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EASTER CELEBRATION A LOT MORE THAN CHOCOLATE AND PEEPS

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The Penn // INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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Cover Photo By Steven Langdon Jr

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EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief Steven Langdon Jr. News Editor Heather Bair Culture Editor Eva Tillich Sports Editor Jeff Hart

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THE ALLENWOOD A STORY OF STUDENT SUCCESS

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Lead Culture Writer Haley Brown Lead Sports Writer Austin Smith

TODAY’S issue SPONSORED by STATIC:

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NEWS

News Editor: Heather Bair – zzzx@iup.edu

Chancellor Dr. Daniel Greenstein spoke Tuesday at a virtual town hall over Zoom about PASSHE and APSCUF.

(Facebook)

Chancellor, IUP president, discuss plans for the future BENJAMIN BRUMBAUGH

Staff Writer msqy@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Chancellor, Dr. Daniel Greenstein, held a virtual town hall meeting for IUP students and staff Tuesday afternoon.

About 300 IUP students and faculty attended the event via Zoom. Meeting participants were encouraged to ask questions directed toward Greenstein, as well as IUP President, Dr. Michael Driscoll.

Recently, PASSHE has been undergoing some big changes as the state system looks to redesign itself to become more financially stable to better assist students.

“Our [Pennsylvania] universities attendance in higher education is third most expensive in the country and 47th in terms of investment,” Greenstein said.

“We are left financially very unstable, both as a system and

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at several of our universities,” he said.

Much of the student concern expressed during the town hall was related to the termination of various programs at several PASSHE universities, including IUP.

Retrenchment at IUP has effectively eliminated certain departments.

“We have really good programs in the performing arts and the visual arts,” Greenstein said. “I can also tell you that we

cannot sustain 14 versions of all of them.

“Its just not possible.”

“There’s a challenge that comes with low-enrolled programs in particular about how to sustain some of those relative to the cost that it brings to high-enrolled programs,” Driscoll said.

However, the decision was not easily made.

“So, while it’s a painful decision, sometimes we have to make a decision to invest in those programs that will bring the benefit to more students, rather than subsidize programs that bring the benefit to fewer students,” Driscoll said.

“There’s not a bad program at IUP. The fact is that we have to make some balanced judgements among those programs as we decide where we can invest.”

Another concern that was at the forefront was Greenstein’s comments about potentially dissolving PASSHE if another solution could not be agreed upon.

“The state will or will not invest in our future, and our future will be

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determined by that investment decision,” Greenstein said. “We are just beyond the point of leaving it another year.

“I think dissolving the system would be an absolutely horrific idea, but let’s be clear, doing nothing is no longer an option.”

The meeting made clear that PASSHE’s journey toward financial sustainability will not be a quick or easy one and that lots of difficult decisions, like the retrenchment of faculty members and the consol-

idation of various state schools, would be necessary for this sustainability to be attained.

“It is in our interest for all of us to be sustaining ourselves,” Greenstein said.

“It’s not a quick journey. I wish that I could tell you it was.”

Both consolidation and, to a lesser degree, retrenchment, have been touted by PASSHE as measures that will increase student opportunities, but students and faculty at various state schools have expressed concern about the negative effects that this my have on students.

“It (consolidation) is really about expanding student opportunities,” he said. “It is a practical and realistic approach to the challenges that exist for lower-enrolled schools which serve students in communities who need breadth of academic programming.”

Will the changes that PASSHE is currently undergoing end up benefitting students? That remains to be seen.

For more information about the changes to PASSHE, visit www.passhe.edu/

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Chancellor comments anger, worry APSCUF CAIO GOMES Staff Writer hysbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP The Association of Pennsylvania State College & University Faculties (APSCUF) published a press release March 24 criticizing a testimony given by the Sate System’s chancellor.

The press release is in response to Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) chancellor, Daniel Greenstein, speaking to the Pennsylvania State Senate this past week.

His statements were given during a hearing held by the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss PASSHE’s budget.

The system has been struggling financially due to a decline in enrollment (a statewide trend, given the decline of high school graduates); the struggle was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Unless we figure [the financial problems] out, I will be recommending to the board that we come back to the Senate next year with a legislative package to dissolve the (State) System.”

Greenstein told the committee.

This comment was received with backlash and shock. Many felt that the comment was unnecessary and more drastic than it should have been. Among those critics was APSCUF. “Words matter, and the chancellor’s words about dissolving the State System were reckless and irresponsible,” APSCUF’s president and IUP professor Dr.

(Facebook) APSCUF released a press release March 24 criticizing Chancellor Greenstein’s remarks. Dr. Jamie Martin (right) is the APSCUF president, as well as an IUP professor.

Jamie Martin said in a statement.

“Despite the chancellor’s later insistence that he was not making a threat, we are incredulous that he would bring up such a radical, explosive possibility, and I am certain that many of our members perceived it as a threat.

“The chancellor should be a leader and advocate for higher education in Pennsylvania, but his suggestion only creates fear, uncertainty and mistrust for students, their families, faculty, coaches, staff and Pennsylvania residents.”

As a response to the chancellor’s comment, the executive council of APSCUF held an emergency meeting to discuss the harm caused by his statement.

To APSCUF’s vice president, Dr. Christopher Hallen, the comments came at a poor timing given that they are in the middle of recruiting for next year. He claimed that, by insinuating that the system should be dismantled, Greenstein negatively impacted the coaches’ recruiting effort,

which by extension impacts the enrollment.

John Gump, APSCUF’s coach executive leader, agreed with Hallen, adding that the comments hinder the efforts made by coaches statewide. He also condemned Greenstein’s comments

on subsidization.

“As coaches, we understand that strong teams need contributions from all team members,” Gump said in the press release.

“Those contributions may not be equal, but all are important.

Pointing fingers and assigning blame are not ways to improve performance but demonstrations of weak leadership.”

APSCUF believes that if Greenstein goes through with the idea of dissolving the system, consequences would be disastrous. There would be so many things uncertain, and ultimately, students would carry a burden that isn’t theirs to carry.

“Dissolving the State System would be devastating and catastrophic for Pennsylvania,” Kathryn Morton, APSCUF’s communications director, said. “Our state-owned universities' mission is to provide affordable, quality, higher-education opportunities here in the Commonwealth.

“When the universities became a system, the intent was for

the universities to work together toward that goal. If the State System were dissolved, chaos could ensue. How would funding work?

How would this affect smaller universities?”

“The state made a commitment to provide higher education as a public good, and yanking those opportunities away instead of properly funding public universities would be a tragedy,” Morton said.

In an opinion piece published in PennLive, State Sen. Judy Shwank (D-11) noted that Greenstein’s remark should not be taken as a threat, but an encouragement to work together into finding ways to support and further invest in the State System. She believes that if her colleagues don’t get beyond the outrage, then the students would be the ones suffering the most.

“Higher education is supposed to be a great equalizer,” Schwank said. “This is not the time to abandon that goal.”

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‘Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.’ ~Edgar Allan Poe Poetry slam matches rhythm, rhyme with feelings during event GABRIELLA BYRNE Staff Writer bmwx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP IUP students dazzled the audience of Monday’s Six O’Clock Series in a Poetry Slam event.

As a first-time Six O’Clock Series event, the poetry slam consisted of six individuals reading aloud pieces with poetic methods including repetition, rhyme and free verse used in original and inspired poems.

Prizes included a $50 IUP CoOp Card for first place and $25 Co-Op Card for second place winners. Attendees were made to be the judges of this event and casted votes in private messages to avoid pressure or discomfort when deciding the winners.

Most poems were original

pieces that contained heavy topics and were written during quarantine with one including phrases of a foreign language.

The first place winner, Sam-

(Facebook) IUP’s Six O’Clock Series is every Monday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Everyone is welcome to join. The events range from speakers to games to events and more. aj Schell, titled his poem “A Clown,” and started writing it May of last year at the beginning of quarantine. He finished it around Halloween.

“I winded up recording it and uploading it to my Instagram,” Schell (freshman, communications media) said. “And the theme was a series of videos that the man had left to his previous lover describing all the pain she left him in.

“It definitely took me some time to complete but, in the end, I’m impressed by the final results.”

Cearah Sampson was the first speaker with a poem inspired by a piece of cardboard shaped into

the letter of an “I.” “A Moon,” written by Zachary Berdine, was performed last and brought in notable uses of rhyme.

A three-way tie for second place between Hannah Colen (senior, marketing), Tatiana Cleffi and Wiley Janasek (junior, early education/special education) resulted in Leslie Coates offering to donate gift cards for the winners.

Colen shared a poem by Brandon Melendez titled, “Standing at the Mirror, The Author Writes A Poem for

Himself in Which the Word Hate Is Replaced with The Word Forgive.”

“Four months ago, I was in a toxic relationship and have spent the past few months processing and understanding that healing isn’t a linear process,” Colen said. “This poem really allowed me to be kind to myself and understand why I chose to stay for as long as I did.”

Cleffi read a poem titled, “Personal Wasteland,” written last year around June during quarantine.

Janasek read three poems containing rhyme: “Cloudy Sunsets,” “Brick Walls” and “Pulling all the Strings.”

He shared the inspiration for his poem, “Cloudy Sunsets,” that was written during weeks of rainy

and cold weather.

“While taking all online classes, the mental strain, paired with the weather, seemed to show no end in sight to the cold and pessimistic outlook this semester seemed to bring,” Janasek said.

“However, there was one day in the middle of all this rainy weather that was 70 degrees, light breeze and sunny, which gave me hope and assurance that warmer and happier days were on the way and not to focus too hard on the negative aspects in life because they will eventually pass.”

Throughout the meeting, the Zoom chat sang praises and congratulated all that participated as host Brianna Drylie commended performers for their bravery and their participation.

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News

‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.’ ~Audrey Hepburn IUP’s herbarium open for visitors, students HALEY BROWN Lead Culture Writer tbfx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP Every university has places that some students may not know about, but IUP has one in particular.

What many students might not know is that there is an herbarium located right on IUP’s campus in room 212C of Weyandt Hall, and its contents have far more importance than one might expect.

It is known as the A.G. Shields Herbarium, named after the original curator and former IUP biology department faculty member of the same name, and was officially dedicated in 1973. There have been a handful of different curators since 1973, and the current curator is IUP biology professor Michael Tyree.

“An herbarium is a collection of preserved plants that are usually dried, pressed and identified,” Tyree said.

The herbarium collections are used for teaching, research and even for public use. Those interested in visiting the A.G. Shields Herbarium can schedule an appointment on the IUP webpage dedicated to the herbarium by following the link there.

The collection process of the four existing collections of the IUP herbarium started about five years ago, and the total specimen count has grown to an estimation of about 15,000 specimens. The main collection was recently completed and consists of around 10,000 specimens in total.

Not only is the collection of these specimens important, but a large part of the success of any herbarium is the careful storage and upkeep of those specimens and of the space they are kept in.

“As curator, my primary job is to maintain the collection,” Tyree said.

“This involves acquiring new specimens to add to the collection either by collecting or trading with other herbarium, but also includes protecting the existing collection from degradation. Mold and pests are the biggest threats. Additionally, my role is to make the collection

(Heather Bair/The Penn) Mike Tyree (top left) is the curator of the A.G. Shields Herbarium, located at 212C Weyandt Hall on IUP’s campus. The plants in the herbarium are studied and filed in cabinets where they can be researched and observed. available so it can be used by students, scientists and the public.”

Most of the herbarium consists of plants from the Western Pennsylvanian regions, the majority of them having being collected by faculty and IUP students.

The herbarium also has some trading connections with other universities in North America and exchanges specimens with those universities occasionally.

The herbarium recently acquired a collection from Honduras, which has just started being inventoried.

The specimens in the herbarium include information about where and when they were collected.

That information is vital to projects such as the reconstruction of geographic plant distributions. This

means that the specimens in the herbarium can be used to look at where the plants used to grow historically, which can be important information for historians, geologists, ecologists and biologists, among other professionals who could put this information to use. “[The specimens] have been used to investigate regional adaptions that occur in subpopulations of species, or changes over time that occur within species,” Tyree said.

“One example [of this investigation process] is older specimens that have been compared to newer ones to determine if the number of stomata (pores on the leaves used for gas exchange) have changed with rising atmo-

spheric carbon dioxide concentrations. “[These comparisons] have shown that as CO2 increases, the number of stomata have steadily declined in some species.”

Investigations like the example mentioned above are vital to scientists researching species distribution and adaptation in relation to global climate change trends.

Studying information from the past helps scientists better understand how elevated levels of greenhouse gasses, rising atmospheric temperature and climate change as a whole might affect various species in the present and in the future.

The curator of the IUP herbarium is looking to begin a new

project that will change the way the specimens housed in the herbarium are accessed and utilized.

“One of our next projects is to begin digitizing the collection to make it publicly available,” Tyree said. “This will take a few years once we get started, but that is the ultimate way to get this information into the hands of people.”

Although visiting a room full of dried plants may not sound exciting to some, others are invigorated by the possibilities that the valuable stores of information in the IUP herbarium offer.

Herbaria have priceless significance, not only for the science of botany, but for a variety of students, educators and professionals across the sciences and beyond, from botany to climatology to genetics.

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Thank you for being a friend Retiring worker receives certificate of appreciation for numerous years at IUP AMARI WALKER Staff Writer jqtbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP An IUP worker has been presented with a certificate of appreciation from the university Board of Trustees.

After 41 years of working at IUP, Barbara Moore has been presented with a certificate of appreciation from IUP. She worked four years as one of IUP’s student workers during the 1980s. After graduation, she spent 37 years working in various positions at IUP. She grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Growing up, Moore lived in a household in which both her sister and mother were alumni at IUP. In 1980, she attended IUP as a freshman seeking a career in accounting.

As a student, Moore worked as a student worker until she graduated in 1984.

After graduation, she noticed that there was an opportunity to work in the grants and special funds department at IUP. She applied for the position. Two weeks later, she began working in the department.

Mentors, like IUP President Michael Driscoll and Steve Ender, have positively impacted Moore’s life in order to shape her into the hardworking woman that she has become throughout the years.

Dr. Michael Driscoll (left), president of IUP, presented Barbara Moore (right) with a Certificate of Appreciation for her 37 years of dedicated service at IUP. Through the years, she has learned how to think more institutionally. Moore’s definition of thinking institutionally can be described as “not always the information that people want, but the most accurate.”

She has been the director of budget planning, along with working in the internal audit department, grants and special funds department and institutional decisions.

During her career, Moore’s institutional thinking has developed and grown as she continued to expand her horizons. However, as of April, Moore will be retiring.

Moore decided to retire because she feels that it is the right time after dedicating 41 years to IUP. During her retirement, she hopes to travel and spend more time with family. Moore believes the timing is right because she feels it is her time to experience life outside of the university.

Her current dream vacation is Florida. Although she hopes to go to Florida, Moore and her family will remain in contact with IUP. In her time spent at IUP, she and her family have spent their time supporting the Crimson Hawks.

“I probably have the most IUP gear,” she said.

The Moores are fans of the women’s basketball team and other programs at IUP. Moore has supported and helped IUP, along with its faculty and students, for a long time.

Receiving this certificate of appreciation has been a humbling experience.

“I feel honored that I have been able to serve the institution and the trustees,” she said.

The trustees of IUP have presented this award to her because they appreciate Moore’s hard work, support and the dedication that she has provided to IUP over the course of her career. Sometimes “goodbye” can be difficult.

If you can’t say goodbye, please at least say “thank you” to Moore for her dedicated work during her time at IUP. As she prepares for retirement, and says goodbye, Moore has decided to leave IUP with a final message.

“IUP is a great institution,” she said. “We are going through rough times, but we will come out on top. We need to work together through these rocky times.”

(IUP)

Board of Trustees approves transfer, selling of building ISABELLA BENSON Staff Writer hpjy@iup.edu @ThePennIUP The IUP Council of Trustees authorized the transfer or selling of the Northpointe building.

The authorization came March 18, which will endorse IUP’s plan to maintain a regional presence.

The building and grounds is 5.43 acres in total at 167 Northpointe Boulevard, Freeport. According to an IUP press release issued March 18, the building will remain in use for classes.

This includes current course offerings for several bachelor’s degree programs and upper-level classes for students in the respiratory care program.

“There is no timeline for transition of the property, but we will continue to work closely with our regional stakeholders throughout the process,” Dr.

Michael Driscoll, president of IUP, said in the press release.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) goal is to reduce underutilized facility square footage and lines up with the IUP’s efforts to eliminate unnecessary, facility-related overhead expenses.

According to the standards of the State System and subject to approval-endorsement by the board of governors and to consideration of the general assembly, the transfer or selling of the building will be done under the condition that all due diligence is performed with positive outcomes.

At the Northpointe campus, students have a variety of options. They can complete any major or an associate degree in general studies. Through in-person classes or online work, students can complete a bachelor’s degree in communication media, management or marketing.

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IUP program one of top in the nation Staff, students excited to earn sixth in the U.S. MARIAH MAUSER Staff Writer lmvbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP The IUP master’s program in nutrition has been ranked as one of the top in the nation.

According to an IUP press release, the online master’s program for nutrition has been ranked sixth in the nation. This feat was achieved by the staff, faculty and students alike.

IUP is notorious for having outstanding master’s and doctorate programs. In fact, IUP is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s best doctoral universities

by U.S. News and World Reports.

“As a student-centered online program, our faculty focus on making the content meaningful so students can utilize the information and projects in real time,” Dr. Stephanie Taylor-Davis, chairperson of IUP’s department of food and nutrition, said.

“This approach adds value to ensure our graduates are career-ready, competitive in the job market and effective to meet challenges in the workplace.”

There are many different reasons as to why the IUP master’s in nutrition has been ranked so highly.

“The faculty and staff of the

U.S. News & World Reports ranked IUP’s master’s degree in nutrition as sixth in the nation.

IUP department of food and nutrition are committed to providing high-quality, relevant education for students,” Dr. Pao Ying Hsiao, associate professor and program coordinator, said.

“Our varied expertise allows for students to receive an education that is well-rounded and diverse. One of the things that students consistently comment on is that they feel like the faculty care about helping each of them reach their potential.”

This all coincidentally happens during National Nutrition Month.

According to eatright.org, National Nutrition Month originated as a National Nutrition Week in March 1973 by the American Dietetic Association as a way to promote healthy and mindful eating in the U.S. Due to increasing public interest, the week-long celebration was extended to a month as it is in modern day. Now, there are

many programs available to help plan meals, learn how to cook new recipes, learn about personal nutrition and much more.

The IUP nutrition department is adamant in accepting new students who are interested in

the program. There is a Student Association for Nutrition and Dietetics (SAND) that hosts events, with some events that are specifically designed to help enrich the experience for nutrition students.

Recently, the club hosted an event and invited nationally acclaimed nutritionist, Melissa Joy Dobbins.

The community within the department of food and nutrition is deep-rooted and welcoming. The professors are enthusiastic about teaching anyone who wants to learn.

“When you become a master’s student in the department of food and nutrition, you are not just a number,” Hsaio said.

“Faculty spend time providing personalized advising, mentorship and individualized feedback to help students reach their potential.

“Our program is also well-suited for both the recent graduate

(FAU University Press) as well as life-long learners. The online format allows for flexibility to earn a graduate degree while also continuing to work on a career.”

Such high praises of the program are not only heard from professors but from students, too.

“As a student, I tell other students that I love our department,” Maddy West (senior, nutrition and dietetics, exercise science) said. “I toured 16 colleges for nutrition and dietetics, and IUP was my favorite by far.

The faculty made me feel so welcomed, and their education plan was very appealing to me.

“IUP has made me feel prepared for the next step in my career path.”

The food and nutrition department is located in Ackerman Hall Room 102. For any questions, you can contact them at food-nutrition@iup.edu.

Opinion

Are politicans the real enemy when it comes to gun rights?

In the wake of several mass shootings the past few weeks, it is more important than ever to recognize who has blood on their hands: politicians.

This goes beyond Ted Cruz’s getting annoyed that the topic of gun control comes up after “every mass shooting;” legislators in our own backyard are also culpable for countless gun deaths.

All the following information can be found on VoteSmart.org and OpenSecrets.org.

Jim Struzzi, the state representative for Pennsylvania District 62 (which includes Indiana) has not only voted against several very baseline gun reforms but is actually endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). He most recently voted in favor of House Bill 1747, which limits the governor’s ability to restrict access to firearms during a disaster emergency.

Joe Pittman, the state senator for Pennsylvania District 41 (including Indiana), has a very similar voting record to Struzzi, such as voting in favor of House Bill 1747. He is also endorsed by the NRA. Indiana’s congressman, Glenn Thompson, most recently voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The previous four gun-related bills he voted against all dealt with background checks, even voting against the Bipartisan Background Checks Acts of 2019 and 2021. And, wouldn’t you know it, he is also endorsed by the NRA. Last but certainly not least is coward extraordinaire Pat Toomey, one of Pennsylvania’s senators. In 2016, he voted against an amendment that would prohibit the transfer of

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(Wikimedia) Politicians like Congressman Glenn Thompson (left) and Senator Pat Toomey (right) have been against gun reform for many years. firearms to suspected terrorists.

You read that right. Just eight days after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people, Toomey saw a chance to prevent a similar event from happening in the future and decided instead to quietly vote along party lines.

I am sure his upcoming reelection that November had nothing to do with that vote.

This tidbit is particularly interesting when you consider that his official website reads, “It is reasonable to make it as difficult as possible for

terrorists, the dangerously mentally ill and violent criminals to obtain firearms.”

Dude, fire your public relations person because they seem to not know that one of the most important parts of PR is making sure your values line up with your actions.

Far be it from me to “cancel” someone for something they did years ago – I firmly believe in humans’ ability to grow and change – but there is a huge difference between making a tasteless tweet in 2012 and voting against an amend-

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ment that makes it just a tiny bit more difficult for literal suspected terrorists to get their hands on machines created for the express purpose of causing harm.

I will give credit where credit is due: Toomey seems to have changed his tune the past few years. But before you go giving him any sort of recognition, it is important to realize that he is not running for reelection in 2022. There is much less pressure to appeal to extremists when your very cushy job is not on the line anymore.

Here, I had initially planned to drag these dudes through the mud for offering useless “thoughts and prayers” to the recent spree of shootings, but not a single

one of these four men have said anything about the recent slayings.

Perhaps they made a vague statement or two, but after a solid half hour of searching through Twitter and their personal websites, I could not find a single statement from Struzzi, Pittman, Thompson or even Toomey about the two recent mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado.

Per OpenSecrets.org, Thompson’s net worth as of 2018 was estimated to be $5.67 million. Toomey’s estimate from the same year was $2.04 million. So, in the absence of even pretending to care at all about more than a dozen people slain from your actions, I offer you the words of James, one of Jesus’ first disciples (James 5:1–6): “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

“Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.

You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”

Brought to you

By Marty Weaver

Opinion

Culture The Allenwood

Culture Editor: Eva Tillich – jxsbc@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – tbfx@iup.edu

A story of student success

LANE LANNAN Staff Writer ffpcc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP Sizzling grills and delicious smells that captivate.

Where would these wondrous things be located, you may ask? The Allenwood, of course.

The Allenwood is a restaurant that is located on the ground floor of Ackerman Hall. It was originally started in the early 1900s by faculty and staff of IUP. The restaurant continued to be open and run by the faculty and students until going on a hiatus from 2013 to 2018. Jeffery Santicola, the current adviser to students and hospitality management faculty, later reopened the restaurant in spring 2019.

“I was provided the opportunity to joining the hospitality management department with reopening the Allenwood as a key component of my duties,” Santicola said. “Department chair Dr. Stephen Shiring was very supportive and wanted to get the Allenwood back open.”

Despite the success of reopening the restaurant in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic would throw everything out of balance. With many restaurants closing around the country, the future of the Allenwood was not certain.

According to Santicola, the pandemic did not make the restaurant close its doors. But rather, doors closed because the previous department chair was not interested in having the restaurant as a part of the curriculum for the hospitality managemnet program.

With the food and beverage component of the curriculum being required for the students in the hospitality management program, Santicola wanted to make sure that the students were on track with their graduation requirements. Because of the very hands-on nature of the graduation requirements, the Allenwood had to stay open, albeit with

Culture

The Allenwood, located in Ackerman Hall, is now open to everyone. some modifications.

“We cut occupancy to 21 guests last fall and have kept 30 guests for this spring semester,” Santicola said. “We also only served dinner last semester, shortened the menu, lowered the dinner price, removed the tablecloths, all of which has led to a lower-touch environment.”

Santicola continued by saying that a takeout option has been established with limited availability for lunch and dinner services.

The students that run the restaurant are also supportive of the changes, especially since the restaurant has been able to stay open, and they were able to learn a lot about the restaurant industry.

“You must be willing to adapt to anything,” Tristen Ring (junior, hospitality management) said. “The pandemic completely changed the way in which restaurants operate throughout the world.”

Ring went on to say that the structure of the kitchen in the

restaurant is very similar to the preCOVID-19 times, with the addition of masks being the only major difference to the experience.

Fellow student Abigail Baczynski (senior, hospitality management) expanded on what Ring had to say by giving more insight into what students do in the kitchen and the restaurant as a whole.

“Each student is assigned to a job or station to work,” Baczynski said. “These positions are rotated so that almost all the students work at each of the positions once during the semester, so they learn and know how the entirety of the kitchen works.”

Santicola revealed some more aspects of what students do, saying that inventory management and correct alcohol service are among the many responsibilities that the students have.

Along with a smooth kitchen, sanitation is important to a restaurant. According to Baczynski, the sanitation of the Allenwood is a top priority.

“The first week or two, Chef Santicola goes over all the clean-

March 31, 2021

(IUP)

ing procedures and all sanitization and safety standards that we must follow and apply to,” Baczynski said.

“Students know what needs to be done to uphold the proper safety and sanitary standards.”

With a smooth-running kitchen and a clean restaurant, the last major aspect is, of course, the menu.

At the Allenwood, the students craft the menu, and they are proud of what they were able to make.

“Each week, the Allenwood has a different menu with a specific cuisine or theme for that week,” Ring said. “From French, Italian and Hungarian cuisines, to fun themes like a loaded baked potato bar and our upcoming ‘Philly vs. Pittsburgh’ lunch.”

With a good operating system, clean practices and a great menu to boot, the prestige of the Allenwood is undeniable. The work the students do does not go unnoticed by the customers, Baczynski said.

“I have served guests that have never been in the Allenwood before for dinner or lunch,” Baczynski said.

“They are truly blown away by what the hospitality management students are able to do and produce for them to enjoy.”

According to Ring, the satis-

faction of the customers is very important, citing that he has learned from Santicola that, while you cannot always please everyone, you should try your best to do it anyway.

Baczynski shared this sentiment, stating that the saying “customers come first” is very true and the mindset that is needed in the restaurant industry.

With the Allenwood’s success despite COVID-19, the only other thing to consider is that the staff will graduate. Students have begun to formulate a plan for the future or already have jobs lined up.

“I have accepted a job as an event day coordinator at Blue Mountain Resort in Palmerton, Pennsylvania,” Baczynski said.

“There, I will oversee organizing and coordinating events from one month out of their event day, and then I will be there on the day of the event making sure everything is going according to plan.”

With Baczynski’s senior status and graduation this May, a more direct plan with a job is to be expected.

Despite being a junior, Ring also has a plan as to where to go upon graduating.

“I am currently interested in the hotel side of the industry,” Ring said. “The goal is to start my career somewhere in Chicago following graduation.”

With the success that the students of the Allenwood have seen, there is a feeling of gratification and approval that comes from Chef Santicola.

“Our students are very marketable,” Santicola said. “This is a team effort of our entire faculty and staff, as well as the guests from the IUP community and Indiana borough.”

Santicola concluded by saying that the greatest reward for him is seeing his students go into the industry that he loves.

So, with all of that in mind, swing

by Ackerman Hall to support students and eat some great food at a great restaurant.

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March 31, 2021

Culture

Easter celebration is a lot more than chocolate and Peeps HEATHER BAIR News Editor zzzx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP With every spring comes the celebration of a religious holiday.

Easter, which is celebrated around the end of March or beginning of May, is a week-long celebration honoring Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

The Easter Story can be found in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. The stories speak about Jesus’ life leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection.

They start with the Last Supper and end with Jesus rising from the dead on Easter Sunday.

The religious celebration begins on what is observed as Palm Sunday, usually the Sunday before Easter. On this day, according to the Bible, Jesus entered Jerusalem by donkey. A crowd gathered, placing palm leaves on the ground for the donkey carrying Jesus to walk on. This was a symbol of homage.

The same crowd, a week later, would call for him to be killed.

Churches call this Palm Sunday, as it is the event that ultimately

leads up to Jesus’ death.

Throughout the events leading up to Easter Sunday, two more days are honored. The first is Maundy Thursday, which is the Thursday before Easter.

During Jesus’ time, Maundy Thursday is the day the Last Supper took place. At this supper, Jesus turned the bread and wine into his body and blood. This is also celebrated during the honoring of Communion in some churches, the eating and drinking of bread and wine as a repentance ritual.

He also washed the feet of his disciples, which they at first denied him, as it was the servant’s job. However, Jesus explained it is in Christian love to serve others; therefore, he continued.

During the supper, he prophesied that someone among the disciples would betray him.

They broke bread and spent time together, then Christ went to the garden and prayed.

On Good Friday, the day is observed as the Passion of Christ.

During Friday, Jesus went through a trial in which the same people that honored him the week before demanded for his death.

Jesus’ prophesy that someone would betray him came true.

While he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he went to pray before his trial and death, Judas Iscariot, a disciple, arrived with royal soldiers to arrest Jesus.

He was taken to the high priest’s father-in-law, Caiaphas, where he was interrogated; however, he said nothing during witnesses’ testimonies.

During the morning, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, authorized Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law. Pilate questioned Jesus himself, then declared him innocent and washed his hands of the matter.

Jesus carried a cross through the town while being flogged.

He wore a crown of thorns, and, when he arrived at Golgotha, they made a plaque reading, “Jesus of

Nazareth, King of the Jews.”

After carrying it up a hill to the site of execution, Jesus was crucified with two other criminals.

He was on the cross, suffering, for six hours. He shouted one of the most known scriptures from Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus’ body was wrapped in a clean linen shroud and he was placed in a new tomb that had been carved in rock. Mary Magdalene arrived that Sunday and went to look at the tomb; however, Jesus’ body had disappeared. She ran, shouting, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” (Matt. 28:6).

This is the religious holiday of Easter celebrated in Christianity.

However, Easter has many other symbolisms as well.

Those most associated with Easter are the Easter Bunny, coloring Easter eggs and the act of hiding Easter baskets.

The Easter Bunny first came into legend in about 1682, when Georg Franck von Franckenau’s “De ovis paschalibus” or “About Easter Eggs” was written. He referred to a German tradition of an Easter hare bringing Easter eggs for the good children.

The hare holds some power in medieval church art, in which he was associated with the Virgin Mary.

Easter eggs are also a big part of Easter. These were a symbol of fertility and became iconic with the notion of rebirth. People would hand out eggs as special treats to children prior to the fasting that takes place during Lent in medieval Europe.

The reason behind coloring eggs is due to the fact that they believed it brought the colors of spring into homes after dark winters.

In the 1700s, the act of hiding Easter baskets came into play.

The tradition came to America when German immigrant children would add straw to little hats and boxes to create nests.

They would then hide the boxes in hopes that the Easter Bunny would fill them in the middle of the night with colorful Easter eggs, meaning they had been good children, similar to Santa Claus at Christmas time.

While there are different ways to celebrate the holiday, religiously or not, Easter is a time of reflection, peace and rebirth. Take a day to be at peace and relax.

STATIC’s big deal on ‘Campus’ STATIC HALEY BROWN tbfx@iup.edu

I am Haley and will be writing weekly about the upcoming events for STATIC. Stay tuned.

This week, the Student Activity Committee (STATIC) has two events lined up for the IUP community: a virtual live concert by Hippo Campus and IUP Deal or No Deal.

The first event that STATIC has to offer this week is a live concert of the American indie rock band, Hippo Campus. The concert is Thursday and will take place virtually via Zoom. No preregistration is required to be a part of the audience.

The event will begin promptly at 8 p.m., and the waiting room for

Hippo Campus will perform Thursday on Zoom. the Zoom meeting will open at 7:45 p.m. The virtual concert event is estimated to run until 10 p.m.

“It’s going to be basically the same as the previous concerts we’ve done over Zoom,” Cassidy Krug, STATIC’s executive chair, said.

There will be two sections of the event, the first section being the live concert portion when Hippo Campus will be performing, and the second being a Q&A portion.

(Facebook)

There will be questions from the STATIC hosts and some from IUP students who can submit questions to STATIC through email or by direct messaging STATIC’s social media accounts.

“The concert will be live, not prerecorded, and as long as we are able to get audience questions prescreened in time, three people will be able to ask their questions to the band directly,” Krug said.

The band got its start in 2013 when Jake Luppen, Nathan Stocker, Zach Sutton and Whistler Allen met at the same conservatory for performing arts. The current name for their band was chosen by Nathan Stocker, and despite a plethora of other previous stage names, this one stuck.

The band has also had DeCarlo Jackson as its trumpet player since 2017. “[Hippo Campus has] been a name that has been thrown out for semesters in the past, but we never ended up following through with it,” Krug said. “I think they might have been some of the first people to start doing the online virtual concerts.

“We came up with a list of [artists and bands] that we knew were doing the virtual stuff, and they were on there, and we listened to them and thought they were pretty cool.”

The second event taking place during the week is another addition to the STATIC lineup of IUP game show events. On April 7, STATIC will

be hosting IUP Deal or No Deal. The event will start at 8 p.m. and end at approximately 10 p.m.

“We will be using the software that Zach (Clark, STATIC’s adviser) got, and I’m thinking we’ll do teams of two to three and do speed rounds so that we can try to get as many [students] as we can to win,” Erin Wilhelm, STATIC’s vice entertainment chair, said.

“The prizes, I believe, are going to be cash.”

The platform for the event will be Zoom, and students interested in being a contestant are required to register. Prospective players can find the link to register on the event page on STATIC’s website. All potential participants must be 18 years of age or older and must be carrying a valid IUP I-Card to be eligible to participate in the game.

Those who are interested in joining the event only to watch the game show do not need to preregister and can tune in to the game through the Zoom link on the STATIC web page.

Culture

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March 31, 2021

Spring brings new flowers, performances HALEY BROWN Lead Culture Writer tbfx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP On Friday, the IUP music department hosted a live concert titled “A Springtime Soiree,” which featured many IUP faculty and community members.

The performance took place on the stage of Gorell Recital Hall and had a limited in-person audience of exclusively IUP community members. The show was also livestreamed on the IUP Department of Music’s YouTube channel and can still be accessed by following the link on the IUP concert programs announcement page.

The concert featured Dr. Stanley Chepaitis and Swana Chepaitis, who both played violin; Dr. Henry Wong Doe on the piano; Dr. Linda Jennings, who played cello; Dr. Mary Logan-Hastings, who sang soprano, and Dr. Christine Clewell on the harpsichord.

The concert focused on chamber music for strings, voice and piano and included works by Beethoven, Norwegian composer Greig, Handel and even an original work by Dr. Stanley Chepaitis.

“This concert had broad range of different styles and eras of classical music from early 1700’s baroque music for vocalist and strings [by] Handel to a brand new modern composition for string trio [titled] ‘Revolving Doors,’ my own piece, with classic works for violin and piano from the 1800’s,” Stanley Chepaitis, professor emeritus of fine arts, said.

The first portion of the recital was focused primarily on the performance of Swana Chepaitis on violin and Wong Doe on piano who performed the famous “Spring Sonata in F Major for Violin and Piano op. 24,” composed

by Beethoven.

The second piece of the concert featured Stanley Chepaitis and Doe also performing a sonata for violin and piano. The piece was titled “Sonata in C Major op.

45” and was written by Edvard Grieg.

During the second half of the performance, the new work “Revolving Doors for String Trio,” written by Stanley Chepaitis, was performed for the first time onstage. The string trio was made up of a violin, a viola, played by Chepaitis himself, and a cello.

“I was most looking forward to the first performance of my own composition,” Stanley

The IUP Lively Arts at IUP hosted “A Springtime Soiree” on Friday.

Chepaitis said.

“I finished this piece only in December 2020, and it was a real treat to be able to play it so soon after.”

The finishing piece of the concert was a work titled “Alpestre Monte,” which was written by Handel and featured a soprano, two violins, a cello and a harpsicord.

Not only was this concert a treat to those acting as the virtual audience, as well as those who were fortunate enough to attend the event in person, but the artists greatly appreciated the opportunity to perform again as well.

“Since I am an emeritus professor, I had had a year in which all performances had been canceled due to the pandemic,” Stanley Chepaitis said.

“It was a most welcome opportunity to get up on the stage and perform again, no matter what the circumstances. In this concert we could have a small live audience as well as the live stream to the greater community. I am grateful that the IUP department of music afforded me this opportunity to play with former colleagues, even though I am now no longer on the faculty.”

The planning process of all the rehearsals and work done for this concert was a challenge to manage because of the number of performing artists and their conflicting schedules, as well as the complication of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, the faculty involved put in hours of time and hard work and produced an excellent concert.

“We practiced together through the month of March,”

Stanley Chepaitis said.

“Since each piece had different personnel, there were many rehearsals with different players involved. It took a lot of planning to get all that to work.”

(The Lively Arts) Because of the pandemic, many artists still do not have the opportunity to perform for even virtual audiences, so the addition of the limited in-person audience made this recital all the more

impactful for all who attended, especially for the musicians and performers onstage.

“In a strange way, it takes more energy to perform virtually because you do not have the feedback and inspiration that a live audience provides,” Stanley Chepaitis said.

“Also, even a live audience seems much more distant when you have a face mask between you and the listeners. I understand the need to follow these guidelines and I am happy to do that for everyone’s protection, but I really look forward to being able to interact normally again once it is safe to do so.”

Despite the drawbacks of the precautions necessary to keep everyone healthy and safe, this performance was an incredible and moving one and will surely not be soon forgotten by anyone in attendance, from the livestream audience, to the in-person audience, to the magnificent performers themselves.

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March 31, 2021

Culture

Elite Eight set to determine IUP’s Favorite Bite Favorite Bite Steven Langdon Jr. pbyw@iup.edu I am Steven and love to eat local food. Join me to determine the Best restaurant in Indiana.

Another week is in the books as IUP’s Favorite Bite now heads into the Elite Eight.

The second round of the competition took place last week, and we inch closer to determining a winner.

The winners of each match-up were determined by The Penn’s Instagram and Twitter followers.

The results were collected from polls from Wednesday to Sunday.

We start on the pizza side of

the bracket, and there was a new location making it to the next round.

The first match-up had Bob’s Pizza beating out Tom’s Pizza 64.9 to 35.1 percent.

Bob’s will go against the winner of the next match-up. Romeo’s Pizza beat Venice Pizza in a 75.2 to 24.8 percent match-up.

Romeo’s will likely enter the final in the pizza bracket as the favorite. A finalist in 2018, it has become a favorite of college students due to the location.

Romeo’s sits just off of campus across from the Crimson Cafe.

Bob’s Pizza should not be underestimated, as it still won by a wide margin. Time will tell which will move on to compete in the Final Four.

Now to move onto the international side of the bracket. The first match-up was Tres Amigos taking it to Thai@Indiana, win-

ning 71.6 to 28.4 percent.

Tres Amigos was voted the best Mexican restaurant in its first matchup and continues to dominate the competition.

UMI will now be tasked with trying to dethrone Tres Amigos after beating Kim Moon 66.7 to 33.3 percent.

As stated before, Tres Amigos will enter as the favorite. It made it to the Final Four three years ago.

Can UMI take over as IUP’s favorite international bite? Stay tuned until next week.

Next up is the bar bracket.

This competition was held in 2019, and this year had the two finalists meeting up a little earlier than many may have wanted.

But first, H.B. Culpeppers was the first to advance. It edged out Levity Brewing 56.7 to 43.3 percent. This was the closest match-up of the round.

Brunzies escaped the matchup of the week, defeating The Coney 57 to 43 percent. Brunzies and Sub and Suds use the same kitchen, so instead of separating the two, they are combined for the competition.

The last time they competed, it was 70 to 30 percent in favor of Brunzies, which helped them be crowned Best Bar in Indiana.

With that in mind, Brunzies will enter as the favorite. It has become a top place to be because of the great drinks and food. H.B. Culpeppers will seek revenge after losing the last time 64 to 36 percent.

The final group was “other.”

This included restaurants that did not fit into any of the categories.

The first match-up had Bob’s Subs squeaking one out against Bruno’s Italian. It was the closest match-up of the round with Bob’s winning 57.5 to 42.5 percent.

The winner from 2018’s version of the bracket advanced once again. 9th Street Deli won against Crouse’s Cafe 68 to 32 percent.

This is a rematch in the Round of 16 from a couple of years ago.

Last time, 9th street Deli won the match-up by a large margin.

With the Elite Eight set and ready to go, we now reach the point where match-ups become difficult to predict. All it might take is a social media takeover for one location.

If you want to have a chance to decide the winners, make sure the follow us on Instagram at thepenniup and on Twitter @ThePennIUP. The match-ups will start Wednesday and end Monday afternoon.

Read the next issue of The Penn to see who will make it to the Final Four.

Culture

15

March 31, 2021

On this day, history was made EVA TILLICH Culture Editor jxsbc@iup.edu @ThePennIUP March 31 may be yet another day in the year, but history proves that this is just not some ordinary day.

On this day in history, many cultural and significant things happened. The father of modern Western philosophy, René Descartes, was born; the Eiffel Tower was opened, and Sir Isaac Newton, one of most important scientists of all time, passed away in his sleep.

Many students did not realize that so many important events happened.

“I just thought it was a regular day,” Thomas Valcukas (freshman, biology) said. “So many important things in history happen every day, so it is easy to just kind of forget all of the little details. I think that a lot actually happens today now that I know some events.”

(Facebook) On March 31, Descartes (left) was born. The Eiffel Tower opened (middle), and Newton (right) died.

March 31 is marked with famous birthdays, deaths and events in music, film and TV and sports.

Descartes was born in 1596 in La Haye en Touraine, France. La Haye de Touraine was later renamed after him. Descartes is most well known for saying, “I think, therefore I am.” His work, “Meditations on First Philosophy,” shaped Western political thought.

“I never heard of him (Descartes)

until the Cook Honors College gave us an assignment about him and his work (‘Meditations on First Philosophy’),” Valcukas said.

“I learned that he was a philosopher that asked essentially what was real or how do we know if something is fact or fiction. For some, those questions are hard to answer, but they really make you think.”

Yet another event was the official

opening of the Eiffel Tower in 1889 in Paris. The tower was built for the Exposition Universelle. Standing at 1063 feet tall, the tower took two years to build.

“I would honestly love to visit the Eiffel Tower,” Bridget Gardner (freshman, environmental engineering) said. “The history behind it is very interesting, and it’s one of the most fascinating landmarks in Europe.”

Gardner said she has not really thought about its history until learning about its opening. She did say that she thinks it would be amusing if the tower served as a radio antenna.

Isaac Newton passed away in 1727 at the age of 84. He is considered to be a revolutionary scientist because he played a key role in understanding the laws of motion.

He created three laws to explain the phenomenon, with the most notable being, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

“Isaac Newton’s contributions to the scientific community are among the most important pertaining to everyday life,” Noah Rhea (freshman, political science) said.

“Many of us take gravity’s effects for granted. For a long time, nobody questioned why things dropped to the ground. Thanks to Isaac Newton asking those questions himself, we can now gain a greater knowledge about our

March 31, 2021

Culture

The Gathering Field

Indiana’s fastest, best food chains

16

Pittsburgh’s Rock Quartet Local Bands

CAIO GOMES hysbc@iup.edu I am Gordon Ramsay’s biggest threat. I like discussing politics and making music puns.

LANE LANNAN ffpcc@iup.edu I am in the top .001 percent of The Beach Boys’ fans on Spotify.

I also like playing games and vibing with my party lights.

Do you like rock quartets with some great songs?

If so, try listening to The Gathering Field.

The Gathering Field was originally founded in Groove City, which is about an hour outside of Pittsburgh, in the ‘90s by Bill Deasy, Dave Brown and the percussionist from the band Rusted Root, Jim DiSpirito.

The group isolated themselves for a weekend, recording a small album called “The Lost Weekend” that was never made commercially available to purchase.

Following that weekend of isolation, the band’s lineup changed. DiSpirito left the band and was replaced by Ray DeFade. Eric Riebling also joined the band on bass, with Deasy on vocals and acoustic guitar and Brown on lead guitar.

The band worked in the studio to get enough to release its first album in 1994, the self-titled “The Gathering Field.” Highlighted tracks from this first commercial album include “Better Off Without Me” and “Border Town.”

“The song (‘Better Off Without Me’) got me dancing,” Lily Carone (freshman, pre-med) said.

“From the name of the song, I thought it was going to have a sadder vibe.”

Carone said that the song surprised her by having a very upbeat feel to it, which she really ended up liking.

Despite the band’s small start, the CD release of “The Gathering Field” garnered a lot of talk locally. With the great reception that the album got, the band started to play at packed clubs across the city. The band then returned to the studio and produced a song that would act a springboard.

The song was called “Lost in America.” It was being recorded

A Taste of Indiana

The Gathering Field reunited in 2013. for the band’s next release, which would end up being the 1996 release “Lost in America.”

The song was picked up by one of the most influential radio stations of the region, WDVE. “Lost in America” was placed on rotation for more than seven months. This led to the band’s being noticed and signed by Atlantic Records.

“I liked the melody of the song ‘Lost in America,’” Dylan Roberts McDonald (freshman, psychology) said. “The tone of the guitars was really nice, too.”

McDonald said that the sound of the group reminded him a lot of another well-known ‘90s band, Pearl Jam. The band saw success with the “Lost in America” album when it charted on the Billboard Top 100 album chart. Despite this success, there were issues with the record label. This caused the album and the band as a whole to get lost as they tried to get out of their contract.

Lineup changes happened as a result, with DeFade’s leaving the group. Joe Zelek was brought in to replace him, and the band started work on its next album, 1999’s “Reliance.” The standout track from this album is “I’d Believe in God for You,” which has amassed 5,222 streams on Spotify.

“I think the song (‘I’d Believe

(Facebook)

in God for You’) was a pretty good song,” Matthew Levenson (freshman, accounting) said. “I liked the way that the vocals went along with the guitars.”

Levenson said that he liked the way that the drums and background instrumentals sounded.

“Reliance” did well but did not gain as much traction as “Lost in America.”

After the release of “Reliance,” the band recorded another album called “So Close to Home,” which was released in 2001. During this time, Deasy also recorded a solo album called “Spring Lies Waiting,” which was produced by fellow bandmate Brown.

The band split for a time in 2002, saying that it was an infinite hiatus. This allowed Deasy to do music with legends like Bob Dylan, Billy Ray Cyrus and Bruce Springsteen, while Zelek formed the Joe Zelek Band to play at different events and concerts.

Despite the band seemingly going in separate directions, Deasy announced in 2013 that The Gathering Field would be doing live shows again. This all culminated in the release of two more albums, 2014’s “Wild Journey” and a live album released in 2021 called “We Are the Gathering Field.”

So, if you are a fan of ‘90s rock, stream The Gathering Field wherever you stream music.

Notorious as part of any college student’s life, Indiana is full of national brand fast-foods.

Those chains, although not the healthiest, are infamous for their quick and cheap food. Many also believe that the food is good, too, although it isn’t a five-star buffet.

Among Indiana’s great variety of fast-food chains, the closest outside of campus is the McDonald’s on Wayne Avenue. The restaurant is known for classics such as the Big Mac, the McFlurry and the McFries. McDonald’s is also famous for its daily deals, such as free McNuggets or $1 fries.

“Out of the fast-food places around IUP, McDonald’s is definitely my favorite,” Sydney Greitz (freshman, exploratory) said. “I like the deals; I can get a lot of food by such a low price because of them.”

Though, Greitz added that she doesn’t go to McDonald’s often.

“It’s good every now and then, like maybe once a month,” she said. “But definitely not often; that’s not healthy, and it isn’t good enough for that.”

While Greitz claims not to go to McDonald’s daily, other students visit the Chick-fil-A on campus every day. The chicken-focused restaurant has a menu composed of everything chicken, ranging from nuggets to spicy chicken sandwiches.

Being the only national fastfood restaurant on campus, Chickfil-A’s biggest attraction among IUP students is the fact that they can spend their Flex money while purchasing there, something that no other national fast-food chain can claim in Indiana.

“I definitely go to Chick-fil-A often just because I can pay there with Flex,” Ashley Tejeda (freshman, criminology) said. “It’s good because then I don’t have to spend any real money. I’m only using what I already paid for on my meal plan.”

Although adored by some students, Chick-fil-A is the most polarizing fast-food place in the area.

(Facebook) McDonald’s has a variety of cold drinks like iced coffe.

This is due to the fact that, up until last year, the company donated to organizations that took anti-LGBTQ stances, leading to a major controversy on social media, which led to a “change of focus” on the company’s philanthropy projects.

As of 2021, the company hasn’t donated to any anti-LGBT organization, although the company’s president claims it won’t rule out campaigns just because they are faith-based. The scandal as a whole made some students skeptical of the place.

“I think it’s good that they stopped with the donations, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to become their biggest fan overnight,” Madison Reddick (freshman, pre-med) said. “I just don’t really like the idea of buying a sandwich and accidentally funding a crazy conversion center, so I try to go without it even though I like the food.”

Another polarizing issue, although on a lighter topic, is the eternal rivalry between Taco Bell and Chipotle. Both are located right outside of campus in opposite directions, and both are focused on a fast-food approach to Tex-Mex cuisine, leading students divided between which side to pick.

On Taco Bell’s side, students claim that it has a better price and speed (which is what fast-food is all about), while the other side claims that Chipotle feels closer to what Mexican food is supposed to be.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you prefer a Big Mac or a quesadilla. At the end of the day, you’re guaranteed to have gone at least once to one of Indiana’s fast-food restaurants during your stay at IUP.

Sports

Sports Editor: Jeff Hart – J.R.Hart2@iup.edu Lead Sportswriter: Austin Smith – A.S.Smith7@iup.edu

IUP tennis serves up perfect weekend, even winning in the dark AUSTIN SMITH

Staff Writer A.S.Smith7@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The Crimson Hawks tennis team was excited to be back in action after three weeks of COVID-19-related postponements.

The Hawks fought in two matches this past weekend against Slippery Rock and Indiana University East, which pushed their record to 3–2.

The Hawks started with a victory Saturday, winning the matchup 4–3 against Slippery Rock. Lydia Vlochu (freshman public health) managed to pick up a three-set win in the singles match to wrap up the match against Slippery Rock. Vlochu ended up defeating Gabi del Val del Toro 6–3, 1–6 and 6–0. IUP had a 3–2 lead in the series.

Slippery Rock had a slight edge later, but Karolin Kirchtag (junior, sports administration) and Katy Graydon (freshman, undecided) teamed up in the doubles match with a 7–6 win. When the match was tied at 2–2, Graydon picked up a huge win, defeating former PSAC singles champion Lacey Cohen by a score of 6–2.

This was Graydon’s best, thirdstraight singles win this season.

The Hawks had a date the day after with Indiana University East and defeated them by a score of 5–2.

Those wins push the Hawks to a 3–2 overall record and 2–0 in conference play.

This match was a little more interesting as the time got pushed back due to the rain on IUP’s Maple Street Courts, moving the matchup to Ebensburg.

“It is not the first time a match has moved later in the day due to weather complications,” Idoia Huerta (junior, molecular biology) said.

“However, is the first time that the match has been moved to another location and postponed super late in the same day. We wanted to win against Indiana East; we were pumped up after beating Slippery Rock the day before.

“We came out and had great energy since the beginning. We got the doubles points, and that helped at the beginning of the matches.

With only three courts, the team

Sports

(IUP Athletics) Idoia Huerta (top) and Laura Dunarova (bottom) are looking to lead this squad to victory this season. was more concentrated, and the cheering helped a lot. It felt like a normal practice at Ebensburg, since we usually practice until 8 p.m. The time didn’t affect our performance; we were mentally ready for it.”

“I’ve never played a match that late at night before,” Abby Jones (freshman, environmental engineering) said. “It required a lot more focus and extra push. It was tough as I was tired from the whole day, but we got the job done.”

The Hawks flew out of the stormfront with stellar victories in all the

doubles matches. Both Vlachou and Huerta got 7–5 victories at the No. 1 spot. As far as the singles matches, it was nothing different than the success they had in their singles matches.

IUP took the first four victories out of the six singles matches. Graydon moved up to the No. 2 spot with a score of 6–3. Laura Dunarova (junior, accounting) kept her winning streak going to three with a booming 6–1 victory at the No. 4 spot.

After a long time off, the Hawks capped off the weekend with two

March 31, 2021

huge victories.

“This season is the season that the returning players have been waiting for a year,” Huerta said.

“This is the season where the new freshmen get to know what college competitions look like and feel like.

This season is the season to show that IUP is here ready to get another PSAC and regional tournament title.

We started the season really strongly and had to stop for three weeks.

Nobody likes that.

“Being undefeated this weekend means to us that we are ready, and

we got chances to win against every rival in our schedule.”

The Hawks look like they are making every second of this season to count, for even with the confusion of the schedule and have some huge expectations they are leaning on right now.

“This is a weird year for everyone but also for me,” Huerta said. “We got three freshmen and a transfer in the same year. For the spring semester, it’s challenging because we are a young team.

“Being captain of the team has me in a position where I need to make sure that everyone feels at home, everyone knows their role on the team, and everyone feels part of the program.”

“To achieve the PSAC West title, we need to keep united as one and keep putting in the work,” Huerta said. “For me, I think I need to keep leading the team in a healthy supportive environment that makes us ready to go.”

This supportive environment is also reflected in the younger players.

“My teammates, they support me in a lot of aspects and keep me going,” Jones said. “I think I need to hold my own and try my hardest to perform well in all my matches.”

The Hawks’ having a mix of veteran and younger talent will only make future success appear even more over time.

“Our season is exigent and concentrated from March to May,” Huerta said. “We have many matches and different rivals where we need to give our 100 percent. Injuries are also part of the road, and we need to take care of them.

“This season, injuries and health concerns due to the pandemic have affected my performance and the team’s. We came back after three weeks of rest, and (it) is tough to be 100-percent ready.

“The team is coming together and supporting everyone to make sure we are 110-percent ready at every match.”

The Crimson Hawks have strong guidance from multiple players as they moved on to their next matchup at home against West Virginia State on Saturday. The Hawks have a full schedule ahead and look to fly

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March 31, 2021

Sports

Track and field opens up season at Lock Haven STEVEN LANGDON Editor-in-Chief S.Langdon@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

Track and field is back in Crimson Hawks nation.

The team traveled to Lock Haven University for the Elliston Earlybird Open on Saturday afternoon. There were not any team scores for the event.

Nickeela Austin (graduate student, psychology) jumped her way to first place and an NCAA provisional qualifying distance in the triple jump with a distance of 39.86 feet. She also finished first in the long jump with a distance of 18.11 feet and helped the 4x100 relay to a second-place finish.

“I feel good about my performance; I am glad I was able to hit the NCAA qualifying jump standard,” Austin said. “That was definitely one of my goals going into the meet, and I’m grateful I was able to accomplish it.”

This was also the first meet for the track and field team since the PSAC Indoor Championships on March 1 last year. Austin and coach Joey Zins expressed their emotions.

“I had mixed feels of excitement and anticipation because I was away from track for so long; however, I was very eager to get back on the runway,” Austin said.

“Overall, it was a joyous feeling and I’m very appreciative that I’m able to compete.”

“It’s been surreal a little bit,” Zins said. “I think they are really excited to be back out there.

They have been practicing since the fall, and it is nice to see they able to compete.”

The women’s team collected two more first-place finishes on the track. Jessica Jones (graduate student, mathematical and computer sciences) won the 800-meter with a time of 2:17.92. Ali Small (graduate student, employment, and labor relations) won the 10,000-meter race, finishing in 40:55.89.

IUP also had the second-place finishers in both events with Paige Wess (freshman, nursing) finishing the 800-meter in 2:24.67, and Briana Herr (junior, food and nutrition) finishing the 10,000-meter race in 41:19.48.

On the men’s side, Trejon Turner (freshman, finance and legal studies) cleared 6.40 feet to capture first place in the high jump. It was his first collegiate meet.

Zins had nothing but praise for Turner saying, “that was a great debut for him.”

Turner is someone who stands out in Zins’ mind, and being only a freshman, there is still more to come from the Crimson Hawks’ new bright talent.

Another standout on the women’s side was Cahsia Page (freshman, fashion, and interior design) who had a third-place finish in both the 100-meter (12.75) and 200-meter (26.30). Tori James (freshman, nursing) also had a third-place finish in the 1500-meter with a time of 5:02.50.

The team also had some fourthplace winners with Emma Alexy in the 1500-meter (5:12.60), Stephanie Ketterman (junior, kinesiology) in the triple jump (34.02 feet) and Cassidy Kline (freshman, safety sciences) in the 400-meter (1:00.92).

The men’s team did not have any other top three finishers apart from Turner but had several in the top five.

On the track, the team had several fourth-place finishers.

There was Justin Jones (graduate student, political science) in the 800-meter (1:59.21), Addison Singleton (sophomore, finance) in the 110-meter hurdles (16.79) and Nathan Skodi (senior, geography) in the 3000-meter (9:19.64). In the field, Jayden Thomas finished fourth in the men’s high jump clearing 6.23 feet.

IUP will be competing in the Dave Labor Invitational at Slippery Rock University on Saturday.

Zins said the team will not have as many athletes competing as last time due to Easter break.

(IUP Athletics) Nickeela Austin (bottom) had a strong performance Saturday.

IUP softball has tough weekend against Seton Hill AUSTIN SMITH

Staff Writer A.S.Smith7@iup.edu @ThePennIUP

The Crimson Hawks softball team had a date with Seton Hill this past weekend and came out flying both offensively and defensively in Game 1.

They took Game 1 on Friday by a score of 6–5. IUP was up big by 5–0 going into the fourth inning.

Kaitlyn Beers (graduate student, criminology) started off the offensive fury with an RBI double in the first, and Renee Wall (senior, criminology) would add an RBI double after,

which made it 3–0. Beers would continue her stellar season with another homerun – her sixth of the year – in the third inning. It ended up a two-run shot, which made it 5–0.

Seton Hill got the momentum in their favor a little bit, but IUP responded and made it 6–2. Seton Hill again would get back on top and make it a very close game at the end.

IUP had Hope Jones (sophomore, psychology) on the mound, and Jones was

Kaitlyn Beers

beyond phenomenal in the game.

In a little over six innings played, she gained 14 strikeouts, which is a new career high for her and already her third game with 12 strikeouts or more. Jones is now at a 4–1 record start this season.

Game 2: the nightcap was a different story for the Hawks as they fell by a score of 15–1.

Seton Hill put up a fast four runs in the first and seven in the fourth inning, which gave them the huge advantage early. Jacy Henderson (freshman, exploratory) had the lone run for the Hawks in the game.

In Saturday’s games, the Hawks also dropped both by scores of 7–1 and 6–1.

In the first game of the dou-

Renee wall

bleheader loss, the Hawks did manage to get off to an early lead.

Wall started it off with an early homerun in the first. Seton Hill would respond, though, with four runs in the second to steal the offensive mojo. Jones was on the mound again but had a surprisingly rough start as she gave up four earned runs.

Despite the loss, this was only the second loss for Jones in the season.

In Game 2 of the doubleheader

Saturday, the Griffins got off to the early jumpstart this time around and took a 4–1 lead. Wall did get things going again for the Hawks with a double. Beers would follow with a single, which sent Wall home to score for the Hawks.

The Hawks were not able to stir much offense at all through the last three games against Seton Hill.

The Crimson Hawks will look to rebound and get back on their offensive fury with a two-game series at Shippensburg on Tuesday starting at 2:30pm.

Sports

March 31, 2021

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March 31, 2021

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WEEK IN REVIEW

Junior Nicholas Ward finished fourth overall at last week’s Crofton Invitational in Crofton, Md., with a score of 7-over-par 151, helping lead IUP to a second-place team finish in the Crimson Hawks’ first completed tournament of the season.

(IUP Sports Information)

Golfers tie for second Hawks finish strong in first full tournament

By IUP Sports Information

The IUP men’s golf team showed out in the South, the Crimson Hawks finished third at the University of Mount Olive’s The Trojan tournament this week at the Walnut Creek Country Club.

IUP shot a 33-over 897 in the two-day, three-round tournament in North Carolina, finishing two strokes back of second-place Catawba (895). Host Mount Olive ran away with the team title by shooting a 16-under 848.

Fayetteville finished fourth with an 899 and Chowan was fifth with a 961.

The Crimson Hawks shot a 7-over 295 in the second round, which was the fifth-best team score of the tournament.

Some individuals stood out over the two-day tournament.

Shaun Fedor (sophomore, marketing) tied for 11th with a 3-over 219. His best round was his first, shooting an even-par 72. He was one of four IUP starters who finished in the top-20 on the player leaderboard.

Jack Buccigross (junior, mar-

keting) and Jeremy Eckenrode (graduate student, business) tied for 18th with an 11-over 227 and junior Nicholas Ward (junior, marketing) tied for 20th with a 12-over 228.

IUP joined winner Mount Olive as the only two teams with at least four players in the top-20.

Luke Lestini (freshman, finance), sophomore Richie Kline (sophomore, finance), redshirt sophomore Colin Walsh (redshirt sophomore, kinesiology) and Jack Steve (junior, finance and accounting) also finished to complete the 43-man field. Lestini tied for 27th with a 15-over 231, Kline finished 37th with a 20-over 236, and Walsh and Steve tied for 43rd with a 25-over 243.

This tournament was hot off the heels of the Hawks’ success the week prior.

Competing at the Crofton Invitational in Crafton, Md., on March 22-23, the Crimson Hawks put their opening-round struggles behind them and closed the tournament strong to finish in a tie for second place in the 10team field.

Ward shot a 2-over-par 74 in the second round on March 23, leading IUP to a team score of

18-over 306 on the second day of the tournament. IUP’s 306 was the second-best team round of the tournament, behind only Davis & Elkins’ 304 in the second round.

Davis & Elkins won the tournament with a two-day score of 38-over 614. IUP finished 12 strokes behind, at 50-over 626, tying West Chester and Millersville for second place.

Ward posted a two-day score of 7-over 151 to finish fourth in the individual standings.

Buccigross tied for seventh with an 11-over 155, and Klein, who competed as an individual and not part of the five-man team, tied for 10th with a 12-over 156.

Eckenrode finished in a tie for 16th with a 15-over 159, sophomore Fedor tied for 24th (17-over 161), and Colin Walsh tied for 35th (21-over 165).

Aside from Kline, other IUP golfers competing as individuals were Steve (T-16th) and Lestini (T-35th).

Jack Buccigross

Sports The Crimson Hawks’ 306 in the second round was 14 strokes better than their first-round score of 320, which had them sitting in sixth place halfway through the tournament. But a strong second day moved IUP four spots on the leaderboard. Although played in Crafton, Md., the tournament was officially held by Cal U. This was the first completed tournament of the 2021 season for the IUP golf team.

A week prior, on March 15, the Crimson Hawks opened their season at the Cherokee Valley Invitational, hosted by North Greenville University (S.C.) in what was IUP’s first competition since winning the 2019 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship 521 days earlier.

The two-day, two-round tournament was limited to just one day and 18 holes due to inclement weather. IUP shot a 14-over 302 and finished tied for fifth place, 16 strokes behind winner and host North Greenville (286).

Fedor led the way for the Crimson Hawks, tying for fifth place individually with an even-par 72.

The Hawks will have little time to celebrate as they prepare for West Chester’s Cottrell Invitational. It will be the final competition prior to the 2020-21 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. IUP is looking to defend its 29th conference title in Hershey.

BASEBALL: Shortstop Harrison Pontoli’s (sophomore, finance) hitting streak to start the season reached 11 games, and Nick Hess (senior, marketing) hit his first home run of the season, but it was not nearly enough for the Crimson Hawks as they were swept in a fourgame weekend series with national power Seton Hill.

Ranked 11th in NCAA Division II, Seton Hill defeated IUP by scores of 7-1 and 14-0 at Dougherty Field on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep. A day earlier, the Griffins swept the doubleheader in Greensburg,

Shaun Fedor

winning 12-0 and 5-1.

Pontoli went a combined 3-for6 with a run scored in Friday’s doubleheader. He went 2-for-3 in the opening game, accounting for half of IUP’s four hits. In the nightcap, he was 1-for-3 and scored on Colton Burd’s (sophomore, criminology) groundout for IUP’s lone run of the day.

On Saturday, Pontoli went 2-for-4 in the opener to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

In the second game, he was 0-for-2 before leaving the game in the fourth inning due to health and safety concerns.

Hess provided IUP with its only run in Saturday’s doubleheader, hitting a solo shot to center field in the first game as part of his 2-for-3 day. Third baseman Austin Mueller was a bright spot in the 14-0 loss in the second game, going 2-for-3.

Pontoli’s 11-game hit streak was the longest by an IUP player since Chris Eisel (senior, natural science) finished the 2018 season on a 13-game streak.

IUP has lost 11 consecutive games since opening the season with a 5-1 win over Malone on March 7. The Crimson Hawks are 1-11 and 0-4 in the PSAC West Division. Meanwhile, Seton Hill is 12-0 and the lone remaining undefeated team in the PSAC. LACROSSE: Both of the IUP women’s lacrosse team’s scheduled games last week were postponed or canceled.

The game at Gannon, scheduled for March 23, was postponed, and rescheduled for April 22. Meanwhile, Saturday’s scheduled game at Edinboro has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.

As with all IUP athletic events during the 2021 spring semester, games are subject to cancelation, postponement or other changes as warranted by the health and safety guidelines.

Harrison Pontoli