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N E W S IUP nursing program highly ranked News Editor: Benjamin Brumbaugh – msqy@iup.edu

Ranked eighth in Pennsylvania by Nursing Schools Almanac RACHEL KOVACH Staff Writer rsrbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP On Tuesday, it was announced that IUP’s nursing program received a prestigious honor and was named one of the “best prelicensure bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) programs in the state” by Nursing Schools Almanac.

IUP’s nursing program ranked eighth in the state of Pennsylvania.

The National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) was the organization that decided IUP was deserving of this designation. The editors used the NCLEX-RN exam scores as a benchmark to decide the rankings of nursing programs. IUP’s graduates have a 93.5 passing rate on this exam, according to https://www.iup.edu/news-events/ news/2021/10/iup-nursing-program-ranked-as-top-program-inthe-commonwealth.html.

Dr. Theresa Gropelli is the chairperson of IUP’s nursing depart-

ment and has been working at IUP for the past 15 years. She is passionate about her job, specifically the teaching part, and is honored to have received this recognition.

“I think that it’s an honor that we’re ranked high,” Gropelli said.

“I mean, we’re not a big private school with lots of donors. We’re a public university. Since we were ranked so high, I think it says a lot about the program.

“The teaching part is the most rewarding. I love teaching in the classroom, and I really like to see students do well.”

Not only is the department honored by receiving this distinction, Gropelli believes it will have a great impact on the program in the future.

“I think this distinction will help recruit students in the future,” Gropelli said. “I really do. I think it’s a recruiting tool. People look at that kind of thing, like how are schools ranked. We get that question all the time when people come in for their interviews and tours. They look at the statistics to see how good the program is, the NCLEXRN pass rates.

“Nursing majors are usually very astute when it comes to searching for a school.”

Gropelli said that though her job has been fulfilling, it has not been easy.

“Well, let me just tell you, it has been a rough year and a half to be the chairperson of a nursing program during in the middle of a pandemic,” Gropelli said. “You have no idea. We’ve been kicked in and out of clinicals; students need [COVID-19] tests and vaccines. It’s very complicated.”

The format for last year’s learning was especially challenging for nursing students.

“We did the half and half set up last year; half the students were on Zoom and the other half were in the classroom,” Gropelli said.

“That was rough for the students, faculty, everyone. And then they did clinicals face to face. One week they were in clinicals, [and] the next week they might have been kicked out and were in the lab.”

Gropelli discussed the tumultuous world of working in a hospital during this time.

“I don’t know if you’ve been to

(iup.edu) Nursing Schools Almanac releases comprehensive rankings of U.S. nursing schools annually.

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October 15, 2021

a hospital lately, but they’re going for a full day of clinicals,” Gropelli said. “They have a mask on, shield, goggles; it’s not like you can go hide in a room somewhere and take it off. It’s the whole day that you’re dressed like that, and it’s tough for them.”

Gropelli believes that the current nature of the difficult time in the nursing program has made the reward feel more special for the department students and faculty.

“This distinction is a nice reward for everyone to see, the students, the faculty and myself to see, that we were ranked that high,” Gropelli said.

“This ranking reflects our excellent students and the outstanding preparation they receive in the department – it’s based on the first-time passing rate for the professional nursing certification test, and, over the years, our students have done very well on this required exam due in great part of the excellent education they receive at IUP,” Michelle Fryling, IUP’s executive director of media relations, said.

Fryling agreed with Gropelli as

to how this recognition will affect IUP’s future.

“This recognition will allow more prospective students – and employers of our graduates – to know that an external and independent source recognizes the excellence of the program, our faculty and our graduates,” Fryling said.

Fryling added that IUP is different from other programs due to “strong partnerships with nationally known hospitals and medical centers throughout Pennsylvania.”

She also said that the quality of the faculty and facilities really allows students to excel in this program which in turn will help them succeed in their NCLEX-RN exams.

“I think it’s a pretty accurate rating,” Madison Weakland (sophomore, nursing) said. “The program is very in-depth and offers a lot of opportunities to learn hands-on.

Even with COVID-19, we still get to do hands-on things with the simulators on campus which is a great way to practice before actually taking care of a patient.”

For more information about IUP’s nursing program, visit https:// www.iup.edu/rn-alliedhealth/.

(Miranda Paige/redbubble.com) More than 90 percent of undergraduate IUP nursing students are women.

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October 15, 2021

News

Biology professor shares his story

Josiah Townsend got stuck in Honduras due to COVID-19 pandemic DANTE ZOTTOLI Contributing Writer jkqy@iup.edu @ThePennIUP “From Fulbright to Full Lockdown – Two Years of Research, Outreach and Quarantine in Honduras” was the most recent installment in IUP’s “Science Inspires” series of events.

The event occurred on Oct. 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Leonard Hall, and the presentation focused on the experiences of Dr. Josiah Townsend, an associate professor of biology at IUP, in Honduras during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event began with a short introduction from the chair of the biology department, Dr. Narayanaswamy Bharathan. “[Townsend] joined IUP in 2011, and since that time he has published more than 200 papers,” Bharathan said.

Townsend’s work focuses on herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians. He went on a Fulbright sabbatical in August of 2020 to perform biological research in Honduras, a small

South American country that is around the size and population of Pennsylvania.

The Fulbright Scholar Award is a prestigious award given to faculty members of a U.S. university to go teach or research in another country. Townsend was the first member of the biology department at IUP to ever receive a Fulbright Scholar Award.

Townsend has worked in Honduras before, as the country has been his career-long focus since 1999.

He has been published 135 times, written three books and has discovered 27 new species.

He described his research as “the patterns and processes that give rise to biological diversity.”

The latest trip to Honduras was broken into two distinct sections

by Townsend pre-COVID-19, and post-COVID-19 under toque de queda absoluto, which is the Spanish term for Honduran martial law.

In August of 2020, Townsend left with his wife, who is a fellow biologist, and his two young sons for Honduras. A couple of graduate and undergraduate students as well as one alumnus accompanied

(The Penn Archives) In 2017, Townsend discovered a new species of salamander.

him on the trip which was scheduled to be one year in length.

The host institution was Zamorano University. The institution was founded in 1942 by Samuel Zemurray and Wilson Popenoe as a premier agricultural school in Honduras which enrolls over 1,250 full-time residential students.

The institution encompasses more than 15,000 acres and multiple off-campus properties as well.

“All students live on campus and work on campus,” Townsend said. “Their entire lives take place within the walls essentially of that place. This is all under this model they call ‘aprender haciendo,’ which is learning by doing.”

During Townsend’s time there, he helped teach the students at the university.

“One of the things I did was a lot of education and outreach components, so I was doing guest lectures and classes, giving seminars for student organizations,” Townsend said. “We gave a seminar for the biology club, for example, talking about, like, some of the new species of organisms.”

One of the things that the Fulbright organization did to help local researchers was to try to help them get their research published.

Their solution was the creation of the “Journal of Mesoamerican Biology,” a new scientific journal focused on biology research in Mesoamerica.

The focus of Townsend’s research centered around glass frogs. Glass frogs are a type of tree frog native to Mesoamerica which get their name due to their semi-translucent bellies.

These frogs are very widespread throughout Mesoamerica from Mexico to Uruguay.

“We were trying to figure out if they are one widespread species,” Townsend said, “or if they have some sort of hidden or cryptic diversity.”

To establish individual species of the frogs, Townsend and his team took genetic data and performed bioacoustics research. This entailed listening to glass frog croaking as each unique species and subspecies of frogs have their own unique calls which they send out a response to.

For more than six months at five different sites, Townsend and his team listened for glass frogs to

see if different types of glass frogs made distinct sounds.

“I'm basically wandering around a rainforest, rivers and streams at night with a giant microphone, trying to interview these tiny, squeaky, little frogs,” Townsend said. “These frogs are like about the size of a quarter. Their call is like a single note, high-pitched peep that sounds like an insect or a cricket.”

One of the most important things that Townsend wanted to empathize was the need for and the creation of a national “Red List” for reptiles that establishes which reptiles are endangered and need to be protected.

“We worked on creating a national ‘Red List’ for endangered reptiles, and this [list] is modeled after the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN) list,” Townsend said. “If you're not familiar with this, the IUCN list is like a global list that endangered species are on. It's developed and curated by scientists and experts, and so it really does have good scientific backing to say that you know that a species is an endangered species or is near threatened.

“What we didn't have, though, was this kind of assessment at a national level, so that the country could actually use this to develop their own endangered species policies.”

The atmosphere in Honduras had completely changed in February.

“In mid-February, we began stockpiling food and supplies under the idea that they may need to sort of lock everything [down],” Townsend said.

When COVID-19 came to Honduras, no one was allowed into the country and no one could leave.

“Then quite memorably, of course, on Friday, the 13th of March 2020, the announcement goes out,” Townsend said. “We kind of anticipated it.

“They shut everything down.”

Honduras had enacted the toque de queda absoluto, or the absolute curfew.

“So, I’m running out of time to get back,” Townsend added.

“Well, July 2020 the borders are closed; there are no flights coming out of Honduras.”

Due to the lockdown, Townsend

would not be able to return for the fall 2020 semester. Similar to many teachers, he had to teach fully online for the semester but from an entirely different country. He taught five classes from Honduras in fall of 2020 and four in spring of 2021. During summer, restrictions in Honduras eased, so Townsend and his family were able to return to Pennsylvania.

The fruits of Townsend and his team’s labor have yielded plenty as they completed and submitted 14 manuscripts and found new species of polymorphic tree frog, sheep frog and centipede snake.

Toward the end of Townsend’s presentation, he announced a new study abroad program: Field Studies in Biology, Tropical Biodiversity & Sustainability (BIOL 490/590) in Honduras. It will be held in June 2022 for four credits. “[This is] offering students the opportunity to safely experience tropical ecosystems, biodiversity and sustainable agriculture firsthand on the beautiful and historic campus and field stations of Zamorano University,” Townsend said. “Weeks one and two are distance-based (synchronous and asynchronous), weeks three and four are spent abroad in Honduras, week five is distance-based (synchronous and asynchronous), and the cost is $2,500 (plus airfare, insurance and tuition),” Townsend said.

Students who are interested can talk to members of the biology department for more information.

For those who are interested in attending future “Science Inspires” presentations, there are two more this semester.

On Nov. 12, "Wanted Dead or Alive: On the hunt for microbes below the ocean floor" will feature marine scientist Dr. Brandi Kiel Reese who will be giving a lecture on the lives and behaviors of subaquatic microbes.

On Nov. 19, there is an event titled "Real-time Data Fusion to Guide Disease Forecasting Models” in which mathematical epidemiologist and scientist Dr. Sara Yemimah Del Valle will be discussing how she and her team at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are adopting weather data forecast prediction methods to be used for the purpose of predicting future disease outbreaks.

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October 15, 2021

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October 15, 2021

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IUP helps Pennsylvania track crime University researchers work with state crime commission MOLLY CUNNINGHAM Staff Writer kydy@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

(Charles Gartside/iup.edu) This map, created by IUP faculty instructor Charles Gartside, details all grant awards given by Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency since 2012.

Members of the IUP faculty have been working as researchers with the Administration of Leadership Studies Research and Training Center (ALS-RTC) to help the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).

The effort that IUP is putting in not only helps the community in Indiana but also throughout Pennsylvania.

Dr. Robert Orth (sociology), Dr. John Cookus (sociology), Dr. Sherri Chippo (managing director of the ALS-RTC), Dr. Brandon Vick (economics) and Charles Gartside (faculty instructor) all work together in various projects that are grant funded by the PCCD. The faculty plans to grow its center and is looking to work with more agencies. In addition, the faculty members want to increase the amount of work that they can use to mentor their graduate students. Undergraduates that are interested in the same field can also have the experience of seeing what the project is like and what it does.

“My goal and I think that the people that work [there’s own goals] are first and foremost do their jobs the best that they can to highlight how valuable a place like IUP is to the state and to the nation,” Dr. Christian A. Vaccaro, associate professor in the sociology department, said.

The ALS-RTC was developed in 2005 and is designed to help agencies handle the data that they accumulate. These agencies are either constructed or mandated to collect data from various programs that they run. This would include the social problems that they handle and the information that they oversee. Because there is a lot of data, agencies may not have the time to analyze it.

There is a wide variety of non-profit organizations throughout Pennsylvania.

PCCD provides funding opportunities, information on crime victims, and research and data. Its job is to represent all aspects of the criminal and juvenile justice systems and victim services. Its mission is to give service to victims of crime and to increase the safety

of communities in Pennsylvania.

The ALS-RTC is there to provide evaluation services as experts in the field of study that the agencies are in.

“In general, we’re good at doing research for program evaluation and other services,” Vaccaro said.

He added that the faculty is there to analyze the data for the agencies to help them get the information that they need to run their programs the best that they possibly can.

Vaccaro is the director of this project and is the point of contact for his researchers and the agencies to help provide those services from IUP. He ensures that the researchers at IUP receive the support that they need. In addition, he is in contact with the deans and administration to let them know that the researchers need a resource or if they need help getting what they need to do their job.

The work of the ALS-RTC is promoted by Vaccaro in order to make sure that it continues in the future.

“Being able to get these agencies at IUP to work together and make sure that everyone is happy is [one] job but is one that is quite valuable, and I really enjoy doing it,” Vaccaro said.

Vaccaro said that he knows that the ALS-RTC is beneficial for PCCD. The researchers also work with PennDOT and with other non-profit organizations across the state. It highlights how valuable IUP is as a university for the state of Pennsylvania.

Gartside designed a mapping project that was funded by PCCD. This map creates a variety of visuals that display grants and includes the total numbers of those grants in the side bar.

The ALS-RTC is associated with a doctorate program at IUP called the ALD-RTC program that teaches people how to be leaders.

Vaccaro got involved by teaching for the ALS-RTC doctorate program, and he is interested in organizational behaviors.

The researchers are putting in the work at IUP to positively impact society. They are looking forward to students benefiting from the work that they are doing with the ALS-RTC as well.

For more information, visit https://www.pccd.pa.gov/.

News

October 15, 2021

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Six O’Clock Series shows ‘The Lavender Scare’ Event is part of National Coming Out Week celebration “Not a single homosexual was caught betraying the nation during this period of time,” Johnson said.

The government essentially used this as chance to hunt down On Monday, there was a screenhomosexual workers as is in the ing of the documentary “The case of Madeline Tress, one of the Lavender Scare” as part of the Six workers that lost her job with the O’Clock series at IUP. government as a result.

The documentary is named af“They just sit you in a room, ter the real “lavender scare” periand the first thing they do is swear od in the mid-20th century where you in,” Tress said. “Then they the U.S. federal government fired just start tearing into me claiming and interrogated people on the they have evidence of me being a basis of potentially being homolesbian.” sexual.

The documentary claimed that “Soon after taking office, Presthe federal government used spy ident [Dwight D.] Eisenhower ortechnology on its own citizens to dered all homosexuals to be fired gather information on potential from the federal government,” David K. Johnson, a historian spe- homosexual workers. Furthermore, it stated that millions of tax cializing in LGBTQ+ history, said dollars were used to find out this in the documentary.

The U.S. federal government, at information.

“It really made you think who the time, thought that homosexuwas telling [the government] this als could have been blackmailed kind of stuff,” Tress said. into revealing secrets and betrayCarl Rizzi was another person ing the country. who was fired for his sexual orientation.

“One day, I was minding my own business and postal inspectors came in and wanted to talk to me, and, of course, we had no choice,” Rizzi said.

Rizzi performed in drag shows and was interrogated at his post office job.

“Most times these interrogators had no evidence and would pry you for a confession,” Johnson said.

At the (imdb.com) time, there “The Lavender Scare” documentary, which came out were not in 2017, is narrated in part by actress Glenn Close. laws in TANNER SCHELL Staff Writer dsqcc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

(theavalon.org) Simply being suspected of homosexual tendencies or behaviors were enough to get some fired. place that required due process for minority groups.

“Civil servants began reading about the firing of homosexuals and felt that it was patriotic, in a sense, to rat out their own coworkers,” Johnson said.

Johnson said that the FBI would abuse its power to get information on people.

“The authorities thought they had the right to harass homosexuals, and so they did often,” Johnson said.

“On Christmas, I was taken into a room and interrogated about holiday parties I threw,” Willis Holloway, a government employee, said.

In the 1930s, homosexuals did not face this kind of discrimination previously by the government.

“Many of the jobs during the [Great] Depression were grabbed by homosexuals for the reason that they were able to be accepted as equal in these jobs,” Johnson said.

World War II brought about a change in this perception.

“Total mobilization pulls millions of men and women out of their rural towns and into same-sex military environments,” Johnson said.

The film explained how many people’s lives were changed by the war.

“I didn’t realize how many people were gay until I joined

the navy,” Joan Cassidy, a former captain in the U.S. Navy, said.

During the Cold War, the state department believed that homosexuals could be convinced by Communists to betray their own country. Rumors and propaganda began to be created, calling homosexuals a “diseased bunch.”

“This was the perfect storm; the U.S. used people’s fear of [Communists] and gays to do their own dirty work,” Johnson added.

Conservative congressmen would discuss the removal of homosexuals in Congress.

“I don’t care if they squeal; they must be removed,” Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy said.

Eisenhower and former President Richard Nixon would use flyers that spoke about the “evil” homosexuals.

“The ‘gay issue’ was one that Republicans played for everything it was worth,” Johnson said. “Not much has changed except replace gay with transgender.”

The documentary stated that the FBI would push to obtain certain names for its lists of potential homosexual individuals. As a result, many people’s lives were ruined.

“They (the homosexuals) became easy pickings,” Johnson said. “We are talking about tens of thousands of people fired or prevented from having a job.

“This was devastating.”

The civil rights era allowed for

groups to form to combat this like the Mattachine Society. Frank Kameny founded a branch of the Mattachine Society in Washington, D.C., and sparked controversy with letters that the group sent to congressmen.

“In 1962, the Mattachine Society was allowed to solicit contributions from people,” Johnson said.

This set the stage for a court battle as many people in Congress did not want this to happen. Supporters of the LGBTQ+ community began to march with picket signs in D.C. Although it took time to pick up any traction, the picket lines eventually grew over time.

The Stonewall Riots occurred in 1969 and the LGBTQ+ movement grew in the decades that followed. It was not until August of 1995 when President Bill Clinton wrote an executive order allowing homosexuals to work in federal positions that the “lavender scare” officially worked to reverse its earlier damage in mid-20th century.

“This was good, but for many it was decades too late,” Johnson said.

The documentary was shown as part of IUP’s National Coming Out Week schedule of events.

The week is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and is meant to promote inclusion for students in this community.

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October 15, 2021

News

Open Mic Night is back in person Every Monday at 8 p.m. in HUB Ohio Room

(Chase Fulmer/The Penn) Open Mic Night is a great way for students who like to sing or perform live music to do so on campus. Students who wish to perform simply have to show up to the event. Alternatively, if you do not wish to be a performer, Open Mic Night offers an opportunity for a fun night of free live music. These events are a great way for new IUP students to get to know one another in a setting that is comfortable and laid back. Students can bond over a love for music and performance. Due to COVID-19 restrictions last academic year, the event had to be done in a virtual format via Zoom. This semester marks the return of the event to an in-person format. Although masks are required at all times, those who are performing do not have to wear a mask while doing so. The events are sponsored by BACCHUS and funded by student activity fees. The first event of this semester was held on Sept. 20, and the events will continue on Mondays, excluding breaks, through the end of the semester. Students can find more information about these events by emailing atod-oasis@iup.edu. The next Open Mic Night event will be on Monday at 8 p.m.

Opinion (Facebook) In February 2014, the nonbinary pride flag was created by Kye Rowan. The flag was made for people that feel like they are not represented by identity genderqueer.

Efforts need to be made to respect, include nonbinary identities *This article contains topics like self-injury and suicide.

Using someone’s pronouns is not hard whether that is she/her, he/him or they/them pronouns.

While it can be a little challenging at first, it is not something that is impossible to do.

According to the Williams Institute (https://williamsinstitute. law.ucla.edu/publications/nonbinary-lgbtq-adults-us/), as of a 2021 study, 1.2 million Americans identify as nonbinary. They make up roughly 11 percent of the LGBTQ+ community.

Some individuals that do not identify with cis-gender pronouns (she/her and he/him) and go by they/them are getting tired of people misgendering them or using excuses like “It’s just too hard to remember your pronouns.” It is understandable if you mess up a couple of times, but consistently misgendering someone, especially if they are your friend, family member, coworker or classmate, is exhausting and hurtful to them.

Recognizing nonbinary identities is a must. It is not up to you to decide how other people choose to identify and what pronouns make them feel the most comfortable.

Opinion

Being misgendered is not only hurtful but it builds walls between these individuals that keep them from achieving a sense of comfort with their own identity.

Coming out as a different gender was probably already hard enough, and now being misgendered only increases the discomfort that they may feel with themselves especially if their own coming out was not accepted by the people that they thought would support them.

While you might want to be reminded if you accidentally and unintentionally misgender someone, it is not the job of the individual using their proper pronouns to constantly correct you. It is not their job to continuously remind you that they do not go by the pronouns that you are assigning to them. It is exhausting and unfair to put more of a burden on them.

There are significant risks with misgendering individuals that go beyond feeling angry or disappointed with those misgendering them.

The Williams Institute also reported that 94 percent of nonbinary adults in the United States have considered suicide and almost 40 percent have attempted it. 74 percent have engaged in self-injury. 90

percent have experienced moderate mental illness, and 51 percent have experienced serious mental illness.

These percentages are extremely alarming and, while they are not completely caused by being misgendered, that adds to the cause.

While visibil(Demi Lovato/Sam Smith/Facebook) ity is growing, Demi Lovato (right) came out as nonbinary in May 2021 and Sam Smith (left) came out there is still in September 2019. a long way to go. Many “X” instead of an “F” for female or At the end of the day, we need celebrities like Sam Smith and Demi “M” for male. President Joe Biden to work to be more inclusive and Lovato have come out as nonbinary also wrote an executive order which accepting of others. It is not up to and have spoken about their expeput in place anti-discrimination laws others to determine how people riences and advocated for change; on the basis on sexual orientation identify themselves. We must however, government and people’s and gender identity. support and encourage people in personal biases have made achievConservative government their identity. ing to be better a difficult process. officials have spoken out against Brought to you By Some states in the United States recognizing nonbinary identities have been beginning to offer genas well as transgender and other The Penn Editorial Board der-neutral driver’s licenses with an LGBTQ+ identities.

October 15, 2021

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Culture Seasons change

Culture Editor: Lane Lannan – ffpcc@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Caio Gomes – hysbc@iup.edu

Hawks talk warm, cold temperatures LANE LANNAN Culture Editor ffpcc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

As time continues to pass, the temperatures at IUP continue to slowly drop.

With the first day of the autumn season having passed, students have noticed that the weather has gradually started to change from the heat and humidity of summer to the cool breezes and changing leaf colors of autumn.

“Personally, I think I like the weather in summer more,” Matthew Levenson (sophomore, accounting) said. “It is a lot easier to get out and be active when it is warmer out. Plus, summer is a great time for swimming and stuff like that. There is just less you can do with fall because of the colder weather.”

Levenson went on to say that he still enjoys the weather of fall, but the number of activities that he is able to do during summer make him favor the warmer temperatures.

While this is certainly the case for some members of IUP’s student body, there are others that favor the fall season.

“I think fall is objectively better than summer,” Gabrielle Probst (sophomore, early childhood education) said. “I just think that there is a different feeling in fall which is influenced by the weather, obviously, but I think it is also just a change in mindset for a lot of people. Plus, more seasonal options become more available like pumpkin spice and apple cider.”

Probst said that, because of those reasons, she is a bigger fan of fall. In her mind, the lifestyle that develops for the season is

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a lot more appealing than that of summer.

Additionally, fall tends to be less claustrophobic as there are less instances of a lot of people gathered in one area; something summer sees happen often with things like beach trips.

Despite the two different camps of students that like warmer or cooler temperatures, there are some that are more indifferent to the weather due in part to the long transitional period it is taking for the temperature to really cool down.

“Honestly, I don’t care too much about the weather changing,” Riley Hays (sophomore, software engineering) said.

“There hasn’t really been a rapid shift from summer to fall since there are still days in the middle of October that are hitting the upper 70s and low 80s. [That] kind of makes it hard to really appreciate or get attached to the colder weather when it just isn’t happening.”

There have not been many days where students have been able to feel the complete fall experience lately due to the persistence of hot temperatures.

Regardless, students remain hopeful that the weather will change soon.

“I think by the end of October the temperature will get to where we all expect it to be for fall,”

Probst said. “Granted, the heat has lasted for longer, but it will subside soon, I think.”

Whether you are a fan of the heat in the summer or the cooler temperature in the fall, seasons progress and change on nature’s whim, so be prepared for any changes in the weather that come your way.

(The Penn Archives/IUP/Twitter) According to weather-us.com, the average amount of daylight in Indiana is about 11.1 hours per day. Coupled with the average levels of rainfall being about 16.3 days total, there will likely be a stronger transition to the fall season over the next couple weeks.

October 15, 2021

Culture

Culture

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October 15, 2021

IUP students share their favorite TV shows, movies over past month REBECCA WALKER Staff Writer blddc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP During the semester, classes can be stressful and many students choose to unwind with their favorite television show or movie.

Students share a variety of preferences when it comes to genres of entertainment. Some prefer well-known comedies such as “The Office” or “Rick and Morty.” Other interests span from romances to action-packed thrillers, musicals, documentaries or dramas.

Watching different forms of entertainment while spending a bit of free time with close friends is a great way for students to relax and unwind after a day or week of classes and assignments. Spending some alone time binging a favorite television show and talking about it with other viewers is a guilty pleasure many students take part in.

“My favorite show is ‘Squid Game,’ and my favorite movie is ‘Higher Learning,’” Cynthia Roldan (sophomore, English literature) said. “‘Squid Game’ talks a lot about the unfairness of capitalism and ‘Higher Learning’ talks about race, sexuality, individualism, etc.

“Both pretty much have plots centered around problems in American society.”

Students find entertainment on a variety of platforms. These include Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ and many others includ-

ing cable TV. Television shows like “Adventure Time,” “Friends” and “The Simpsons” have been long-standing favorites of students for quite some time.

The new popular show “Squid Game” has become extremely popular since its release in September.

“My favorite TV show is ‘Squid Game’ because I like how different it was,” Lydia West (freshman, Asian studies) said. “My favorite movie would be ‘Forgotten’ because I like the thriller part of it.

“I recommend ‘Squid Game’ because the acting is incredible and for how many people suffer with financial problems.

‘Forgotten’ has a pretty interesting plot to it and has a pretty deep meaning to it, and the plot twist at the end is very interesting.”

Not everyone only watches their favorite shows or movies when they have ample free time.

It is not uncommon for people to enjoy a little background noise, music or activity on the television to help them focus and get their work done.

Some students prefer a more calm and relaxing type of TV show to watch when they have time to unwind. For many, this includes baking or cooking shows.

“My absolute favorite TV show is the ‘Great British Baking Show,’” Peyton Huff (freshman, English education) said. “It’s so calming and just makes me feel good and hungry.

“My favorite movie currently is ‘Mamma Mia.’ I’m a sucker

for movie musicals and ‘ABBA’s’ music is just incredible.”

There are quite a few newly released movies that people are excited to see. “No Time to Die” is a recently released James Bond movie now playing in theatres. The new Marvel movie, “Shang-Chi and The Legend of

the Ten Rings,” is also a new popular movie. “Malignant” and “Candyman” are horror movies that have arrived just in time for Halloween.

With Halloween fast approaching, many students are looking forward to watching some of their favorite Halloween films.

Favorites include “Twitches,” “IT: Chapter 2,” “The Corpse Bride,” “Halloween” and “Hocus Pocus” just to name a few.

Many friend groups have already made plans to grab some snacks and curl up for a Halloween-binge movie fest later this month.

(businessinsider.com) According to a survey done by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, https://www.ajc.com/news/reportthe-1-streaming-service-in-america/GNNU7HCTTZHNHFY672CNR6ZIZU/, Disney+ ranks as the most popular streaming service with HBO Max being the next most popular.

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October 15, 2021

Culture

“IUP’s culture is diverse” ~Olivia Keyes Students talk culture, student life at IUP KIARA WASHINGTON

Staff Writer mfmy@iup.edu @ThePennIUP Culture is an essential part of any college campus to have and celebrate. The culture of a campus tells a lot about the campus itself along with those apart of it.

IUP strives to make the college campus a place with cultural diversity as a way for the campus to continue to maintain the endeavors of its success.

“IUP’s culture is diverse,” Olivia Keyes (senior, finance) said. “You have the opportunity to meet a lot of different people.”

“I think the culture at IUP reflects a broad range of interests,” Kaylee Long (junior, social studies education) said. “I feel like, overall, the atmosphere and setup allows for frequent interactions and friendliness.”

Campus culture is a way to bring about socialization and form connections with others. This can lead to a person’s own individual growth amongst the growth of others. Culture helps create a unique space for students to feel not only a sense of inclusiveness but also a sense of acceptance.

This is critical for college students because college can be intimidating and isolating from what they previously knew. Sometimes it only takes one right event for a student to feel more welcomed and less alone.

“The culture of the campus is important because it makes people feel included and safe,” Isis Truxon (senior, English education) said. “Some students might be far from their parents or without a lot of support. If the campus culture isn’t good, then a student may feel as if they can’t be themselves or find people like them.”

A campus’s culture can be made up of multiple things such as events, organizations and activities made specifically for the students.

Ultimately, the culture of a campus is created by the students.

“IUP has many organizations and out-of-class activities that help reach out to students to get them involved,” Shayla Walker (junior, psychology) said.

“A campus culture is made up

from opportunities for students to explore,” Keyes said. “IUP’s culture allows students to try new things.”

While the culture at IUP is described by students as “diverse” and “inclusive,” there are always areas of improvement and ways to grow. Some cultures change through time, so it is important to note down how IUP can grow alongside the culture changes that naturally occur on campus.

“There is always room for improvement,” Walker said. “I have noticed that no matter where it is, action isn’t taken until something happens and action is needed.

“If we create change before an issue arises, maybe this can create amazing growth for the campus.”

“I would say outreach for more students who are people of color,” Truxon said. “I feel as though there are a lot of diversity events, but we don’t hear enough about them so they aren’t attended in the ways that they should be.”

Campus culture is a way to help people come together. It creates an opportunity for students to make connections with other students, and for students to know that there are others interested in the same activities and events as them. A campus’s culture helps students realize that they are not alone.

(iup.edu/mscle/IUP/Twitter) According to https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/indiana-university-of-pennsylvania-main-campus/student-life/diversity/, IUP ranks 2,450 out of 3,790 when it comes to the diversity of students which is considered in the mid-range for schools in Pennsylvania.

Culture

October 15, 2021

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IUPSAR hits IUP goal to educate students

(IUPSAR/Facebook) IUPSAR was founded by Nabiha Islam in order to promote racial equality and educate the student body on racial issues.

LANE LANNAN Culture Editor ffpcc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP There is a new organization in town.

This is the IUP Students

Against Racism (IUPSAR). Officially becoming a club in April, it is dedicated to promoting diversity and equality while also educating the student body on the continuing issue that racism brings to society.

The board for the group consists of President Nabiha Islam,

Vice President Caitlyn Luther, Treasurer Gabriella Giese, Sergeant at Arms Zipporah Prescott and Secretary Zoe Pepper.

The board works with a growing group of students that join the club with the number currently sitting at 12 full members.

“The mission of our organization is to combat and shed light on racism within the IUP community and society while also providing a safe space for individuals to learn and share their experiences,” Giese (sophomore, biology education) said.

Giese went on to say that the club meets every week on Tuesdays at Leonard Hall (formerly the College of Humanities and Social Sciences) at 7:30 p.m. to discuss its events and welcome new members.

IUPSAR also works in conjunction with the Title IX Office like movie nights, featuring films that can be used to educate students on racial issues within society.

“In the past, we hosted a mov-

ie night showing ‘Loving,’” Giese said. “It is based on the Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriage and had a great discussion afterwards.”

In addition to the Title IX Office, IUPSAR also has plans to collaborate with Green Dot to provide bystander training for every member of the club in November. The plan is to offer valuable training to the members of the club so they can better understand certain situations and scenarios that may arise.

“Our target audience includes sororities, fraternities, resident assistant (RA) and the residence hall committee (RHC),” Giese said.

“We plan on creating a diversity training program that campus organizations, university staff and general body students can take advantage of.”

It is important for leaders of the IUP student body, like RAs, to know as much as they can about

racial issues and racially motivated situations as there is a chance that it could happen. Fraternities and sororities also tend to be where a lot of students interact, so if they know information related to racial issues, the message would be able to spread faster and hit the wider IUP community.

With their goal in mind of promoting more training on campus, IUPSAR is also planning to host a wide scope of different events from general discussions to a “Family Feud” night for students to have fun and learn at the same time.

Any interested students can find IUPSAR on Crimson Connect or follow @iupsar on Instagram.

It is a group promoting a great message with clear goals to benefit the IUP community both on campus and off.

Whether we like it or not, racism does exist at IUP. Despite that fact, The Penn stands with the decision that racism has no place at IUP and supports IUPSAR in its endeavors to spread the word and shed light on the issues of racism to help protect and educate different members of the student body.

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October 15, 2021

Culture

(Caio Gomes/The Penn/IUP Cook Honors College/Instagram) The meet and greet is designed to give first-year honors students a chance to interact with upperclassmen and gain pointers for their thesis papers which are a large portion of their grades for the honors classes. This night did not happen during the 2020 school year because Whitmyre Hall was closed.

‘Welcome to pancake night’

CHC brings back snack night for students CAIO GOMES Lead Culture Writer hysbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP On Tuesday, IUP’s Robert E. Cook Honors College (CHC) held its traditional “Thesis Snack” night.

Every CHC student is required to write a thesis paper for each unit of the CHC “core classes,” and while upperclassmen are already accustomed to the writing process, first-year students are writing their first ever thesis papers.

This may cause many to feel worried about completing the assignment.

The “Thesis Snack” night is a

fun way to help those first years relieve this stress by spending time with upperclassmen. Students experiencing their first core have a chance to work together amongst themselves and upper-level peers to improve their papers while eating delicious treats.

“I’m not a freshman but I am taking my first core now, so it was my first time having to write an honors thesis paper,” Brandon Kimmel (sophomore, English) said.

“It was nice to have a time just to share with some of my friends and classmates because peer reviewing is an essential thing to make your

paper better.”

The strong sense of community among CHC students is one of CHC’s biggest prides. Events like the “Thesis Snack” night are very popular among students because these events also serve as a community-building event since they are an opportunity for CHC students to meet and hang out with peers regardless of what graduating class they are from.

For that reason, many students attended the “Thesis Snack” night despite not having a thesis paper to write this semester. Students felt as though the opportunity to interact and befriend fellow CHC peers was worth attending the event even if they did not have any work to do.

For some students, the fun started way before the event itself began. This is because, as the name suggests, there are snacks at the “Thesis Snack” night. This year, the snacks were pancakes and tater tots prepared by the upper-level

students themselves.

“Honestly, even preparing the pancakes, which is something I could do at home, was fun,” Milady Lagunas (sophomore, political science/ pre-law) said. “It was really nice because I got to meet other students who are not in my class, and it was pretty cool meeting other honors students.”

This marked the first time the event has happened since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that it was not only a new experience for first-year students and sophomores but was also a refreshing experience for upper-level students and CHC

staff members who were not able to host this tradition in a long time due to the pandemic.

“One of the most beautiful things [about the CHC] is how strong of a community we are,” Lisa Halmes, CHC’s administrative assistant, said. “It was very heartbreaking that we couldn’t do things like this [event] last year, but this year we are going all-in to build back our community.”

Overall, whether it was to eat, to hang out or to work on their thesis papers, students and staff who attended the “Thesis Snack” night had a great deal of fun and were happy to hang out in Whitmyre Hall once again.

Culture

Leaves begin changing as fall presses on

(Nick Schmidt/The Penn) While there have been slow changes to the temperature on campus, the leaves have started to show more color change as the days pass. This is part of a roughly five-month period in which trees prepare for winter by going dormant, resulting in the leaves slowly dying until they fall from the tree.

October 15, 2021

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Sports

Editor-in-Chief: Jeff Hart – J.Hart.2@iup.edu

‘The Pinnacle of Success’ A preview of IUP men’s golf team’s history of winning

By The Penn Staff If success is measured by the number of championships won, it is fair to say no team in IUP history has been more successful than the men’s golf team.

“That’s a strong statement,” Dan Braun, IUP men’s golf head coach, said. “We have so many successful programs at IUP. I don’t know that I would feel right saying that. I think that it depends on how you define that statement.”

The IUP men’s golf team is traveling to Hershey this weekend to compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships.

To date, IUP has won 30 PSAC titles; the most conference championships in school history in any sport.

“Certainly, if you’re basing it on PSAC championships, I would say that that’s a fair statement with an asterisk,” Braun said. “Like I said, we’re just happy to be involved and be associated with all the successful programs that we have at IUP.” Flattery aside, there is little doubt that IUP is the class of the PSAC. The Crimson Hawks have dominated the conference for decades and especially so in recent history. Since 2000, IUP has won 13 conference titles including 10 in the past 14 years.

This year’s team, led by a foursome of experienced veterans: Sean Fedor (junior, marketing), Jack Buccigross (senior, marketing), Jack Steve (senior, finance, accounting) and Nicholas Ward (senior, marketing), is eyeing title No. 31 at the 2021 PSAC Championships.

It is that rich history that draws top talent to IUP year after year.

“The big thing for IUP was definitely the history the program has,” Fedor said. “I knew we had 30 PSAC championships, and I knew that coming in that every year they were always a favorite to win. … The big thing that it came down to was, ‘Do I want to be in

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a program where we’re competing for 10th place or do I want to be on a team that is consistently competing to win?’”

“It certainly makes it easier to recruit to a program that has such a winning tradition, and that’s the first thing I include in any email to my recruits; [it] is an overview of everything that IUP golf has accomplished over the years. So it’s a great starting place,” Braun said.

Carrying on that longstanding tradition of winning inevitably comes with pressure to keep producing the same results.

“When you come to a championship program like this that there is expectations that, you know, you’re expected to win, you’re expected to do well year in and year out . . .”

Buccigross said.

“Definitely coming into the program, you can feel that from other athletes, administration [and] members at the club here.

It’s expected to win. That’s what people expect you to do.”

When the results do not match the lofty expectations, it lingers in the players’ memories. For the seniors on this year’s team, the memories of not winning the PSAC title in 2018 are still fresh.

“Back in 2018, yeah, we lost, I think, by a stroke,” Steve said.

“It was unfortunate. The weather wasn’t great the last day. All teams struggled through it, though. But I think it really helped us as a team grow. We ended up winning a few tournaments in the spring and did really well. I think we missed out on the NCAA finals by a few strokes, but it really helped us as

a team settle back in. We thought we had a really good thing going, and then just shows that golf is [an] up and down game. Sometimes, it’s just not your day.”

IUP has had a few of those days to start this season. In the first three tournaments of the fall season, the Crimson Hawks finished no better than fifth at any of them.

“I think it’s just kind of been the way golf works. Sometimes you get on hot streaks, [and] sometimes you get on cold streaks,” Steve said.

And just when things started looking up, the Crimson Hawks were thrown for a loop. Holding the lead after the first day of the Hal Hansen Invitational in Grove City – their final tune-up before the PSAC Championships – IUP had to pull out of the tournament due to the health and safety guidelines.

“We wanted nothing more than to win the event prior to the PSAC Championships,” Braun said. “It didn’t work out that way. We got ourselves in great position after the first day. … We were unhappy that we had to withdraw because we were really looking forward to playing and hopefully winning.

We’ll never know.”

What the Crimson Hawks do know is that their showing at the Hal Hansen Invitational gave them a needed boost of confidence heading into the PSAC Championships.

“Obviously, [we] played super well as a team. I do think that going into PSACs it’s something good,” Ward said. “Even though there was an abrupt ending – we had to withdraw – I think that us playing well as a team finally is something that is going to be good to propel us into that tournament and hopefully we can come out with a win. That’s the ultimate goal.”

All that is left to do is bring home title No. 31 this weekend at Hershey, Pa. Be sure to watch ‘The Pinnacle of Success’ on thepenn.org to see the rest of the storied history of the men’s golf team.

October 15, 2021

(Sean Seaman/The Penn) The IUP men’s golf team has won 10 of the last 14 PSAC titles.

Sports

Sports

October 15, 2021

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Crimson Hawks looking to take down rival Slippery Rock BEN SPRIGGS Staff Writer dzbbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The wait is over.

When the 2021 IUP football schedule was released this spring, the third Saturday of October was certainly circled on the calendar by coaches, players and fans alike.

There is nothing like a competitive rivalry between two proud schools.

Head coach Paul Tortorella and the Crimson Hawks will travel to Slippery Rock University (SRU) this weekend for a colossal task.

As always, IUP football is up for the challenge. Competition brings out the best in everyone.

The Rock will be, by far, the best competition the Crimson Hawks have faced all season.

Slippery Rock boasts a 6-0 overall record along with a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) stance of 3-0.

It is also the defending PSAC champion of 2019 as the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.

Tortorella shared his team's mindset. “[It’s the] same approach as every week: only controllable is how we play, not SRU,” Tortorella said.

One similarity between the two teams is that they both win primarily through offensive firepower.

The IUP defense will need to play its best game of the year in order to stop a Slippery Rock offensive attack that is averaging 44.6 points per game and has scored a ridiculous 268 total points to date at only the halfway mark of the season.

Slippery Rock hung 75 points on Clarion two weeks ago and 49 on Edinboro in its most recent game.

Its offense is run through Andrew Koester, a 6’4” 220-pound quarterback who has thrown for over 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns so far this season.

Conversely to IUP’s quarterbacks, Koester will turn the ball over.

He has thrown four picks.

The Crimson Hawks’ defense will need to create pressure in order to force him into some bad decisions.

The Rock will display a running back group that includes five backs who average over four yards an attempt.

The team’s leading rusher is Tim

Smith. Smith has rushed for 360 yards and four touchdowns.

“An explosive offense for sure,” Tortorella said.

IUP linebackers Malachi Newell (graduate student, school of continuing education) and Connor Kelly (redshirt junior, marketing) will need to continue to fill the gaps in order to make Slippery Rock one dimensional.

“We need to do a good job stopping the run and not giving up big plays on pass defense,” Tortorella said. “Obviously, if we can win the time of possession, it will be in our favor because we will keep their offense off the field.”

On defense for Slippery Rock, the team has played well, giving up only 65 total points this season.

Its strength is on the edge.

Cornerback Dalton Holt leads the team with 23 solo tackles.

Defensive end Chad Kuhn has also created issues by forcing five sacks on the season.

IUP quarterback Harry Woodbery (graduate student, business administration) may look to create offensive opportunities up the middle.

Slippery Rock is led by head coach Shawn Lutz.

Lutz took over the reins in 2015 following the retirement of legendary coach George Mihalik, who is the fourth winningest coach in PSAC history.

The last time the Crimson Hawks and The Rock faced off was in 2019.

IUP lost in a heartbreaker, 45-42.

The Hawks will look to avenge that loss and spoil a second visitor’s homecoming, two weeks in a row, this Saturday.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Butler County, Pa.

(IUP Athletics) The Rock has won five out of the last seven games against IUP.

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October 15, 2021

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(IUP Athletics) IUP is bringing back diving after a near 15-year hiatus.

IUP swimming is back to its winning ways Crimson Hawks win season opener breaking records

MATT GLOVER Staff Writer htpz@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

IUP swimming made a splash in its season opener Wednesday at Shippensburg breaking two pool records and hitting an NCAA B cut time.

Paige Mikesell (senior, health and physical education) broke a 35-year-old record in the 200 freestyle by hitting the wall with a time of 1:52.71. The record was set by Clarion’s A’lisa Wiocicki in 1986.

“It’s nice to see as a program,” assistant coach Adam Stoner said, “to have a swimmer break a record like that early in a meet. [It] really drives the excitement and enthusiasm.”

“Shippensburg has a lot of history with schools like Naval Academy and University of Alaska Fairbanks swimming there,” head coach Chris Villa said. “It’s an old

pool with a rich history of swimming, so it’s always fun to get your school up there.”

In addition to Mikesell, five other IUP women finished first in seven different events.

In the 200 relay, Iliana Oikonomou (graduate student, sociology) Rachel Johnson (graduate student, M.A. employment and labor relations), Amber Baldani (junior, international business) and AB McCullough (senior, software engineering) won.

For the men, three swimmers finished first in four different events.

“I’ll be honest,” Villa said, “it was a tough meet being [on] a Wednesday and [with] the way it was set up. Each meet only lasts 40 minutes or so, so that was a challenge physically.”

The team swam a 13-event format including two diving events; however, those two were left out because of Shippensburg’s lack of diving facilities. The women’s meet also began 45 minutes

after the men finished due to COVID-19 protocols.

“To have some fast swims this early in the season is a good way to set us up for the rest of the season,” Villa said.

The IUP women ended up beating the Raiders 151-51, and the men fell 86-118.

“Our women’s team is very, very strong,” Stoner said, “our returners especially that made nationals last year: Paige Mikesell, Johnson, Oikonomou and Claire Mikesell (graduate student, food and nutrition education).”

Stoner is also positive about other swimmers “who didn’t make nationals but are still very good in their events” and transfers with “national aspirations.”

“Last year, the women finished 13th in the country,” Villa said.

“It was the highest finish we’ve had in school history and only the second swimming national champion.”

Though the men lost this one, they were far from achieving their true potential.

“We went into [Wednesday] short about five people,” Stoner said, “which included All-American Luke Mikesell (sophomore, criminology) who was a national qualifier and placed very high nationally last year. The men’s team is growing, getting faster and getting stronger.

“We had some great times put on the board by the men that I think we weren’t expecting because of how early it is in the season.”

The teams displayed a strong

start in the pool and look even stronger in the classroom.

“Our women’s team have been academic All-Americans every semester going on almost 10 years,” Stoner said.

“The men are pretty consistently academic All-Americans. We have missed it a semester here or there, but when we miss it, we miss it by around 0.1.

“If we need to relax our schedule to get academics back in place, we can do those things.”

“We take a lot of pride in what we do as a program,” Villa said.

“Even though we are a very strong athletic program, our core values are academics first and foremost.”

While busy during the semester, the team must still be prepared to take on Edinboro on Oct. 22.

“We could work on being more confident and consistent in our turns and transitions off the walls,” Stoner said. “You want to be great at swimming fast on top of the water, but a pool always has an end.”

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Willis’ three goals lead IUP to victory AUSTIN SMITH Staff Writer A.S.Smith7@iup.edu @ThePennIUP The Crimson Hawks knocked off a tough Edinboro team this past week by a score of 4-3, improving their overall record to 7-3-1.

Mahogany Willis (senior, communications media) had a stellar three-goal performance, including an overtime winner, to lead her team to victory.

The Hawks knew what they had to do get the job done and they did just that. They found themselves down 2-0 in the early stages of the second half, but in later stages of the game IUP took the lead.

In the beginning of the game, Edinboro put up a goal 20 minutes into the match. The team scored a second goal in the 41st minute.

Shortly after, Hannah Scardina (sophomore, pre-physical therapy) got the first goal for the Hawks which cut the lead in half.

It did not take much longer for

IUP to tie the game right back up 2-2. Only 35 seconds later, Willis struck the back of the net.

The game was at a draw for about 20-plus minutes before Willis scored the third goal of the game for the Hawks and her second to take the 3-2 lead, giving IUP the advantage for the first time.

Throughout the game, the Hawks were outshot heavily by a deficit of 23-8.

Edinboro also took the shots on goal by a tally of 14-6. With the number of shots Edinboro had, it seemed inevitable for the Hawks to fight back, and they did just that.

In the 76th minute, the Fighting Scots tied the game and just in time, forcing the game into overtime.

“We were down 2-0, and the players never quit and they kept playing hard. Hannah Scardina scored in the penalty kick,” head coach Adel Heder said. “Then

Mahogany took over by creating chances and played her best game of the season by scoring two goals.”

The tension was almost palpable in overtime as both teams sat evenly at 3-3. Edinboro had a golden chance to win it, but Samantha Gildner (junior, athletic training) stopped the Fighting Scots.

IUP would put away Edinboro in the 97th minute as Samantha Nemeth (sophomore, nursing) centered a pass to Willis who netted her second career hat trick and gave the Hawks the 4-3 victory.

IUP has now strung three wins together and is tied with Mercyhurst for third place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West standings.

The Crimson Hawks are in the driver’s seat and they control their own destiny with six regular season games left, and playoffs look very promising for them if they can keep up this pace.

(IUP Athletics) IUP will have a week off to prepare for PSAC rival Gannon.

Crimson Hawks drop match against Golden Eagles JAY McGARY Staff Writer fwtz@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

(IUP Athletics) The Hawks have not beaten Clarion since 2017.

Volleyball is a game of runs, and that fact was certainly evident on Tuesday night when the Crimson Hawks faced off against the Clarion Golden Eagles.

IUP lost the match at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex in a 3-0 sweep to the now 13-6 Clarion squad.

Although it ended in a sweep, the Crimson Hawks showed their tenacity, coming closer and closer to victory in each set. The scores being 25-13, 25-17 and 25-20.

IUP had difficulty scoring all night; something that the Golden Eagles certainly did not struggle with. Clarion outhit the Crimson Hawks .380-.120. In the first set where IUP scored only 13 points, the team had an extremely tough time producing, ending it with 0 percent hitting.

Although IUP did manage to fight back after a very rough first set showing, it seems that Clarion was simply the better team that night even according to head coach Julie Torbett.

“I felt like Clarion had the upper

hand from start to finish,” Torbett said.

In terms of what allowed IUP to gain ground with each coming set, it could have been real time adjustments, but the team seemed deflated.

“We did make some changes, but our passing was off and that affected the rest of the game,” Torbett said. “I don't think we fight back as hard as we need to when the other team is getting hot.”

Part of the reason for the deflated play may have come before the first serve even happened: a Crimson Hawks rotation player went down with an injury. “…we lost a player to injury in warmups, and I don't think we ever mentally bounced back from that,” Torbett said. “This was the second time we were completely out of a match, and both times we had adversity right before the match that carried into the match.”

Although the starters continued to produce with Nicole Peterson (junior, sports administration) having eight kills, Caroline Walsh (junior, nutrition and dietetics) having four blocks and all-star serve expert Kylie Osborn (senior, natural science pre-pharmacy) racking up three aces, the damage

was done. Seeing a teammate who you work with every day go down in what should be a simple warmup is never good for the morale of the team.

Although this loss puts the Crimson Hawks at an even .500 record on the season, their in-conference standings continue to fall after their second straight PSAC loss. IUP now sits at 2-5 in division play, and that is not a good sign with less than half of the season remaining.

Despite all of this, the grit that the team showed in the loss is something to view through an optimistic lens.

“I can always find something positive,” Torbett said.

That positivity will be important in the coming weeks as the 2021 Crimson Hawks squad will make a last-ditch effort to secure playoff seeding. Nearly every team on the schedule is one that this squad has faced before, and if the team wants to reach the postseason it will have to do better the second time around.

The only team IUP has not faced will be met this Friday when the Hawks will travel to Johnstown and face a formidable 10-5 Pitt-Johnstown team. That game begins at 7 p.m. at the UPJ Sports Center.