The Towerlight (Jan. 31, 2017) by The Towerlight

Towson’s campus and community news source

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Jan. 31, 2017

“I’m all in”

The new Vice President, Leah Cox, and the campus climate she faces, pg. 7

Photo by Cody Boteler, photo illustration by Jordan Stephenson / The Towerlight

January 31, 2017

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January 31, 2017

Week of 1/31-2/4

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Editor-in-Chief Cody Boteler Senior Editor Sam Shelton

CALENDAR

News Editor Sarah Rowan Assit. News Editors Bailey Hendrick Marcus Dieterlie Assoc. Arts Editors Taylor Deville Kristin Helf

Sports Editor Jordan Cope Assit. Sports Editor Karuga Koinage Staff Writers Lauren Cosca

Jan

Nick Mason Sydney Douglass Desmond Boyle Alaina Tepper

Study Abroad 101 Psychology Building, 408. 2-2:30 p.m. Learn the basics of study abroad at these daily meetings for interested students.

Bailey Hendricks Theresa Schempp Mary-Ellen Davis Jessica Ricks Sarah Van Wie Amanda Carrol Nicole Shakhnazarova Rohan Mattu Photo Editor Alex Best Staff Photographers Cody Boteler

Feb

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RA Information session

UU Potomac Lounge, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. If you want to become an RA, you HAVE to attend at least one of these sessions.

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Syllabus Week Saturday

Campus and around town It’s the end of the first week of classes. Hopefully things aren’t too stressful yet. Take time this weekend to enjoy yourself. Just don’t get so drunk that you end up as a story in The Towerlight.

Circulation Staff Shawn Halerz

West Village Commons, 306, 5:30-6 p.m. This training will give you all the information you need to sign up for a pilot composting program on campus.

First Friday of Service Maryland Food Bank, noon-5 p.m. Transportation will be provided for students who pre-register online to package and sort food at the Maryland Food Bank. Email thowar6@students.towson.edu

Feb

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Minimester and classes starting

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The Towerlight print edition is published by students of Towson University on Tuesdays. The Towerlight is owned by nonprofit Baltimore Student Media Inc., BaltimoreStudentMedia.com. The Towerlight’s advertising deadlines are firm: Wednesday noon for space; Friday noon for art. Cllassifieds appear onlline and in print and are self-service at TheTowerlight.com/classifieds. We encourage letters to the editor and online feedback. Commentaries, letters to the editor, editorial cartoons and other editorials express the opinions of their authors and not necessarily the views of the newspaper. The Towerlight does not discriminate based on age, color, condition of handicap, marital status, national origin, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. ©2016 by The Towerlight, 8000 York Rd, Towson, MD 21252. All rights reserved.

Residential composting training

1st day of class: Ima get all A’s. Easy! Midterms week: a couple Bs and Cs won’t kill me Finals week: Ayo how TF am I gonna pass this shit?? @Towsonwaves

Everyone from Towson complaining about how blown they are classes start in a few days, and here I am, sitting in my second week of class @Salad_Czar

this guy in my online class just got smart with me on our discussion board like I won’t find him on Towson’s campus @caitlyn_po

towson is rlly going 2 make drive 60 miles for a fuggin class I need to graduate idk whether to laugh or cry @srobester

Opinion

January 31, 2017

Feminist formalities It might be a long semester instead of assuming that we know.

@MeganFemmily

Welcome back. I hope you had the chance to catch up on some sleep and some Netflix, but let’s be honest, this break was far from chill. The events of the past few weeks have given me so much fuel for columns that I just don’t even know what to do with it. I have so many thoughts and opinions and emotions, and they all want to pour out of me at once. It’s like 72 puppies saw a biscuit in another room and are all trying to get through the door at once, achieving nothing but forming a giant lump of frustrated fluff. It sounds a lot cuter than it is. Something I’ve noticed through our current political climate is how complicated feminism can seem. Feminism, while always remaining necessary, has really had to fight lately, and it’s going to have to fight even harder in the coming years. In order for feminism to work the way women all over the world need it to, it must first be clearly defined. Y’all know how much I like making lists by now. So here we go. This is a short list of what I feel must be included within feminism in order for it to operate in a productive way. I shall call it the Five Feminist Formalities. 1. Feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit. This is the most important aspect of feminism. We can’t just say that women need to be equal to men without acknowledging that there are factors keeping women from being equal to each other. We can’t be “colorblind,” and we can’t pretend we don’t see differences. We have to understand that based on race, class, gender, religion, sexuality, etc., women have different experiences. Feminism doesn’t ignore difference: It fights for difference to exist safely and proudly within each of us. 2. Feminism will listen to and amplify the voices of those living under the weight of different/multiple oppressions without interrupting or talking over them. Whew, that was a mouthful. It just means that we will educate ourselves by reading blogs, listening to music, watching movies, and actively listening when someone chooses to talk about their experience. It is the duty of a feminist, particularly a cis-gendered, white feminist (like me), to gain understanding and ask, “How can I help?”

3. Feminism will be transinclusive. Trans-women are women. Point blank, period. This goes back to the first and second formalities, but it’s been such a large issue lately that I felt it deserved it’s own. We have to listen to, respect, and fight for the safety of our trans-sisters (and brothers and those who do not identify with a specific gender). If it is trans-exclusionary, it is not feminism. It’s totally rad for a feminist to love their female-assigned body! We just have to understand that that body is not essential to womanhood and especially not to feminism. 4. Feminism will please-dear-lordfor-the-love-of-god stop shaming women for doing what they want with their bodies. This formality includes slut-shaming, outfit-shaming, body-shaming. The goal here is to lift women up. Tearing women down is not a feminist action. I don’t know, I just feel like this one should be obvious by now. But also, you cannot try to impose laws based on your beliefs onto other women and still be a feminist. You just can’t. Trust that women know how to treat their own bodies and understand that opinions are great -- I love opinions, I’ve got YUUUGE opinions (sorry) -- but we can’t be going around telling other people they can’t do something with their own body just because we may not like it. 5. Feminism will always aim to do and be better. A true feminist knows that they don’t know everything, that they’re going to be wrong sometimes. A feminist will listen to why they are wrong, learn from their mistakes and move forward. It’s part of human nature to be defensive, especially when we feel uncomfortable. But we have to be willing to feel uncomfortable sometimes, because that’s how we grow. I feel strongly that if a person does not follow those five formalities, they are not a feminist. Being a feminist is an active fight to uplift all women. It’s more than buying a T-shirt with the word scribbled across it (don’t get me wrong those are cute). It’s a tiring, heartbreaking, inspirational, frustrating, flawedwhen-it’s-wrong-but-empoweringwhen-it’s-right-movement that gives hope to me and millions of others. -- Read the rest of this column online at thetowerlight.com.

CODY BOTELER Editor-in-Chief @codyboteler

Welcome back, Tigers. Or, if this is your first semester with Towson—welcome to campus. So far, 2017 has been busy and, frankly, a little overwhelming. And, speaking of overwhelming, I graduate in May, so that’s terrifying. Donald Trump is president. So far, every day of his presidency has come with an announcement of some policy proclamation, or executive order, or rumor, or drafted memo, or something, that has seemed, somehow, more striking and dramatic than the rest. There has been a lot. A lot of talk and a lot of action from the administration. There’s a lot that I could say about what’s been going on so far, but I won’t. Because, more than obsessions over crowd size, more than lies about voter fraud and more than gag orders at federal agencies, what bothers me is

the constant and unrelenting demonization of the media. The New York Times published an interview with Steve Bannon, a senior counselor to the president, where Bannon called the media the “opposition party” and said we had “no power.” President Trump continues to call CNN “fake news” and prop Fox News up as the only media source with any credibility. The press secretary has called, continually, on nontraditional— and, frankly, un-credible—news sources in the White House Briefing Room. Bannon and Trump are trying to paint “the media” as a monolithic, unflinching and conspiratorial entity. This is—and I promise you—this is not the case. “The media,” just like any other profession, is made up of thousands of dedicated, hardworking and underpaid producers, reporters, editors, researchers and other news-types. We don’t all get together on weekends and talk about how to bring down

the Trump administration or how to prop up Hillary Clinton. (Besides, if there were a media conspiracy in favor of HRC, do you honestly think her damn emails would have been discussed to death?) Our dedication isn’t to political party or personal gain. Our only agenda is the truth. We tell the truth by speaking truth to power and by holding the powerful accountable. Journalism is a form of public service. We serve our public by seeking the truth, reporting what we find and correcting when we make mistakes. But we can’t do our jobs or perform our service, without the public’s trust. The press isn’t protected by the First Amendment because the Founders wanted the media to bend the knee, toe the line and be stenographers. A strong and independent press was enshrined in the Constitution to help protect America from falling into tyranny.

Illustration by Daniel Andrews/ The Towerlight

Opinion

January 31, 2017

Occupy Towson was a scam There's a rhetorical question that has often been asked in the Black Student Union office whenever the University does something either on behalf of black students or seemingly on behalf black students. Since Occupy Towson about a year and a half ago, this question has gained popularity in Black Towson's discourse in reference to University's selection of Rae Sremmurd to perform at Tigerfest to the University's agreement to permit the Black Student Union to direct Homecoming this year and more. The question is: “Who said Occupy Towson didn't work?” The question is always asked in a fun, joking way as a means to speak to the progress made on Black demands by the University and the new institutional relationships built between the Black Student Union and all the other major institutional networks from the SGA to CAB to the Administration itself. The idea behind the rhetorical question is: Occupy Towson worked. We got what we want: Rae Sremmurd, SGA's companionship and a Black Homecoming. But if this is the case, if our

demands have been met, if what the University looks like now is what the vision of Occupy Towson was, then it's safe to say Occupy Towson as such, was a scam. It was the operationalization of a distinct form of conning. It was a dream without vision; a promise without much promise. It was a moment, and not a movement. It's important to say this because: If Occupy Towson "worked," then Occupy Towson had no intention to create radical change within the University, but only wished to create an opening for a distinct few black cishet liberals to have easier access to the levers of power at the continued expense of the "rabble-rousing, never satisfied" black students, the triplymarginalized trans and queer black students, the generally dishonored and disrespected black staff, and the more radical and uncompromising black (adjunct) faculty. Occupy Towson, if it is true that it "worked," was a scam because it was a structural adjustment program masquerading as a program of black radicalism. Even if one looks analytically at the

University's broadcasted "Progress on the Student Demands,” one is overwhelmed with the sense of shallowness in the questions posed to the University administrators and notice that the University's quantitative focus in regards to the nature of black demands against anti-blackness and white supremacy has yet to, and probably will never attempt to, wrestle with the more qualitative aspects of the demands. To ask for an administration to focus less on increasing the numbers of black people in certain positions, but more on abolishing the quality of anti-blackness and white supremacy is to question the legitimacy of the entire University apparatus itself. The latter question doesn't ask for a Black University President in order to challenge anti-Blackness and white supremacy. It asks instead: Why must there be a University President at all? And how does the bureaucratic model, which is often called the neoliberal model of the University, sustain and perpetuate anti-blackness and white supremacy not based on who holds the position, but by the very existence

AMANDA CARROLL Towerlight Contributor

pertaining to pre-existing conditions and coverage for young adults. Any health condition can be “pre-existing” if diagnosed before you enroll in a healthcare plan -- including asthma, diabetes, cancer and mental health conditions. Prior to the ACA, if you had any health condition, your coverage could be dropped or denied altogether. In terms of young adult coverage, what is key is that children can stay on their parents’ healthcare plans through the age of 26 years old. This enables them to seek higher education, start a career and even start a family with the security of constant coverage. The next notable category of ACA provisions is cost. Before the ACA passed, health insurance companies could set arbitrary limits on the maximum costs they would pay for your coverage. Any costs beyond that fell on the patient to pay. With the removal of lifetime limits, expensive events, such as hospitalizations, do not threaten your ability to get coverage in the future. The other provision, gender parity, is simple: insurance companies can no longer charge you more because

of your gender. Until 2010, it was commonplace for women to be charged more for coverage. The third category that can be used to group provisions together is health care itself. Under the ACA, the most notable provision in regards to care is complete coverage of preventative care. This means that depression screenings, vaccines, mammograms, STI screenings and other preventive measures are performed without cost to the patient. This is important because preventative care can identify issues before they escalate -- and become more costly and intensive to treat. Also worth noting in regards to care is that consumers can choose their primary care physician and emergency room care without worrying about barriers from their insurance companies. Where the ACA has succeeded is in actualizing its goal of decreasing the number of uninsured Americans by extending care to previously shutout populations. -- Read the rest of this letter online at thetowerlight.com

of the position in the first place? When black and brown adjuncts and staff members are starving, struggling to survive off low wages and no healthcare, when they are living their lives under the constant possibility of antiblack, sexist and xenophobic violence in and outside the University, the question of quantitative change should be questioned. Numbers mean nothing, if the structure itself is at fault. Occupy Towson was a scam, in the first instance when it presented an ultimatum to former Interim President Tim Chandler: Do the Demands or Quit Your Job? Occupy Towson should have said: Quit Your Job, plain and simple. The reason for such a framing is that it's not about what the University Administration does or does not do that presents problems or solutions to anti-blackness and white supremacy. It's about the fact that anything they can or will do will always result in the sustained project of anti-Blackness and white supremacy because it is the model of the University itself that is to blame. I actually like Dr. Chandler as a person,

JOHN GILLESPIE Towson University student, local activist

we've talked often and I think he's a wonderful man whose scholarship on race and rugby I've found interesting, to say the least. However, any focus of his niceness misses the point. From its exclusionary admissions process, to its continued project of gentrification, to the enormously asymmetrical wage gap between admin and staff, to its reinforcement of heteronormativity and cis-privilege, to its complicity in Academic anti-blackness to its use of products constructed via prison slave labor, the University is not a microcosm of the anti-black World, the University is the powerhouse that fuels it. And that can only be changed through a more radical engagement with the structure, not the niceness or blackness of the individuals manipulating the structure. Nevertheless, there is some hope for Occupy Towson. There is a way for us to save its legacy or recover its radicalism. The hope lies in the fourth demand: the relationship between the University and the Prison system. -- Read the rest of this letter online at thetowerlight.com

Obamacare is under attack Concerning If you have paid any attention to the legislative agenda of the 115th Congress, there’s no doubt you’ve probably heard contentious debate about the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or, as it is more commonly known, Obamacare. Enacted in 2010, this sweeping federal law promised quite simply to provide opportunities for “affordable care for all Americans.” Before delving into the debate over ACA, it is important to understand the fundamentals of the law itself. Health insurance and legislation are murky concepts to understand, and the ACA lies at the intersection of both. Without detailing every provision included in the 10,535-page law, here are some highlights to take note of for a foundational understanding. These highlights can be sorted into categories, as identified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): coverage, cost and care. In regard to coverage, the main provisions to take note of are those

school spirit

File photo by Jordan Cope/ The Towerlight

A handful of fans attend a women’s basketball game in SECU Arena. RICHARD VATZ Towson University Professor

I am watching the Towson University-Fairleigh Dickinson basketball game, and it’s too early to say who will win, but Towson is playing hard and never gives up. This is a gutsy, well-coached team. It is thrilling to watch them. Even the games this team has lost, a friend of mine observes, were close, hard-fought games. So why are the stands at our great, beautiful, and nearly new arena consistently so devoid of students? Is Towson spiritless? Where are the student groups who

receive so much support, financial and otherwise, from the University? Why doesn’t our otherwise excellent vice president of Student Affairs tell these groups that they are embarrassing the university? There are only a little over 5000 seats, and there are fewer than 200 students at the game. Tell me you’re not serious. Where are you, students? Is this a legacy you want to leave? (Editor’s note -- Towson men’s basketball played Fairleigh Dickinson at SECU Arena Dec. 10, but The Towerlight was unable to publish at time of the letter’s original submission.)

January 31, 2017

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January 26, 2017

New diversity VP is “here to work” According to the latest publicly available data, 4,047 of the 22,343 students at Towson University during the Fall 2016 term were AfricanAmerican or Black. That’s a little over 18 percent. During that same time, 28 of the 597 tenure or tenure-track faculty at Towson were African-American or Black. That’s a little under 5 percent. “I know there’s a big need for more faculty and staff of color,” the inaugural Vice President of Inclusion and Institutional Equity Leah Cox said. “That’s obvious, looking at the stats and the data. It’s a little bit shocking and sad.” But, she added, “It’s nice to see that the numbers of students of color have jumped.” Between Fall 2015 and Fall 2016, Towson gained 301 black students, 108 Asian students and 145 Hispanic or Latino students. During that same time, Towson enrolled 307 fewer white students. President Kim Schatzel formally announced that the search for a vice president for the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity was one of her priorities in April 2016. In December, University administrators named Cox to position, following a prolonged search and screening process, in December, and she started

working at Towson Jan. 23. Tension and focus on race and diversity issues at Towson University first came to a head in November 2015, when a group of students occupied the Office of the President in the Administration Building and presented a list of demands. In The University System of Maryland, the University of Maryland University College is the only institution, aside from Towson, to have a vice president for diversity or inclusion. Cox said that holding the vice president position, a first at TU, is “a little scary.” “To be the first is always cool, because you can set your own agenda,” she said. “You get to forge out there and do stuff that nobody’s done. But, you know, you want to get it right.” Before coming to Towson, Cox worked at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Cox described Fredericksburg and Mary Washington as “definitely more southern,” than Towson or the Towson area, even though it’s only a state away. “When you walk down the street, on one of the corners of the sidewalk, they have preserved a slave block,” Cox said. “And I’m like, ‘Can you pull that thing down, please?’” The biggest difference between TU and Mary Washington, Cox said, is that she no longer feels like she has to fight against the tide.

“Just meeting with the number of people who were so excited,” Cox said. “And knowing that it’s coming from the top down is even better,” she added, referring to Schatzel’s repeatedly-stated commitment to diversity and inclusion. In an email, Santiago Solis, associate vice president for student affairs and diversity, said that he has invited Cox to tour the Center for Student Diversity to help her meet with students. “I look forward to partnering with Dr. Cox on various exciting projects and initiatives around diversity, inclusion, and social justice,” Solis wrote.

Concerns and contention Breya Johnson, a member of the Organized Network of Student Resistance and an assistant director in the Student Government Association, said she hasn’t been able to meet with Cox one-on-one yet. But, Johnson said, she had a pretty good impression. “I don’t think that she is going to be a yes-man,” Johnson said. Johnson added that she was concerned that Cox might become the only person on campus who focuses on diversity and inclusion issues, instead of a resource to develop institution-wide change. “I want her opinions and suggestions to be taken seriously,” Johnson said. “I’m very eager to see what happens next.” To that effect, Schatzel said in her

Cody Boteler/ The Towerlight Towson University’s inaugural Vice President of Inclusion and Institutional Equity Leah Cox sits at her desk in the Administration Building. The University officially introduced her in December 2016.

spring address that Cox’s position would be one that will “provide senior leadership” to design and deliver “diversity, inclusion and cultural competency efforts” to all of campus. And, if Cox’s own efforts go as she’s already planning, Johnson’s concerns may be allayed. “It can’t be just me, it’s got to be everybody,” Cox said. “I do not want to just be hired because I’m a black woman. There’s more to me. I’m here to work. I really want to work.” Part of that work, for Cox, will be engaging the campus in different education and training programs. She said she wants to begin with Schatzel and other members of senior leadership, then move to the deans, then to faculty and staff, and then to students. To start, Cox said she’d be talking to “a bunch of people.” “I don’t want people to feel like, ‘Oh we’ve already done that,” she said, referring to any certain types of training or education. “I want to make sure we get it right.” Though, she said, she’s expecting and ready to deal with some resistance. “There’s always pushback,” Cox said. “That’s the nature of the game.” Some of that pushback could bubble up during the next University Senate meeting, scheduled for Feb. 6. Richard Vatz, an at-large member of the University Senate, said he interviewed candidates for Cox’s job. He said that Cox was “completely without doubt” that she’d bring training or education programs to the faculty. “A lot of us believe that is an abridgement of academic freedom,” Vatz said. Vatz said it’s “absolutely absurd” that such a small percentage of the faculty at a metropolitan university, like Towson, is made up of minorities. But, he said, the concept of academic freedom at a university means that people have a right to disagree. “You don’t train people to have certain positions,” Vatz said. He particularly objected to any sort of test or assessment that could hypothetically be delivered to faculty after a training session. If a majority of his colleagues in the senate agree, Vatz said, they could pass a sense of the senate resolution that would inform Cox of their objection to any mandatory training or testing of faculty that was not mandated from the federal government.

Forward Among other decorations scattered in her newly-moved-into office, Cox

has a framed “Sports Illustrated” magazine cover, displaying, in bright lettering, “TITLE IX,” the federal statute that forbids discrimination based on sex from “any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Since its implementation, discrimination under Title IX has been interpreted to include sexual violence and harassment. And, even though there’s uncertainty about how President Donald Trump’s Department of Education might handle Title IX investigations, Cox said she’s prepared--and not going to stop working to help students. “My thought is that even if there isn’t a federal guideline for us to follow that as administrators and individuals in higher ed, that we still need to be concerned about sexual assault and rape. So as a university, we still need to be on top of it,” Cox said. “I’m all in. My staff is training in a Title IX conference this week. I want to make sure that they’ve got it right.” Towson University officials confirmed that the Office of Institutional Equity is currently handling one Title IX investigation. An official with the Office of Student Conduct & Civility Education said that there are three ongoing Title IX investigations through that office. Towson has a webpage for reporting incidents. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, there are no Title IX incidents at Towson that are being investigated by federal authorities. Even though Cox knows the conversations about diversity and inclusion will start with race (“I walk into a room and you see that I’m black, I see that you’re white,” she said), she doesn’t want them to end there. Cox wants to get to work on a myriad of issues concerning diversity and inclusion--Title IX, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and staying on top of the Trump administration’s actions on DACA, for example. She said she also wants to look at the types of courses being offered on campus, to work on making sure courses “actually offer a diverse point of view.” Cox said she’s not on campus just to be a token. She showed that she’s ready to get to work on making sure campus is an inclusive space for everyone. “It’s not just about being invited to the party,” Cox said. “Anybody can go to the party. It’s about being asked to dance.”

News

January 31, 2017

Panda Express comes to WVC Towson University will replace Roadside BBQ, located in the West Village Commons, with a Panda Express this semester as part of the University’s regular brand rotation to stay current with industry trends and to vary dining options on campus. The decision to replace Roadside BBQ with Panda Express came after Auxiliary Services held a number of focus groups 18 months ago, wherein the department offered options by category to participants. “Panda was the overwhelming

choice in the Asian concept category,” Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services Dan Slattery said. “Also factoring in was its tremendous track record nationally for driving increased sales.” The new Panda Express, which will offer all menu options of a regular Panda Express, will open Jan. 30, the first day of the spring semester. The new venue will be located in the same place as the old Roadside BBQ in the West Village Commons food court; however, it will jut out slightly into the center area of the food court. “I would expect the change to be welcomed since students had an integral part in selecting this as a preferred option,” Slattery said. “I would

also guess that there may be a few folks disappointed that the Roadside concept will be gone.” Slattery said pricing at the new location will be comparable to other on-campus food options, but he explained that there are royalties that need to be paid for advertising the national brand and the privilege of offering it on campus, which could impact pricing. Auxiliary Services is currently “in the midst of dining master planning for the entire campus that will help inform our decision-making process for the next several years,” especially with regard to upcoming renovations to the University Union and the Glen Dining Hall, according to Slattery.

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Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Abuse Prevention

TKE trial will continue in April

Court records show victim could have faced “life threatening complications”

Cody Boteler/ The Towerlight

Two TKE members were charged with hazing and reckless endangerment of another member at the fraternity’s house (above).

Alexander James Cantor, 22, one of two men charged in an off-campus hazing incident, is scheduled to appear before the District Court of Baltimore County on April 25, 2017. Cantor appeared in court earlier on Jan. 17 where his attorney requested a postponement, citing a “glitch” within the County Clerk’s Office that had prevented witnesses for the defense from appearing. Cantor was originally supposed to appear before court in October, when Evan Palmer Francis, the other man charged, was sentenced to probation before judgement. Since then, Francis has returned as a student to Towson University. Cantor’s October trial was postponed because a witness could not be called. Cantor is not currently listed as a student at Towson. Cantor is charged with hazing and reckless endangerment in an incident that occurred at 333 Hillen Road in late March. In Maryland, hazing is a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and six months in jail; reckless endangerment is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and five years in jail. According to court documents, Towson University Police learned on April 3, 2016, that a student, Michael Nanan, was hospitalized at St. Joseph Medical Center for injuries sustained

during “an off-campus initiation event for a university sanctioned fraternity.” The fraternity in question, Tau Kappa Epsilon, has since been suspended from Towson and has not been reinstated. Nanan, who is still a student at TU, was made to perform “strenuous workouts” and had to consume “unknown substances,” which, court records say, included cat food and pickle juice. Nanan began to vomit blood after the event, and was eventually taken to the hospital by his mother, according to court records. Cantor, who, according to court records, was the “Hegemon,” or “Pledge Educator,” and organized the initiation events, tried to discourage Nanan from seeking medical treatment, told him not to disclose the cause of his injuries and orchestrated the removal of TKErelated items from Nanan’s dorm room, without his knowledge, while Nanan was hospitalized. A gastroenterologist who treated Nanan determined that Nanan suffered “moderate to severe burns” along his esophagus, stomach and portions of his intestines, according to court records. “Nanan’s injuries had the potential to cause life threatening complications, required an approximately week long hospitalization, and necessitated continued medical treatment,” court records say. The Towerlight will continue to follow this story and provide updates when possible.

News

January 31, 2017

The Division for Student Affairs offers the

Student LIFE Line Dec. 30: A non-affiliate was arrested for trespassing and cited for CDS violation at the Liberal Arts Building. Dec. 20: A resident student was cited for CDS violation at the Glen Complex. Dec. 19: TUPD is investigating a sexual assault that occured in a dorm room at Carroll Hall. Dec. 17: A commuter student was arrested for CDS violation on Burke Avenue. Dec. 16: TUPD is investigating a burglary at Smith Hall. Dec. 16. An unknown person(s) took University property from the Media Center.

s e Dec. 13: TUPD is investigating a fraud involving a resident student at the Public Safety Building.

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Dec. 9: A non-affiliate was arrested for trespassing at Carroll Hall. Dec. 8: A resident student had their property taken after leaving it unattended at Hawkins Hall.

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Dec. 8: TUPD is investigating a burglary at Linthicum Hall.

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Dec. 7: TUPD is investigating a theft from Tower A.

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e e

Dec. 7: A non-affiliate had their property taken after leaving it unattended at the Towson Center.

Dec. 7: At commuter student had their property taken after leaving it unattended at Linthicum Hall. Dec. 7: A commuter student had their property taken after leaving it unattended at the Media Center. Dec. 7: A commuter student received unwanted phone calls from a known person on campus. Dec. 6: A commuter student had their property taken after leaving it in an unlocked locker. Dec. 5: A resident student was cited for damaging a Towson University vehicle on Burdick Field. Dec. 5: A commuter student was cited for possession of a false ID at West Village Commons. Dec. 3: A non affiliate was issued a citation for CDS violation and three resident students were referred to OSCCE for alcohol violations at Tower A. The Towerlight’s “Police Blotter” is a representative sample of crimes occurring on and off campus. The blotter is not intended to be all inclusive. For a list of all crime reports, visit www.towson.edu/police.

This telephone line assists students with any question they may have about the University. LIFE Line is staffed and ready to assist callers Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After these hours, a voice mail message can be left and will be responsed to on the next business day. You can also contact us with your questions via e-mail at studentaffairs@towson.edu.

(5433) 33) 410-704-LIFE (54 E-mail: studentaffairs@towson.edu

News

January 31, 2017

News commentary: intersectionality I attended the Women’s March on Washington with my twin sister and three of my friends, and it was truly one of the most powerful events I have ever experienced. By the time we even arrived in the city that morning, there were so many people downtown that we couldn’t get anywhere close to the stage on Independence and 3rd St. Instead, we found ourselves about a block away on the other side of National Museum of the American Indian, waiting for the march to begin. Except, it didn’t happen - at least not on time. There were so many people downtown that we as a group physically couldn’t move. I was surrounded by people on all sides. For someone who gets anxious

Photo courtesy of Sarah Rowan. Protesters joined the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21 to raise their voices for women and marginalized groups. in large crowds, I was a little nervous, but I pushed through it and focused on what was going on around me. And it was beautiful. When we finally started to march, the body of peo-

ple slowly moved down Pennsylvania Avenue, stopping just short of the White House before turning around. -To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com.

Uptown renovation to begin in 2018 Retail Properties of America Inc. has released plans to renovate Towson Circle and Towson Square, which the company purchased from Heritage Properties Inc. and Cordish Companies in 2015, to make the area more accessible to members of the community. Towson Circle, south of Towson Town Center mall, is the epicenter of businesses in uptown Towson area. Towson Square, located just below the circle, is bounded by York Road, Joppa Road, Virginia Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue. The square houses a collection of stores, restaurants

and the Cinemark Towson Theater. The plans for the area, which were originally brought up in 2015 and are currently under review by the county council, are expected to be approved later this year, slating construction to begin in 2018. The redevelopment will bring underground retail on Joppa Road up to street level to increase accessibility to the stores in the circle, as well as add mid-rise apartments, creating 371 units. RPAI has paired with AvalonBay Communities on the residential portion of the project. Vice President of Development from RPAI Nick Over said the inspiration for the project came more from “necessity in that the current asset… is configured as a ‘mini-mall’

Cody Boteler/ The Towerlight

The Towson Circle (above) and Towson Square will undergo renovations to improve access to stores in the complex.

that is no longer feasible in today’s retail environment.” Over explained that the current configuration makes it so that 70 percent of leasable property is below ground, which “is simply not viable as retail and restaurant tenant’s today want walkable, street facing retail, in a pedestrian realm format.” “The inspiration came when we developed a design and re-configuration of the project that created a vertically integrated mixed-use, pedestrian friendly, double sided retail street along Joppa Road,” Over said. Baltimore County Councilman David Marks said the project will “bring the retail up to the street level, so that’s what you want to have in a downtown core. You want to have street level presence, so I think it’s definitely going to improve the look of that area.” When asked about the goals for this project, Over said RPAI wants to provide best in class retail and restaurants for the community. “This project will become the place for residents and students of Towson to visit for their retail shopping, entertainment, and dining needs,” he said. Marks said that while the redevelopment is going to lead to a lot of change in the area, the proposal is consistent with the vision for downtown Towson, which will lead to a higher density within the commercial core. -To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com.

Rodgers Forge Starbucks halted Baltimore County Councilman David Marks has withdrawn one legislative measure and deferred another after hearing community members’ concerns about a potential drive-through window at a Starbucks planned for 6900 York Rd. at the intersection of York Road and Regester Avenue. Marks introduced Bill 98-16, which would have required the planned Starbucks to conduct a traffic study to determine any effects their business may have on traffic congestion and pedestrian safety, on Dec. 19, but he recently withdrew the bill after facing opposition from County

Executive Kevin Kamenetz’s office. Community members are concerned that a Starbucks at that location would increase traffic in the area and pose a safety risk for students walking to and from schools in the area, and a local group held a protest against the drive-through on Dec. 9. Kris Henry, president of the Rodgers Forge Community Association, said that the Rodgers Forge, Stoneleigh, Idlewylde and Anneslie community associations contributed a total of $4,500 to commission their own traffic study, however they are still reviewing the report and are not ready to release any details. -To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com.

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Classifieds

Towerlight TheTowerlight.com/classifieds

CLASSIFIEDS help wanted HELPER WANTED Close to TU. Lawn work, cleaning, odds & ends. Flexible hours. Good wages. Start ASAP. Please call 410-321-0746. CONCERT PROMOTIONS INTERN Must Love Live Music! Knowledge of Social Media Promotions and Graphic Design a must. Local resident preferred. Could lead to paid position. Contact Asst@24-7booking.com CHILDCARE/PERSONAL ASST. Help mom of older girls & cat with errands & organizing. $14/hr + gas $$. 15-minute-drive, 695x22. Please call 410-336-9515 and leave message. PHYSICAL THERAPY TECH Part time for orthopedic PT practice in Timonium. Seeking motivated individuals with strong exercise background, excellent communication and people skills. 10-20 hours per week. Please include your hours of availability in a cover letter with your resume. Fax to 410-560-0877 or email to jlibertini@spineandsportsrehab.com HOTPOTS, a paint-your-own pottery studio in Timonium, is seeking F/T & P/T staff members. Apply now for a rewarding job with flexible hours & a fun environment. Call or email for an application: 410-561-3035. www.hotpots.net.

DOCTOR’S OFFICE Two positions available. One is assisting doctor with patient care. Perfect for pre-Physician Assistant or pre-nursing student. Second position is in patient reception. Hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday mornings or afternoons. Contact tereserobinson@gmail.com or 410 812-7863.

SEEKING PART-TIME RETAIL Sales Associate for a Boutique Liquor Store in Timonium. Assist with Wine Tastings & customer care. Flexible hours. $10/hour minimum salary based on experience. 410.252.7787

SEEKING BABYSITTER for schoolaged children ages 9 & 6 + occasional Dog Walker in Baldwin. Flexible hrs. $10-$15/hour based on experience. Contact: kristenwgraham@gmail.com

housing ROOMMATE NEEDED Two s ophomore females seeking third roommate for their 3 BR apt located near the Cinemark Towson Theater and new restaurants. $500/month including utilities and off-street parking. Please call Bill at 410-259-7237. 902 DARTMOUTH RD 4 BR House near TU. Garage & off-street parking. Pet friendly Washer/dryer $1550 + Utilities. Call Kyra, 410-532-2395

**ATTENTION** ALL WOMEN INTERESTED IN JOINING one of our 11 Panhellenic sororities… registration for spring recruitment is right around the corner!! You can sign up using this link: https://towson.mycampusdirector2.com The mandatory dates for recruitment are as follows (if you have class during these times, you are excused): Feb. 8, 2017 Orientation from 8-10pm Feb. 10, 2017 from 5-10pm Feb. 11, 2017 from 9am- 3pm Feb. 12, 2017 from 9am- 5pm Feb. 17, 2017 from 5-10pm Feb. 18, 2017 from 1- 6pm Feb. 19, 2017 Bid Day from 10am- 1pm In case of inclement weather, we have Feb. 24-26 as backup recruitment dates, so please be aware this is a possibility.

Arts

January 31, 2017

The beauty in “Busy Work” KRISTIN HELF Associate Arts & Life Editor @kristinelise_

Emily Dierkes graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in painting, the medium she thought she’d continue to explore for the rest of her life. Now, a third-year interdisciplinary artist and MFA candidate at Towson, Dierkes is experimenting with patchwork, sculpture and silkscreens -- art forms she’d never previously imagined. “They had me signed up as an interdisciplinary artist and I was like, ‘I’m not, I’m a painter, why does it say that?’” she said. “I’m a painter, and pretty soon I was making sculptures and installations and working with all kinds of stuff.” Since coming to Towson, Dierkes has made it a priority to say yes to everything. She was inspired by other MFA students who took full advantage of art department programs, and she kept herself open to suggestions from her MFA committee. “I came in making paintings and pretty soon they were like, ‘What if they were like this?’” she said.

“‘And what if they were 3D, and what if they were floor pieces, and what if you used fabric, and what if you made prints?’” “Busy Work,” Dierkes’ senior thesis show, will be on display in the Holtzman MFA Gallery from Feb. 10 through April. While “Busy Work” will showcase several of her paintings, it will also include Dierkes’ sculpture pieces, screenprints, a floor installation and a fabric installation to display of her growth as an interdisciplinary artist. The fabric installation involves a number of patchwork lines made up of colorful patterned quilt squares, each individual square hand-sewn to the next and each line made up of 58 squares, in honor of Dierkes’ mother, who recently passed away from cancer at the age of 58. Dierkes’ mother was a teacher, quilter and sewer who left her daughter with boxes of fabric leftover from the 1970s and 80s, along with a copious amount of sewing machines and glue guns. One afternoon, Dierkes began absentmindedly sewing patterns together while watching “Law & Order: SVU,” and when she stopped sewing and counted the squares, she

found she had sewn 58. “I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s crazy,’” she said. “[The installation] kind of might not make sense because it’s so colorful and cheery, but it all has to do with my grief.” The show’s title “Busy Work” comes from the idea of “women’s work,” or women keeping busy with feminine crafts like sewing and embroidery while their husbands work during the day. “A lot of what I’m doing is to keep busy for grief purposes, but also a lot of the work I’m doing is kind of this mindless work that I can do while I’m doing other things.” Dierkes will also display painted sculptures: glittery, multi-layered blocks sealed in epoxy resin that give off the illusion of space and look like tiny, stackable gems. Dierkes has already brought the sculptures to several art shows, where she allows viewers to touch the blocks and move them around. At one local art show, she saw two young boys eyeing the blocks and gave them permission to play with them. The boys, sons of adjunct art professor Sam Lacombe, arranged the blocks into one large display. While the boys’ display was different than how

Photos courtesy of Emily Dierkes

Artist Emily Dierkes creates sculptures and paintings, among other things. Dierkes had arranged it, she enjoys giving people options and seeing the variety of sculptures that can be made. “I give permission to people, like, ‘You can pick it up, you can touch it.’ And people’s faces change when you say that, like, ‘I can touch it?’ Because people are used to being like, ‘No, no, it’s fragile,’” she said. “There’s something really beautiful in giving permission to someone, so they can really spend some time with the object.” While Dierkes hadn’t initially considered a state school when applying to MFA programs, she was impressed with Towson’s professors, many of whom also teach at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), the abundance of art tools and equipment and the community feel of her program. Since choosing Towson, Dierkes has branched out thanks to inspiration from her fellow students and department personnel, especially professor Amanda Burnham. “I’ve been able to work with a lot of professors with a lot of different viewpoints. I haven’t only listened to the painting teachers or whatever,” she said. “On my committee I have a printmaker, a digital artist, a painter, two sculptors. I really like the way that Towson hooks you up with different types of artists and kind of allows you to find yourself.” Dierkes, in addition to being a full-time student, is also an art and English teacher at her alma mater, Roland Park Country School. She

began her MFA program thinking that a master’s degree would help her attain her dream job of art teaching, but Roland Park offered her the job soon after she enrolled at Towson. “There are some artists who are like, ‘I never want to teach,’ but I know it was always in the cards for me. It’s in my blood,” she said. “Also, as an artist to have a steady gig with health insurance, it’s amazing.” An added bonus, she said, is teaching AP Studio Art and helping the young women in the class grow as artists. “I’m really happy to be teaching young girls at a time where things are in the balance, we don’t really know what’s going on,” Dierkes said. “It’s great to be able to teach strong, independent women.” For struggling or self-conscious artists, Dierkes recommends the book “Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Art Making” by David Bayles and Ted Orland. “Enjoy the process. Have fun doing whatever you want to do and don’t pigeonhole yourself. Make a lot of friends who do what you do and make a lot of friends who don’t do what you do, and talk to them, and ask them questions,” she said. “I think this is a really great place to be an artist -- and be anything, really -- but I think there’s a lack of pretension that’s really nice, and I’m glad I decided to stay here. This is a great town to invest in and stay and make work and give back.”

Arts

January 31, 2017

Patches of creativity

The xx stays close to comfort zone TAYLOR DEVILLE Associate Arts & Life Editor @artvandelady

Courtesy of thepatchworkfools.com

The Patchwork Fools is made up of alums Will Mason, Aviva Match and Leora Match and current Towson University student Josh Funk. KRISTIN HELF Associate Arts & Life Editor @kristinelise_

The Patchwork Fools, an indiepop band of Towson alums and one current student, got their start two years ago rehearsing in Towson Run. Today, the group is working on a new album -- to be released in May -- and planning a summer tour of the northeastern U.S., when they’ll display a literal patchwork quilt on stage during their performances. The quilt is made up of patches from fans and students who write something unique about themselves or create an image depicting their personal creative endeavors. The quilt will also be displayed digitally through the band’s website. Will Mason, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, graduated with a degree in economics last May. He said that the group believes everyone has a creative side. “It could be scientists. It could be movie directors. It could be people who do photography. It could be people who are really into poetry,” Mason said. “It’s just a way for them to submit and have people see that creative outlet they’re working on in their spare time.” While the physical quilt has made frequent appearances at the band’s shows, a digital quilt will

launch on thepatchworkfools.com next month, on Feb. 21. Anyone interested will be able to submit their own patch and see the creative expressions that have been submitted in the past. “I think my favorite one so far is there’s a guy who’s a scientist. He did astrophysics as his major at Penn State, I think, and he did this visual representation of this project he’s working on where he uses noninteger dimensions,” Mason said. “We think of one, two and three as being the dimensions that we exist in, but he thinks about it where it can be in between those to represent changes in time. So it’s a whole weird thing that I don’t understand at all of course, but a visual representation of that project. Just really weird and unique stuff.” The patches can be about anything. When The Patchwork Fools brought their project to Towson, statements of uniqueness and expression ranged from a capella and fraternity membership to pictures of pet rabbits and trees, and to reminiscing on experiences in nature. “It’s really a way for people to express themselves creatively, and reigning in that idea that what’s unique and creative about us should bring us together, not separate us,” Mason said. The band plans to incorporate

the digital quilt into the album art of the leaflet inside their CD. Their upcoming album, “Denser Suns,” will be released in May, and while Mason calls their genre indie-pop, he says the songs on the album range from folky ballads to electronic pop songs. “As a musician, I’ve never wanted to tie myself down to one particular genre,” he said. “As a musician, you’re strongly encouraged to do that. People are like, ‘You have to get your niche. You have to tie yourself down,’ but I think there’s ways to be tasteful about fluctuating in the sound throughout the experience that you’re giving to people.” The Patchwork Fools sound is as unique as the patches on their quilts. Junior computer science major Josh Funk plays drums while alums Aviva and Leora Match provide vocals. Aviva also plays the glockenspiel and mandolin, while Leora plays the piano. In July, after “Denser Suns” and the digital quilt have both been released, The Patchwork Fools will go on tour, starting in Boston and looping down to Ocean City, Maryland. “So far the reception is, it’s very unique, in a good way,” Mason said. “Then again, you never know until a lot of people hear it. But so far that’s been the reception.”

If you’re familiar with the English band The xx, you probably know them by the dreamy, sad electro-pop sound of their first two albums. They have that kind of intimate sound that makes you want to curl up under a blanket fort in your dark childhood bedroom lit only by some hanging string lights and lose yourself in nostalgia or sadness or both. “I See You,” the first album the band has released since their 2012 album “Coexist,” expands on that melancholy feeling— but throws in some funky beats to temper things. Singing duo Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim are the first to admit they have a hard time writing “happy” music. In one interview, they describe watching Jamie Smith, known as Jamie xx—the producer behind the synth pop beats—DJ at a club, and wishing they could elicit the same carefree, hands-in-the-air feeling that he achieved with his 2016 Grammy award-winning solo album “In Colour.” That desire for more lightheartedness can be felt from the funky synth horns in the first seconds of the opening song “Dangerous,” but most of the album ultimately stays true to the band’s wistful sound. Songs like “Replica” (my personal favorite), “On Hold” and “I Dare You” feel decidedly more “dance-y” than the rest of the album. In the debut single “On Hold,” The xx succeed in juxtaposing their usual sad lyrics to

catchy upbeat synth (in this case, by sampling Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That”). I found myself wanting more of this, although I suspect Croft and Sim have no real desire to push the envelope further. I’m a big fan of artists experimenting with their sound and taking risks, but “I See You” feels like a natural followup to their last album— although frankly, there are more songs I enjoy on “I See You” alone than on their other two albums combined. “A Violent Noise” kind of drifts off into that same forgettable territory. “Lips,” on the other hand, stands out uniquely with its airy, Caribbeanesque beats, and is probably my first pick for a nighttime drive with the windows down. “Performance,” at first listen, seems maybe a little dull— after all, it’s Croft singing over a single violin and some guitar-strumming. After giving it another chance, I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs on the album (“If I scream at the top of my lungs / Will you hear what I don’t say / If I dance like I’m on a stage / Will you see I seem out of place”). Who can’t relate to, at some point, desperately wanting someone to look beneath their public persona and see who they “really are?” Ultimately, Jamie xx eases Croft and Sim into “dancier” new territory without compromising their original sound. It works—but taking into account the five years the band spent creating the album, it’s a bit disappointing. “I See You” debuted as the number 1 album on the U.K. album chart and number 2 on Billboard 200, their highest charting album to date.

Courtesy of @the_xx / Twitter

(Left to right) Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie xx hang out.

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January 31, 2017

Arts

January 31, 2017

Sisters kickstart luxury concierge TAYLOR DEVILLE Associate Arts & Life Editor @artvandelady

24-year-old Natalie and 25-yearold Colleen Kochesfahani seemed to always have a talent for entrepreneurship. Starting out as nannies from the age of 15, the Towson grads were always bouncing business ideas off each other—first they entertained the idea of starting a summer camp with all the kids they babysat, then they detailed a plan to start a “closet swap” group at Towson before they realized they could find success by combining

a lot of their talents into a unique, concierge service: Koches Koncierge. The sisters officially launched their business in mid 2015, just one year after Colleen graduated. “We sent some emails out to a few close mom friends, sent out a brochure of our services before we really had it established, and we got such an overwhelming response from interested people,” Natalie said. “Within a week, we were in the taxation office and had our first client.” Koches Koncierge is a Baltimorebased luxury concierge and lifestyle management business. Staying true to their roots, Natalie and Colleen

offer babysitter staffing as well as a number of other services, including home organization, day-of-wedding and event coordination, house sitting, grocery delivery, personal styling, vacation planning and personal assistance. Having worked at New York Fashion Week for “several seasons,” the sisters “learned to deal with high stress situations,” Natalie said. While the sisters don’t have a predictable weekly schedule, they prefer it that way. “I like not knowing what the week is going to bring, I like constantly doing different things.” Colleen said. Their usual week starts out Sunday night with a flood of emails from clients. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the sisters nanny. On Mondays, they hire babysitters and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they’re preoccupied with home organization proj-

ects. Every couple of weeks, a “client emergency” throws a wrench in whatever they have planned for the week. Although they like to take the weekend to relax, Colleen and Natalie try to make themselves available whenever their clients call. “One of our biggest things, and I think it’s one of our selling points, is our personal touch,” Natalie said. “We just like to build these good relationships with everyone we work with.” It’s the same reason the sisters aren’t looking to expand their services beyond Maryland. “I feel pretty good about where we are right now. I don’t want to spread ourselves too thin,” Natalie said. “I would never wanna put our hands in too many spots and end up losing that personal touch.” Besides finding time to relax, another challenge the sisters have faced is the assumptions other people

in the hospitality industry have made about them as young businesswomen. “We have to show people is that we’re professional, and we might not be totally at their level yet, because [they’ve] been building [their] company for 20 years or whatever, but [they] should respect us that we’re even here at all,” Natalie said. “We just want to be respected.” “People kind of want to discredit us […] people just think millennials are lazy.” Colleen said. As for advice for Towson students? “If you have a good idea and you’re working really hard, the passion is what’s going to take you through it,” Colleen said. “Natalie and I held a ton of internships and there were companies that I thought I would love to work for, but at my core, I just didn’t have that passion for someone else’s passion. I knew I wanted to do something on my own.”

Arts

January 31, 2017

“Thirst” provokes but disappoints MCKENNA GRAHAM Columnist

Title: “Thirst” Author: Benjamin Warner Genre: Contemporary, sciencefiction Rating: Three stars War nings: Assault, murder, suicide I feel I should begin this review with a disclaimer: I am, generally speaking, not a fan of gritty, apocalyptic, depressing novels. I don’t think I’ve ever by choice picked up a book that tells the story of a mundane man clashing with the end of the world, a man who neither succeeds by any measure, nor fails. In fact, the first time around, I gave this book two stars (for reasons listed below), but in conversation with my editor, I realized it wasn’t a fair rat-

ing. That was a rating I give to this sort of story, as a subgenre. I wasn’t looking at this novel for what it was, I was looking at it for what I wanted it to be. This story, set in contemporary Maryland, is about a man’s struggle to survive when all of the water spontaneously disappears--from the nearby streams and from the plumbing, but not from bottles. His wife is with him for the duration of the story, and his neighbors play definitive roles, but the story is set in this man’s head, with the reader perched on his shoulder, watching as an outsider being told what’s happening. For this to be the mode of storytelling, the reader must like or at least sympathize with the man. But Eddie is neither likeable, nor capable of garnering sympathy----he comes off as being selfish and easily manipulated. --Read the rest of this column online at thetowerlight.com

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January 31, 2017

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Puzzles

January 31, 2017 January 31, 2017

Puzzles

21 21

Crossword Sudoku

? ?

Turn to page 22 for answers to today’s

8-31-16

● Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

● The numbers within the heavily

outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

● Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2016 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by Universal Uclick for UFS. www.kenken.com

Puzzles

AFTER SCHOOL. PARKING LOT. IT’S ON. ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN TWO TICKETS TO SEE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8 CINEMARK TOWSON 7:00PM TO ENTER, PLEASE VISIT WBTICKETS.COM AND ENTER THE CODE FISTFIGHTTL TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COMPLIMENTARY PASSES! RATED R FOR LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, SEXUAL CONTENT/NUDITY AND DRUG MATERIAL. Please note: Passes are limited and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. No phone calls, please. Limit one pass per person. Each pass admits two. Seating is not guaranteed. Arrive early. Theater is not responsible for overbooking. This screening will be monitored for unauthorized recording. By attending, you agree not to bring any audio or video recording device into the theater (audio recording devices for credentialed press excepted) and consent to a physical search of your belongings and person. Any attempted use of recording devices will result in immediate removal from the theater, forfeiture, and may subject you to criminal and civil liability. Please allow additional time for heightened security. You can assist us by leaving all nonessential bags at home or in your vehicle.

IN THEATERS FEBRUARY 17 FistFightMovie.com

#FistFight

Sports

January 31, 2017

bankston leads the charge in win TU defeats James Madison, William & Mary for third straight victory DESMOND BOYLE Staff Writer

Towson is riding a three-game winning streak thanks to a 60-55 victory over James Madison Sunday and a 64-60 finish over William & Mary Friday. The Tigers (11-7, 4-3 CAA) defeated the Dukes (12-6, 5-2 CAA) in comeback fashion to pick up their first ever win in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Tigers started off the game with a 12-2 run thanks in large part to senior guard Raven Bankston, who grabbed 5 of the 12 points. James Madison later scored the last 5 points of the first quarter to pull to within 3 of Towson. The Dukes continued their hot streak in the second quarter by scoring the first 14 points to take a 27-16 advantage.

“A great team effort,” Head Coach Niki Reid Geckeler said. “When you see in the scoring column we’ve got four players in double-figures, and then we’ve got post players dominating on the boards.” William & Mary opened up the game on a 6-0 run. Following the 6-0 run, Towson went on a 10-0 run to take a 10-6 lead over William & Mary, before closing out the quarter up 18-12. The Tigers scored the first two buckets to open up the second quarter, but the Tribe later pulled within five points with 2:43 left in the half. William & Mary continued to shoot the ball well down the stretch and trailed Towson by just two points going into the locker room. In the third quarter, the two teams battled back and forth and went into the fourth quarter tied at 46.

A good team effort. When you see in the scoring coulmn, we’ve got four players in double-figure, and then we’ve got post-players dominating on the boards.

”

Niki Reid Geckeler Head Coach

The Tigers opened up the final 10 minutes of the game on a 9-0 run to take a 55-46 advantage over the Tribe. William & Mary fought back, but Towson never relinquished its lead, and Towson held on to win the contest 64-60. “We went into the season knowing our guard play was going to be very strong,” Geckeler said. “As soon as our post play caught up to that it would be tough to play us.” Towson will look to extend its winning streak to four games Friday, Jan. 27, when the team travels to Trask Coliseum to take on UNC Wilmington. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Women’s Basketball Towson picked up its first ever win at James Madison with a 60-55 victory over the Dukes. Track & Field Sophomore Lauren Coleman reset her own school record in the shot put event with a throw of 13.57-meters.

Solutions

for Puzzles on page 21

● Each row and each column must

contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

● The numbers within the heavily

9-1-16

outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

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However, Towson scored 7 of the last 9 points, pulling within 6 of the Dukes before the end of the half. The Tigers pulled within two during a slow start to the third quarter, but the Dukes outscored the Tigers 11-6 to close out the quarter with a 42-35 lead. In the fourth quarter, redshirt senior guard Precious Hall hit a pair of three-pointers for James Madison, which increased its lead to nine with just over seven minutes of play left in the game. In the last five minutes, Bankston scored 5 of her game-high 26 points, and junior center Daijha Thomas hit three foul shots to help the Tigers go on a 12-0 run, which proved to be enough for Towson to seal the 60-55 victory. Friday, the Tigers defeated the Tribe (13-3, 3-2 CAA) 64-60 at SECU Arena in their second straight win.

Jordan Cope/ The Towerlight

Towson prepares for a game against George Mason this season. The team earned a 79-75 victory.

Sports

January 31, 2017

season best not enough Tigers fall to George Washington at SECU Lauren

Coleman Indoor Track & Field

File Photo by Chris Simms/ The Towerlight

A Towson gymnast performs at SECU Arena against Colonial Athletic Association rival Charleston. score of 9.725 in the event. Towson also recorded a seasonbest score on the uneven bars (48.500). Sophomore Brittney Ranti Towson posted a season-best tied for fifth with a score of 9.775, score in the overall meet but fell while junior Tyra McKellar tied for to George Washington Sunday seventh with a score of 9.750. afternoon at SECU Arena 196.000Towson had many 194.050. gymnasts tie or raise The team’s score their career or seasonof 194.050 comes just four meets into Staying consistent best scores. Yarussi, Tucker, the season, with has been big Ranti, and freshmen their previous best this season. We Melissa Temkov and (193.900) coming continued that Ally Wesoly set or tied in the opening win career-bests in one or against Southern against George more events. Connecticut State. Washington as we McKellar, senior “Staying consiscontinued to Bayleigh Fobes, junior tent has been big this season,” Head Coach perform well in all Noelle Harada and sophomores Mary Elle Vicki Chliszczky May the events. Arduino and Cortni said. “We continued VICKI CHLISZCZYK MAY Baker set or tied seathat against George Head Coach son-bests in one or Washington as we more events. continued to perform The team has yet to record a fall well in all the events.” through the first four meets, which While the Tigers produced across Chliszczyk May calls an accomplishthe board, their highest score of ment. the meet (48.600) came in the “To have not recorded a fall yet floor exercise. Added skills played goes to show how well the girls adjust a role in that outcome. Many of during the routines,” Chliszczyk the women had upgraded their May said. “While they have not been routines. perfect, they have been able to be On the vault, the Tigers recordsuccessful with the situations they ed a season-best score of 48.375. have been dealt.” Junior Gabriella Yarussi and sophomore Erin Tucker each recorded a A big key to Towson’s success has JESSE L. BAIRD Staff Writer

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come from having a greater focus on the team and not on the individual. “Our approach has been to put the best six girls in each event for each meet,” Chliszczyk May said. This allows for the girls to use their skills where they are strong and others to fill in where others are not as strong. The embracing of this team first mentality has been big in our growth and success as a team.” The Tigers, who are 2-2 this season, will travel to West Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 29 for a tri-meet that will also include Temple. The meet will begin at 2 p.m.

Sophomore Lauren Coleman broke her own school record in the shot put event at the Terrapin Invitational Saturday with a throw of 13.57-meters. Towson finished the event in second behind host Maryland but infront of Morgan State.

Sports

January 31, 2017

towson finds its groove in cAA play File photos Mark Dragon/ The Towerlight

Redshirt sophomore guard Jordan McNeil looks over his passing options against local opponent Goucher at SECU Arena. Towson went on to win the game 99-37 (Above). McNeil looks to dish the ball to teammate Dennis Tunstall in the same game against Goucher. McNeil finished the game with six points and four assists in 21 minutes (Below). JORDAN COPE Sports Editor @jordancope26

Towson began Colonial Athletic Association play 0-4, but the team has since collected four straight victories, pulling its conference record to .500 for the first time this season. “We had one bad week where we also had a difficult three road games in six days,” Head Coach Pat Skerry said. “[We were] the only CAA team to have that on our schedule. Hopefully that has made us a little closer and tougher.” The Tigers (12-9, 4-4 CAA), who were picked in the preseason polls to finish second in the conference, recently defeated the Blue Hens (8-13, 1-7 CAA) 75-58. Early in the first half, senior forward William Adala Moto pulled down a defensive rebound that led to a fastbreak opportunity for junior guard Deshaun Morman. Morman converted on the opportunity with a layup in the paint to put the team up 10-3. Midway through the half, the Blue Hens hung tough with the Tigers. A three-point bucket from

senior guard Devonne Pinkard pulled the Hens within five points. Following Pinkard’s bucket, Towson went on a 9-0 run to take a 27-13 lead over Delaware. The team built upon its 9-0 as the half continued and took 40-23 lead after the first 20 minutes. The Tigers opened up the second half with a basket in transition from junior guard Mike Morsell that was set up by a steal from Moto. The Tigers never looked back and held on for an easy 75-58 win over the Blue Hens. Morsell led Towson in scoring with 17 points. Senior forward John Davis contributed 12 points and secured nine rebounds, one board shy of a double-double. “Good team win over Delaware,” Skerry said. “The offense has seen great improvement and our dominance on the backboards has been good.” The Tigers had to fight for their 11th win of the season, but defeated the Hofstra Pride (9-11, 1-6 CAA) 86-80. Towson and Hofstra were in a tight battle early on, tied 11-11. However, Hofstra extended its lead to 25-13 midway through the half and went into the locker room with a 40-32 lead.

In the second half, the Tigers tied the game 47-47 when redshirt sophomore guard Jordan McNeil hit a jump shot and knocked down a free throw at the charity stripe after being fouled in the paint. Towson went on to extend its lead 66-55 with under 10 minutes left in the game when McNeil connected from beyond the arc, but Hofstra came roaring back and took a 74-73 lead. After the Pride took a one-point lead, Davis hit a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a one-point lead of their own with 2:41 left in the game. Towson never relinquished the lead and held on to win. With 23 points, freshman guard Zane Martin led the team in scoring, while Davis, Morman and Moto added 14 points each. The Tigers return home Thursday to take on the College of Charleston before heading back out on the road to take on Northeastern. Tip-off from SECU Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. “[We] need a big turnout Thursday for a tough Charleston team,” Skerry said. (Editor’s note: this issue was sent to press before the game against Charleston.)