented quarterbacks, it is hard to find another NFL signal caller who has struggled more in his first few years than Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Despite being the number one pick in the 2023 Draft, he had a 43% completion rate, only two interceptions and did not pass the eye test. After a rookie year where he and his team were abysmal, Panther fans expected to see improvement from the former Heisman winner. That improvement did not come in week one, as he looked like he regressed. He was booed by Panther fans and has since been benched. It is unclear what the future holds for Young, but he better hope he can improve.
The Crossword
By Cassidy Haines,
Assistant Magazine Editor
Across
1. __ Hall is the closest Quarry apartment building to the gym and the pond
3. A shade of green and an album that was everywhere this summer thanks to Charli XCX
6. If you’re athletic, you might be a member of one of these
9. The name of the Sustainable Living theme house on campus
10. Another way to say dress or clothing; in Gettysburg, we often see Civil War __ in town
12. Morse code distress signal (abbr.)
14. The English Department has hosted __ Time events with coffee, this word and pastries!
15. __ in the Square is a beloved Gettysburg tradition for the College and greater community with lots of __ dancing and __ to eat!
17. “We’re __!” is another way to say “We’re done for!”
19. The Bullets Marching __ includes talented instrumentalists and a wonderful Color Guard
20. After closing, businesses __ in the morning
23. Also famous as Slim Shady
24. Second meal of the day
25. One of Sabrina Carpenter’s latest songs
28. The Class of 2028 is the __ class; next year, they will be in their second year
Down
2. Another way to say tests; finals are often the biggest __
3. At the end of a play or musical, the cast and crew take their __
4. Table Top Role-Playing Games (abbr.); we have a club for this on campus!
5. “Can you do me a __?”
7. At Gettysburg College, seniors must complete one of these in order to finish their majors
8. Business, Organizations & Management major (abbr.)
11. Anterior cruciate ligament (abbr.)
13. Spotted __ flies are invasive!
15. This department features Professors Standlee, Hays, and Devilbiss
16. __ Hall is home to most of the music and arts on campus
17. In an archery contest, you should aim for the __
18. One of Shakespeare’s plays, Much __ About Nothing
21. What you do to the ball in mini golf
22. National Football League (abbr.)
26. Poseidon is the Greek god of the __
27. In astronomy, this is the abbreviation for pulsar
Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
Ella Prieto, Managing Editor
Zach Brooks, Magazine Editor & Social Media Manager
Cassidy Haines, Assistant Magazine Editor
William Oehler, Director of Photography
Brandon Fey, News Editor
Terra Hobler, Opinions Editor
Kenzie Smith, A&E Editor
Sophie Lange, Features Editor
Owen Kutlu, Sports Editor
Sarah Daniels, Content Manager
Katie Lauriello, Lead Copy Editor
Prof. Christopher Fee, Advisor
Cover Photo by William Oehler/ The Gettysburgian
Staff Photo by Abror Niyazmetov/ The Gettysburgian