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SEGAR SHARES REFUND ELIGIBILITY, RESTRICTIONS IN STATEMENT

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NEWS

Things You Should Know

News Editor: Jake Slebodnick – J.C.Slebodnick@iup.edu Lead News Writer: Anna Mechling – A.Mechling@iup.edu

Uniting the Masses

Driscoll’s weekly updates

Video duration is about 4 minutes 50 seconds on average.

(IUP Website) President Driscoll’s weekly update videos give students, faculty and staff members firsthand information regarding IUP and the COVID-19 pandemic.

(YouTube)

Driscoll’s weekly videos unite university members while apart ANNA MECHLING Lead News Writer A.Mechling@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Videos are published every Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Videos are stored on IUP’s YouTube channel.

News

During spring break, many students, faculty and staff were left wondering what effects COVID-19 would have on the remainder of the semester.

Unfortunately, like most businesses and schools, IUP announced the suspension of all in-person classes, events and activities on campus shortly after spring break.

Ever since, students who lived on campus were forced to move out of the dorms within a span of a few days. And for the professors and faculty, many were left having to create the material for their classes on an online platform, using D2L, email, Moodle or Zoom to stay connected with their students.

IUP made the difficult decision to cancel all in-person interactions and events for the health and safety of its faculty, staff and students.

The university has made sure it keeps in touch and keeps the students involved as much as it can via email. It seemed to be the number one way to communicate with the student/professor and event and activities on campus previously, but it’s even more so the way to communicate now that everyone is working and studying remotely.

IUP President Michael Driscoll has also played crucial role in ensuring students are receiving weekly emails to keep students, faculty and staff informed.

During spring break, Driscoll sent out the official announcement that IUP was suspending all face-to-face classroom instruction for the remainder of the spring semester and would be transitioning to offering all instruction online.

Driscoll made sure to put information of other resources and services IUP was still offering to students virtually in the email as well. There was a lot of information packed into the one email, but Driscoll had information that was relevant to COVID-19, what IUP was going to do and the services and information IUP was going to offer and a reassuring personal response.

“I know that these changes are drastic, and that they affect you deeply,” Driscoll said in his email. “All of us are working together to make the rest of the semester a rewarding and safe education experience for all of our students.

“I am confident that together, with patience and tolerance for each other, we will succeed. Please continue to protect yourself and those around you.”

Driscoll continued these informative weekly emails. In the next update, he gave detailed information of some of the challeng-

April 22, 2020

es the IUP community were able to overcome, alluding to the hard-working employees who transitioned to working from home, IT Services working hard answering help-desk calls, ihelp tickets and developing a virtual IT support center with Zoom technology and services and resources on campus continuing to operate remotely for students and their families.

Soon after the detailed emails, Driscoll added a video to his weekly emails.

These weekly videos that Driscoll records in his office in Sutton Hall keep students up to date, and students would be able to see Driscoll, getting that face-to-face interaction feel.

In the first video Driscoll posted to YouTube on March 27, he discussed IUP classes, the hard work professors and faculty were doing to with the initial transition to online classes and the staff who were still on campus maintaining the buildings.

Similarly, in the 1930 and 1940s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt “FDR” had a series of evening radio broadcasts to America. FDR did this in response to the banking crisis that was occurring in America.

His radio broadcast addresses, which were known as the “Fireside Chats,” attempted to lessen the public’s worries and concerns.

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Segar shares refund eligibility, Driscoll videos restrictions in statement Continued from page 3

ANNA MECHLING Lead News Writer A.Mechling@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Right now, many people across the nation are experiencing financial difficulties.

Like many colleges and institutions, IUP was able to provide refund checks to students since students were no longer living on campus, using facilities and services and weren’t participating in campus-run activities and events.

On IUP’s website, Dr. Thomas Segar, vice president for student affairs, wrote a brief description of how student refunds were broken down.

Segar was clear about those who were eligible and those who weren’t eligible to receive a refund check and why.

“Please note that as your refund is applied, you will not receive a refund payment (direct deposit or check) if you have a balance due on your account,” Segar said. “Also, please know that if you have not paid a fee or have not paid the fee in full, you will not receive a refund or a full refund for that fee.”

The website listed five major areas of where students would likely get money back from.

The majority of the refund check money was based on if the student was living on campus and had a meal plan.

Under “housing,” students would get reimbursed if they lived on campus and were asked to leave their residence hall, receiving a prorated or proportional refund for housing and commons fees. These fees, however, were not for the entire semester, but for March 16 through May 9.

Segar noted that the commons fee applied only to those students who were living in suite-style housing only. Students in this living situation would receive $125 back.

“If you paid $17 for 17 weeks of living in a residence hall, that means that each week’s cost is about $1,” said Michelle Fryling, executive director of media relations. “So, looking at the 17 weeks of the semester that you’ve paid, students couldn’t live in the halls for the last 8 weeks of the semester, from March 16 through May 8.

“Students would get a prorated refund, which means they would

(IUP Website) Thomas Segar described the refund process in a statement and included a listing of who was eligible to receive funds.

get a refund for the weeks they didn’t or couldn’t live there, and in the scenario I gave, it would be $8.”

Additionally, like regular housing regulations, if students incurred any room damage charges throughout the year or semester, the amount would be subtracted from the refund.

“If students haven’t paid for their housing bill in full or had any room damage or other costs, they didn’t get a full refund,” Fryling said. “The same thing goes for students’ dining services or other fees.”

Students who are still on campus will not receive a refund.

For dining, students who checked out of the residence halls and discontinued the use of the meal plan received a refund distributed as of March 16. That also included unused Flex that were added beyond the meal plan.

The wellness fees students pay per semester is used to provide services and programs that are offered from the Rhonda H. Luckey Center for Health and Well-Being, Disability Services and Sports Medicine. The wellness fees are a mandatory fee of $18 per credit taken by the student.

Some services included: the Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs and Health and the Wellness Promotion, to name a few.

Students received 25 percent of the fee as of March 16. Some services are still available to students like Health Services and the

Counseling Center.

The Student Co-op provides funding to 110 student groups, all of which received around $4,000,000 in activity fee allocations.

According to Segar, prior to spring break, more than 80 percent of the Activity Fee had been expended by the majority of the different departments, clubs and organizations. Therefore, students’ refund from the Student Activity Fee was calculated based on the unused student activity funds.

“The refund was $3.57 per credit out of the $42 per credit paid. For a 15 credit semester, your refund would be $53.55,” Segar said.

The last thing students could have been refunded for was for parking. Like the other refunds, parking fees was prorated as of March 16.

Segar ended the refund details by thanking students and families for their patience during the process.

“I hope that this information helps you to plan for the remainder of your semester,” Segar said. “Please note that students in financial distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic do have the opportunity to apply for financial help through the Emergency Response Fund, which is the result of donations from members of the IUP family.

“Please do not hesitate to take advantage of this fund.”

For more information, explanations or questions about refunds, email iup-hawks@iup.edu.

According to History.com, “The holiday, as well as the radio address, seemed to have the intended effect: When the banks opened again, the panicked ‘bank runs’ that people had feared did not materialize, showing the public confidence had been restored in some measure for the time being.”

Driscoll’s weekly emails and videos are similar to FDR’s “Fireside Chats” because they are a way to directly communicate with IUP students on an intimate level.

Although it’s not in-person, faceto-face interaction, students are able to see Driscoll’s face, hear his voice and get information firsthand from him in a way that feels personal.

In Driscoll’s videos, he gives up-to-date information about things involving academics like the pass/fail grading, shouting out to workers like IT Services who are continuing to maintain student’s educational experience online and the activities and

events that are continuing to occur virtually like STATIC’s activities and events they’ve reconfigured to keep students active.

Driscoll has made sure he is keeping IUP students, faculty, staff and families with the most up-todate news and information with the weekly emails and videos he sends out.

Through depression and the war, FDR was able to keep Americans reassured, up to date and less worried with his “Fireside Chats,” which ultimately boosted the public’s confidence, according to History.com.

Driscoll’s weekly videos are no different in structure, purpose and effect to FDR’s “Fireside Chats.”

Although many students have expressed many different emotions about IUP transitioning to online instruction only, Driscoll’s weekly emails and videos are a reminder that we’re all in this together. IUP is doing its best to provide students with consistent information and support during this difficult time.

This Day in History: April 22, 1976

(Wikipedia)

Barbara Walters makes her debut on the Today Show.

This made Walters the first female nightly news anchor in history.

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Shaken families sue helicopter company NATHAN FENNO TNS Los Angeles Times Nearly three months after the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, the surviving members of two families have sued the company that operated the aircraft.

In wrongful death complaints filed Sunday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Altobelli and Mauser families allege that negligence by Fillmore-based Island Express Holding Corp. and Island Express Helicopters resulted in the accident in nearby Calabasas.

The lawsuit said the plaintiffs suffered a variety of damages because of the "careless, negligence and unlawful conduct" of the defendants.

John Altobelli, wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa died in the crash. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family's two remaining children.

Matthew Mauser, whose wife, Christina, died in the crash, also sued, along with his three children.

An attorney for Island Express declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The Sikorsky S-76B slammed into a hillside amid dense fog

(Pinterest) While the library is closed, students can access resources through the Internet Archive.

(TNS) J.J. Altobelli speaks in remembrance of John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, three of nine victims involved in the helicopter crash that involved Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Accompanying J.J. is Lexi Altobelli (middle) and Carly Konigsfield (right).

on Jan. 26 while flying to a youth basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. All nine people aboard were killed.

Gianna Bryant and Alyssa Altobelli were teammates, and Christina Mauser was an assistant coach.

The other victims were Payton Chester, another teammate; Sarah Chester, her mother; and Ara Zobayan, the pilot.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board didn't find any engine or mechanical failure.

Vanessa Bryant sued Island Ex-

press in February on the same day as the memorial service at Staples Center to celebrate the lives of Kobe and Gianna Bryant.

That wrongful death complaint alleged the company "permitted a flight with full knowledge that the subject helicopter was flying into unsafe weather conditions" and said the company should have installed a terrain alarm system in the helicopter that could have warned Zobayan he was nearing a hillside. Federal regulations don't require the helicopter to have that system.

The lawsuits filed Sunday seek unspecified monetary damages.

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Libraries aid students’ educational needs online KATIE MEST

Editor-In-Chief K.A.Mest@iup.edu @katiemest

Students, university faculty and researchers alike are all far from the comfort of their university libraries. That’s where the Internet Archive comes in to help.

The Internet Archive suspended the waitlists for the books in its lending library. Because of the global pandemic, it created the National Emergency Library “to serve the nation’s displaced learners,” according to its website. It opened March 24 and will stay available until June 30 or whenever the U.S. national emergency ends, whichever is later.

You can access and borrow these e-books by registering for a free account to get a virtual library card.

The National Emergency Library was a response to educators who were asking about the capacity of the lending library. This library has books from Phillips Academy Andover, Marygrove College and much of Trent University’s collections, along with more than a million other books donated from other libraries.

The books that have been digitized focus on 20th century-published materials, and many of them don’t have e-books that are available to the public. These books are ones that you would most likely only have access to in print in a library. The Internet Archive is also offering access to 2.5 million public domain books that can be downloaded and do not require a waitlist to be viewed.

“The library system, because of our national emergency, is coming to aid those that are forced to learn at home,” said Brewster Kahle, digital librarian

of the Internet Archive, on the Internet Archive Blog. “This was our dream for the original Internet coming to life: the Library at everyone’s fingertips.”

But the Internet Archive does not want this to come at the expense of authors and publishers, as they have already been impacted by this pandemic like other industries. The Internet Archive stresses that if you are financially able to purchase books through Amazon or other outlets, you should do so.

Chris Freeland, director of open libraries at Internet Archive, noted ways users can help support the National Emergency Library.

The easiest way is to read, recommend and/or teach using books from the library. You can also sponsor a book to be digitized and preserved. The sponsorship donation covers the cost of purchasing and shipping the book to the Internet Archive, digitization by trained staff, the safe keeping of the physical book within the physical archives and server costs, according to the Internet Archive website. You can then claim the first borrow of the book and can add a public sponsorship dedication message to the book’s page.

Freeland also asks that you endorse their efforts within your institution and share the news of the National Emergency Library on your social media using #NationalEmergencyLibrary.

The Internet Archive began in 1996 and has 330 billion web pages, 20 million books and texts, 4.5 million audio recordings, 4 million videos, 3 million images and 200,000 software programs, according the Internet Archive website. It also has live concerts and TV news broadcasts.

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Greek life officers speak out on transitioning from COVID-19 TAYLOR BERMAN Contributing Writer T.Berman@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Greek life activities are very hands-on and community based.

With classes being pushed online because of COVID-19, Greek life has had a major transition.

Events such as alumni events, philanthropies, continuing recruiting, formals, fundraising events and more have all been postponed or canceled. Not only have those events been canceled, but members of those organizations are not seeing the people with whom they have created bonds over the past few semesters.

“One of the main reasons people join Greek life is to have a support system away from home,” said Matt Van Etten, Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Phi Delta Theta president. “For many of us, that connection grows closer than actual family, especially if home life isn’t good. So for some of us, this is the time that we’re away from our family.”

Even though the semester is online and students have been sent home, it’s not stopping the Greek life community from connecting and holding some events. During Zeta Tau Alpha’s Pink Week, they have been posting pictures of members wearing pink. Other sororities and fraternities have been

(IUP Zeta Tau Alpha Website) Like other campus activities, Greek life has taken all activities online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

showing their support by wearing pink and tagging the Instagram page @zts_iup.

The Instagram account @iupfsl, which is run by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life, has been getting Greek members to post a picture of them wearing their letters. It is called “Wear Your

Letters Wednesday.” It has been a great way to have members from all different organizations bond together.

“In a way, I think it’s become a more open time to ask for advice on what others are doing,” Van Etten said. “And I think it’s a good culture shock that if people

had petty beef, as all groups do, there’s things that are much more important like the health and safety of all.”

Members of the Greek community have come together to support each other. People who normally would not have gotten to know someone are now seeing

that they live in the same community at home and they have been able to bond over that.

“I think this has made us closer,” said Morgan Brennan, Sigma Sigma Sigma president. “All the leaders and members are adapting, and it takes a good community to come together and make it work.”

Sigma Sigma Sigma had their Founders Day on Monday, and they celebrated it with their nationals through Facebook. Members held a Zoom call to celebrate the day as a chapter.

The remaining philanthropy events that chapters have will also be held online. Chapters have been conducting this by having Facebook fundraisers to help raise money for their philanthropies.

Some chapters are doing a bingo board in which friends and family can donate a small amount of money for members to fill their cards.

Members of the Greek community have also been continuing to help their communities by donating their time to help make masks to send to hospitals or anybody in need.

The Greek community is staying strong and is trying to remain as normal as possible. They are waiting to be back with their brothers and sisters and helping the community.

Nursing majors face disadvantages, clinical changes during pandemic RACHEL FOOR

Staff Writer R.G.Foor@iup.edu @Rachelll_4

The stresses of nursing school have only been increasing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During their last six semesters at IUP, nursing students are required to take clinicals, the hands-on part of the program, in hospitals or other health facilities. With universities being closed and non-essential workers being put on leave, many of these clinicals have moved online.

Kaitlyn Auel, a senior nursing student at IUP, had community nursing rotations at Indiana Regional Medical Center during the first half of the spring semester.

Once spring break was over, she was to begin psychiatric rotations at DuBois Regional Medical Center. Then she, like thousands of other IUP students, had to make the sudden transition to online

(IUP Website) Nursing majors are now required to complete clinicals online.

classes. However, in a field that utilizes hands-on learning, many nursing students have found themselves at a disadvantage.

“Having to take classes online while in the nursing program is not ideal,” said Auel. “Nursing is hard as it is being taught in the classroom by experienced professionals. Now we have to teach ourselves, along with all the

extra assignments we are having to do in place of going to class in person. I know it is what had to be done in attempts to flatten the curve, but it’s definitely causing myself and many other nursing students a lot of added stress.”

Those who are still working in healthcare facilities are feeling more uncertain and fearful. Bridget Chappell, a junior in the LPN to

BSN program, has been a nurse in Latrobe for the past 12 years.

She works everywhere except in the ICU and performs all nursing duties except initiating blood, running chemo or pushing IV medications.

“It’s hard to see these patients that have to be there without their families by their sides,” said Chappell, “and they’re afraid and don’t know what is going to happen. We are now checking temperatures, asking questions and handing out masks before anyone enters the hospital. There are no surgeries, no out-patient therapy, so there are many changes and uncertainties. I just want to say to all essential workers out there, stay safe.”

Another frustration for nursing students is seeing people ignoring safety guidelines. Despite a stayat-home order and non-essential travel being banned in Pennsylvania, many are still treating the current situation as business-as-usual.

This especially applies to young people, who were initially led

to believe that they were not as susceptible to COVID-19 as the elderly.

“I think people our age really need to be taking this more seriously than they are,” said Auel.

“I see people on their Snapchat stories running around, drinking, and doing fun things with crowds of people who don’t live with them. They think they’re invincible because COVID-19 won’t affect them the way it would affect an older adult.”

The current stay-at-home order is set to end April 30. However, this is reliant on everyone following safety guidelines set forth by the state government and CDC. “Quarantine will keep getting extended for everybody until people get a grip and realize this is a very serious thing affecting the whole world right now,” said Auel.

If the order does have to be continuously extended, it could mean more online clinicals and less hands-on learning for nursing students.

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April 22, 2020

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‘Cook’ing Up Solutions for COVID-19

Honors College strives to combine core values with online transition KATIE MEST

Editor-In-Chief K.A.Mest@iup.edu @katiemest

The Robert E. Cook Honors College emphasizes critical thinking and writing in its core classes.

And while normal class sessions include in-depth discussions with your peers, the current COVID-19 pandemic does not allow honors college students and professors to do so as they originally planned.

HNRC 102 and HNRC 202 – freshmen humanities and sophomore science core – are two classes that are missing out on face-to-face lessons. For an honors core class, students are broken into groups of about 20 with professors of different disciplines.

So, while HNRC 102 focuses on how we recreate history and what we can do about it, professors are approaching this topic from the standpoint of their own studies.

Many professors are making the most of their classes with the resources available to them. Since the honors college classes are discussion-based, many professors are using D2L’s discussion tool to facilitate that part of their classes Dr. Lynn Botelho, history professor and director of women’s and gender studies, is in her second decade of teaching core classes in the honors college. And though she described her honors college teaching style as “old school,” she’s thinking outside the box to connect her students to the class and the world around them.

Botelho’s students, who choose to participate, use Fliprid to create minute to minute-and-a-half videos as a sort of diary for their COVID-19 experience in isolation.

About half of her honors core class has allowed those videos to be put in IUP’s Special Collections as official records. They document how their feelings change and how the world around them changes as time goes on, and they can see and respond to each other’s videos.

Her class is also reading “The Story of American Freedom” by Eric Foner. They write daily journals to practice analyzing text and writing, and they have to create their own post as well as respond to classmates’.

“The real positive thing is that the quiet ones have to talk,” Bo-

(IUP Website) Cook Honors College students saw a change in how classes operate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

telho said. “The balance is really nice in that way.”

This keeps group members from dominating the conversation and assures that everyone has their voice heard.

Botelho also holds optional weekly Zoom sessions to have a place where students can get together and check in with one another.

Because some students have trouble accessing the Internet, many professors are making their weekly meetings optional. Dr. Susan Boser, sociology professor, attempted video chatting in the beginning but concluded that would not work for her class.

This is Boser’s first semester teaching in the honors college.

Since the honors college breaks the semester into two units, essentially two classes, Boser said coming back from break to a new unit topic, new students and a new way of teaching was a “startling” situation.

Her class is reading “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn. Like Botelho, Boser has her students write each day and analyze the text as they read it. The students have to end their discussion post with a question, and then they have to go answer another student’s question.

“It’s prompted some really

fascinating conversations,” Boser said. “The good news here is that…the quality of the analysis and what they’re doing by learning with each other is off the charts. They’re doing an amazing job.”

Boser also mirrored Botelho’s point that discussions are helpful in hearing the voices of all the students, not just those who would normally be outgoing enough to engage in in-person discussions.

And students are producing better quality analyses by having the time to think through their posts and revising them before submitting them. Boser said she hopes to find a way to incorporate that into the classroom when classes go back to normal.

“The loss, though, and there’s a profound one, is that I don’t get to know the students personally,” Boser said. “I see their writing, I respond to them, I give them a ton of feedback on pretty much every single post they do. But it’s not the same as being able to look into somebody’s eyes and joke around with them. It’s all academic; there’s no social bonding.”

Boser is not requiring a video session for her class, as she is unable to connect on Zoom herself. She attempted to have two sessions each week for discussion, but after the third attempt, she

decided fighting with her Internet was more trouble than it was worth. That’s when she decided to have her students interact via the discussion board four days a week.

She complements those discussions with a few video lectures posted to D2L to explain certain topics.

This is also the first semester teaching honors core for economics professor Dr. Brandon Vick.

He has his students reading “Why Nations Fail” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson.

“I started having a feeling that people were emotionally overwhelmed, overwhelmed by the change of being at home, having to deal with internet connection issues and being isolated with your family,” Vick said. “A couple of students are working, and they didn’t expect to have to be.”

Instead of having a strict academic focus, Vick decided that students would read and analyze the book and also apply the premise of the book to things that interest them. He asked them to write papers applying the book concepts to three different forms of art (music, show, movie, painting, etc.) in an informal way in their own voice.

Vick checks in with his students on Zoom two times a week and

makes sure they’re understanding the material in the book. He said his students have said they appreciate having some consistency in their weeks to keep them on a schedule. For those who can’t come to the Zoom sessions, he records the sessions and posts them online.

Honors college students would normally have presentations at the end of their units to show what they learned in their section.

This semester they will not have to present.

The thesis papers students write for each unit are still due at the end of the unit. Students will still swap papers to peer edit, and professors will hold paper conferences.

In addition to core classes, honors college students must complete 60 service hours per school year. Seniors graduating in May are exempt from finishing the hours for this school year, but the deadline has been extended for other honors college students.

Dr. Chauna Craig, acting director of the honors college, said she hopes students will be “creative about ways to give back to the community, even while practicing social isolation.”

Students in a humanities-focused core class also have five fine arts requirements, in which students analyze their choice of fine art media that are approved by professors. This can include Lively Arts events and art galleries on campus. Because students don’t have access to campus, the requirement has been reduced to three fine arts papers. Students are encouraged to look online for opportunities.

“I hope students know that we are doing everything we can to help them meet requirements with the least amount of disruption and stress,” Craig said in a Friday email. “I also hope they know how much we miss seeing their faces in Whitmyre.”

Graduation plans are not yet set in stone since the COVID-19 has not shown a possible end.

Craig said the honors college will plan something around the same time as the university, which is looking to be in September, according to an email from President Michael Driscoll to graduating students and their families.

“The honors college still manages to go on, just in a different form,” Botelho said.

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April 22, 2020

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Opinion

CARTOONS

(Flickr) Student stress levels have increased during pandemic, and some professors have not taken into account their situations.

Professors fail to recognize stress of students during pandemic Working hard or hardly working? That's the thing we're asking ourselves as we navigate through the woes of working at home.

It's a major transition for students now having class at home, and the pandemic's impact is not being taken as seriously by universities. It is putting unnecessary strain on students as they are expected to perform tasks regularly as though this is a snow day and have online classes for a day to replace an in-person one.

While students do get some of a safety net to convert their grades from letter grades to pass-fail grades, this does not take into account the other burdens students are now facing.

Some faculty and administration have failed to recognize the effect COVID-19 has on students.

They may have more financial burdens and work obligations to help support their families as people across the nation are losing jobs. Not to mention students who are on the front lines

Opinion

in grocery stores and health-care just to pay bills and tuition.

Mental and emotional stress hinders students' ability to focus on school work. Not knowing the next time you will be able to see some friends and family or losing a friend or family member and not being able to properly say good-bye is tragic and happening every day. These concerns should be allowed to be at the forefront of students' minds without them having to worry about their next assignment.

According to the American Psychological Association, research shows that students' immunity went down every year under the simple stress of exam periods, and test-takers had fewer natural killer cells, which fight tumors and viral infections.

While most professors are compassionate and empathetic to student situations and hardships, the student now must seek the help. When classes are in person, professors are able to

know their students better and notice when their students are struggling with something, but that is taken away with virtual classes which some don't even hold video conferencing. We are all worried about our own health and the ones we love.

These unprecedented times need to be a chance to support and protect the student body.

While there are some services in places, they can't help everyone.

We commend the university's efforts to support students in any way possible, but there is more to be done to help the whole student body. More can be done about the way classes are run to prioritize students' mental and physical health. There may not be much time left of the semeter, but it is better late than never and will set the precedent should there ever be a similar situation.

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April 22, 2020

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Culture

Culture Editor: Heather Bair – zzzx@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – ydmx@iup.edu

(Facebook) IUP’s student activity committee, STATIC, will be hosting its popular “Netflix & Chill” event, with the next movie being “Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse” on April 30.

STATIC’s new virtual events includes ‘Netflix & Chill’ ANNA MECHLING Lead News Writer A.Mechling@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

It’s the end of April, which means there’s less than a month left of the 2020 spring semester.

However, IUP’s major organizations have worked hard to re-organize their initial in-person spring 2020 schedule of activities and events.

The Center of Multicultural Student Leadership and Engagement (MCSLE) have set up webinars and virtual events to bring students together and keep them engaged.

On Thursday, April 23 and 30, MCSLE is hosting a virtual Zoom “Coffee Break with MSCLE” where students can come together mingle, drink coffee and hangout by following the link posted on MSCLE’s social media.

STATIC (Student Activity Committee) has worked to re-design its original schedule for the spring, coming up with creative virtual activities and events students can be a part of.

“STATIC scrambled quickly to

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build a virtual event calendar for April once we received word that we would need to cancel all of our in-person campus events,” said Zach Clark, director of student activities and assessment.

“It was a huge body-blow for us, since we were particularly excited for all of our events post-spring break,” STATIC put together a variety of virtual events, including two fall 2020 event brainstorming sessions.

“There’s a little something for everyone, which is always STATIC’s goal: to plan out a diverse event calendar to meet all of IUP’s needs and preferences.”

STATIC also collaborated with other organizations on ideas of events for fall 2020.

“We brainstormed some ideas and finally, we wanted to collaborated with other programming organizations including IUP Campus Recreation, Residence Hall Association (RHA), Office of International Education (OIE), Fraternity and Sorority Life and IUP Athletics, to name a few,” said Clark.

Although this wasn’t the lineup of events STATIC wanted to have for the spring 2020 semester, STATIC is excited to stay engaged virtually with students for the next couple of weeks in April.

“Our IUP students are worried, stressed and bored and their ‘normal’ has been thrown upside-down,” Clark said. “They still need our services, and STATIC’s core mission of providing high-quality, student-centered, diverse programming to help mitigate that worry, stress and boredom.

“However, IUP students still need to make the concerted decision to participate in these activities, as STATIC only has so much of the ownership in these outcomes – so, to our IUP students: stay connected, and get involved.”

STATIC has already had a few events it hosted in April.

On April 9, STATIC hosted its first Netflix & Chill watch party watching “Spy Kids,” and on Thursday, it had another watch-

April 22, 2020

ing “Space Jam.” A few upcoming events STATIC has planned include a Netflix party “Live on Netflix: Comedian John Mulaney.” Students can watch via Google Chrome’s Netflix Watch Party extension at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

For that event, one student will win tickets to STATIC’s 2020 homecoming concert.

TikTok is a popular social media platform where people create, share and discover short music videos to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy and lip-syncing.

STATIC has already had a few TikTok challenges. There are a few more TikTok challenges students can participate in this month.

Students can participate in IUP’s TikTok challenge “Trick Shotz,” and must tag STATIC in a trick shotz-themed TikTok by Friday at midnight.

For inspiration, check out STATIC’s TikTok account. The best trick shot submitted will win tickets to STATIC’s 2020 home-

coming concert.

Next Wednesday, students can join Zoom at 7 p.m. to play Family “Quarantined” Feud.

STATIC will release the event’s link and instructions to play soon, and those who are interested in participating in the feud can look on STATIC’s social media and the IUP website.

STATIC will have a Netflix & Chill: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse” on at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 30. Like the other Netflix event on April 23, students can watch via Google Chrome’s Netflix Watch Party extension, and one person will win tickets to STATIC’s 2020 homecoming concert.

The last event STATIC has listed on IUP’s website is another TikTok Challenge, the “Cook Off.” Like the “Trick Shotz” challenge, students must tag STATIC in a TikTok. Students should feature their best quarantined culinary masterpiece submitting it by May 1 at midnight. The best culinary masterpiece will win tickets to STATIC’s 2020 homecoming concert.

Culture

April 22, 2020

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IUP’s Open Mic Night goes virtual on Zoom’s video service LEVI DONALDSON

Staff Writer L.Donaldson@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

This article contains opinion.

One of the most tightly-knit and beloved weekly events at IUP is the open mic program. It is usually held in the Hadley Union Building and brings in a number of local musicians, poets, comedians and anyone else that wants a stage for their personal and artistic expression, not to mention bringing in free pizza and soda each week.

Like everything, this has been impacted by the semester being held remotely and campus being empty due to the coronavirus.

However, the open mic leaders and regulars have proven to be a resilient bunch. EJ Fabiszewski (sophomore, marketing) hosted the zoom open mic and performed her own songs as well.

IUP open mic night is now being held, like many classes and meetings, through Zoom. The video calling site provides a common place for everyone to meet up and continue on through the new circumstances. The site allows users to join with or without their

(Facebook) EJ Fabiszewski (left) hosted IUP’s Open Mic Night on Zoom, in which performers, like Maren Krizner (right), did covers of popular songs and sang some of their own.

cameras, and it's easy to mute yourself for a good audience.

The meeting started with everybody catching up, there were about a dozen attendees in the Zoom group. Many people that frequent open mic nights have grown to know each other.

Newcomers were welcomed and everyone was eager to talk to fellow students. While IUP students made up the majority the open

mic nights are open to anyone, and there were a few non-students as well. There is a good banter and an easygoing, fun environment that the event always cultivates.

The chat option was used as a sign up sheet, and people readied their performances. There were some original songs, as well as some covers of famous songs, such as Radiohead’s “Creep” and “Holland, 1945” by Neutral Milk

Hotel. Musicians would play their guitars right into the computer mic and camera. It was interesting to see people play from their homes, couches and bedrooms.

In between acts, there was a lot of joking around and conversation as well as just genuinely enjoying each other's company. The chat function was utilized for conversation as well and made it a very outgoing and friendly experience.

A number of people who signed up and played performed twice, because everybody was enjoying themselves.

Overall, the Zoom open mic was a success that a number of people enjoyed and appreciated. I would definately recomend checking it out and being in the audience bringing your poetry, songs, jokes or whatever else you got to the “stage.”

Students miss restaurants, stores due to COVID-19 closures OLIVIA CARBONE

Staff Writer O.C.Carbone@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

This article contains opinion.

The U.S. has been quarantining because of COVID-19 for a little more than a month now. Many people are struggling to make ends meet, but one group of people whose world has turned upside are college students. Many students thought they were leaving campus for only a week. Who would’ve thought that this would be for the rest of the semester?

College students across the country are now adjusting to online class life, jobless and missing their favorite places.

“I really miss Tres Amigos,” Alexis Smith (junior, biology) said.

“I miss the sushi bowls from Crimson Cafe," Kaleigh Casey (junior, hospitality management) said.

Many IUP students are missing restaurants such as Romeos, the Coney, Bob’s Subs, Starbucks and many more college hot spots.

(Facebook) T.J. Masx is one of the stores that students are missing. There you can get good deals on clothes, housewares and more.

“I really miss T.J. Maxx. I want to go shopping soon,” Alexis Tang (senior, public health) said.

Many IUP students are missing some of their favorite spots to hit up at while at home as well.

“I miss Mad Mex so much,” Meghan McCreary (senior, nutrition and dietetics) said.

"I'm really missing Red Lobster,” Angela Plazio (sophomore, nursing) said.

It’s very hard being stuck at home, especially with nothing to do or look forward to.

“I can’t wait until I can go to Olive Garden again,” Emily Encarnacion (freshmen, nursing) said.

Many students are also missing the late-night hours of restaurants, such as McDonalds, they close at 9 p.m.

In Pennsylvania, we aren’t sure when the phase plan will start

that the federal government has assigned every state to use at their own discretion. Gov. Tom Wolf turned down a bill that would allow non-essential businesses to reopen while following social distancing guidelines.

It’s hard enough as college students that our whole lives have changed but even worse that we have no idea when an end is coming since there’s no real sight

of one right now. Even though PA is flattening the curve, we still have a long way to go as a state.

Many restaurants are offering delivery and curbside take out during the pandemic to keep their business alive. Many favorite stores are still allowing citizens to shop online but the issue is your clothes may take forever to get to your house since companies aren’t working at their full capacity right now. It is believed that places will reopen for business in the near future, but a new normal isn’t anywhere in sight.

As college students, this pandemic is hard for us in more ways than people realize. We had to give up our university way of life which included where we hang out, eat and shop at because of a pandemic that no one saw coming, College students are waiting for the day that they hear their favorite food store, food place and, most importantly, colleges are open again. Hang in there, everyone, things will go back to normal soon enough.

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April 22, 2020

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April 22, 2020

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(Heather Bair/ The Penn) Amanda Lovelace’s “To Make Monsters Out of Girls” (left) and Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry are highly regarded works of poetry that have been celebrated by The Academy of American Poets.

April celebrates poets for 24 years and counting as Poetry Month RACHEL FOOR

Staff Writer R.G.Foor@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

In April of 1996, the Academy of American Poets started National Poetry Month to “remind the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters.” Now, 24 years later, the tradition is still going strong.

The celebration took inspiration from Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March. The Academy of American Poets convened a group of publishers, booksellers, librarians, literary organizations, poets, and teachers in 1995 to discuss the need and usefulness of a similar monthlong holiday to celebrate poetry, according to author Elizabeth Lund. To date, National Poetry Month has become “the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers and,

(Heather Bair/ The Penn) Rupi Kaur’s books of poetry have become known worldwide as a source of healing for many.

of course, poets, marking poetry's important place in our lives.”

For the fifth National Poetry Month, Harlem Renaissance leader and poet Langston Hughes was honored with a postage stamp. He wrote such memorable poems as “The Weary Blues” (1925), “I, Too, Sing America” (1945), “Harlem” (1951) and “Brotherly Love” (1956).

Hughes’ poetry, that often had dreams as a central theme, influenced the ideas of prominent civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, in the midst of a global pandemic, many have turned to poetry as a distraction and coping mechanism. Thanks to the rich history of American poetry, there is plenty out there to be read.

Last year, Joy Harjo became the first Native American to be named U.S. Poet Laureate. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation from Tulsa, Oklahoma, her poetry is heavily influenced by Native American stories, languages and myths. She has published 16 books

of poetry, the latest in August.

The impact of Harjo’s poetry is profound for the Native American community.

"It's such an honoring for Native people in this country, when we've been so disappeared and disregarded," Harjo said in an interview with NPR. "And yet we're the root cultures, over 500-something tribes and I don't know how many at first contact. But it's quite an honor ...

I bear that honor on behalf of the people and my ancestors.”

It’s hard to discuss about American poetry without thinking about eminent figures like Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Sylvai Plath, Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. These are the people that are studied in American schools and universities and form the solid foundation of many American’s understandings of poetry. They have influenced everyone from Andrew Carnegie to Tupac Shakur to Alfred Hitchcock.

Whitman’s friend wrote of him: “You cannot really understand America without Walt Whitman,

without Leaves of Grass ... He has expressed that civilization, 'up to date,' as he would say, and no student of the philosophy of history can do without him.”

Poetry is an ever-growing field with new voices being heard daily. Women have especially been forging ahead in recent years, as evidenced in the success of Rupi Kaur’s “Milk and Honey” and Amanda Lovelace’s “The Princess Saves Herself in This One.” Lovelace’s work, which deals with topics such as sexual abuse, trauma and healing is aimed to “show the rich inner lives of women with a focus on our hidden everyday struggles.”

To celebrate National Poetry Month this year, the Academy of American Poets started an initiative called Shelter in Poems and is asking readers to “share a poem that helps to find courage, solace and actionable energy, and a few words about how or why it does so.”

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(Facebook) The popular show “Saved by the Bel,” which followed the lives of high schoolers and their principal, is being rebooted.

You’ll be ‘Saved by the Bell’ with popular show’s reboot in July HALEY BROWN

Lead Culture Writer H.Brown@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

This article contains opinion.

The wildly popular American 90’s teen sitcom “Saved by the Bell” is back and being rebooted for all of the avid fans from its past. Airing from 1989 to 1993, the show was about a group of six teenage best friends and their principal from a high school in Palisades, California.

The original show was supposed to hinge off a Disney Channel show called “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” about a high school teacher. “Saved by the Bell” was supposed to follow the

lives of Miss Bliss’ students as opposed to focusing on the teacher herself. Watchers of all ages could tune in to enjoy the fun scenarios that the young characters faced during the “Saved by the Bell” series. Years after it aired, the show was named one of the top 20 “Best School Shows of All Time” by AOL TV. The main cast of the original show consisted of Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselar), Samuel “Screech” Powers (Dustin Diamond), Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen) and Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley).

Dennis Haskins played the school principal Richard Belding for the retooled Disney Channel show,

though for the pilot episode he was played by Oliver Clark and given a different first name.

While “Saved by the Bell” was mainly a comedy focusing on lighthearted sticky situations, the show still touched on more serious issues in life such as drug use, environmental issues, women’s rights and homelessness and poverty, among others.

Focusing on the life of Slater (played by Mario Lopez), Bayside High School’s new gym teacher, the show’s reboot promises all the laughs and life lessons as the original show had offered its viewers.

One of the other original characters, Morris is also grown in the new reboot of the series and is

supposedly the governor of California. According to Variety, he is in hot water for closing a handful of low-income high schools and offers the affected students begin to attend the high-performance schools, i.e. their old high school, Bayside High.

The trailer for the reboot was released on Thursday and gave plenty of exciting hints about what the new series will focus on what characters from the old original show will be making an appearance and, almost more importantly perhaps, which characters were mysteriously absent.

The new series will also, unsurprisingly, follow the children of some of the other original

characters in the show.

Many of the same actors are returning to the roles they once played, though Thiessen, who starred as Kapowski in the original series, said that she would not be returning to the screen in Bayside High’s setting, as she was busy working on a different project for Netflix.

The reboot’s premier date has not yet been set, but it has been announced that the show will be released on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock, which is available on July 15. The reboot filming has also been supposedly postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to “Entertainment Weekly.”

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April 22, 2020

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(Marty Weaver/ The Penn) Even though some baked goods won’t come out the way you wanted or how they look in pictures, they still can be a tasty treat and fun way to help curve boredom during quarantine.

Quarantine baking deemed overrated, difficult, still fun MARTY WEAVER Copy Editor zglz@iup.edu @mrweavs This article contains opinion.

Without a doubt you’ve seen people post about the delicious home-cooked meals and baked goods they’ve made while self-isolating.

Loaves of fresh focaccia, bowls of garlic-chicken soup and whipped dalgona coffees have been flooding social media feeds, and it’s hard to not feel somewhat inadequate if you haven’t been busting out your inner Wolfgang Puck the past few weeks.

So, as an avid “Barefoot Contessa” watcher and a food snob, I’d like to come clean: I have failed spectacularly at cooking and baking in quarantine.

Like many people, I panicked and bought a large jar of yeast back in early March (which feels like approximately one million years ago). I had recently seen a recipe for a “peasant loaf” on tumblr, so I chronicled my breadmaking journey on my Instagram story.

The result was a very dense, pale and heavy rock.

I tried again a few days later, kneading significantly more and letting the dough rise overnight in the fridge to build more gas

and flavor.

And the next day, I pulled an ivory lump out of the oven. No browning, no air bubbles, no crust.

I was pretty frustrated by that point. Peasant loaves are called that because they’re supposed to be easy to make. So what was I doing wrong? I started feeling like there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t make a “simple” loaf.

Some time later (a few days?

Three weeks? Time is fake, especially in quarantine), my mom suggested that we try to make English muffins from scratch. The recipe suggested letting the dough rise for only an hour or so, but my hubris-filled self suggested making it in the evening and putting it in the fridge. The dough ended up “rising” for a solid 24 hours.

If you know almost anything about bread and other yeasted products, you’d know that letting a dough rise for too long can cause it to be over-proofed, and the resulting product will actually have less air in it because the gas bubbles will pop, and the dough will fall.

So, instead of making pillowy English muffins, my mom and I basically griddled sourdough starter.

I may or may not have ended up crying and begging God to tell me what to do – what’s the point of having a breakdown about bread

if you’re not gonna be dramatic about it? Either God Themself was speaking to me, or I was just hangry, because I had the sudden urge to step outside for a few minutes and toast up one of those “muffins” to see how truly awful they were.

And you know what? When you slather something in salted butter, no matter what it is, it’s pretty good.

That’s kind of the point I’m trying to make. This is a rough time, and the last thing you need right now is to compare yourself to Ina Garten. So, even if you make a rock-hard blob of dough, you still tried something, dang it.

With that being said, here are some food ideas that almost everybody can make.

Naan “Pizza” If you have naan or other flatbreads on hand, you can make something resembling pizza. On Saturday, I took some roasted garlic naan, put some leftover fresh mozzarella on it because I’m still mooching off my parents, and popped that bad boy in the microwave.

Yeah, you heard me: the microwave. Then, when the cheese had melted, I splashed on some cheap balsamic vinegar – again, mooch-

ing – and threw on a generous pinch of kosher salt. Pretty good for a 2 p.m. “lunch.”

Feel free to throw whatever you’d like on your flatbread. It’s an easy way to take some disperate ingredients and turn them into a meal.

Eggs I love me an egg. My favorite kind of egg is one fried in olive oil, which is also one of the more dangerous ways of cooking Earth’s perfect protein.

First, you wanna get yourself a small pan; I use nonstick, but any kind of pan will work. Next, pour some olive oil in that pan. You’re gonna want more oil than you think you need because we’re gonna be basting that egg soon, and you need a fair amount of oil for that. There will be a lot of leftover oil that won’t be absorbed into the egg, so don’t worry about making a greasy meal.

A very important step: preheating the oil. You want the oil to be smoking before you put the egg in. Then comes the “fun” part.

When you crack the egg into the oil, I recommend immediately taking a step back. The water in the egg will cause the oil to sputter, and I have been burned by hot oil more times than I can count.

You can actually turn the burner off by this point because the egg will cook very fast.

Take a spoon and (very carefully) spoon some hot oil over the uncooked egg whites. This will cook the white while leaving the yolk runny. When the egg is cooked to your liking (which could take as little as a minute), remove it from heat completely and season thoroughly with salt to cut the richness of the egg.

Bananas/Other Fruit and Peanut/Nut Butter Pretty self-explanatory. The cool thing about this is that you’re getting a good dose of protein from the nut butter while getting the vitamins and minerals from the fruit. This makes a great simple snack or dessert, and if you’re feeling fancy, you could drizzle some honey on there, too.

Don’t feel bad if you haven't been spending your quarantine turning your house into a French patisserie. Home cooking and baking is a luxury, and even when you have that luxury, it can backfire.

Have any quarantine food crimes you’d like to share? Tag me on Twitter (@mrweavs), and I’ll see if I can one-up it.

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Sports

Sports Editor: Elliot Hicks – E.Hicks@iup.edu Lead Sports Writer: Jeff Hart – J.R.Hart2@iup.edu

Waiting Game

(James Neuhausel/The Penn archives) Usually bustling with football practices during the spring months, George P. Miller Stadium sits empty as uncertainty looms over the upcoming college football season.

Football team making the best of situation STEVEN LANGDON JR. Managing Editor S.Langdon@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Spring weather is here to stay, and with flowers starting to bloom, the hawks come back to play. The Crimson Hawks, unfortunately, will have to wait a little longer to migrate back to Indiana.

Like countless programs around the country, the IUP football team hasn’t been able to hold its spring practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been anything but

Sports

a typical spring, but the Crimson Hawks are making the best of it.

“Obviously the most important aspect is not physically having spring practice,” coach Paul Tortorella said. “We have workout schedules every week for the players, if they have access to a weight training room at home, and also a running program.”

Spring is important for players because it gets them back into their in-season routines. It also helps coaches gauge where the team is at certain positions.

“This has a huge effect because

we aren’t able to lift how we want to and work out with who we want to,” cornerback Nazir Streater (senior, management) said.

“Also, we would be in spring ball right now, so we would at least be in pads and letting younger guys get reps to learn the defense more and become comfortable.”

IUP has many holes to fill next season, assuming there will be a season.

The team is losing 20 seniors from last year’s team, many of whom were multi-year starters.

The first question mark comes on the offense with the starting quarterback. Quinton Maxwell had one of the best individual seasons

April 22, 2020

in school history in 2019 and was a solid replacement for Lenny Williams. Unfortunately for Tortorella, there will be a new man behind center for the third time in as many years.

The battle that was supposed to start during spring practices was between Javon Davis (redshirt sophomore, math education and accounting) and newly transferred Alex Ramart (redshirt sophomore, kinesiology health and sport science). Davis redshirted in 2018 after serving as Williams’ backup his freshman year. Ramart, who is already taking classes at IUP, is a former two-star prospect from Akron University.

At the moment, there is not a presumed favorite to take the job.

Both come in the same age, but does the extended break give Davis the advantage? It is a question that will remain unanswered for now.

The biggest question mark surrounding the offense might be the offensive line. The Crimson Hawks lost four of their five starters to graduation, including center Jeff Arnold, who was named to the Associated Press (AP) Division II All-America Second Team.

The positive is that IUP gets younger across the line. The Crimson Hawks enter the year with only one senior and still have plenty of experience with six junior linemen.

Continued on Page 25

PAGE 25:

Ranking the best IUP games of 2019-20 across all sports, Part 1.

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April 22, 2020

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“I AM ALWAYS the one that has crazy flights with two or three days between my origin and destination, and I am never scared or anxious, but this time I was.”

LONG WAY FROM HOME International athletes endured uncertainty in journeys to native lands

Katya Minchenkova, a senior tennis player from Russia, managed to return to her home country just before worldwide travel restrictions were implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Ryan Rebholz/IUP Sports Information)

JEFF HART

Lead Sports Writer J.R.Hart2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

While many IUP winter and spring athletes have been impacted by the Coronavirus, none have quite experienced the epidemic like the international athletes. The IUP women’s tennis team, which is comprised entirely of international students, has faced the impacts of COVID-19 on multiple fronts.

Like all IUP athletes, the tennis players were taken by surprise and devastated by the sudden cancellation of the NCAA season. But they had to brush that aside quickly and turn their focus to a question few IUP students had to worry about: How do I get home?

Nine players, from seven different countries, all scrambling to get home before borders started closing.

The Crimson Hawks were in the middle of their spring break trip in Florida when the news broke. They had completed three of four matches scheduled between March 8 and 13. But on the morning of the final match of the trip, IUP head coach Larry Peterson learned the season was canceled.

“We were prepared to play our match on Friday,” Peterson said, “but our opponents, Lee University out of Tennessee, had packed their

van and headed home that morning at the direction of their athletic department. It seemed that things were changing by the hour.”

Like so many athletes around the country, the news hit players and coaches hard and heavy.

“I could not keep my emotions inside,” said Katya Minchenkova (senior, international business), a native of Russia. “I was crying along with our coach, when I heard this news from him in Starbucks.

I didn’t want to believe that our season was over. I thought it was never going to happen.”

Minchenkova’s teammate and doubles partner Idoia Huerta (sophomore, undeclared), who hails from Spain, was in disbelief.

“For me it was unreal that all spring sports got canceled, even professional sports,” Huerta said.

“It took me a week to assimilate what just happened specially since I refused to accept it.”

For these athletes, there was little time for solace and reprieve.

After receiving the news on Friday, March 13, the athletes had to clam-

KATYA MINCHENKOVA

or to find a way home amidst the confusion.

“We just got back from our spring break trip in Florida, and couple days later I was already at home,” Minchenkova said. “I did not plan to go home that fast but seeing that the virus was spreading at such pace, countries were closing their borders, and airports were shutting down, I decided to go as soon as possible. So did others on my team.

“I know now, if people want to come back to Russia from overseas, it is very difficult to do. So, I was glad that I made home safe.”

“On Monday (March 16), one of my teammates woke me up,” Huerta said, “telling me all classes have been moved to online and we have until Saturday to get home.

I am always the one that has crazy flights with two or three days between my origin and destination and I am never scared or anxious, but this time I was.”

Minchenkova arrived safely in her hometown of Mytishchi, Russia, as did Huerta in Almenara, Spain.

They said all their teammates were able to make it back home safely within one week of receiving the news.

Much like many Americans, this virus has affected these athletes and their families.

“Thankfully, my family is safe and healthy, but since our business is

closed during this time, it has a negative financial effect,” Minchenkova said. “Hopefully this is going to end soon and go back to normal.”

With the initial craze of the news being broken over, players and coaches now have an opportunity to reflect on what this virus has taken away from them.

The Crimson Hawks were in full swing and competing at a high level.

They were 7-2 before the cancellation, and they seemed to have a bounce-back season ahead of them.

“We were very positive about the opportunities in front of us,” Peterson said. “We had done so well in our preparation, and I was confident in our ability against regional rivals.”

After posting three consecutive 20-win seasons and advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships each year between 2015 and 2018, the Crimson Hawks stumbled last year, going 9-13 in 2018-19.

“I am incredibly proud of this team,” Peterson said. “We have come so far since last year. We built

IDOIA HUERTA

a championship environment of positivity, accountability and strong relationships. I am so proud that we learned from the past, made the right adjustments and got ourselves back on track to achieve our goals and dreams.”

And that’s part of what made it so tough to accept for the athletes.

“It was my last semester as a student-athlete,” said Minchenkova. “I wanted to do my best, keep being undefeated in singles, have an amazing and fun experience on the court in doubles with my partner, Idoia Huerta, and enjoy sharing wins and great memories with my team.”

Being international students during this time has made a unique situation for these athletes.

The Crimson Hawks also have players from Brazil, Colombia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Sweden.

“Being international students has made this situation easier in some ways but also difficult in others,” Huerta said. “It is true that we are away from our families most of the year and we are used to be away from them so respecting social distance is fine for us.

“Since I do not see my family or friends, now when I see them in the supermarket or anywhere in town, it makes it so hard to not get close to them and hug them. It makes it harder because it has been so long since I saw them.”

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Ranking the best IUP games of 2019-20 JAKE SLEBODNICK

News Editor J.C.Slebodnick@iup.edu @Jake_WIUP

Editor’s Note: This is the first of two parts reliving the best IUP games of the 2019-20 season, across all sports.

While the IUP sports calendar came to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that didn’t take away from the year it was for the Crimson Hawks. We, as fans, were treated to some prolific games this year.

The IUP community played witness to numerous debuts, championship runs and multiple playoff appearances throughout the six months or so the Crimson Hawks were in action.

With these games, there were 10 that stood out among the rest.

This week we will take a look at Nos. 10 – 6, and next week we’ll reveal what we consider the top five games of the year.

No. 10: Football (Sept. 7) IUP 24, New Haven 13 Kicking off our list, no pun intended, is the premiere game of the football season, during which fans saw the debut of multiple freshmen, Duane Brown’s emergence as a top wide receiver and IUP’s new face at quarterback, Quinton Maxwell.

A plethora of questions clouded the football team following the loss of Lenny Williams, Chris Temple and many defenders due to graduation, and all of them were answered throughout the season-opening game.

Nazir Streater, one of the additions to the secondary, racked up six tackles and one interception in his first game in the crimson and gray, Maxwell tallied 163 passing yards and one touchdown on 13 completions, and Duane Brown show-cased his offensive prowess after he opened the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown reception and sealed the game with a 2-yard rushing touchdown.

The Hawks took the non-conference matchup to open up the 2019 campaign which proved to be a season to remem-ber as the weeks progressed.

No. 9: Baseball (March 10) IUP 17, St. Thomas Aquinas 8 The IUP baseball team took the field in the fifth and final game of the 2020 spring break trip to Cary,

(Keith Boyer/IUP Sports Information) Redshirt sophomore Duane Brown, center, did a lot of celebrating last season, scoring 19 total touchdowns – 13 receiving and six rushing.

He emerged as a threat in IUP’s passing game in the season opener against New Haven on Sept. 7, and he never looked back, amassing 47 receptions and 937 receiving yards in 2019.

N.C., against St. Thomas Aquinas.

While the Hawks started the season on a losing note, they were 2-2 in the spring break series entering this game and looked to end the trip with a winning edge.

They accomplished just that.

After they found themselves down 3-0 after the first inning and a half, three consecutive singles by Drew Weglarz, Nick Hess and Austin Mueller drove in five runs, and a two-run double by Alex Thornberry shifted momentum in IUP’s favor and it stayed with the Crimson Hawks throughout the game.

Along with his RBI single, Mueller added a two-run home run in the third which added some insurance to the lead.

IUP took a 12-8 lead into the final four innings and would add five more runs, propelling the Crimson Hawks to a nine-run victory to end the trip, and unbeknownst to them, the season as well.

No. 8: Swimming (Nov. 2) IUP women 133, St. Vincent 70 IUP men 108 ½, St. Vincent 89 ½ In the first of only three swimming meets held at Pidgeon Natatorium this year, the IUP men and women trounced the visiting Bearcats of Saint Vincent College.

IUP won 18 of 22 total combined events on the night, but the most impressive achievement might have been the Crimson Hawks winning 17 of 18 individual

events, including sweeping all 11 events on the women’s side.

Gabrielle Gironda stood out among the women’s team as she took first in both the 100 and 200 freestyle events. Additionally, Gironda and nine other swimmers qualified for the PSAC tournament.

This was the highest scoring meet for IUP on the abridged season as well as the highest winning margin (+63) in a dual meet on the season.

No. 7: Field Hockey (Sept. 14) IUP 2, Bloomsburg 0 The IUP field hockey team came out of the gates firing, bringing a 2-0 start to George P. Miller Stadium against the Huskies, who entered the game ranked No. 9.

What made this game stand out among the rest wasn’t the victory itself, but rather the events that led to it.

IUP and Bloomsburg stayed scoreless through the first half of the game. IUP was notorious for scoring early, as they scored five of their six total goals in the first two games in the first half.

However, Bloomsburg’s rock-solid defense prevented the Crimson Hawks from finding success on offense through the first two frames.

In the third quarter, two quick penalty goals by Georgiana Chiavacci and Blaise Cugini broke the scoring drought and ultimately led

to IUP’s upset victory.

Additionally, the Crimson Hawks’ defensive unit limited the Huskies to only three shots on the game, all of them coming in the first quarter.

The win led to IUP’s first 3-0 start to the season since 2011.

No. 6: Tennis (March 1) IUP 7, Oberlin 0 Everyone loves a shutout victory.

More importantly, everyone loves a shutout victory on the road to silence the opponent’s crowd. And that’s exactly what the IUP tennis team did at Oberlin College.

In the fourth match of the spring season, IUP came in with a 2-1 record and on the heels of back-toback wins over the previous week.

In doubles matchups, Katya Minchenkova and Idoia Huerta took the first match 6-3, while Thais Andreotti and Maria Magraner also came out victorious, 6-2.

Singles competition saw IUP sweep Oberlin without dropping a single set. Reigning PSAC singles champion and IUP’s No. 1 player, Joanna Stralka got things started with a straight-set win, and Minchenkova, Huerta, Julia Newman and Laura Dunarova followed suit.

With their third shutout of the season, the IUP tennis team ran its record to 5-1 to begin March.

Football making best of situation

Continued from Page 23 The offense is not the only side of the ball losing key contributors. The defense also lost at least one playmaker at each position group.

Dondrea Tillman led the Crimson Hawks in sacks each of the past three years to headline the defensive line. Damon Lloyd and Nick Amendola were one of the best linebacker duos in Division II, and JR Stevens will be sorely missed in IUP’s secondary.

Lloyd was also selected to the AP Division II All-America Second Team in 2019.

Stevens, meanwhile, was firstteam All-American as a redshirt sophomore in 2017.

“Obviously losing Damon and JR, as well as others, are huge,” Streater said. “But I’m confident that we will find who we need and whoever needs to step up will step up.”

It will be players like Streater that will need big years. He will be No. 1 on the depth chart this season after the loss of Stevens.

Last season was a breakout year for Streater as he led the team and was tied for 14th in the nation with six interceptions.

With practices being canceled for the foreseeable future, the coaching staff will likely lean heavily on the leadership of its 11 seniors. And Zoom meetings.

“I can speak for some of us seniors, saying that we are still finding a way to work,” Streater said. “When camp comes around or whenever we are able to get back on the field, we will be ready to fly around and get better. This is our last season in college, so it has to be the best.”

There is currently no word on whether the season will start on time. Tortorella remains optimistic there will still be a season, and if there is, he knows his team will have to work even harder to make up for lost time.

“We definitely will need to practice a little longer in preseason camp,” Tortorella said.

Coaches, fans and players alike are hoping to get back to Frank Cignetti Field at George P. Miller Stadium as soon as possible to cheer on their Crimson Hawks.

Hopefully for them, migration season won’t last much longer.

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He’s no Mel Kiper, but our Junior predicts draft No. 14, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia “Tompa Bay” needs someone to block for Tom Brady, and the Bucs get their guy here.

STEVEN LANGDON JR. Managing Editor S.Langdon@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

It won’t be quite the same, but the 2020 NFL draft is almost here.

The first-ever remote draft starts Thursday at 8 p.m., so without further ado, here’s my mock draft.

No. 1, Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU The pick that everyone has been expecting the last three months is Burrow. Although I do not believe he is the best quarterback in the draft, he fits here. As they say, there’s no place like home. Burrow attended Athens High School, which is less than three hours away from Cincinnati.

No. 2, Washington Redskins: Chase Young, DE, Ohio State Young is by far the best player in the draft, and possibly the safest bet. He would be the No. 1 draft pick in most other drafts. Young is another player going back home, as Washington, D.C. is 30 minutes from his hometown.

No. 3, Detroit Lions: Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State Detroit could do anything with this pick. I believe Matt Patricia doesn’t trade down, keeps the pick and goes for his lockdown corner of the future.

No. 4, New York Giants: Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson The Giants have a lot of needs so why not go with someone who can fill a couple spots? Simmons is the best athlete this year, and could play defensive end, linebacker and safety.

No. 5, Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama There are rumors circulating that Tagovailoa will not be the pick. The injuries are a concern, but what does Miami have to lose? I think they’re just that, rumors, and the Dolphins use the first of their three first-round picks on the former Alabama star.

No. 6, Los Angeles Chargers: Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon Herbert has the most potential in my opinion among quarterbacks in the draft. He is a terrific game manager, but will need a year before he is able to take off.

No. 7, Carolina Panthers: Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn They already got their QB in Teddy Bridgewater, but now they

No. 15, Denver Broncos: K’Lavon Chaisson, LB, LSU The Broncos now have a strong force with Chaisson patrolling the middle of the field and Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the outside.

No. 16, Atlanta Falcons: C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida Atlanta needs a cornerback considering the wide receivers in their division.

(TNS) Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could be one of seven Alabama players to be drafted in the first round Thursday, which would break the record of six held by the 2004 Miami Hurricanes.

need to address their defense.

Brown is among the best defensive players available and would be a smart pick.

No. 8, Arizona Cardinals: Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa They need to give Kyler Murray some space, and Wirfs has the size to do that. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound lineman is just what the Cardinals need after ranking as the sixthworst offensive line in sacks allowed last season.

No. 9, Jacksonville Jaguars: Jedrick Wills, OT, Alabama Wills is an elite blocker who did not give up a sack last season. No matter what, the Jaguars will take a lineman if they’re smart.

No. 10, Cleveland Browns: Mekhi Becton, OG, Louisville Do you see the trend yet? Yes, another offensive lineman is off the board, and if you thought Wirfs has size, then you haven’t seen Becton.

He stands at 6-foot-7 and weighs 364 pounds. He would go higher but is a very raw talent with a lot of work to do with his hips.

No. 11, New York Jets: Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama The Jets spent a lot of money on the offensive line during free agency, so they pick up their Robby Anderson replacement.

No. 12, Las Vegas Raiders: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma Welcome to the Sin City, Lamb.

Congrats on being the first pick for the Las Vegas Raiders.

No. 13, San Francisco 49ers: Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama The speedster immediately finds himself on a playoff contender for years to come.

No. 17, Dallas Cowboys: Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina The Cowboys are a strong team, but they need help on the D-line.

No. 18, Miami Dolphins: Joshua Jones, OT, Houston They got their QB, and now they’ll have someone to help protect Tagovailoa.

No. 19, Las Vegas Raiders: Jordan Love, QB, Utah State The quarterback battle heats up in the desert as Derek Carr and Love go head-to-head.

No. 20, Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU The last time they picked a

receiver in the first round was another Justin, as in Justin Blackmon in 2012. Hopefully, it ends a little better this time.

No. 21, Philadelphia Eagles: Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson The Eagles desperately need a receiver, and they get one in Higgins.

No. 22, Minnesota Vikings: Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama They trade one Diggs brother away and pick up another.

No. 23, New England Patriots: Patrick Queen, LB, LSU The Patriots have some cleaning up to do, especially on the defense.

No. 24, New Orleans Saints: Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama The fifth Crimson Tide player is off the board and heading to the powerhouse Saints.

No. 25, Minnesota Vikings: Yetur Gross-Matos, DE, Penn St. An athletic defensive lineman that is not getting as much attention as he should.

No. 26, Miami Dolphins: D’Andre Swift, RB, Georgia With the last of their first-round picks, the Dolphins address another need with a three-down back.

No. 27, Seattle Seahawks: Ross Blacklock, DE, TCU The Seahawks might need a replacement for Jadeveon Clowney if they end up trading him. And even if they don’t, they still get another solid defensive lineman in Blacklock to bolster their line.

No. 28, Baltimore Ravens: Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin Ravens go with the best-playeravailable mentality here.

No. 29, Tennessee Titans: A.J. Epenesa, DE, Iowa The Titans need more sacks, and Epenesa had 22 sacks combined the past two seasons.

No. 30, Green Bay Packers: Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame Why not give Aaron Rodgers a new weapon?

No. 31, San Francisco 49ers: Cesar Ruiz, C, Michigan The 49ers address a need along the offensive line.

No. 32, Kansas City Chiefs: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin The Super Bowl champions quietly get one of the best running backs in college football history, giving them power to go along with all the speed they already have.

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Can college athletics survive cancellation of football season?

RON COOK Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TNS The professional sports leagues will survive. They will lose billions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they will bounce back and thrive again. But college athletics? If there is no football this fall? I'm not so sure.

"It's a whole new ballgame if we find ourselves not playing football," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a recent conference call.

"It affects everything we do. It affects the largest part of our TV contract, the largest source of campus revenue, which is live gate. If (football) doesn't happen, the underpinning of what we've known as normal goes away and we'll have major changes to make."

The colleges already took a mighty hit because of the cancelation of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Division I schools will receive $225 million in revenue this year, down from the $611 million they received last year. The amount the schools will lose if there is no football is almost unimaginable.

A study by USA Today estimated more than $4 billion in revenue will be on the line for the athletic departments of the Power Five conference schools.

Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke and Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour have said their schools are OK, at least for now. Penn State figures to be on more solid ground because it is in the Big Ten, which has been the most lucrative of the college conferences. But then I saw that Wisconsin said it will not grant an additional scholarship year to its senior athletes in the spring sports at least, in part, because of finances, so go figure. Pitt and Penn State will honor those scholarships.

Without football, the athletic budgets of many universities will be devastated.

Everything from ticket sales to merchandising to sponsorships to fund-raising will be adversely impacted.

"This is way beyond anybody's imagination," Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said on a conference call earlier this month.

It isn't hard to imagine athletics becoming a far-too-expensive luxury at many schools. Campuses might not be allowed to open in the fall because of the coronavirus. Think about the lost revenue in room and board from students. Athletics certainly will feel the necessary belt-tightening.

Sports will be eliminated. Cincinnati already has terminated its men's soccer program, Old Dominion its wrestling program. Many more cuts will follow.

New athletic facilities also will be put on hold. Lyke said Pitt still plans on breaking ground on its "Victory Heights" facilities, which will be funded by private support, in the summer of 2021 but conceded the fund-raising push is in "a holding pattern." What happens if the donations dry up? Baylor announced last week that it is delaying construction of its new basketball pavilion.

There are at least two more things working against the colleges when it comes to playing football in the fall.

The other pro leagues have talked about playing games in arenas and stadiums without fans. But the commissioners of the major college football conferences told Vice President Mike Pence during a 30-minute conference call last week that they would not play games until students are allowed back on campus. Schools have been closed since mid-March when the pandemic broke, with students taking classes online.

"We were able to talk about the differences between us and professional sports," American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco said. "We talked about how academics and college athletics were inseparable."

I know, that stance seems a little bit of reach to me, as well. Major college athletics are about academics just as much as about big money? Right. But that's the story from the commissioners and, at least for now, they are sticking to it.

Lyke said in a conference call that "the worst-case scenario would be (the coronavirus) impacting the next academic year. ... If there's a concern about human contact, we wouldn't be playing the games."

"College football is about the cheerleaders and the band and the campus environment on game day," Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told ESPN. "We're interested in solutions that allow us to have a traditional gameday experience."

The other hurdle for the colleges is that some states may open for business sooner than others. What if Pennsylvania, for instance, and 24 other states allow students back on campus in August and the other 25 states don't?

California governor Gavin Newsome has said it's "unlikely" his state will allow big crowds before next year. What then?

There has been at least some talk about the college football season being played next spring. Lyke, Barbour and the others have said all options will be considered. But they are no different than the rest of us. They have no idea when the COVID-19 pandemic will end and how much damage it will leave

(Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune archives/TNS)

Michael Jordan and Ron Harper, right, were teammates on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls team, which was the inspiration behind ESPN’s 10-part documentary called “The Last Dance.” The first two episodes of the highly anticipated documentary aired Sunday to record ratings.

ESPN sets ratings record with ‘The Last Dance’ STEPHEN BATTAGLIO Los Angeles Times TNS The opening episodes of ESPN’s much-anticipated 10part series on NBA legend Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls were the mostwatched documentary programs in the network’s history.

Nielsen data showed the first two hours of the series airing Sunday night averaged 6.1 million viewers. The previous record holder, “You Don’t Know Bo,” about baseball and football star Bo Jackson, was watched by 3.6 million viewers in 2012. The audience counts TV viewers only and does not include streaming platforms.

“The Last Dance” was the No. 1 trending topic Sunday on Twitter and, at one point, 25 of the 30 trending topics were related to the show. Nearly every interview subject who appeared in the first two hours – including former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas – were trending.

“The Last Dance” uses never-before-seen footage shot by a camera crew embedded with the Chicago Bulls for the 1997-98 NBA championship season – the sixth and final of the team’s stunning 1990s run – to the tell story of Jordan’s extraordinary career.

The highly touted project, directed by Jason Hehir, was scheduled to air in June. But with nearly every live sporting event wiped out by the shutdown rules imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN moved up the launch date.

“The Last Dance” ranks as the most-watched telecast among adults ages 18 to 34 and 18 to 49 since sports halted across broadcast and cable networks last month.

Interestingly, in the Chicago Nielsen ratings, the documentary reached nowhere near the popularity as back when the Bulls were actually winning championships.

ESPN and ESPN2, which simultaneously ran a version with profanities edited out,

combined for a 12.6 household rating in the Chicago market for Episode 1, which represents 12.6% of market or roughly 410,300 homes. Episode 2 of the 10-part series slipped to an 11.7.

For comparison, consider that over last year’s 8-8 season, the NFL’s Chicago Bears averaged a 26.2 household rating in Chicago, which was actually down 9% from the previous season.

Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals – in which the Bulls beat the Jazz with 5.2 seconds remaining for their sixth title and second three-peat – averaged a 52.1 household rating in the Chicago market.

The Bulls’ Game 6 clincher against the Jazz a year earlier for the 1997 NBA championship averaged a 53.1 household rating in the market, more than four times as large as the ratings for the first two hours of “The Last Dance.”

“The Last Dance” is scheduled to resume Sunday with Episodes 3 and 4, running weekly through May 17.

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