The Northerner | Ed. 65 Issue 1 by thenortherner.com

Cinema and curriculum Yes, you can really watch and study films with NKU’s cinema studies minor page 6

Sharpe exceeds 1,000 points page 8

Edition 65, Issue 01 Wednesday, January 22, 2020

thenortherner.com @northernermedia

FROM NKU TO NEW YORK: THREE NORTHERNER ALUM AND THEIR PATHS TO SUCCESS

See stories on page 4 and 5 Top: Mackenzie Manley, Middle: Tara Derington, Right: Abby Dawn

ILLUSTRATION BY NOËL WALTZ

02 Happenings

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

NORTHERNER STAFF

WWW.THENORTHERNER.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Natalie Hamren [hamrenn1@mymail.nku.edu]

WHAT TO DO Check out the hottest campus happenings and can’t-miss events in Greater Cincinnati.

MANAGING EDITOR Josh Kelly [kellyjoshual17@gmail.com] NEWS EDITOR Billy Keeney [keeneyw1@mymail.nku.edu] ASST. NEWS EDITOR Rachel Smith [rachelsmithnku@gmail.com] ASST. NEWS EDITOR Noelle Horn [hornn3@mymail.nku.edu] ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Kane Mitten [mittenm1@mymail.nku.edu] ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Alyssa Weber [alyssamweber22@gmail.com] ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Corinne Byrne [corinnefaith217@gmail.com] SPORTS EDITOR Sierra Newton [sflnewton@gmail.com] COPY EDITOR Kyle Wade [kwade1371@gmail.com] PHOTO EDITOR Colin Johnson [johnsonphotography6626@gmail.com] VIDEO EDITOR Abby Behrens [behrensm1@mymail.nku.edu] VIDEO EDITOR Megan Mixon [mixonm1@mymail.nku.edu] DESIGN EDITOR Billy Keeney [keeneyw1@mymail.nku.edu] ASST. DESIGN EDITOR Noël Waltz [hailee.waltz@gmail.com] WEB EDITOR Sean Gibson [seanpgib@gmail.com] ADVERTISING Samantha Brown [northerneradvertising@gmail.com] ADVISOR Michele Day [daymi@nku.edu]

JOIN US

5 p.m. Mondays in Griffin Hall 204

Visit us in the newsroom: GH 125

ABOUT THE NORTHERNER

Entire content is copyright of The Northerner and may not be reprinted without prior consent. Views expressed do not represent those of the administration, faculty or student body. The Northerner is considered a designated public forum. Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Northerner staff respects the right to a free and open dialogue as allowed under the First Amendment.

CONTACT US The Northerner Griffin Hall Rm. 125 Highland Heights, KY 41099 Editor-in-Chief: (859) 572-5732 Advertising: (859) 572-6677

The view of downtown Cincinnati from the Cincinnati Art Museum.

thru - 2 FEB thru -16 FEB

JAN

PHOTO BY BILLY KEENEY

DISNEY’S ‘THE LION KING’ | ARONOFF CENTER FOR THE ARTS | $38+ Cincinnati truly never sleeps when it comes to performing arts. Disney’s “The Lion King” is now showing at the Aronoff Center for the Arts for the next month. It’s a classic tale of love, loss, friendship and family that can’t be beat. For those wanting to indulge in nostalgia, spending a night at the theater with this magical show will be worth it. BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY | CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK | $30+ Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park presents the story of famed 1950s rock star Buddy Holly. Holly was able to leave a mark on the music industry for years to come in his 22 years of life, inspiring musicians like The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. For those who love musicals and memoirs, be sure to check out “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” and witness a live performance of his greatest songs. GRACE POTTER | TAFT THEATRE | $26.50+ | 8:00 P.M. Grace Potter’s 2020 tour is taking a stop at Cincinnati’s Taft Theatre on Wednesday. Potter, a singersongwriter from Vermont who formed Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in 2002. Her latest album “Daylight” was released in October. Potter’s jazzy tunes and raspy voice provides the perfect vibe for a cold, January concert.

Your (sometimes) weekly horoscopes Josh Kelly

MANAGING EDITOR

Aquarius: In the month ahead, you will find the deep urge to learn. However, not about your new classes. The stars are predicting some time in the library and on Buzzfeed Unsolved to study up on 2020 conspiracy theories. Pisces: You will be adjusting to the new year swimmingly. Also, expect a bag this semester. The stars aren’t clear how big or small this bag may be, but they are saying it’s coming. You might be in it already. Aries: You might be disappearing this semester. Your drive and work ethic will fuel you toward reversing the damage done by last semester’s GPA. Taurus: In order to get more things done with less effort, you took up a few online classes so you can spread your time out effectively. You also might want to think about attending a yoga class in the rec—it’ll be better in the long run. Gemini: This semester is a time of rebirth and creation. You have made plans to grow and to experiment with who you were last year and form a new and better improved version of yourself. Tackle your dreams and your goals. Cancer: This month will be full of renewal and betterment. You will be diving deep into your friendships and cementing the relationships you hold dear. Leo: Your hyperactivity is going to be compromised this

month. You will be wanting to be chill and low-key for the majority of the month. You’re mixing a lot of work and play this semester. Virgo: You have a large thirst for fun this month. The stars see you calling up your friends and begging to watch movies, play games or just bringing themselves into your life. Libra: Jumping into the new semester isn’t as beneficial for you. Finding your balance of work, social life and school is getting extremely hard to do this month. However, the stars say to trust your instincts and stop drinking coffee. Scorpio: This January, you are hitting the ground running as you usually do. However, you haven’t stopped to smell the roses yet and you’re overdue for a cooldown. Make sure you’ve watched a good movie before you jump back into routine. Sagittarius: Keep all your money in your bag. Don’t spend it. The stars are shining bright with positivity. Expect this month to lead up to a grand time at Homecoming in February. Capricorn: The stars have been very energetic since the year started. Things have been going great for you. Keep this energy flowing and the positive outlook because this semester is going to be a rocky one.

Ed 65, Issue 01

Arts & Life 03

German club immerses students in culture, language Bee Klapper REPORTER

Since 2007, NKU’s German club—formally known as “Deutschklub”—has offered opportunities for involvement and immersion into German language and culture to both NKU and German communities in the area. The club doesn’t limit membership to only people currently studying German, and the events they’ve offered in the past semester have reached a wider audience. For those who frequent the Mathematics, Education and Psychology center, Deutschklub’s bake sale, known as the “Kuchenbasar,” is a common sight. The club sells traditional German desserts as a way to get non-German students immersed in German culture by way of food and is Club President Adam Wiley’s favorite event. The Kuchenbasar also includes descriptions of the items for sale, and all proceeds go toward the club’s activities and donations to various organizations. Some are as close to home as the German Heritage Museum in Cincinnati while others are as far away as Germany, which Deutschklub donated to during the refugee crisis. “Without [the Kuchenbasar], we couldn’t do any of our donations or club activities that cost money. It’s a way to get our name out there in the building,”

Wiley, sophomore German and history major, said. The Kuchenbasar is not the only event that involves food, as the club also hosts Kaffeestunde, a conversation hour where both students studying German and native German speakers share coffee and donuts while practicing German in a relaxed setting. “We wanted to provide our students with a chance to speak German where we didn’t have our red pens out,” Nancy Jentsch, senior German and Spanish lecturer, said. “Sometimes it’s just conversations, sometimes it’s games. We’ve done logic puzzles together, but it’s also a way we’ve been able to get our German exchange students involved with our program.” The club also tries to get exchange students involved in other ways, such as allowing the students to give presentations on German culture, including where they’re from in Germany. This past semester, the exchange students have also spoken about their New Year’s traditions and high school experiences in Germany to give a first-hand account of their experiences with German culture. “Germans who come to the United States find that the only vision people have here is Southern Germany, and if

Deutschklub members on a tour of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

they’re not from Southern Germany, they really try to emphasize that Germany is different,” Jentsch said. Deutschklub also tries to expand their activities for other people on campus and in the community to attend such as when they hosted “Stefan Roloff ’s Beyond the Wall” presentation about the Berlin Wall to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its fall. Hunter Hopperton, a political science major and secretary for Deutschklub, was glad to see how many people attended the presentation and to hear from Roloff about the effect the Berlin Wall had on his psyche and career. “It was fun to see everybody learn something interesting and have an educational event,” Hopperton said. According to Hopperton, the German embassy also donated items such as T-shirts, Germany-related books, buttons and fanny packs for Deutschklub to hand out during the event. Wiley said he was glad to see the embassy supporting German organizations and events on college campuses. Attendance was not limited to just German majors or minors, as the historical aspect of the presentations this semester brought students and faculty from other departments as well. “I like having those big presentations because it gets people outside of German

Members of Deutschklub Norse up.

club and even people outside the German department interested. I know we got a lot of history people who came to those because a lot of them were history related, with the Berlin Wall or German immigration,” Wiley said. Another regular German cultural event that the club hosts is Kinoabend, where they screen German movies to give attendees exposure to both native German speakers as well as German culture. Jentsch chooses the movies through a film archive in Boston that includes presentation rights, which has given her greater flexibility in the types of films they show. “It’s made me look beyond the really popular movies to movies that are a little bit different, and maybe people haven’t seen before,” Jentsch said. Deutschklub strives to get involved in the German community, both local and abroad with their cultural events. Jentsch said that in addition to the Kinoabend and Kaffeestunde events, they have attended German plays and museums. During the fall, the club even showed a group of high school students from Germany, called a “Schulgruppe,” around NKU as a form of cultural exchange. Deutschklub is free to join for all students. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY NANCY JENTSCH

04 Arts & Life

Arts & Life 05

Northerner alum: Where are they now? Natalie Hamren EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Abby Dawn’s favorite Northerner memA ory is being pushed down Griffin Hall’s first floor in a chair, spinning and laughing as she and her co-workers awaited election results. Dawn (née Anstead), along with every other Northerner staff member, was working until 2 a.m. in 2016 to find out who the next president was going to be. The design editor had two covers ready to go: one for Trump, and one for Clinton. Dawn called The Northerner’s publisher, The Clermont Sun, and asked if they could submit the pages later so that they could update the cover with the winner. Dawn said she probably ate 18 cookies that night because journalism professors brought food; they anticipated it would be a long night. Northerner staff members kept tally of the race on whiteboards, scribbling checks when a candidate won a state. That night, she felt the work they were doing was so much bigger than just a student media organization. Nowadays, Dawn has traded the late night shifts for early mornings. She serves as one of WCPO’s real-time editors, where she’s responsible for breaking news, assigning stories, updating the website and social media, listening to police scanners and more. Or, as Dawn likes to call it, babysitting police scanners. Dawn’s first exposure to The Northerner was her sophomore year of college when she took a journalism course that encourages students to publish their work in the student paper. She eventually started going to staff meetings and getting more involved with the paper. Her first story outside of a class was about a Student Government Association event—nothing in-depth or too difficult for a new reporter. After that, she was hooked. She knew she loved journalism. “When I was doing that, I was like, ‘wow, this is really fun,’” Dawn said. “I was talking to people in SGA and taking photos and after I filed that and had written it, I was like, ‘I would really like to do more of this.’” From there, she made her way through various positions at The Northerner, eventually becoming the Editor-in-Chief. However, she stepped down from the position in Spring of 2017 to work full-time for WCPO. Since graduating, Dawn has covered everything from prominent local court cases

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ABBY DAWN

(like Ray Tensing and Brooke Skylar Richardson) to nationally-known stories (like the Harambe incident at Cincinnati Zoo) to Otto Warmbier’s return from North Korea and more. Although Dawn regularly covers the highest-profile events in Cincinnati, she misses having creative freedom at The Northerner to write whatever she wishes and having the ability to collaborate with any staff member. “I miss the camaraderie in the newsroom,” Dawn said. “I miss all of my old buds. I mean, of course, I still hang out with some of the folks, but I miss seeing those people every single day and collaborating with those people every single day.” Dawn’s favorite story she wrote for The Northerner was about Jason Merrick, a former Master’s of social work student who was in recovery for drug addiction. Merrick assisted the NKU police department and Kenton County Jail with advocacy work, such as training NKU PD how to use naloxone—a drug that can treat narcotic overdoses in emergency situations. “That was the first time that somebody had poured really intimate details of their life into my hands,” Dawn said. “And then I was tasked with, ‘how do I help this person tell their story?’ That was the first time for me that I really felt connected to journalism, and that really fostered a love of journalism.”

Abby Dawn Graduation date: May 2017 Major: Journalism

"W “What kind of a tree are you?”

It’s the question that sparked Tara Derington’s love for journalism. Barbara Walters followed-up Katherine Hepburn’s statement about being a tree in the 1981 ABC interview by asking her what kind of tree she would be. Ever since then, Derington has been thriving off the passion she had when she was 10-years-old. Currently, Derington works as the director of digital publishing at Thrive Global, HuffPost co-founder Ariana Huffington’s start-up, aimed to stop the burnout epidemic. Before working for E! News, Buzzfeed and Thrive, Derington was a staff reporter for The Northerner. She wrote about fashion, took photos and helped curate ideas for other writers. While in college, Derington felt like everything was possible. Her social bubble was smaller, so she knew most people on campus. “We were good friends with the president of the campus. We knew the students,” Derington said. “We kind of were running the show, and that was so cool.” Derington remembers spending late nights in Founders Hall (The Northerner’s former home) where her and other staff members would produce the paper. The room only got hotter as the night went on, so people ended up sweating while working. The coolest experience for Derington was seeing people read the paper the next day after working on it all night. During her time at The Northerner, there were changes in the staff and the advisor. “There was a professor that came and went pretty quickly who really pushed how we thought of journalism,” Derington said. “She kind of made us live in the gray area instead of the black and white which, at the time, seemed so wrong and sacrilegious.” The Northerner helped give her a foundation to understand the essentials of

publishing. After graduating in 2013, Derington bounced from various jobs—everything from working at WKRC in Cincinnati to nannying in New York City. Eventually, she landed a job as a social media editor for E! News in Los Angeles, where she covered red carpet events, film premieres, celebrity breaking news and more. Over time, Derington said she started to develop a sense for what content would do well on social media. After E! News, she was hired at Buzzfeed as a social media strategist in New York, where she worked for three and a half years, climbing the social media ladder in the company. When she left, she managed a team of strategists. Now, at Thrive—a media company devoted to coverage of health, wellness and ending the burnout epidemic—Derington said she has no typical day. Arriving at the office around 9:30 a.m., she looks over the paid campaigns, deciding which pieces she should invest more money in. She approves the social copy and captions for every piece that goes up on the site. Sometimes she has meetings where they talk about social strategies. Derington also often works closely with Huffington to create social media strategies. Derington said journalism students shouldn’t look at jobs so linearly because there’s many options outside print, newspapers, magazines and TV. “If you had told me that I would be working events and doing coverage for Arianna Huffington on a regular basis, I would never have believed you because that did not really align with what I thought was journalism,” Derington said.

Tara Derington

Mack Manley Graduation date: May 2018 Majors: Journalism and English Years at The Northerner: 2015 - 2018 Positions: News Editor, Managing Editor, Editor-in-Chief Current job: Arts and Culture Editor at Cincinnati CityBeat What she misses about The Northerner: I miss the newsroom camaraderie! There was something so special about working on a college paper. There's editorial freedom to make your paper what you want it to be. Getting to layout the issue from week to week with other staff members and figure out what makes the most sense to run — and how to run it — is what I look back on the most fondly.

Graduation date: 2013 Major: Journalism Years at The Northerner: 2010 - 2013 Position: Staff writer

Years at The Northerner: 2013 - 2017

Past jobs: E! News, BuzzFeed Current job: Director of digital publishing at Thrive Global

Positions: News Editor, Managing Editor, Editor-in-Chief

What she misses about The Northerner: I miss the late nights in the old space in Founders Hall (yes, I’m really that old). I swear, the harder we worked to get the issue out, the hotter that room became.

Current job: Real-time Editor at WCPO 9 Cincinnati What she misses about The Northerner: I miss holding a paper every Wednesday and knowing that I helped produce that small miracle. I miss the freedom ... It’s super difficult to manage a dozen of your peers and a media organization while juggling work, classes and what's left of your personal life, but I wouldn’t change a thing about that experience.

What is a piece of advice for current Northerner staff: Print may be black and white, but the innovation and groundbreaking reporting that’s changing and shaping the world all happens in the gray area.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TARA DERINGTON

Mackenize Manley started at NKU unM declared. Her first semester, she took science courses and hated it; chemistry was not her strong suit. Eventually, she realized she had a passion for writing and wanted to pursue it more. A friend encouraged her to contribute to The Northerner, so she wrote a few articles and started passing out papers on Wednesdays. She liked writing and working for The Northerner so much that she decided to declare a major in journalism. “It kind of combined my interest in writing and my interest in learning people’s stories,” Manley said. Now, the former Northerner Editor-in-Chief works as the arts and culture editor for CityBeat, Cincinnati’s alternative bi-weekly outlet. At CityBeat, Manley does it all. She accepts and rejects freelancer pitches, plans out stories for her section, fact checks and copy edits stories, collaborates with other editors and more. Manley interned for CityBeat her senior year of college. After interning, she freelanced for the publication and eventually landed a job when the former arts and culture editor retired. At The Northerner, Manley worked with staff members who were often younger than her. Now that she’s at CityBeat, she often works with and interviews people who are older than her. She said she’s learned to build her own confidence and prove to herself that she’s capable. “It’s this weird thing where it’s like, I’m this 23-year-old and I have to make you take me seriously,” Manley said. However, she understands that most people her age in the journalism industry don’t have the flexibility to write what they want. She said she loves CityBeat because of the creative freedom she has to write

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MACKENZIE MANLEY

unique, niche stories—like her article about The Independent Eye, a progressive underground Cincinnati newspaper published in the 1960s. Manley loves journalism because it allows her to talk to different people, hear their stories and share them with the community. She enjoys listening to what people are passionate about or what they’re struggling with. She said whether it’s a light entertainment story or an in-depth, serious story—all of them need coverage. “You have the job to try to tell the stories that need to be told,” Manley said. “Because without those stories being told, what would people do?” What Manley remembers the most about The Northerner is the late nights she spent in the newsroom laying out the paper, deciding what stories to put in print and working with the rest of the editorial staff. She said The Northerner gave her experience with journalism ethics, adding that she spent many nights discussing with other editors the ethics of a certain story. She also remembers the tireless work the Northerner staff put in on a weekly basis, including some of the award-winning pieces they wrote—like her article with Sam Rosenstiel, who went on to be the next editor in chief, that exposed a music professor’s history of sexual assault on campus using Title IX documents. Manley’s advice for current journalism students is to stay in-touch with professors, internship advisors and other people who can help you in the future. At first, you’ll receive rejections for pitches and jobs, Manley said, but it’s important to keep trying. “You’re cold pitching people that don’t even know who you are,” Manley said. “But you just have to keep going because eventually someone will say yes.”

04 Arts & Life

Arts & Life 05

Northerner alum: Where are they now? Natalie Hamren EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ABBY DAWN

Abby Dawn Graduation date: May 2017 Major: Journalism

"W “What kind of a tree are you?”

Tara Derington

Graduation date: 2013 Major: Journalism Years at The Northerner: 2010 - 2013 Position: Staff writer

Years at The Northerner: 2013 - 2017

Past jobs: E! News, BuzzFeed Current job: Director of digital publishing at Thrive Global

Positions: News Editor, Managing Editor, Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TARA DERINGTON

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MACKENZIE MANLEY

06 Arts & Life

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Travel and survey the world with cinema studies

Rachel Smith

VISUALS BY BILLY KEENEY

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Class begins with the lights turned off. Students settle in their seats—some with water bottles or sodas, maybe even a bag of popcorn—as the screen comes to life from the projector hanging above. The textbook is the film screen; the minor is cinema studies. Cinema studies is designed to teach NKU students how to analyze visual culture, according to the former director of the program John Alberti. Alberti created the minor in 2009 after noticing a student demand for more theoretical and analytical approaches to film production. The minor has since grown to involve approximately 60 students this year, he said. According to current director Andrea Gazzaniga, the program includes students with a wide range of majors— from English and EMB to philosophy and Spanish. Gazzaniga said cinema studies is not just a minor for those in the English department or College of Informatics.

“Film is essentially one of the most powerful mediums of our time,” Gazzaniga said. The program’s benefits are academically universal because students can learn how to use analytical skills to understand different areas around the world. “Film is essentially one of the most powerful mediums of our time,” Gazzaniga said. “I think students who can understand [its history and place in culture] is better aware of their communities and sensitivity to other cultures.” According to Gazzaniga, cinema studies allows students to discover how film has both reflected and shaped international cultures. “Anytime a student can practice studying culture and ideology, it makes them a more critically aware and informed citizen of the world,” Gazzaniga said. One of the classes in the cinema studies minor is world cinema, taught by associate professor of Spanish Caryn Connelly. According to Connelly, she has been teaching world cinema since the spring semester of 2010. Given her academic

background in Latin America cinema studies, Connelly said she wants to ensure the class highlighted films beyond a Eurocentric lens. “World cinema doesn’t mean European cinema,” Connelly said. She tries to show one to two films from Asia, India and Africa alongside those from France and Italy. According to Connelly, world cinema also widens its scope of time. She shows films beginning in the 1910s and builds up to modern times. Her common favorites to show in class are the German silent film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and the ‘80s Japanese noodle western “Tampopo.” During these films, a typically passive experience can be shared in a group setting of 25-to-30 students, who then meet the next class period to talk about what they had just watched. “We engage the film more by discussing it together,” Connelly said. “This class is highly interactive on all these levels.” Connelly said the best part of teaching world cinema is being able to challenge western ideas about film. “There’s this idea that Hollywood dominates everything,” Connelly said. “So when I got the opportunity to teach this class, I was like, ‘oh, that’s really cool,’ because I can show people that there’s a world out there beyond Hollywood.” Gazzaniga has also taught cinema studies classes about film noir and Alfred Hitchcock. According to Gazzaniga, she finds a kinship with her students over their mutual interest. “Being able to engage with very smart and knowledgeable students who love film as much as I do is one of the most rewarding aspects of it,” she said. Gazzaniga describes herself as a film researcher stuck in the earlier eras of cinema, so she said she appreciates learning more about post-2000 films from her students. According to Gazzaniga, cinema studies is also planning to make some changes to their curriculum. This semester, Gazzaniga said she plans to propose turning their 200-level classes into 300-level classes to help minor students achieve NKU’s 45-credit hour requirement of upper-level classes.

‘Rear Window’

‘No Country for Old Men’

‘Pulp Fiction’

Examples of films watched in CIN 200, Intro to Cinema Studies.

‘Caramel’

‘The Red Shoes’

‘Tampopo’

Examples of films watched in CIN 201, Survey of World Cinema.

‘The General’

‘Modern Times’

Examples of films watched in CIN 202, Survey of US Cinema.

‘Double Indemnity’

Ed 65, Issue 01

News 07

Board of Regents discussed Woodcrest closure, warning by state accreditation

Rachel Smith

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

NKU’s Board of Regents (BoR) had its first meeting of the semester on Jan. 15. BoR discussed curriculum changes, Woodcrest Apartments closure and updates on NKU’s accreditation. NKU placed under warning by state accreditation NKU has been placed under warning for the failure of two components by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. According to Vaidya, the university did not meet state requirements in general education outcome assessment and library informations and learning resources. “While this is disappointing news, please know that we have active plans on their way to address these issues,” Vaidya said. According to Vaidya, Steely Library received funds this month to purchase new databases and collections. Students, faculty and staff will be interviewed to understand how Steely Library can better meet their needs and ensure the availability of resources and personnel to support them. Plans to improve the general education assessment have been completed and are now being workshopped with faculty to view the results and incorporate into the curriculum, Vaidya said. “NKU remains fully accredited and our commitment to being a premiere student-ready regionally engaging institution remains steadfast,” Vaidya said. NKU is expected to send in a monetary report of its improvement to the state commission by September. Woodcrest Apartments closure “During the process of repairing sections of the Woodcrest Apartment complex last fall, we realized that the deterioration was beyond what was anticipated,” President Ashish Vaidya said during his presidential comments. According to Vaidya, NKU hired a structural engineering firm to inspect the complex’s halls following continued concerns. After reviewing the reports, the university decided to close Oak and Sycamore Halls, he said. “University housing has worked to minimize the impact on students,” Vaidya said. “We’re well aware of the challenges

A rusted stairway at Sycamore Hall, Woodcrest Apartments.

this causes.” According to Vaidya, affected students would be notified of their new assignments and how to schedule appointments with the hired moving company later that day after the Regents meeting. During the relocation process, NKU housing is working to maintain roommate groups and provide FLEX dollars on students’ meal plans, Vaidya said. “This is not a decision we took lightly,” Vaidya said. “But with the conditions of the apartments and the continued issues of maintenance, safety and security of the students was paramount in our decision-making.” College of Business: MBLI tuition decrease, fostering MBA programs in India The master’s of business in leadership and innovation program will receive a $6,000 deduction in tuition cost, as approved by the Board. According to the College of Business Dean Hassan HassabElnaby, the cost decrease will make the program more competitive in the region. “I believe we will have more students, so the bottom line will increase with the

drop in price,” HassabElnaby said. The master’s of business in leadership and innovation program also received a new curriculum and name along with the tuition decrease. The program, formerly known as a master’s in executive leadership and organizational change, will have more classes in accounting and finance as well as a bigger focus on innovation and leadership. HassabElnaby said he considers this program to be very unique to the area and hopes it will give NKU an advantage over surrounding institutions. BoR also allocated $10,000 to the College of Business to foster a partnership with two institutions in India. The institutions will allow students to obtain a master’s of business administration from NKU’s programming. Expenses for this partnership include NKU faculty travel and lodging during training as well as continual advising of partnering faculty. The institutions will pay 50% of the expenses, HassabElnaby said. Students from these institutions will have the option to travel to NKU to obtain the degree or they can learn from trained and approved faculty in India.

PHOTO BY JOSH KELLY

According to College of Business personnel, NKU will see a 60% profit margin with a conditional enrollment of 30 students. Cybersecurity approved as new major Cybersecurity has been approved to be adapted into the College of Informatics by the BoR. Dean Kevin Kirby said the major will fulfill rising student and employer demands for more specialized degrees in computer science. “Worldwide, there are 1.8 million unfilled cybersecurity positions,” Kirby said. “Locally, that translates to 1,500 positions across the state of Kentucky.” According to Kirby, cybersecurity is not just contained in the realm of IT. The major includes components of business, ethics and problem-solving skills. Kirby said the College of Informatics projects 200 new students within the new program in the next four years. Kirby said though the major has been approved by the BoR, it will not be officially added to NKU curriculum until a state-wide meeting held in April.

08 Sports

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Tyler Sharpe celebrates a 3-point shot that pushed him to 1,000 career points.

Tyler Sharpe goes up for a basket.

PHOTOS BY COLIN JOHNSON

Sharpe exceeds 1,000 points against Youngstown

Sierra Newton SPORTS EDITOR

NKU started their weekend home stretch with an 88-63 win over Youngstown State University Thursday night. Senior guard Tyler Sharpe led with 33 points, and scored his 1,000th career point. Sophomore guard Trevon Faulkner followed with 22 points and four rebounds. Redshirt junior guard Jalen Tate added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. On the boards, sophomore forward Adrian Nelson led in double digits with 10. The game started slower than the Norse had hoped for with a tit-for-tat pace. It wasn’t until Sharpe hit back-toback threes that the Norse began to find their rhythm. On the defensive end, redshirt junior forward Silas Adheke had a big block, which gave the Norse an offensive opportunity. At the 16 minute mark, Sharpe hit the 3-pointer that catapulted him to the 1,000th point mark. “I think it started with Silas, to be honest,” Sharpe said. “And I made sure I told him. He got a big offensive rebound right off the bat

and he allowed me to get a step in three.” “I wasn’t really thinking about the thousand, I knew that was going to come. I wasn’t necessarily saying ‘I gotta get it today. I was fortunate to get a couple looks early and getting a rhythm and sustain that throughout the game.” It wasn’t until sophomore guard Bryson Langdon went coast-to-coast that the Norse began to stretch the lead above five. The Norse went on a 15-1 run, courtesy of a post up from Faulkner, a rebound and kick out from Nelson to Sharpe and trips to the free throw line from both Faulkner and Tate. The Norse end the half up 48-29. The Norse went on to shoot 50 percent from the field for the half and out rebounded the Penguins 22-14. NKU committed 11 turnovers compared to the Penguins’ three. Twelve of NKU’s 48 points came from within the paint. Tate opened up the second half with a two point bucket and Langdon, who contributed 10 points total, followed with a trip to the charity stripe for two. The

Norse continued to dominate. Sharpe scored a total of nine 3-pointers for the game, marking a career high in 3-point baskets in one contest. “One of the things we really try to work on [on defense] with our guys is, you know, when it gets the four [point run], can we get it to eight, when it gets to eight can you get it to 12,” Head Coach Darrin Horn said. “And, you know, we finished the last four minutes just outstanding.” NKU shot 50.8 percent from the field for the game and 40.7 percent from the free throw line. Youngstown shot 33.3 percent from the field for the game. The Norse saw a lot of the free throw line and sank 17-of-19 free throw line attempts. “Obviously there’s a lot as a coach you want to do better and get better at, but really pleased with the way our guys responded. This is a much improved Youngstown State team, evidence of the 4-1 record coming in here,” Horn said. The last time NKU had two players score at least 20 points each in a contest was Nov.

23 against Texas Southern. Faulkner was a part of that with 24 points and senior forward Dantez Walton had 33. “I think people feed off of Trevon and myself, specifically because we play with emotion, whether we got it going or not,” Sharpe said. “So I think once we really get it going, and we get the crowd into it, and we get our teammates energized, I think that takes our team to a whole new level.” Sharpe has been dubbed Horizon League Player of the Week for the second time in his career and this season. Sharpe averages 16.5 points, 36.7 percent from the 3-point line and has 45 assists on the year. It’s #WrightStateHateWeek, and the Norse take on the Wright State Raiders Friday, Jan. 24. Tip is set for 9 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on ESPN U.

@northernersport @northernermedia