The Bridge Volume 51, Issue 9

Photo by Krystie Morrison.

Volume 51/Issue 9 November 6, 2020

11/6/2020 - Welcome to November Welcome to The Bridge’s (now) bi-weekly magazine, a collection of stories from thelcbridge.com. Check back every other week for early access to Bridge stories, games, photos and more. The Bridge is by and for Lewis and Clark Community College students, but we hope everyone can find something to enjoy at The Bridge.

Alex Johnson Editor-In-Chief

What’s on the cover?

Crispy fall leaves and fresh snow? It must be November. Photo captured on the pedestrian bridge between E. Broadway and Riverfront Park in Alton, IL. Photo by Krystie Morrison.

The Bridge is...

Alex Johnson

Gary Chapman

Nathan Tucker

amjohnson@lc.edu

gchapman@lc.edu

nrtucker@lc.edu

aagney@lc.edu

Editor-in-Chief

Entertainment and Technology Reporter

Sports Editor

Graphic Designer and Writer

Ashtyn Britt abritt@lc.edu

Hannah Kahl

Associate Editor

hkahl@lc.edu

Krystie Morrison

Copy Editor

Zack Bussman zbussman@lc.edu

Lakyn Gardner

Illustrator

lagardner@lc.edu

Mary Curvey

kmorrison@lc.edu

Moreena Hall

Web Editor and Social Media Manager

Illustrator and Cartoonist

Jenna Shelton

Madeline Critchfield

jshelton@lc.edu

macritchfield@lc.edu

Ad Manager and Writer

Illustrator and Cartoonist

Writer and Graphic Designer

Dillon Neibel

Anthony Brown

dneibel@lc.edu

antdbrown@lc.edu

Adrienne Lane

Lead Reporter

Podcaster and Illustrator

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mrhall@lc.edu

Andrew Agney

mcurvey@lc.edu

Illustrator and Cartoonist Lindsey Becker lmbecker@lc.edu

amlane@lc.edu

Photographer

Web Specialist Maria Martinez Nogueda mfmartinez@lc.edu

Graphic Designer and

Web Specialist Louise Jett ljett@lc.edu

Advisor

Table of Contents Relaxation Feature, pg. 3-6 Election, pg. 7 Local News, pg. 9 Entertainment, pg. 10 Sports, pg. 11-16 Serial Story, pg. 17 Art, pg. 18 Cartoons and Games, pg. 19-20

Fall comes to L&C. Photo via L&C Flickr.

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Stress Management Counter Stimulation

By Jenna Shelton jshelton@lc.edu

Sometimes when we are in pain or are too stressed it becomes difficult to think about anything else or to try doing anything other than focus on the pain that is bothering us. In these situations it is very important to find ways to distract yourself from the pain or the perception of the pain by putting your focus on literally anything other than the pain.

One way that can be accomplished is by sending another loud physical signal to the brain using our five senses, this is called counter stimulation.

Listed below are different ways to send the brain a distracting signal to take the focus off of the painful stimuli, using each of the five senses.

SMELL • The sense of smell is a powerful sense that can be very distracting, yet can cause even more issues if one has allergies. Experiment with different smells that are either relaxing, energizing, or soothing.

• Floral smells, flowers, scented candles, scented oils like lavender or vanilla.

• Cooking smells, peppermint, holiday smells.

• Body lotions, shampoo.

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SOUND • Often, distracting yourself with different sounds can help your brain and body relax and help you not feel such distressing symptoms. Try to listen to different sounds when you are feeling down and see if any option works.

• Listening to yourself breathe, counting breaths.

• Close your eyes and listen to any sounds you can hear.

• Listen to preferred music.

• Listen to a different style of music.

• Listen to a movie or a conversation.

SIGHT • Distracting the mind by looking at sights that are colorful, interesting, pleasing to the eye or require a lot of focus can help your body feel less pain or stress. Try some of these great options and see if any of them work for you.

• The sky, clouds, stars, sunsets, sunrises, rain, etc.

• A picture book, hidden item picture, search and find games.

• A beautiful piece of art.

• A fish tank, a pond, lake, or ocean.

• Photos, television, or movies.

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TOUCH • Your senses can be affected when you hold or manipulate materials or objects that engage your sense of touch and can lessen stress and distract from painful sensations happening in other places in the body. Sometimes even this can be a treatment for the pain, such as ice or heat packs. Try out multiple options from the list below to figure out what works best for you, alternating the options that work so that the senses do not become dulled over time.

• Ice or heat packs.

• Slime, clay, or playdough.

• Fur or a fuzzy blanket.

• Sandpaper, fidget spinner.

• Massage or tapping fingers across skin.

• Rubbing hands together until heat is felt.

• Hard, soft, chewy, melty, food that is hard on the outside but liquid filled on the inside.

• Sweet, spicy, salty, umami, savory or sour.

• Cold, hot or room temperature.

• Healthy, unhealthy, organic, vegan, processed or GMO. These were just a few examples of some natural ways to take your mind off of pain and stress in what is a process called counter stimulation by using your five senses. If you have ongoing issues with pain and/or stress, it is always important to discuss that with your physician.

TASTE • When unpleasant sensations arise sometimes engaging other senses like our sense of taste to distract can help some people move on from the trauma. While most may like sweet flavors, others prefer salty, or even umami. Depending upon how someone is feeling, they may prefer something that they do not normally eat or like at all. Experimenting with different flavors and consistencies can help you decide what you might prefer.

Page layout by Maria Martinez Nogueda Feature

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Stress Management Deep Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

By Jenna Shelton jshelton@lc.edu

Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you are stressed out? What about when you are relaxed? The next time you are feeling either of these emotions, take a moment to notice how your body feels and what your breathing pattern feels like. Is it heavy, fast and shallow, or deep, slow and steady?

Breathing exercises can affect your whole body. Not only are they a great way to relax, but they can relieve stress and reduce tension, and they are super easy to learn. You can do them anywhere; in fact, most people would not even be aware you were doing these exercises in public because you do not need any special tools or equipment to do them.

There are a lot of different breathing exercises out there—ones that can be learned on apps or during yoga or meditation—but here are two of the most popular breathing exercises currently to help manage stress and improve relaxation.

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BELLY BREATHING • Lie flat in a comfortable position, taking note of how you feel at the beginning of this exercise.

• Put one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest. Notice how your hands fall naturally as you breathe in and out.

Notice that the hand on your stomach rises more than the one on your chest.

• Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose into your abdomen to push up your hand as much as it feels comfortable. Your chest should move only a little.

• Breathe out through pursed lips— make an “o”-shape with your lips— and blow like you are blowing bubbles. It may even make a whooshing sound, similar to a gust of wind, as you slowly exhale out.

• Notice the hand on your belly go inwards as the air gets pushed out.

• Do this three to 10 times or for 5 to 10 minutes, taking your time with each breath.

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• Make note of how you feel at the end of the exercise and if there is any difference from how you felt at the beginning compared to the end.

4-7-8 BREATHING TECHNIQUE • This exercise could be done either laying down or sitting up to help you destress or relax and go to sleep easier.

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound.

• Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four (1, 2, 3, 4).

• Hold your breath for a count of seven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound to a count of eight (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), making sure that you have completely exhaled by the time you have reached eight.

• Repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Breathing exercises like these can be practiced at L&C’s weekly FREE yoga class offered on Wednesdays at 6 pm on Zoom. For more information, please contact Student Activities Advisor, Jared Hennings at jhenning@lc.edu or by phone at 618-468-6400.

Page layout by Maria Martinez Nogueda Feature

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A Few Battles Won While the War Is Still Raging

By Alex Johnson amjohnson@lc.edu At the time of writing this it is 6:36 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. The polls closed yesterday but we are still, as expected, left with a lot of anxiety and few answers. It is easy to feel overwhelmed right now, especially if you are an individual who’s rights could be affected by this election.

There are some things we know; however, and, despite some let-downs, there are some good stories scattered across individual states where smaller races are being called. I want to take a moment and highlight a few so, regardless of the result, we can find some hope.

“The Squad” is re-elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilham Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, often referred to as “The Squad”, all reclaimed their US Congress seats. The four women of color are known for their unapologetic progressivism. While things are still up in the air on the overall election, it is nice to know some areas are still happy with progress.

Portland votes for police oversight In an effort to curb police brutality, Portland, Ore., which recently suffered outbreaks of violence, voted to create a civilian-run police oversight committee. The committee would replace the Independent Police Review in investigating misconduct or complaints. This could be a step towards more transparency in police action, especially if more cities or even states start following this model.

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Cori Bush becomes Missouri’s first Black congresswoman Not only is Cori Bush Missouri’s first Black congresswoman, she has also been an engaged Black Lives Matter activist for the past six years and counting. Between the history making election win and her passionate activism, some speculate she may become the newest member of The Squad.

Voting rights for CA parolees returned The state of California reinstated voting rights for felons that are on parole. Individuals who have served their time and are re-entering society should be able to make choices on said society. Although critics often claim moves like this favor Democrats in major elections, it is unlikely CA will go red regardless of who votes; what this will do is allow residents to have more input on their own communities.

Delaware elects nation’s first transgender state senator Activist Sarah McBride became the nation’s first transgender state senator and Delaware’s first LGBTQ+ person elected to their legislature. “I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” McBride said on Twitter. This was not just a win for the Democrats, but for representation and equality.

Regardless of how tonight, tomorrow, next week, next year, etc. goes, there are many “wins” like this across the country already and potentially more to come. Although it can often seem hopeless, I hope it is helpful to see there are still people fighting for representation and equality.

Election

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verbend Records is Riverbend Records is a rbend Record Warm and Groovy Place arm and Groovy Pla

m and Groovy

By Gary Chapman gchapman@lc.edu

The walls are alive with the 12x12 records at the new Riverbend Records on Homer Adams Parkway in Godfrey, Ill.

The store, owned by country musician and record collector Billy Hurst, opened on the 24th with fanfare, with a band playing and a Morales Taco food truck providing refreshments.

Speaking of refreshments, one thing that makes Riverbend Records interesting is the fact that, unlike a lot of record stores in the area, they serve alcoholic beverages, mostly beer.

Most of the main areas of the store are four, approximately 20-foot racks filled with new and old records, with each being marked with media quality and cover quality. In the center of the store, there is a lounge area where people can sit down. The muzak in there is a Sirius XM Country station, which considering the owner’s background, makes sense.

Near the bathrooms is the “sound room” where you can see box sets and buy hi-fi equipment like all-in-one systems and new record players.

The racks of records also have little areas of Japanese pressings and others. The walls also have rare records including a first edition pressing of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and some funk and rap records like NWA’s seminal “Straight Outta Compton”.

The only major gripe I have with the store is the CDs, which are in the back and need to be organized better. It is in some alphabetical order, but then genre-wise it is a mess— you will have Rage Against the Machine next to Reba McIntire. I did pick up some CDs when I was there, “Evil Empire” by RATM and “I Get Wet” by Andrew W.K. In conclusion, Riverbend Records has an allure compared to local record stores like Slackers; while Slackers does have a decent section, the prices and atmosphere have a different feel.

Riverbend has a warmer allure.

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Local News

s a ds is ace

a y Place Code Vein: Not just another Dark Souls clone

By Andrew Agney aagney@lc.edu FromSoftware struck gold with Dark Souls, the unique and difficult style of game quickly grew popular with many people, leading to several other game companies copying the formula to try and catch that same level of success. A lot of these copies end up just flopping or getting their 15 minutes of fame until fading back into obscurity, never quite reaching the same level of fame as Dark Souls. One of these games, however, deserves a look over if you have not yet: Code Vein.

Coming out in 2019 and developed by Bandai Namco, Code Vein takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and follows the player as they take control of a revenant, a modern day vampire that needs blood to survive; if a revenant were to go hungry, they would lose their mind and transform into monsters referred to as “Horrors”.

As you explore the world, you will find and either befriend or battle other revenants, while on the search for a supply of blood beads, which revenants feed on. However, along the way you may uncover something much bigger…

Boasting a very expansive and detailed character creator and a class system more fleshed out than other Dark Souls-like games, Code Vein lets you make your revenant entirely personalized to yourself. Between the different choices of character customization and armors, weapons, classes and magic spells, called “Gifts” in the game, it is very unlikely you will find two revenants who are exactly the same. This leaves the game open to much more replayability in the form of trying new classes, weapon types or gift loadouts.

Another highlight of the game is the combat and the boss battles. Similar to Bloodborne, the combat is very fast paced and incentivizes the player to be very aggressive in how they approach battles. Pair this with giant, bombastic bosses who test Entertainment

Code Vein cover art. Via mobygames.com. your skills and how well you can utilize your gifts, you have a game that offers a good challenge to even the most skilled veterans of the genre.

However, this game does also have some of the same issues as Bloodborne, such as a high difficulty that can be off-putting to potential players. Although there is not much gore in this game, the concept of consuming blood and the Mad Max-like, post-apocalyptic setting and imagery might make some people uneasy with the game.

Overall, I think Code Vein is a fantastic game with a great story and is a good substitute for those yearning for a new dark souls game. I give it an 8/10.

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Again Again

Opinion: Sports Need To Be Shut Down (Again) By: Nathan Tucker nrtucker@lc.edu

By now, I am sure you have become almost numb to the news regarding coronavirus. Cases are never-ending, deaths are never-ending, and lately, both are on the rise to levels not seen since the outbreak of the pandemic.

And yet, thousands of people attended football games this weekend. It might shock you to learn that people going to football games with 20,000 other people are not always concerned about virus transmission.

In spite of recommendations from public health officials, sports on a wide scale continues apace, despite America setting a new daily COVID case record at least once a week this fall.

As a fan of sports and, more specifically, attending sports, I understand that those who are going to games during the pandemic are clawing at the idea of “normalcy” by attending a football game on a fall Saturday the way they always would.

The NBA announces a cancellation at the Golden 1 Center after a player tested positive for COVID-19. Image via spox.com

positive. The NFL, and basically any other sports league, will dance around the true effects that the pandemic is having on its operation.

There is nothing normal about mass gatherings for SEC football during a global pandemic. Pictures and video from inside stadiums have shown people flaunting social distancing guidelines, let alone what is happening outside of games where there are not any stadium staff to tell anyone otherwise.

Players are getting sick. Some are not coming back. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez has been dealing with the effects of COVID on and off since a positive case put him in the hospital when the team had an outbreak that sidelined them for almost two weeks during the MLB season.

Now, I do not blame people for “living their life”, as is often the defense. People act differently, and while you would hope everyone takes COVID seriously, not everyone does.

Some are less lucky. Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez caught the virus earlier this year and developed a heart condition, known as myocarditis, that kept him off the field for the entirety of the shortened 2020 season.

The blame lies with the organizations that gave the greenlight to having thousands of people gather during a pandemic all across the country. Sports leagues and local governments have a lot more say over a potential COVID spread than some college kids not wearing masks at a football game.

As already shown with many leagues, most successfully the NBA, it is more than possible to have sports without fans and prevent further spread of coronavirus. Formula One racing has already rolled back plans to hold races with fans, and held their last race without fans in Italy, where COVID-19 ravaged cities in the early days of the outbreak.

The current rate of spread suggests that a step further is truly necessary. Keeping fans away from sporting events is a start, but athletes, team staff, stadium staff and more are still required even without a single fan in attendance.

This past weekend, the NFL announced a landmark: a football Sunday without any positive COVID-19 tests. The Monday after, nearly a dozen teams announced players had tested Page 11

To legitimately prevent further pandemic spread, sports need to go back to March 12, 2020. Shut it down. It is a bold stance, and not a popular one, but necessary if sports actually care about their product long term.

With the COVID-19 pandemic only looking to get worse in the colder months, the safest approach for all sports is to simply call everything off, at every level. Pro sports? Nope. College? Nope. High school? Youth sports? Not happenin’, pal!

Sports must be put on hold until at least the new year. That would allow two months for cases to drop back to what is deemed “safe” enough to hold events, optimistically.

I live and breathe sports, and not having live sports to watch greatly changes my own recreational life.

I have lived without sports before; hell, everyone did, just about seven or eight months ago. It is not even unprecedented, we already did it.

Sports

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Rule Rules

Better Know A Sport: Aussie Rules Football By: Nathan Tucker nrtucker@lc.edu

The cool fall air, leaves turning colors, it’s football season in America, and no better time for “Better Know A Sport” to come back. For this football season edition, we look at a football that isn’t so familiar in America, one that’s a little rounder.

This football takes us to the other side of the world, to Australia, as the title suggests, for Australian rules football!

While called “football”, or more colloquially, “footy”, Aussie Rules football is a bit more similar to rugby than American football.

THE GAME (there’s a lot to this) As just mentioned, Aussie rules football is akin to rugby. Unlike rugby, Aussie rules is played on an oval field, usually a cricket ground. Playing on such a large, open field requires large teams, and Aussie rules football teams have 18 players on-field, and four “interchange” or bench players.

There is no “offsides” rule like either American football or soccer, and players are allowed to roam wherever they please. Aussie rules teams are usually made up of six forwards up front, six “backmen” (or defenders), and six midfielders. Some wider forwards hug closer to the sidelines, and earn the title “wingmen”.

An Aussie rules football game at the highest level, the Australian Football League, consists of four 20-minute quarters. The clock is stopped along the same lines as American football, with going out of bounds, tackles that slow down play, or serious injury.

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moving parts.

Each game starts with a “ball-up” similar to a jump ball in basketball. During a ball-up, the referee bounces the oblong football off the ground to bounce straight in the air, and a taller/jumpier player, known as a “ruckman”, leaps to claim the ball for their team.

The ball can be kicked, punched, or smacked with an open hand, to propel it in a direction the player wants it to go. Throwing the ball like an American football is strictly forbidden, but volleyball-style smacks/punches are accepted.

A player may run with the oval-shaped football, but it must be bounced or dribbled like a basketball once every 15 meters or yards. Players can bump or tackle a running player, and when tackled, the player must dispose of the ball cleanly to another teammate or the other team, or risk being penalised for holding the ball.

If a player kicks the ball over 15 yards and it is caught, the catch is claimed as a “mark”. This stops the game, and allows the player to prepare an unobstructed kick towards the goal posts.

If a player isn’t close enough to kick, or feels they can find a better advantage for their team, they may choose to “play on”, and forfeit the set shot opportunity.

I’ve gone through a number of paragraphs here and haven’t even mentioned how points are scored. There’s a lot to Aussie rules football, and when you look at the game on television, you can really tell that there’s a number of

Aussie rules football consists of two methods of scoring: goals, worth six points, and behinds, worth a single point. Both are scored by getting the ball through four posts at each end of the oval field.

A goal is scored in Aussie rules when the football is kicked through the two taller posts in the middle. It can count on the fly, or on the bounce, as long as no other player or goalpost interfere.

A behind is scored when the ball passes between a middle goal post and a wider behind post at each end of the field, essentially a consolation for not getting a goal between the two middle goal posts.

THE HISTORY OF AUSSIE RULES Compared to the more serious cricket and horse racing, early versions of “football” were often considered mere amusement, similar to how a destruction derby is viewed today. The first legitimate team was a “foot-ball club” organized by Tom Wills, captain of the Victorian cricket team in the mid 19th century.

Wills wanted to form a football team to keep him and his fellow cricketers sharp during the winter off-season.

Wills was born in Australia, but learned an early form of rugby while at school in England. Early games played by Wills’s teams were held outside of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and used trees for the goal posts at each end of the field.

Sports

es

Since the early 20th century, Aussie rules football has been thought to be derived from Gaelic football in Ireland. There’s no evidence that supports this, and the game appeared in Australia long before Gaelic’s similar evolution in Ireland.

Over the 19th century, the sport spread from Victoria and Melbourne across Australia, and regional rivalries developed. In 1896, the first professional Aussie rules league was started, the Victorian Football League, and was an instant hit among fans.

Both World Wars were detrimental to the sport in Australia. Many of the best Aussie rules footballers were drafted to war, and the sport suffered tremendously. Matches were played by Australian soldiers worldwide, but the game at home fell victim to multiple professional teams being forced to shut their doors after the World Wars.

The VFL marched onward, depleted, for decades, and started to grow again right before the turn of the millennium.

The league changed its name to the current Australian Football League, and

added three teams outside of the Victorian province in the 90s. Two more teams were added to the league in 2011. Currently, there are 18 teams in the AFL. The AFL Grand Final, traditionally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, less than a mile away from where Tom Wills founded the game nearly two centuries ago, is the sport’s version of the Super Bowl. Last year’s Grand Final was the highest-attended professional sporting event on the planet, with over 100,000 making their way to Melbourne for the final of the 2019 AFL season.

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Text WEBSTER to 75644 to request more info Virtual Transfer info sessions: Tuesdays at 10 am or Thursdays at 3 pm webster.edu/transfer admit@webster.edu • 314-246-7800

Sports

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Righ W

Right Wron What Sports Have Got Right, And Wrong, During The Pandemic By: Nathan Tucker nrtucker@lc.edu

Over the past so many months of this ongoing pandemic, sports have made both a concerted and not-so-concerted effort to safely proceed with competition. Some leagues and organizations have made all the right steps. Others, to put it plainly, have not.

This brief article will run down the major sports that have resumed a season or started a season in the past four months, and will separate them simply by who got covid protocols right, and who did not and who simply pretended safety was paramount in order to get back on the field.

The NHL’s biggest advantage over other North American sports leagues was being able to set up shop in Canada, where COVID-19 is far less rampant, thanks in large part to the nation’s more cautious approach to the pandemic than the US. When the NBA first announced their bubble in Orlando, a question often asked was “Would it be safe in the most COVID-heavy state in America?” Hosting a bubble in Canada, where cities were dealing with far fewer positive virus cases, eliminated that problem, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs went off without a hitch.

Right GOT IT RIGHT!

NBA

Wrong

The NBA set the gold standard for how a sport should operate during a pandemic. By creating the NBA Bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at DisneyWorld in Orlando, the league drew criticism for keeping players cooped up in hotel rooms, but in doing so became the only league to have absolutely zero positive COVID-19 tests among teams/staff in competition.

Even when introducing family and friends to the NBA Bubble later in the playoffs, strict quarantining measures allowed this to be done safely.

The NBA didn’t postpone a single game because of the virus, a feat only it and the NHL can claim.

NHL

Speaking of, the National Hockey League didn’t have a completely secure bubble, with a few positive cases popping up here and there, but tried their best to create two “hub cities” which acted as bubbles for each conference during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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Now the compliments come to an end.

GOT IT WRONG!

NFL

The NFL has been a mess this season, and has been more in flux week-to-week than any other sport has been during the pandemic. Just last Sunday, Nov. 1, the NFL announced it was the first football Sunday which no player tested positive for COVID.

Multiple players missed games with “illnesses”, and multiple teams announced on Monday, Nov. 2, that players had tested positive and teams would be locking down their facilities, some not for the first time.

A positive test for New England Patriots QB, Cam Newton, provided a terrible game of football against the Denver Broncos in October. Since, both teams have been dealing with the fallout of having players miss time and not being ready for games due to a lack of game fitness.

Sports

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I haven’t even mentioned that they’ve been welcoming fans, all across the country, against all better judgment. What good is a team’s efforts to be safe when you’re selling 20k tickets to random people? Are teams even making efforts to be safe when we can’t see them?

Judging by how much of a problem the virus continues to be throughout the football season, probably not.

NCAA Football

Just like the above but without paying athletes and inviting even more random fans to games.

Even Illinois, a bad football team in a state with a Democratic governor who is attempting to take the virus seriously, allowed one thousand people to attend their home game against Purdue.

In other states and stadiums, where football is of the highest importance, those numbers are much higher, and scenes of the lack of social distancing become internet fodder for the weekend.

College football needs to reassess their policy on allowing fans in stadiums. Leaving it to local government regulations and colleges will see those scenes continuing throughout the season.

MLS

The first US sport to come back in the pandemic was also the first sport to have a COVID outbreak that forced multiple teams to cancel games early on in the #MLSisBack tournament.

The league’s attempts at an Orlando bubble fell short, with teams showing up to the bubble with positive cases.

Positive cases entering a quarantined bubble does not equal the bubble remaining quarantined. Since the #MLSisBack tourney, the MLS has returned to a semi-normal schedule, and is wrapping up their season without fans in attendance, so they’re at least learning.

Sports

MLB

Last but not least, the league that seemed to realize about halfway through its season that the pandemic should be taken more seriously, and decided not to do that; Major League Baseball somehow created a safe “bubble” for players in the playoffs and World Series and ended up messing that up on the grandest possible scale.

Cardinals fans will remember the team missing nearly two weeks of games this season due to multiple players testing positive for the virus. Some were completely incapacitated by the virus. Carlos Martinez suffered lingering effects from COVID basically all season.

So you’d think that MLB would see this and heed the lessons learned by other leagues to have a quarantined playoff or finals, but instead, they invited somewhere around 13,000 fans to their bubble, for some reason.

It is almost like asking thousands of people to travel thousands of miles to watch baseball during a global pandemic isn’t a good idea or something.

And that was before Dodgers star, Justin Turner, was pulled out of the World Series clinching game for a positive COVID test, and then about an hour and change later celebrated on the field with his teammates instead of staying quarantined anywhere else in the stadium.

As we move towards a world of simply living with coronavirus as we wait for a possible vaccine, sports leagues and organizations have a responsibility to keep everyone safe.

If lessons are learned and safer guidelines are heeded, sports can continue safely. If not, both people and the sport are put at risk.

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The Vermillion Sky The Vermillion Sky Part 7

By Andrew Agney aagney@lc.edu

Ciel hums softly as she goes about her first day of class at GrimRaven, she was placed in the recovery coven and as such, she was taught a glyph for a minor healing spell and she is learning how to make potions.

The other members of her placement group are also enjoying their first day of classes. Breeze was placed in the nature coven and is learning to gain more control over plants, other than just being able to grow them.

Syrid was placed in the deception coven and is learning more illusion spells, such as invisibility and shadow magic.

And last but not least, Exquise was placed in the destruction coven and is learning new fire spells that she can empower with her inherently magical lava blood.

During lunch time, Ciel sits with Breeze and Syrid, the trio talking about how their classes have been going and the new magic they’ve been learning. Meanwhile, Exquise sat with the other Rhyolitions of the school, showing off her fire spells to impress the others of her kind.

During the latter half of the school day, Breeze runs up to Ciel, panting softly.

“Ciel! I need your help!” the little goblin girl exclaims.

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“Oh. hey Breeze! What do you need?”

Ciel asks as she pulls a textbook out of her locker.

“It’s the nature coven...we’re going to see a dragon tonight to try and appease it before it attacks the city!

You’re a half-dragon, can you come with and try to help?” Breeze asks, her hands clasped together in a begging pose.

“Sure thing!” Ciel exclaims with a smile “I know a ton about drago-DRAGON?!” she yells out as the realization of what Breeze said hits her, the goblin girl nodding slowly in response.

“I-I, uh…” she takes a deep breath and puffs out her chest in confidence “I can help! I personally have never met a dragon, but...I’ve read a lot of books and my mom has told me all about them!”

“That’s...not exactly comforting…”

Breeze comments. Ciel puts an arm around her in response.

“Relax, Breeze! With me by your side, nothing can go wrong!”

TO BE CONTINUED SerialSports Story

Bridgetober B r id g et o b er b o Bridget er The Vermillion Sky

Last week’s prompt was “Pumpkin Patch”

By Mary Curvey Ink on paper

Thank you to all who participated in Bridgetober! Keep an eye out for more art challenges from The Bridge!

Art

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How to Stay Safe During a Covid Wedding

Wear a homemade mask that matches your dress.

Wear a Black Death doctor mask and make people uncomfortable.

Or steal your college’s mascot outfit and confuse the party-goers..

By: Madeline Critchfield macritchfield@lc.edu Page 19

Cartoons and Games

Cryptid of the World Wordsearch Beast of Bray Road Dover Demon Jersey Devil Mothman Thunderbird Bunyip Frogman Kraken Mugwunp Yeti Chupacabra Gremlin Lochness Monster Ozark Howler

Cartoons and Games

L O C H N E S S M O N S T E R

A R B A C A P U H C R Q H A R

D A O R Y A R B F O T S A E B

K R O X V A Y O O N K R F J Q

P I I W K E E I I D L E R U U

D R P B T J R L O I Y L O A I

Q P N I R C M V V L Z W G B I

J Z U W T E E E F L V O M H J

For answers check www.thelcbridge.com

I R W O R R D Z M V O H A D A

G P G G D Y P N H L Z K N T X

K M U E E C N I U N L R E O C

Y S M S U G I Z Y H O A A R P

D O R U H M J A L N T Z K J S

N E K A R K L Y U X U O E B P

J M O T H M A N H V B B W U S

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