The Gettysburgian - February 2023

The Gettysburgian

Hear what members of the campus community have to say

“ Yik Yak’s Impact on Gettysburg College”

A Note from the Editor

BY ALLI DAYTON, MANAGING EDITOR

As I begin my final semester at Gettysburg College, I reflect on my time as a student here. Unlike other students in the class of 2023, I did not begin my college journey in 2019. Rather, when I arrived on campus in the fall of 2020, the pandemic set me on an unconventional path toward graduating a year early.

Despite my unusual college experience, I found my purpose on campus through my dedication to journalism. By far, the most transformative component of my Gettysburg College experience has been my role with The Gettysburgian. I eagerly investigated the issues I sought answers to, and in the process, I formed relationships with campus offices and student organizations.

During this past year, I have worked with an incredible group of people who make up The Gettysburgian editorial board. Throughout our evening meetings filled with laughter, we have become a close-knit team, ready to cover any breaking news or events that occur on campus. In our weekly meetings, we evaluate our own positions and perspectives as students, which have served as the inspiration for this issue.

This magazine captures what it means to be a student here at Gettysburg College in 2023. We look at the College’s historical connection to the United Lutheran Seminary and how this Lutheran affiliation continues to shape the experiences of our religiously diverse student body.

We also continue our examination of the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the campus community. Undoubtedly, the absence of the class of 2024 in student clubs and organizations, the presence of new social media platforms, and the changes to faculty hiring practices will continue to alter the student experience for years to come.

Along with these recent developments to the campus, we look toward the future, with the development of a study abroad program in Singapore, the hiring of three new head coaches, the introduction of a new assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Engagement, and the promotion of the American Anti-Racism Alliance.

Our campus has recently witnessed numerous changes that have impacted the experience of living and learning at Gettysburg College. The Gettysburgian is privileged to have the opportunity to document these transitions and their ongoing effects.

As you read this issue of The Gettysburgian, I encourage you to reflect on your own experiences at Gettysburg College. Think about what it means for you to be a member of the campus community in the wake of numerous changes over the past few years, and what you want our campus to look like in the future.

Alli Dayton, Managing Editor

By Sophie Lange, Staff Writer

By Ella Prieto, Assistant News Editor

“ Making a Good Franchise Film”

By Victoria Staub, Arts and Entertainment Editor

By Laken Franchetti, News Editor

By Sydney Dyer, Staff Writer

By Kenzie Smith, Staff Writer

“ Trio of New Head Coaches Prepare Their Teams for Spring Success”

By Jack Herr, Sports Editor

By Isaias Martinez, Guest Columnist

By Jackson Dino, Guest Columnist

What Gettysburg College’s Lutheran Affiliation Means Today

By Sophie Lange, Staff Writer

The United Lutheran Seminary is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), one of the largest Lutheran denominations in the United States. Historically speaking, this seminary has been associated with Gettysburg College since the college’s founding in 1832.

Director of Religious and Spiritual Life and College Chaplain Bright clarified that “[Gettysburg] was founded by the same founders who started the [United Lutheran Seminary] up the hill. That Lutheran heritage has always been a part of the history and culture here.”

The dedication of Christ Chapel on the Gettysburg College campus occurred on Oct. 17, 1953, when the college was still deeply attached to its Lutheran history and culture.

Walter Consuelo Langsam, the

president of Gettysburg College at the time of the dedication, wrote about the chapel in a foreword found within a program for the dedication ceremony.

Langsam said, “Christ Chapel, it is to be called. Surely this specific recognition of the Son is especially appropriate on a Christian college campus, where young sons and daughters, in uncounted generations, are destined to spend four of the most important years of their lives—where American fathers and mothers of tomorrow come to be nurtured in faith, knowledge, and friendliness. May the presence of Christ Chapel… bring inspiration, spiritual strength, and blessing to all… whose eyes in looking at its spire are lifted heavenwards and whose hands are folded in prayer within the beauty encompassed by its walls.”

Previously, attending chapel as an entire student body was mandatory, and there was a specific track that students could take if they wanted to attend the United Lutheran Seminary upon graduating. However, the presentday Gettysburg College does not seem nearly as connected to its Lutheran origins. Nonetheless, the ELCA still lists the college as being associated with the denomination. Although Gettysburg College does not offer specific Lutheran scholarships to prospective students, some Lutheran congregations give scholarships for students to attend Lutheran-affiliated educational institutions, including Gettysburg. Despite this, the school receives no funding from the United Lutheran Seminary or the ELCA as a whole.

Bright described the connection as “mostly symbolic now; there’s no financial connection between us and

the Lutheran Church anymore…

Being hired here was a very serious diversion and break with the Lutheran Church…Every chaplain that served here before me was an ordained Lutheran preacher…The school made a very serious decision in terms of its religious life to move in a different direction away from a Lutheran-[informed]…approach to ministry.”

Due to its particular history, Gettysburg had a more conservative, Christian educational experience, but the campus and educational culture have shifted beyond that.

“It used to be the case that every student would [be required to] take classes in Bible and Theology [to graduate]; that doesn’t happen anymore,” Bright explained.

“You would be able to look around our school and tell that’s not necessarily what we do anymore, but we still value religion and spirituality as a matter of community and culture, which is why our center [the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life] still exists. It’s still a value that we have,” shared Bright. “That’s not to say that we require every student to participate in it, but we value that as a matter of your identity…so if it’s something that…adds value to your experience here and enhances the educational process in the pedagogical formation that you go through here as a student, we make that accessible.”

Additionally, Bright explained how the school’s religious history and current religious and spiritual culture fit into Gettysburg’s goal of providing a consequential education.

“Now that we are in that season where we are no longer requiring students to [take classes based on religious studies], we invite you to bring your religious perspective with you when you come to school to examine it for its own consequences,” said Bright. “If our educational goal is to provide a consequential education, that means there will be things that you learn

about your religious tradition here that you may not have known before that will require you to do something differently.”

The Christian overhang of this worship space has created many barriers for those practicing non-Lutheran, particularly nonChristian, religious traditions with its distinctly Lutheran stained glass and altar space.

In discussing the worship space on campus, Bright expressed that he believes the chapel itself needs renovations.

“It is one of the few buildings on campus that has never had any significant attention paid to it since it was erected [in the 1950s]. It is not handicap accessible in the basement, [it lacks] air conditioning, and…it has not even been updated to really reflect the religious demographics of the community here,” said Bright. “In some ways, it’s a beautiful space. It’s wonderfully historical, the acoustics are amazing, and the architecture is beautiful. That’s one of the reasons I came here. It was just such a wonderful building.”

Beyond these issues, some depictions on the stained glass contain messages that are no longer consistent with the ELCA, who assisted in the designing and building of the chapel.

Bright said, “[The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life does] everything we can to make this an interfaith space, but there are some limitations.”

Another issue involves the mural behind the altar space within the sanctuary, now covered by a curtain. The mural depicts Jesus, who is presented as white, leading a white, male Gettysburg College student to his graduation ceremony. According to Bright, the presence of this mural was highly controversial prior to it being covered.

Bright stated that due to its foundation by abolitionists,

Gettysburg was never a segregated institution, and female students were admitted for the first time in 1883. For these reasons, many students felt that this mural did not represent the history of the college, and it perpetuated the image of a predominantly white and male school.

The mural was concealed with a curtain in 1954, the year after its unveiling, and it has not been displayed since then. Based on the limitations of the Chapel as an interfaith space, there have been calls to update Christ Chapel to make it more inclusive. However, none of these requests have come to fruition.

Hannah Repole ’25, a member of Hillel’s leadership board, said, “There is currently no designated space for Jewish students to worship on campus. If we want to have Shabbat services, we must request a space on 25Live. RSL is a great space, but for a Shabbat service or a Passover Seder, it simply doesn’t cut it. I agree that changes need to be [made]. What those changes are, I’m not too sure, but I’m ready to start a conversation about it.”

Newman Association President Natalie Vancura ’25 also shared concerns about the accessibility of the chapel.

“The accessibility of the space should not be a factor that draws people away from growing or exploring their faith,” said Vancura. “We should be doing what we can to make the Chapel space accessible, as well as the lower level, where a variety of events are hosted [as there are] a great deal of faith-related activities held in [this space] where college students come together to have intellectual and meaningful conversations about faith, which I would consider [another] form of worship.”

(Photo Eric Lippe/The Gettysburgian)

Faculty Hiring Varies Across Campus Departments

By Laken Franchetti, News Editor

Gettysburg College currently offers 54 academic majors, minors and programs; these campus departments vary in their handling and allowance of faculty hiring. One department that is currently in the process of hiring is the Department of History. The department is in search of a tenuretrack Latin American historian, and students were invited to participate in the hiring process. The three candidates had to deliver job presentations that were open to all faculty, staff and students across campus.

The political science department has also been searching for new faculty, and they have experienced a rapid rate of growth with numerous hires.

Chair of the political science department Caroline Hartzell shared that there are nine tenured and tenure-track positions within the department, and one recent hire was just finalized. That new hire will begin teaching in the fall of 2023 and will be the tenth tenuretrack position in the political science department. Despite this new hire, Hartzell stated that the department is considered to be short on staff.

“Given a number of retirements in recent years, our department is still one position short of the 11 tenured/tenure-track faculty we had in our department a few years ago,” said Hartzell. “We do consider ourselves to be short on staff given the fact that we are the largest major at the college, with the number of majors growing over the last several years.”

The political science department

also has three visiting assistant professors (VAPs) that have been there for two years, yet all three will leave at the end of this academic year. The department is in the process of hiring one new VAP for the 2023-2024 academic year. Aside from the issue of pre-tenure leaves in the department, political science currently has a large ratio of advisees to advisors, ranging from 25 to 50 advisees per faculty member.

“We try to keep the number of advisees on the lower end of this scale for junior faculty, with senior faculty taking on higher advising loads,” explained Hartzell. “Given that in any given year we have 1-2 faculty members on leave during the year, we probably average close to 30 advisees per faculty member across the department.”

Political science and economics double major Jules Blech ’24 shared that she was unaware of this high ratio and has received much support from her advisor.

“Over the summer, we met to discuss future plans, and she was willing to disclose her personal journey to help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life,” Blech said. “I do feel like the relationship is more based on students reaching out to their advisors when they need help and advice instead of a series of consistent check-ins. I don’t mind this dynamic because I am not afraid to email to ask questions or set up a meeting.”

Blech was interested in knowing further about how her education had been unknowingly affected by the large student to advisor ratio.

“I am curious how the ratio of

political science faculty to students affects other parts of my education. I do wish there were more options for higher level courses at Gettysburg, but I am unsure if this is due to a lack of professors or student-interest,” Blech said. If the college presents an opportunity to make another tenure-track line available, Hartzell said that the political science department would ask to be allocated a position.

Similar to the history and political science departments, the psychology department will also have new faculty in the 2023-2024 academic year. The department currently has eleven full-time faculty members. Along with recent retirements, an increase in psychology majors over the last three years has led them to pursue new faculty.

Department chair Daniel McCall said, “Full-time tenuretrack faculty bring new areas of scholarship to the department as well as new opportunities for students to participate in laboratory research, so we’re excited about bringing in new faculty next year.”

Some of the department’s fulltime faculty are currently teaching extra courses while the department searches for new faculty. This faculty search includes two new tenure-track positions in clinical psychology and behavioral neuroscience. McCall shared the process of this search and how hiring in the psychology department meets the college’s race and equity goals.

Job advertisements are posted in major professional psychology

publications as well as publications that will be seen by traditionally underrepresented groups, such as the Association for Black Psychologists and the National Latina/o Psychological Association. The psychology department also utilizes “inclusion partners” during the hiring process.

“Each of our search committees has a trained ‘inclusion partner’ — a faculty member who is trained to ensure that searches offer due consideration to all candidates and that the hiring process is fair and equitable,” McCall explained. “We ask all candidates to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their application materials, and when candidates come to campus for interviews we have them meet with a diverse group of students as part of a two-day interview process.”

These aforementioned departments have faculties that are rapidly evolving to combat retirements, an increase in interest, visiting professors, and the availability of tenure-track lines, while other departments on campus have not undergone such rapid change.

The art department currently has two tenure and one tenuretrack faculty for the art history program as well as one tenure and tenure-track faculty for the art studio program. Acting department chair Jack Ryan did not believe that the smaller number of faculty when compared to other departments on campus affected the quality or number of classes in the art department. However, he did express his thoughts on the quality of arts and humanities at Gettysburg College as a whole.

“I think that at this political

moment the Arts and Humanities have been diminished because of the misperception of what every Division One Department does on this campus,” said Ryan. “Writing, drawing, painting — anything that requires time and thought have been devalued.”

Although Ryan did not believe that the small number of faculty affected classes in the art department, there is student concern. Art studio and political science double major Lily Morrell ’24 voiced her thoughts on the art department’s current staffing.

“The staffing of the art department has definitely affected the number of classes. The limited staff being stretched to teach multiple classes means we don’t always have courses available despite needing them for a major or minor,” said Morrell. “The uncertainty of whether a course will be available or not has barred many students from [pursuing] higher level art classes or preventing them from taking any at all.”

She recognized that the professors within the department are passionate

and knowledgeable about their respective fields, but she expressed a want for the department to grow in faculty size and course scope to introduce more diversity and variety.

Ryan additionally serves as Vice Provost and Dean of Arts and Humanities. He credited smaller first-year classes as a reason for fewer full-time faculty members. Pandemic departures have also played a role in smaller faculties and the need to hire.

As well, there were no tenuretrack faculty hired during the 2021-2022 academic year.

“That effort was part of an approach here and throughout higher education to proceed cautiously with hiring during the pandemic. The College has recently authorized nine tenure track positions this year,” said spokesperson for the College Jamie Yates.

Associate Provost for Academic Assessment and Dean of Natural Sciences, Computer Science, and Mathematics Darren Glass acknowledged that some faculties could benefit from additional hires.

“I am excited that we are hiring new faculty in several departments this year, both as visiting faculty and on the tenure track,” said Glass. “There are certainly still some departments that would benefit from more faculty, and I hope that we are able to meet more of those needs in the coming years.”

There is recognition of the need for more professors, yet faculty hiring not only depends on the College’s availability for positions but also which departments would be selected for the opportunity.

(Photo Eric Lippe /The Gettysburgian)

Opinion: Why Students Should Engage With Community-Based Programs

By Isaias Martinez, Guest Columnist

Becoming college students often indicates a transition away from our original home as we immerse ourselves in the community that is our college campus. However, we often fail to realize that the college campus exists within an established community. As we come and participate within the physical space, we inevitably interact with the social and cultural atmospheres surrounding the college. In this case, we actively participate within the physical space of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and even Adams County at large. When we think about belonging to a place, a big part of that belonging should relate to the workings outside the main space in which one operates. When thinking about the college experience, we visualize this time as a temporary experience, one in which we come and go as we please. While we might take this as an excuse to not actively engage with the community, we must consider the long-standing history of the College and the ever-growing presence it has on building the community of Gettysburg.

Many aspects of the Gettysburg community already implement themselves in the lives of students, including the Farmer’s Market, Waldo’s, events on the Town Square, and many more. While these activities do denote participation within the Gettysburg community, we often fail to engage in the duality of the

problems facing it. The Adams County Farmers Market alleviates food insecurity for marginalized populations within the county, and Waldo’s has served as a space of acceptance for other marginalized populations. When we belong to the community, we also have to engage with the duality of what happens around us while being students at the college.

I have had the opportunity to engage with the community surrounding Gettysburg during all four years of college, including periods of time when we were remote. I was introduced to the El Centro Program, a Center for Public Service and Spanish Department program, that serves as a fourth hour for many Spanish classes. I remember having such an amazing time during the program, even crying at the conclusion of it because of the experience I had. I tutored a child every week and watched them grow in just one semester. The children who participate at El Centro are often Latinx-identifying and attend local elementary schools. My initial perception of the Gettysburg community changed, and that led to the discovery of the whole community surrounding the campus we engage in. I kept participating in programs like El Centro because it was a meaningful experience and also made Gettysburg feel more like home. This feeling of home came

from engaging with the local population and being a part of programming that helped a portion of the community. We often fail to recognize the privilege of being students, of the education and resources we receive and are exposed to during our college experience. Programs like El Centro showed me the impact that I could have as a student on the community itself. For example, the program gave homework help that works around linguistic barriers. When you continue to interact with this small part of the community, you later encounter other difficulties it faces as you continue to immerse yourself. After I started with El Centro, I had to participate in Adult ESL classes through the Center for Public Service for another Spanish department fourth hour. As I continued my involvement with the children at El Centro, I discovered a whole new part of the community I was already trying to immerse myself in. I can keep going on about the experiences I have had which have expanded my interactions with the community, including more volunteering opportunities in the Center for Public Service. Of these, I would include the summer fellowship which had me immersed within the community this past summer as a teacher’s aide at Migrant Education Summer School and helping facilitate activities at the Painted Turtle Farm & adult ESL classes. I got to know

more people in the community and formed a relationship where I would teach the kids during the day and their parents in the afternoons. These families are ones that I am still connected to; they have shared their culture with me, invited me into their houses, and helped me engage within the community surrounding the college. While my experience may not be applicable to most, there are various avenues in which a student can get involved with the community. Many other academic departments and organizations often partner with programs that contain community engagement. The Center for Public Service provides connections to a variety of programs that connect to a variety of concerns within the community. Campus Kitchen and The Gleaning Project help address food insecurity, El Centro and College Prep aid students, and SCCAP: Support Circles helps families move out of poverty. There are so many more programs that aid a variety of problems within the community that can engage both your academic and personal endeavors. I plan

to have one of my capstones this semester provide some benefit to one of the programs I have participated in.

I do acknowledge that my opinion comes from the position of a student employed as a fellow at the Center for Public Service and as a person who shares a similar ethnic background to the demographic I engaged with. However, I have thought a lot about my position as a member of the Gettysburg community; I feel a sense of responsibility to engage with the duality of the community, one in which I give and take. I give the findings of my experiences within my academic journey and take experiences and the sense of belonging with the community around Gettysburg. It took me two years to decide to engage with the Center for Public Service as a student fellow, and through them I gathered consciousness as a member of Gettysburg beyond the college boundaries: physically, socially, and culturally. Community engagement can take on so many forms and can implement the variety of experiences you have within the college.

I especially urge students who are having a hard time adjusting to the change in scenery to engage within the Center for Public Service programs. I myself have found more than a sense of belonging within my participation in the programs. My engagement has allowed me to grow confidence within myself. As my role within the El Centro program has evolved from volunteer to program coordinator, I have grown as a person and student. I have found an amazing community among the students who engage within the program, the children, their parents, and the community partner. Gettysburg has become more than the dreaded small town with nothing to do besides school. I now see the people of Gettysburg: the business owners, the community activists, the student volunteers, and myself as part of the home and community I now see within Gettysburg.

(Photo Eric Lippe /The Gettysburgian)

Yik Yak’s Impact on Gettysburg College

By Ella Prieto, Assisant News Editor

Following their graduation from Furman University, Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington released the app Yik Yak in 2013. According to a 2017 New York Times Article, the purpose was for those in a close radius to be able to download the app and communicate anonymously. It became popular at colleges and universities, where students would interact about school news on the app.

As Yik Yak continued to grow, it began to spiral out of control, particularly in school settings. Students used the app as a platform to bully their peers or spread rumors. Consequently, several school districts banned Yik Yak and students at colleges began to protest the platform.

Despite the criticism, Block, Inc. acquired the rights to Yik Yak for around one million dollars on April 24, 2017. Just four days after this announcement, the app announced it would be shut down as of May 5, 2017, due to a lack of popularity. However, this was not the end of Yik Yak, as an unnamed team purchased the rights to the Yik Yak brand and later relaunched the app in August 2021

The fall 2021 semester was the first at Gettysburg College where Yik Yak was prevalent in nearly five years. While the app had gone through changes, such as a newly featured Cuss Buster and an increase in moderation, it still has caused issues and impacted the campus environment.

Many of this year’s biggest controversies were frequently

discussed and popularized on Yik Yak, such as the “Tired of White Cis Men?” poster and the lecture by Ryan T. Anderson.

Different students offered an array of opinions about the app and how it is used on campus.

“As someone who loves humor, I think that there is a certain aspect of Yik Yak that gives comedic relief to students when crazy things happen on campus, but I also think it is giving a mask to a lot of people who might be questionable regarding things like racism and sexism,” commented Anderson Gray ’23 “It’s giving them a screen to hide behind, rather than them actually educating themselves on different issues.”

Fellow senior Alex Locher ’23 agreed with points of Gray’s sentiments. Locher, known as “Cape Friend” on Yik Yak stated, “Ultimately, I am not particularly fond of Yik Yak and the general discussion, as it often gives a platform to the sort of people that you would expect to crawl out of the woodwork on an anonymous forum, but there were some fun points.”

They said, “[I am] no longer on Yik Yak, but when I was it was entirely for the ‘Cape Friend’ updates, and when they became sparser and disappeared, I left. It created a forum for people to anonymously interact with others and had all of the benefits and pitfalls of that.”

The notion of solely using Yik

Yak to moderate what is being said was echoed by the director of the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life (OSAGL) Jon Allen. Allen, who also serves as the advisor for Gettysburg College’s Student Senate, explained that he “downloaded it to have an understanding of what is being said on the campus sphere so I wasn’t caught off guard when someone mentioned it.”

Allen also felt that Yik Yak “[is] a net negative. Things get put on there that are hurtful towards people that create a less inclusive community. It makes students feel alienated and bullied, and that is not the type of community we want here.”

Allen also noted that the student leaders he met with discussed using Yik Yak in a way similar to himself, checking what is being said.

Vice President of Student Senate Geoffrey Meadville ’25 said, “I have the app still to moderate it because I feel like I have to know what’s going on and what is being said about Student Senate or other organizations I am a part of. But that is all I use it for at this point. I do not like to open it. I want it to be gone.”

Meadville further described how despite the app’s work to rebrand and rehabilitate itself, “it has not gotten any better. We have seen that it has only gotten worse.”

Others agreed with Meadville and his comments. Fellow Student Senate member and Treasurer of College Republicans Jack Murphy

’24 said, “Yik Yak does not help people or help the community in any way, shape or form. I think it is just used to stir the pot, stir drama, and that is a big problem on this campus that we need to fix.”

Community Assistant Christina Wade ’25 concurred with Murphy, adding, “I think that Yik Yak has created a culture of gossip and a constant need to be involved in everybody’s business. And when you have this centralized source of constant information flowing at you, people treat it like the news. Something happens and people immediately go to Yik Yak. It shapes the way you think and creates a constant feed of information, which is just really toxic.”

Assistant director of Residential Education Brooke Gutschick, who works in the same office as Wade, expressed similar reasons for her dislike of Yik Yak. “The Residential Education staff is part of the OnCall rotation, meaning that we are responsible for responding to emergencies that happen outside of business hours. When we are trying to manage an incident, Yik Yak can be challenging because posts/ comments often share incorrect information that makes our incident response more challenging.”

Gutschick also stated similar opinions as Allen. She explained, “For the most part, Yik Yak is challenging to the work we try to do as educators — supporting students, helping students feel at home, and helping students grow. When students gain information/ advice from Yik Yak, it doesn’t offer us the same opportunity to help students work through things that they’re challenged with or frustrated by, and when students use an anonymous forum to go after their peers, it doesn’t promote our values around building inclusive communities.”

Gutschick’s comments about Yik Yak’s role in spreading false information were also discussed by a fellow member of the community, who wished to remain anonymous.

They said, “I think that Yik Yak has really shown how fast information can spread and how easily people will believe things they read. I do think from a Greek life perspective, especially in terms of sexual assault allegations being brought to Yik Yak, it is a double-edged sword. In the sense that it can be really important, like students deserve to know which organizations have members that are dangerous and it puts pressure on those organizations to hold those members accountable, but at the same time, I feel like sometimes it can be used to weaponize even when people do not want their stories being shared. Sometimes Yik Yak can be very triggering to other survivors when rumors are being spread about their stories that are not true.”

The prevalence of false information on Yik Yak has been something that schools of all levels have been struggling to deal with, and the app has worked with institutions to help with this problem, especially when someone posts anything threatening. Yik Yak often steps in with those posts, giving the appropriate organization the location of where the comments were posted.

“ Most students use Yik Yak on their cellphones, which know where you are relative to 10-15 feet. This is needed for the geofence that Yik Yak uses to determine what posts you see, so your location when using the app is tracked but not shared,” clarified Director of Infrastructure and Computing Dr. Thomas Franza. “Under their privacy terms, however, if someone sends a threat and law enforcement becomes involved, Yik Yak will give the location of where the Yak was sent. Usually to get that you need

a subpoena, but with Yik Yak’s policy, it is up to the discretion of Yik Yak.”

The ability of Yik Yak to closely track the location of its users is not commonly known, so often those who post threatening messages are alarmed when they are caught. While this tracking helps to remove harmful posts, it cannot catch everything.

While upperclassmen see the damage these notes can cause, first-years had different opinions.

“ I think that Yik Yak is beneficial to our community here at Gettysburg College,” said Shane Dowling ’26. “It provides a platform for people to anonymously share their opinions, which I think can be very helpful in certain circumstances.”

Dominic DiLuzio ’26 shared a similar opinion. “Yik Yak allows for important information about subsurface campus events to be transmitted quickly, indiscriminately, and immediately. It transcended the bounds of ‘cliques’ and social circles that would normally restrict gossip to certain groups of people, allowing all to feel more integrated and informed within their community. With that said, there are of course still negatives.”

The Yik Yak debate continues to be complicated, with many perspectives to consider and understand.

Office of Multicultural Engagement Welcomes

Maurico Novoa as New Assistant Director

By Sydney Dyer, Staff Writer

Mauricio Novoa is the new assistant director at the Office of Multicultural Engagement (OME) and started at the beginning of this semester. Having graduated from Gettysburg College in 2014, Novoa has returned to campus to turn his work toward helping current students with the OME’s programming and outreach.

As the assistant director of OME, Novoa oversees all the programming for first-generation students and assists in planning other programs at the OME, such as upcoming events for Black History Month and Women’s History Month. OME frequently collaborates with other offices on programming while also supporting students. The office also contributes to the first-year orientation process every fall and runs numerous other resources such as the Mosaic Cupboard and the Myra T. Herron Fund.

Novoa majored in English with a writing concentration and was a member of the Latin American Student Association when he was on campus. Originally from the Washington D.C. metro area in Maryland, Novoa described that moving to the Gettysburg community was a social adjustment that took time to get used to, especially as it was his first time attending a predominantly white institution. He was able to receive support from and get involved with the Intercultural Resource Center, which was the office that originally combined OME and International Student offices.

According to Novoa, the office has changed drastically over the years since his graduation due multiple reasons. It has separated into its own office, and now resides in the same building as the Mosaic House, which now hosts events and provides space for students. With a rise in diversity in the student body came a movement within the college administration to be more intentional in providing services to students from different ethnic backgrounds. For example, none of the firstgeneration student programming existed during Novoa’s time as a student at Gettysburg, which he now runs the programming for. He is enthusiastic about these changes, as current students are more aware of the resources provided to them by the OME compared to the lower student awareness of the office from his time as a student.

After his time in college, Novoa worked several jobs, including at the after-school program in Adams County, targeted towards high school students of migrant families. He then moved to Austin, Texas where he spent most of his stay working at a public library for several years but found himself returning to the Adams County area. After briefly working nearby at HACC, Novoa knew he wanted to apply to OME when the job opportunity arose.

“ It made me want to come back and pay it forward to them,” Novoa said, referring to the students. He wants to help the students at his alma mater adjust to the school by being the support he needed during his time here as a student. He is looking forward to further interactions with students, being a continuous resource on campus and working to address issues and programming that have remained relevant since his time at Gettysburg.

As far as his goals for the future, Novoa said he is testing the waters to see what students need from him and the OME to decide what direction to take next, for right now he is just seeing “what [his] role can be.” He said he wants to be open to the numerous possibilities that the students could need, even mentioning how the skills acquired from his English degree help at events catered to such interests if students need them. However, he explained that his focus now is on adjusting into his new position and rejoining the community, so that he may ultimately give back to the students of his community.

(Photo Eric Lippe/The Gettysburgian)

Opinion: Educational Immersion: Studying Abroad in Asia Post-Covid

By Jackson Dino, Guest Columnist

The approval of a Gettysburg College-sanctioned study abroad program in Singapore is imminent. A new opportunity is presented to the Gettysburg College body; one that I intend to take full advantage of, and one that many other of my peers should strongly contemplate. It serves as both a broadening of academic opportunities in an area lacking on campus and the chance to immerse oneself in a captivating region and culture.

As both the President of the Finance & Investment Club and Chairman of the Economics Department Student Advisory Committee, I have been vocal on campus regarding my distaste for the lack of financial coursework within the Gettysburg curriculum. The College offers two finance classes within the Economics Department: ECON-267, Finance, and ECON-367, Applied Finance, taught by Lecturer Drew Murphy. Though Professor Murphy does a stellar job within the frameworks of the classes, I, and numerous other Gettysburg students, would desire the chance to further specialize in the growing and ever-evolving industry. Standalone Financial Accounting and Investment Management classes offered in the Management Department represent the only alternative opportunities for additional academic immersion. Though I have secured a competitive internship as a Enterprise Credit Summer Analyst at Bank of America’s New York City office, I know that more coursework in the field could only serve to benefit the career prospects of my peers.

Bridging this “knowledge gap” will be the new Singapore study abroad program. Ranked as the freest marketplace in the world by the Heritage Foundation’s 2022 Index of Economic Freedom, and positioned as one of the Four Asian Tiger economies, the island nation may be the best possible study-abroad location for financially and economically minded students. The nation boasts a highly developed free-market underpinned by a lack of tariffs, a transparent legal and governing structure as well as a lax regulatory atmosphere. This environment has spurred tremendous growth in the nation, and they now maintain one of the highest GDP per capita rankings in the world ($97,057). Between the Finance coursework and the internship component of the Singapore program’s curriculum, my knowledge of the industry will undoubtedly be advanced.

Singapore will serve as a tremendous location for studying beyond mere academics. I will be able to immerse myself in Asian culture, which will be an incredibly distinctive experience relative to studying abroad in Europe. Learning Mandarin will further boost my professional credentials. Singapore is also well-positioned as a hub for travel within eastern Asia, with countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam located in close proximity. Though Singapore island itself only occupies 270 square miles, it features a diverse geography, ranging from the downtown, highly-developed and technologically advanced business district to dense tropical forests in the northern region.

Like many other Gettysburg students, my personal study abroad plans have evolved over time. During my sophomore year of College, I had been determined to study abroad in the popular CET Shanghai program. My plans were disrupted, however, by COVID-19-related geopolitical tensions that witnessed the effective cancellation of the opportunity. Serving as Treasurer of my fraternity, Alpha Chi Rho, further delayed my hopes to leave the country, as did an unsuccessful campaign for the chapter’s presidency. These setbacks proved to be valuable lessons in delayed gratification. In retrospect, I am grateful for these delays, as they set me on a path where I am now able to take full advantage of the impending Singapore program.

Now, with my senior fall approaching, I am seizing on the chance to explore one of the world’s most fascinating countries and regions in Singapore. Gettysburg students of all backgrounds should be encouraged to do the same.

Making a Good Franchise Film

By Victoria Staub, Arts and Entertainment Editor

In 2023, it is practically impossible to avoid billion-dollar movie franchises. Marvel comes out with two or three blockbuster hits each year, and this year we will be receiving an 11th “Fast & Furious” film. Some franchises are currently rebooting, such as “Star Wars” and Batman, some of which have been received far better than others. Two recent franchise installations have divided moviegoers and critics alike. These films, “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” are both members of a franchise, yet one story reigns superior.

The revival of the “Avatar” franchise, 13 years after premiering the highest-grossing film of all time, solidified itself as the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, but it shouldn’t have. While production took a few years, screenwriters had at least eight years to invent a new storyline, and they failed in doing so. One of the greatest issues with “Avatar: The Way of Water” is the lack of novelty to the story. While we are introduced to a new aquatic tribe of Na’vi, the basic storyline of military bad guys destroying nature remains the same. Perhaps the least inspired storytelling from this film is that all of the antagonists are the same, but blue. The villains that were killed in the first movie return as avatars, which is the same reason why many “Star Wars” fans were so disappointed with the return of Emperor Palpatine in the sequels. Nothing is less creative than bringing a character back from the dead, especially when that character is the main antagonist. In addition to the revival of defeated enemies, this film was an unnecessary three hours of what felt like James Cameron’s version

of a second “Titanic” movie. Many of the characters, specifically Jake and Neytiri’s children, one of which is oddly played by Sigourney Weaver, were simply annoying, and the returning protagonists were merely secondary characters. Nonetheless, this film contained beautiful cinematography, which is the greatest redeeming quality of this movie. That being said, it was an overall disappointment to the “Avatar” franchise, at least in my opinion. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” on the other hand, did everything right regarding the making of a franchise sequel film.

Not even I expected to defend, or even compare, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” to “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but after seeing both films, which just so happened to premiere around the same time, it became evident that “Puss in Boots” followed the right formula for continuing a franchise. Numerically speaking, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” received a far higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 95 percent compared to a 76 percent for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” demonstrating that critics deemed this film a superior franchise sequel. For clarification, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” acts as a continuation of the 2001 hit “Shrek” which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002 and famously engaged audiences of all ages. In fact, “Shrek” was so fantastic that the Best Animated Film category was created to give it appropriate accolades. In this franchise continuation, the story clearly follows the character of Puss in Boots, a Zoro-like cat played by Antonio Banderas. Like most

movies geared toward children, the plot is simple to follow, but like “Shrek” and the rest of its continuations, the messages are deep and capable of reaching a wide audience. What this movie did right was following a similar plot formula to the first “Shrek” movie, but with an appropriate reintroduction of past characters. Most importantly, there was a new villain with new motives and a new reason for the journey, the general plot of the movie. There were cameos and references made to beloved characters such as Gingy the Gingerbread Man, Donkey, and, of course, Shrek. An argument could be made that Puss in Boots experiences almost the same internal conflict as Shrek in the first film: a man with a mission, working alongside an annoying sidekick they just couldn’t shake, learns to love. The formula is so simple, but it works. The music is entertaining, it features a new animation style, it’s funny, and it contains a unique personification of death. While I acknowledge that this is not a direct sequel to “Shrek,” and not even the first Puss in Boots movie, it is a member of the “Shrek” franchise, just like “Avatar: The Way of Water” is part of the “Avatar” franchise.

What is considered a good movie is truly in the eye of the moviegoer, but a good movie should be something one sees once and wants to see again. Film is an art, but visuals alone do not constitute a good film. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is visually stunning, like “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but “Avatar” was not a franchise installation that can be admired and watched over and over again. Good art should draw you in, and

Campus Reflects on Lack of Juniors in Student Organizations

By Vincent DiFonzo, Content Manager

Across campus, students have noted a lack of involvement by the class of 2024 in extracurriculars including clubs, sports teams, and student organizations. Seniors typically occupy the majority of leadership positions in campus clubs and organizations, but the lack of current junior involvement could prove problematic as leadership positions find themselves vacant in the 2023-2024 academic year.

Experienced leadership is vital to the logistics of running a student organization. From recruitment to running meetings to planning events, effective leadership can make or break a student organization’s success on campus. Various seniors in leadership roles across campus commented on this trend and its effect on their organizations.

Jack Herr ’23, an officer for the ultimate frisbee team and sports editor for The Gettysburgian, has noticed a “major discrepancy between class representation on the team.”

Ultimate Frisbee has about 10 seniors and 15 first-years yet only one sophomore and two juniors. Herr fears that this discrepancy could affect the team next year, noting how the executive board is already “very senior-heavy” and that there are going to be no juniors, or even sophomores, to replace them.

With its current emphasis on recruitment and engagement, Herr believes that Ultimate Frisbee will “remain one of the best club sports on campus” despite this rising problem.

Abigail Minzer ’23, co-captain of the Mock Trial team, noted that there are only three juniors in Mock Trial, and all three are graduating early and will not be on campus for the entirety of the next academic year. Minzer theorized that the pandemic is the root of this problem.

“ The pandemic has made the leadership of mock trial (and probably many other student organizations) feel disconnects between past, current, and future eras of club leadership,” said Minzer.

Pandemic shutdowns heavily affected the 2020-2021 school year at Gettysburg College, the year in which the Class of 2024 were in their first year. Clubs and organizations largely met online, making engagement difficult.

The 2022-2023 school year has been the first in which Mock Trial has been able to return to in-person competitions. Minzer stated, “Students who led the club last year didn’t have any experience with handling the logistics of traveling to hand down to me as a leader, resulting in me having to figure everything out for myself.”

Minzer noted that managing the logistics of an organization such as Mock Trial without training from previous student leadership can be intimidating. Still, she remains optimistic that future club leadership will be up for the challenge.

This phenomenon has also affected the Student Senate, whose

executive board is entirely made up of seniors and sophomores.

President of the Student Senate Miranda Zamora ’23 noted that she recently observed an uptick in extracurricular engagement from juniors at Student Senate meetings.

“ We had a large number of applicants for our junior class senators compared to those of other class years. I have also noticed a large number of juniors coming in as their club representatives to sit in on the meetings,” said Zamora.

Because of this, Zamora is optimistic about the future of the Student Senate and student organizations as a whole, noting that she has “hopes for a larger turnout in the upcoming executive board elections.”

Additionally, Zamora pointed out that many students choose to study abroad in their junior year, which affects their involvement on campus.

Traditionally, the position of Student Senate president is held by a senior. Despite the lack of juniors on the Senate executive board, Zamora believes that juniors will step up to run for Senate President and other executive positions next year, based on what she has heard “from members considering running.”

The lack of junior involvement is certain to put pressure on underclassmen involved in student organizations who assume leadership positions next year.

Model UN Visited Europe over Winter Break to Enhance their Club Experience

By Zach Brooks, Staff Writer

This past winter break, members of the Gettysburg International Affairs Club and Model United Nations (Model UN) went abroad to Europe, a long-planned trip that finally materialized in part due to co-president of the organization Sophia Meyer ’24. Meyer is an anthropology and political science double major, and an Africana studies minor.

Meyer said that she was inspired to major in political science with a focus on international relations because of her time in high school with Model UN. Meyer first joined her high school’s Model UN since she wanted a space to discuss and debate current events. She was a member of her high school club all four years, making this year her seventh year participating in Model UN. She said she was drawn to Model UN initially out of a love of learning and debate.

“ I enjoy being able to learn and debate about a huge variety of political, social, cultural, economic, environmental, and security/crime related issues,” said Meyer.

Meyer has been involved in Model UN since her first year at Gettysburg College. When she was elected president in May 2022, she began planning a trip to Europe, since previous efforts by the club were unsuccessful.

“ I picked three easily accessible countries in Europe that form the core international political centers, seeking out international non-governmental organizations, government bodies and political institutions that frequently come up

in debate or appear as entities that we are arguing as,” she said.

These countries included France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. As well, she wanted to ensure that the trip would be feasible for a group of students to take in a week and decided to take a test trip of her own this past summer.

“ I did on-the-ground research and spent my own time and money to actually see whether or not such a trip could be pulled off and I found that after going through the places that I had decided on, such a trip was definitely able to be pulled off,” said Meyer.

The participating group of ten students flew out of JFK on Wednesday morning and arrived in Paris, France Thursday evening and explored local tourist attractions. On Friday, they traveled to Brussels, Belgium to tour the European Parliament and were given the option of going to the art

and history museum in Brussels. Saturday morning, they traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands. During their two days they explored many museums and historical sites.

“Amsterdam is looked to as an inclusive, diverse, vibrant place that is often used as an example of social progress, so it was a logical choice [for the trip].” said Meyer.

On Monday afternoon, they went from Amsterdam to Paris, where they spent their final two days at Palais du Luxembourg on Tuesday, having a group lunch, and optionally touring the historic catacombs of Paris.

“ This trip has inspired and lightened my deepest political and cultural interest, specifically as destinations changed along our journey. At the end of the day, it is true that ‘out of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport,’” said trip attendee Meriem Hamioui ’25

Meyer shared that her favorite experiences were a group lunch in Paris and the many casual discussions over myriad topics relevant to the world stage. Meyer also expressed how getting to experience a trip with nine other people who share an interest in global affairs and current events was rewarding.

“Getting to embark on such an experiential learning initiative was rewarding because of the knowledge gained, which I believe to be invaluable,” said Meyer.

(Photo provided)

Grassroots Anti-Racism Activism in Gettysburg

By Kyle Hammerness, Features Editor

TheAmerican Anti-Racism Alliance is a grassroots collection of people from the Gettysburg College community. In September 2020, a group of Gettysburg College students and employees participated in an anti-racism activation experience titled, A Long Talk about the Uncomfortable Truth (“A Long Talk”). When participants in the program wanted to continue this anti-racist work, Kyle Williams, the creator of “A Long Talk” and a Gettysburg College parent, suggested American Anti-Racism Alliance as a name for the organization that they were building. The AntiRacism Alliance is not affiliated with any national organization. Additionally, the Anti-Racism Alliance is not affiliated with Gettysburg College in any official capacity. It is a strictly grassroots group of community members who want to make a difference both on campus and in the Gettysburg community.

Allison Singley, former executive director of Parent Relations, described the goal of the AntiRacism Alliance, saying, “We want to give people an opportunity to share and to talk; we also want to have a focus on activism. I want [Gettysburg College] to be known as a place that advances and maintains a culture of anti-racism. It’s not enough to just say, ‘Well, I’m not racist.’ In today’s world you have to be anti-racist.”

When asked about what advancing a culture anti-racism means to her, Singley said, “You actively take

a position of anti-racism, which means you speak up when you see racist behaviors and policies.

Although they do not have a strict schedule during their meetups, the group will have an educational lesson or practice scenarios combatting racism in their daily lives. They also allot time for discussions and make sure to touch on activism too.

Singley said, “We always have a loose structure when people come to the meetups. We read the room and see what happens.”

Jacqueline Wilkins, an employee of the facilities staff, said, “It’s a relief to finally use my voice to create a possible change where it may help others take a step forward without the crucibles of fear.”

Faculty members from many different departments have participated in the Anti-Racism Alliance meet-up, including Bret Crawford, the Chairperson of the physics department. Crawford, in collaboration with his colleagues, wanted to spread inclusivity in the physics department so they decided to give students a way to voice any issues that they may have.

Crawford said, “We printed our diversity statement on cards throughout the building with some text letting students know they can contact us through an anonymous web form accessed through a web address or QR code. Students are encouraged to talk to one of us directly if they feel comfortable doing so, but this web form gives them an anonymous option as

well.”

Because of his commitment to inclusivity and anti-racism, Crawford sees tremendous value in the work of the Anti-Racism Alliance. Crawford said, “I have found [the Anti-Racism Alliance] meetings helpful as a way for me to regularly re-engage with antiracism and related issues, hear from others, and generate ideas for bringing more inclusion back to our workspaces.”

At their meetup in January, the Anti-Racism Alliance discussed pushing the college to revise its academic calendar so that the beginning of the spring semester does not fall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Singley explained the reasoning behind this stating, “Many colleges and universities have revised their calendars to accommodate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It builds a culture of inclusivity and awareness that shows a commitment to antiracism.”

The American Anti-Racism Alliance is hopeful that they can be a force for change on campus and the wider Gettysburg community.

Ann Wofford, who works in the Eisenhower Institute and Public Policy Department, discussed what she hopes to do through this group by saying, “I’m a resident of the borough, and I think what happens at the college trickles down throughout the borough and hopefully, it’s the ripple effect all the way around. My goal is that this is a small part of a much bigger picture.”

Gettysburg’s Return to the Big Screen

By Kenzie Smith, Staff Writer

Even as Christmas has come and gone, decorations still adorn the streets of Gettysburg. This is because Gettysburg is at the center of the filming of Bo Brinkman’s “A Gettysburg Christmas,” based on Craig Rupp’s book of the same title. The movie follows Hope as she tries to overcome heartache and deal with her family showing up at her apple farm during the Christmas season. The movie is not only being shot in Gettysburg, but it is also involving the community. Members of the town have been cast as extras, and even members of the college have been involved. Both theatre arts professor Christopher Kauffman ’92 and Nicole Parisi ’23 have played parts in the production process.

Before the filming of “A Gettysburg Christmas” began, Kauffman invited Brinkman to his acting class to speak with students. Brinkman attended two classes where he talked about his experiences in theater and film and provided feedback to scenes acted out by the students.

“ The students loved him, and he wants to return to classes sometime soon,” Kauffman said.

Kauffman was invited to play a minor role in the film.

Kauffman spoke upon the impact this movie will have on the community.

“ Being part of something larger than oneself in a storytelling endeavor can be a great community builder and can lift morale,” he said.

Parisi is another member of the college community who is involved in the film. She reached out to the

production team of the movie, hoping to be cast as an extra or hired as an intern, but Parisi was delightfully surprised to be hired as a background production assistant.

“As a production assistant, I am working wherever they need me, whether that be shoveling fake snow, bringing coffee to set, or helping people with any strange matters that come to hand,” Parisi said. “Most specifically, I’ve been working with background actors to arrange their schedules, bring people in as needed, and assist them with anything they need while waiting to go to set.”

Parisi is thankful for this experience, as she plans to work in the entertainment industry after graduating, saying, “This job has taught me a lot about the process of filmmaking. No matter what happens, working as a production assistant is amazing for building skills for coordination in a group setting, public speaking, and working in a fast-paced

environment.”

Even as Parisi finds herself frustrated and tired, the excitement of being involved in this project doesn’t diminish. “The days are long, and I often come home exhausted, but then the next day I wake up excited to do it all again,” Parisi said.

Parisi concluded with a piece of advice, saying, “Don’t be afraid to reach out or ask questions. If you want to do great work, you have to start by asking questions.”

Highlighting the Gettysburg community and having members of it involved in “A Gettysburg Christmas” was one of the main intentions of the film.

“ We need another move in this town similar to what the movie ‘Gettysburg’ brought to our tourism for years following the film,” Producer Kris Webb explained.

Webb contacted Brinkman, and eventually the screenplay was being brought to life, all with the community in mind. Webb said, “We would like to send a Christmas card through this movie to the world that says, ‘Come experience the Gettysburg we know and love!’”

“A Gettysburg Christmas” plans to be released at the Majestic Theater just in time for Christmas festivities.

(Photo Eric Lippe/The Gettysburgian)

Postcard from Abroad: New Beginnings in Berlin

By Aleah Ellerbee

WhenI toured Gettysburg College during my senior year of high school, my tour guide mentioned that the college was evaluated as one of the top programs for study abroad. In the back of my mind I thought that it was such a useful piece of information since I had no intention of going abroad during my time in college. It wasn’t until the spring break of my sophomore year that I had changed my mind. During that break, I was able to go on an Immersion Project trip to Colorado to learn about the Lakota people. Not only did I learn so much about the Native American people there, but I fell in love with the atmosphere and nature that encapsulated Colorado. I loved hiking up a snowy mountain, getting to write my name in snow on a frozen lake and driving past the different types of terrain everyday. The trip made me fall in love with traveling. The second I came back to Gettysburg from spring break, I knew I wanted to start talking to a Center for Global Education advisor about going abroad for the spring of my junior year.

I chose Berlin, Germany as my host country because I heard it was a very diverse city with numerous opportunities for young adults. Germany is also in a region of Europe where I would have the ability to travel to other surrounding countries. I believed that this would be an extraordinary opportunity for me to explore a great part of the world, especially because I have never been to a country outside the United States before. It was such a stressful process trying to gather all of my documents, organize my

luggage, gain access to funds and learn to be okay with the idea of leaving my family and friends for four months. When I did get on that plane to Berlin, all of the nerves suddenly went away. It was when I started to look at the window and saw the beautiful ocean and landscapes that I realized I made the right decision.

Living on my own in a new country has given me the opportunity to understand myself and the world around me better by experiencing an entirely new culture. The food in Germany is so delicious. Not only are there wonderful German dishes like curry wurst or schnitzel, but Berlin being a very globalized city there is a variety of cuisines and opportunities to have dishes from other cultures. The doner

kebab is a Turkish dish made from vegetables and meat from a vertical rotisserie. Being around Germans made me realize that I should not care about what others think of me. Germans typically mind their own business, and they are very confident about themselves. I have also realized that Americans tend to be fake-nice, whereas Germans say exactly how they feel or what they are thinking. This has taught me that maybe there needs to be a greater extent as to which you are honest with yourself and others.

Living and studying abroad, I have learned that I am capable of doing things when I put my mind to it. One of those things is learning a new language. Deustch isn’t such a hard language when you realize the basic foundations of the language. Hearing Deustch spoken around me so often allows me to be immersed in the language all the time. I have also learned that I love to walk places. When I am in Berlin, I love to walk around different neighborhoods to see the different personalities that inhabit Berlin. I keep my eye on the number of cafes, different types of graffiti, food shops, the architecture of homes and building, and the events that happen in different neighborhoods. This experience has made me realize the beauty that humans can create through culture, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me in the upcoming months in Berlin.

(Photo provided)

The Value of a Global Education

By Anna Audia, Lead Copy Editor

MasonClark ’24, an international affairs and political science double major, began this semester with back-to-back trips to Rwanda and Colombia in an effort to understand how conflict-stricken nations reconstruct themselves.

Clark traveled first to Rwanda with the Immersion Project program through the Center for Public Service from Jan. 4 to the 14. His interest in Rwanda began in eighth grade when he studied the country and presented on it. Throughout high school and college, he chose to read a lot about Rwanda “out of personal interest,” took courses where it was often discussed, and he became quite familiar with the genocide and its resulting destruction. However, despite studying the genocide for some time, Clark stated that “there [are] moments, particularly visiting memorials, where you can experience things that you’re never actually going to experience in a classroom.” He said that there is an emotional experience that he encountered from visiting these sites “by just seeing or smelling the presence in a certain place.”

Because the genocide took place in countless locations throughout the country, not just in designated spaces, there are memorials everywhere. Clark described that the memorial and massacre sites have been preserved “so that people can go back today and see them in the state that they were in basically following everything that happened.”

The preservation of profound historical sites, such as the massacre sites in Rwanda, can be emotionally difficult

to see because of how graphic they are. Clark brought up a question that is often a point of discussion when considering historical site preservation, and that is “what [is] the point of having such graphic memorials?”

For example, when one thinks about a memorial for a tragedy in the United States, they often point to the 9/11 Memorial because “it’s what you think of in your head as a memorial. [There’s] plaques, and there are names and flags, but it’s not particularly violent or gruesome,” Clark said.

But Clark said as it was explained to him by the guides in Rwanda, “The point of having these displays with these memorials set up in this way was essentially impart to actually preserve the memory and history of the genocide because what happens so often with genocide is denial, and that can come in different forms and levels.” In his experience at these memorials, Clark felt that by being “in the presence of the remains or ruins— the impact becomes a lot stronger.”

He described his time in Rwanda as a life-changing experience because “visiting those memorials [was] very powerful” despite having previous knowledge about the Rwandan genocide.

After visiting these sites, the group had discussions about what they saw, and for Clark, these discussions “seemed necessary to sort of unravel it because it’s so powerful and heavy.”

He emphasized the educational influence that Rwanda offered, saying “When you travel like that—especially

in the countries that are so far away from the United States—a lot of what you learn is unexpected.”

One of the most important takeaways for Clark on the trip was being able to see the damage that occurred thirty years ago but also seeing how the country has immensely progressed since. Clark wanted to emphasize “the point of recovery and healing and transition” that exists there “because that’s really what makes Rwanda so amazing.”

After returning from Rwanda, Clark had one day at home before getting back on a plane to go to Colombia for a week—missing the first week of classes. He was offered the opportunity by chairperson and political science professor Caroline Hartzell and assistant professor of political science Douglas Page. The three of them presented research they had been working on at the Latin American Peace Science Society in Medellín, Colombia. The research question that they presented was “Do citizens express a preference for inclusive peace processes?” supported by other questions such as: “Who are the citizens that support inclusive peace processes? What types of inclusion do citizens support? What impact does support for inclusion have on respondents’ support for the peace?”

These questions reflect Clark’s academic work in the classroom, but they are also questions that applied to his trips to Rwanda and to Colombia. Aside from the conference, Clark also had the opportunity to explore the city of Medellin where he could see how that city was developed and compare it

to the development of Kigali, Rwanda.

Clark said that having these back-toback trips was an incredible intellectual experience as a student interested in studying the development of conflictstricken countries. He said that “going from a low-income country like Rwanda to a middle-income country like Colombia, it was really interesting to see that growth.” Clark explained that in Colombia there were forms of architecture such as apartment high rises and skyscrapers that “just didn’t exist in Kigali.” By traveling to both of these countries within two weeks, Clark was also able to compare the way the conflicts in each country are memorialized based on the space of their conflicts. Clark said that because the conflict in Columbia wasn’t as localized as the one in Rwanda, there were less noticeable signs of it.

He said, “I feel so grateful that I was able to work with those professors and that I was able to be a part of a project like that and I hope that other professors at Gettysburg are doing that.”

Clark said this reflects the importance of working with professors.

“ I think it’s a really great opportunity to bring undergrads into [research] just to expose us to that environment— expose us more to their field— because it’s sort of the side of being a professional that we don›t really see in the classroom,” he said, continuing by stating this one-on-one work with professors “expos[es] us to the research process in a more hands-on way.”

He expresses his appreciation for the professors that he worked with saying, “people like that are what makes Gettysburg a good school. That makes your experience at Gettysburg, I think. Having professors who aren’t just teachers, but are also acting as mentors for you. That’s the most valuable experience I think I’ve had here…”

When asked why these trips were so important, Clark discussed the importance of travel and the impact it can have.

“ From my perspective, you kind of got one chance,” he said. “That’s one shot at life. So you either go there or you could not go there and when you die your perspective of the world—your

experience, everything you touched, saw, tasted—it’s going to be dictated by what you did.”

Clark continued by discussing travel from an educational point of view. “The ability to talk to people in different countries and gain some insight into their perspective on things is so so valuable” as well as “to be able to witness things with your own eyes and sort of like construct conclusions in your mind about what you’re seeing using the stuff you’ve learned in class,” he said. Clark highlighted how this is very meaningful because “at this stage in our life we’re students. There’s something that feels so amazing and valuable about learning something in a class one semester and then going somewhere and seeing this thing.”

Clark stressed the importance of visiting foreign countries “because you can see things that shock you that you wouldn’t particularly see in your own country…It’s the same world, right? But, you’re living, in some ways, in a different one.”

Trio of New Head Coaches Prepare Their Teams for Spring Success

By Jack Herr, Sports Editor

The fields and diamonds of Gettysburg College will feature the debuts of three new head coaches this upcoming spring athletics season.

Brooke Kalman and Cory Beddick are newer to their programs—softball and baseball, respectively—but fans of the Bullets women’s lacrosse team are already familiar with Charlotte Cunningham, who served on the coaching staff for the past four seasons. All three are working to continue the tradition of success their predecessors left behind.

Cunningham has been a major part of the women’s lacrosse team’s recent success. For the past four seasons, she has worked as an assistant coach and a strength and conditioning coach. Since she took the position in 2018, the Bullets have gone a dominant 47-8.

Even so, she still has big shoes to fill.

Former head coach Carol Cantele had a legendary career, amassing 446 wins, 13 Centennial Conference championships, and three NCAA titles in 30 seasons. Cunningham is nothing but grateful to have learned from Cantele, saying the former head coach is “the reason I’m getting to live out my dream of leading this program … She’s taught me to lead with kindness and passion, and she provided me the ability as an assistant coach to make mistakes, learn, and develop as a person and as a coach.”

Last year, the women’s lacrosse team went a stel lar 19-4 overall, clinching their 13th conference title and making it all the way to the national tournament semifinals. When asked about maintaining this level of success, Cunningham emphasized that her plan “is to continue bringing in excellent students and players who define what Gettysburg lacrosse is,

and who find joy in competition and hard work … I’ll continue to create a competitive environment where we take risks, build up the people around us, and have fun while doing it.”

“ We set lofty goals, and then we set our eyes on the process over the outcome,” she continued, commending her group of seniors and captains who are already “leading the drive.” Like most coaches during preseason, Cunningham wants her team to improve on a daily basis, focusing on the little things that will help them down the road during real competition.

Unlike with Beddick and Kalman, many of the student-athletes of the women’s lacrosse team already know their new head coach well, which will make for a smooth transition. While this is a testimony to the program’s ability to develop competent coaches,

Cunningham still sees “investing in relationships and developing trust with the players” as a fundamental part of her job. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” she said.

Cunningham defines her coaching philosophy as a focus on “growth, commitment, and achievement.” Her first test as head coach comes on Feb. 18 against Stevenson.

Brooke Kalman, new head coach of the softball team, is no stranger to Gettysburg either. She played her college ball with the Bullets and graduated in 2014 after tallying four years as a catcher. According to Kalman, this undergraduate experience was a primary motivator to return as a coach.

“ It has always been my dream to get back to Gettysburg and coach here,” she said. “The college and the softball program are both very special to me and did so much for me throughout my four years, so now having the chance to give back to both is truly special.”

Since she left Gettysburg, Kalman has accumulated significant coaching experience while bouncing around the country. While in graduate school at Villanova University, she worked as an assistant coach for Ursinus College, one of Gettysburg’s conference foes. Getting the opportunity to lead a team as head coach, she then went out to Ripon College in Wisconsin, where she spearheaded the program’s rebuild. She credited her time in the Midwest for “truly learning how to coach.”

Kalman then returned to the Centennial Conference and coached Franklin & Marshall. Later, MIT reached out to her with an offer that she could not refuse, given the school’s place as a top-25 team in the country. While the pandemic impacted her time there, the team was able to earn a bid to a regional championship game last season, a story of success she hopes to replicate at the college she once called home.

The softball team eked out an above-.500 record last year, going 19-18. While Kalman would love a 20-win season, she is prioritizing “the growth and development of the program.” To do so, she must forge connections with her new squad, which she says is a task made easier due to her “having been in their same shoes not too long ago.” The softball team is short on staff this season, so she has been focusing on individual and small group work to get to know her student-athletes both on and off the field.

Overall, Kalman is cultivating a team culture that emphasizes a “blue collar work ethic”; “Working hard may not guarantee anyone success, but it will put you in a much better position to be successful.” She strives to be as “authentic” as possible, wanting to embody and demonstrate to her players the type of person she wants them to be.

The softball team begins their season down in Myrtle Beach, SC, where they will compete against Albion College on Mar. 4 in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.

Like Kalman, new head coach of the baseball team Cory Beddick also has roots in Gettysburg College. A graduate of 2010, he manned the diamond as an infielder for four years. He joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach the very next year but then took a detour, spending time at Hood College (where he built the baseball program up from scratch) and Penn State Behrend. Most recently, Beddick spent the previous five years at Washington College, where he took the Shoremen to their first conference playoffs since 2012.

“ When I decided to pursue a career in college coaching, returning to my alma mater as the head coach was always the goal,” Beddick said. Though it is only February, he and his staff are already gearing up for the season—but with a new roster comes the challenge of gaining the trust of his players,

something he values immensely.

“ The best part of my job is being able to build relationships with the players,” he commented. “It’s not something that happens overnight. I want them to know that we care for them as people, students, and baseball players.”

The baseball team went 18-20 last year. Their 9-9 conference record put them in seventh place in the Centennial. There is room for improvement, and Beddick is bringing the energy, enthusiasm, and confidence to do just that.

“Our team is focused on building an environment where we play for one another, unselfishly, and are willing to do whatever it takes to win,” he said.

Balancing his confidence, though, is the day-to-day mentality Beddick wants his team to embrace: if they focus on getting better each practice, he sees his team having “the talent and desire to earn a spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs.”

When asked about his coaching philosophy, Beddick said, “I want to provide the best possible experience for our players. I want them to succeed in the classroom, make a positive difference in the campus community, and I want them to be champions on the diamond.” He is committed to helping his student-athletes “become the best versions of themselves” and “reach their potential.” The baseball team begins competition on Feb. 20 against Mary Washington and will head to Florida over Spring Break to refine their game.

Cunningham, Kalman, and Beddick are poised to lead their teams to victorious seasons this semester. Each of them feel the weight of the high expectations that come with being head coach, but each of them have the experience, attitude, and dedication necessary to succeed. The Gettysburg faithful are eagerly waiting for the first signs of spring so they can get to the field and diamond.

The Gettysburgian Staff:

Katie Oglesby, Editor-in-Chief

Alli Dayton, Managing Editor

George Malian, Magazine Editor

Laken Franchetti, News Editor

Ella Prieto, Assistant News Editor

Kyle Hammerness, Features Editor

Victoria Staub, A&E Editor

Mikelyn Britt, Opinions Editor

Jack Herr, Sports Editor

Vincent DiFonzo, Content Manager

Anna Audia, Lead Copy Editor

Lauren Chu, Social Media Manager

Eric Lippe, Director of Photography

Dr. Scott Boddery, Advisor

CoverPhotobyWillOehler/TheGettysburgian

StaffPhotobyWillOehler/TheGettysburgian