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THURSDAY, OCT. 21, 2021 VOLUME 96 ■ ISSUE 10

LA VIDA

SPORTS

Read about how the Cash Family Sports Nutrition Center on campus is fueling athletes throughout the year.

After evaluating the volleyball teams defense during the offseason, the Lady Raiders are ready to take the court.

From H&M to SHEIN, the world of fast fashion is ever growing and evolving; however, caution is needed when purchasing clothes

OPINIONS

HOUSING GUIDE Be sure to see our Housing Guide insert in this week’s print to help you navigate finding a home in Lubbock.

PG 3A

PG 5A

PG 4A

INSIDE

INDEX LA VIDA SPORTS OPINIONS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU

3A 5A 4A 3A 5A 5A

ADMINISTRATION

Tech hopeful for future research partnership with Leprino Foods

By MATEO ROSILES Editor-in-Chief

On Oct. 1, President Lawrence Schovanec of Texas Tech announced at the Leprino Food news conference that Leprino was recruiting on campus while also forming a new partnership with the university.

“It’s in the early stages of that relationship,” Schovanec said. “But they were on campus, earlier this fall, to meet with our career placement center.”

He said when he visited Lerino’s plant in Colorado, he was introduced to the Leprino Food Management Training Program.

The program, Schovanec said, is where students can participate in internships with the company in hopes to transitioning into the company as full-time employees.

“The possibility that Texas Tech could have a closer relationship to Leprino was important in attract-

EMILY KNEPP/The Daily Toreador

Lawrence Schovanec, President of Texas Tech, delivers his speech at the Leprino Foods Facility news release in Lubbock on Oct. 1, 2021. Schovanec said that Tech is actively working with Leprino Foods to help students through a management training program and possible jobs. ing them to Lubbock,” he said.

Schovanec said the details of the programs are: the program would last 12 to 18 months, would be both summer and non-summer positions, students would receive

FOOTBALL

a base salary and a living stipend.

“The applicable majors at Texas Tech that they’ve listed here would be food science, animal science, agribusiness, biology, chemical engineering, industrial engineer-

ing (and) mechanical engineering management,” he said.

However, Leprino is already recruiting new and upcoming graduates as employee, Schovanec said, even before Leprino opens its

Lubbock plant in 2025.

CASNR partnership Schovanec said when members of Leprino Foods were on campus recently and they spent most of their time with the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, especially in the meat science department.

Cindy Akers, interim dean for CASNR, said Leprino signed up for the CASNR Career Fair on Oct. 6 where students could meet with potential employers or learn about internship opportunities.

She said Leprino told them that they had a lot of students show interest in them.

“They are going to start also coming into different classes,” Akers said. “That hasn’t happened yet but we’ve made sure we connected them with some of the different faculty so that they do have that option.”

SEE LEPRINO, PG. 2A

LIFESTYLE

Tech football looking Impact of breast cancer to stack success on patients, survivors

By BISHOP VAN BUREN Editorial Assistant

The Texas Tech football team is aiming to add another win to its record this Saturday when the team host Kansas State for an 11 a.m. match up inside Jones AT&T Stadium and televised on FS1.

The 5-2 Red Raiders will not only be looking to build on their recent 41-14 win over Kansas, but also to end a five-game losing streak against the Wildcats.

Tech has lost nine of the last 10 games against Kansas State, including a 31-21 loss last season that saw Tech’s current starting quarterback Henry Colombi throw for 244 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his first time seeing the field as a Red Raider, according to Tech Athletics.

Colombi, a fifth-year senior who attended Chaminade-Madonna College Prep in Hollywood, Florida,

spent his first three years of eligibility at Utah State, including his first two under current Tech head football coach Matt Wells.

I think he’s definitely used that experience from last year in terms of his ability to prepare.

SONNY CUMBIE

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Colombi transferred to Tech to play for his former head coach in July 2020, only weeks before the beginning of preseason camp.

In Tuesday’s weekly press conference, Wells said Colombi has developed into a confident veteran quarterback in his fifth year of eligibility.

SEE FOOTBALL, PG. 6A

By TOLUWANI OSIBAMOWO Copy Editor

Jennifer Riley was a single 28-year-old at the turn of the 21st century. She had just completed her master’s degree at Texas Tech and moved to Dallas to work in accounting.

Then she found a lump in her breast.

“And it was terrifying, you know, to hear that you had breast cancer, and 22 years ago, women in their twenties hardly ever got diagnosed,” Riley said. “So my doctors really didn’t know what to do with me.”

Riley said because she was young and her cancer was only in Stage 1, she only spent a year in treatment.

Every third Friday night, she would get radiation therapy along with three other women she got to know well.

Sometimes, Riley and these

new friends would go to dinner after treatment, she said.

Riley

formed a sisterhood with these women

whom she said were her “cancer girlfriends.”

“When you are fighting cancer, like, you just cut to the chase, you know, I mean, there’s not all like, ‘Oh, my favorite color’s blue, what’s your favorite color?’

No,” Riley said. “Like, we’re all fighting cancer, we’re all sitting in a room in a hospital gown, and so we start talking about how our lives have changed, and that just bonds you.”

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, there are 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, and Riley is one of them.

Twenty-two years later, Riley serves as the Director of Women’s Health at the YWCA of Lubbock, where she helps women dealing with breast cancer.

SEE LIFESTYLE, PG. 3A

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FDA OKs mixing COVID-19 vaccines; backs Moderna, J&J booster shots WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially.

The Food and Drug Administration’s decisions mark a big step toward expanding the U.S. booster campaign, which began with extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine last

month. But before more people roll up their sleeves, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consult an expert panel Thursday before finalizing official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

The latest moves would expand by tens of millions the number of Americans eligible for boosters and formally allow “mixing and matching” of shots — making it simpler to get another dose, especially for people who had a

side effect from one brand but still want the proven protection of vaccination.

Specifically, the FDA authorized a third Moderna shot for seniors and others at high risk from COVID-19 because of their health problems, jobs or living conditions — six months after their last shot.

One big change: Moderna’s booster will be half the dose that’s used for the first two shots, based on company data showing that was plenty to rev up immunity again.

For J&J’s single-shot vaccine, the FDA said all U.S. recipients, no matter their age, could get a second dose at least two months following their initial vaccination.

The FDA rulings differ because the vaccines are made differently, with different dosing schedules — and the J&J vaccine has consistently shown a lower level of effectiveness than either of the two-shot Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

As for mixing and matching, the FDA said it’s OK to use any

brand for the booster regardless of which vaccination people got first.

The interchangeability of the shots is expected to speed the booster campaign, particularly in nursing homes and other institutional settings where residents have received different shots over time.

FDA officials said they wanted to make the booster guidance as flexible as possible, given that many people don’t remember which brand of vaccine they received.

2A OCT. 21, 2021 LEPRINO

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 Ankers said Leslie Thompson, professor of food science and safety within the Meat Science & Muscle Biology program, has already asked Leprino Foods to come into one of her classes to not only talk about job opportunities but also the industry itself.

“I think really right now it’s starting those relationships and we want to be seen as a partner with Leprino Foods that they know that they can come to us if they have an issue,” Akers said. “That we have the capability and the faculty in place that can solve, you know, help them solve problems or look at different needs that they might have.”

Schovanec and Ankers said the university is also open to partnering with Leprino Foods when it comes to research.

NEWS Research Opportunities “We’ve had considerable discussion about for research.

Obviously, food safety would be at the forefront of that,” Schovanec said.

Joseph Heppert, vice president for Research & Innovation at Tech, said there are no specific research partnerships taking place, to his knowledge, but the university is willing to have those discussions.

However, Tech is already conducting its own food safetyrelated research on campus through CASNR such as increasing the quality of packaging to increase the shelf-life of food and understanding bacterial contamination in food.

“One of my colleagues, who’s an associate vice president for Research, Mindy Brashears is very interested in cross-contamination of food sources,” he said. “For example, you know, situa-

tions where you’re doing plant agriculture and you see contamination coming from E. Coli or other kinds of bacterial that might be originating in animal agriculture.”

With the plant being built in Lubbock, Heppert said there is a lot of potential opportunities for research both on campus and at the plant.

He said there are possibilities for the university to research or partner with Leprino food in helping develop the engineering side of the plant. Tech also offers Leprino expertise in wind energy and micro-energy, he said.

“Leprino is very interested in in incorporating greater sustainability and greater environmental stewardship in their business model,” he said. “They’re very interested in learning about how they might use renewable energy as part of the overall process of powering their plants.”

However, until Leprino and Tech start partnering together to conduct research, Heppert said he would encourage undergraduates to get involved in research their professors are a part of.

We’ve had considerable discussion about for research. Obviously, food safety would be at the forefront of that.

LAWRENCE SCHOVANEC TEXAS TECH PRESIDENT Overall, when it comes to Tech partnering with Leprino Foods, Schovanec said Tech is here for them.

“We look forward to providing full resources of Texas Tech to address their core areas of excellence and their core

WWW.DAILYTOREADOR.COM capabilities,” he said.

Leprino Coming to Lubbock On Oct. 1, the governor of Texas, President Schovanec, city leaders and the City of Lubbock welcomed the announcement of Leprino Foods building a plant in Lubbock and the over $850 million private investment into the city at a news conference.

According to a video from the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Leprino Foods is a global leader in producing mozzarella cheese.

Known for its cotton exports, the South Plains has seen more amount of dairies move into the area along with the eastern part of New Mexico, Ankers said.

“I think that was also one of the areas, one of the reasons we were selected is because we have such a strong dairy industry here locally that has moved into the area,” Ankers said.

Mike Durkin, chief executive officer of Leprino Foods, said construction o the new facility would start in 2022 and be finished by October 2024 with an expansion of the facility being completed in 2026.

The new plant would bring in around 600 jobs as well as generate over the course of 10 years an estimated $10.6 in wages, Durkin said at the news conference.

Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope also said at the news conference that the average wages of the employees would be around $50,000.

“I am very excited to have them in this community,” Schovanec said. “The culture and the values of that company are very aligned with the culture, the values of Texas Tech lobby in West Texas will become evident once they’re here.” @MateoRosilesDT

HOUSING GUIDE

Students offer advice for thrifting home decor

By SYDNEY BANOVIC Photojournalist

Retail mark-ups in comparison to prices at thrift stores are prompting students to purchase secondhand, which requires finding sustainable, inexpensive and unique pieces.

Farrah Brazil, a secondyear biology student from Lubbock, said purchasing secondhand is more ethical than purchasing from retailers. She prefers the process of thrifting decor and furniture rather than retail.

“I have been doing research over these large companies,” Brazil said.

“They are not sustainable, so instead I buy from not just thrift stores, but secondhand websites like Poshmark or Mercari or even Facebook Marketplace.”

Finding a unique piece that has a story and comes from an unknown origin makes it fun, Brazil said.

Including this type of piece in her spaces creates a feeling of nostalgia.

Searching on an online secondhand store or a thrift shop brings a higher chance for success in finding the specific type of furniture or decor to add to a space, Brazil said. She recommends digging for things, or to search for a specific aesthetic, which often results in a higher possibility of finding a unique piece.

“There is a sense of satisfaction from finding amazing items that you necessarily would not get in stores,” Brazil said. “Knowing it’s better for the environment also gives you a rush of feeling good and helping the environment.”

Jazlyn Baxter, a firstyear pre-nursing student from Houston, created a shop for which she buys from local thrift stores and sells secondhand pieces on Instagram. She paints, cleans

and flips items to make them like new.

Baxter said the experiences encountered when she began thrifting inspired her to start her business.

“I wanted to start buying thrifted decor and utilize it as a business,” Baxter said.

“When I first started thrifting I had an overwhelming feeling of fulfillment that I haven’t fed the unsustainability that retail stores produce, but found an item that is secondhand and supported a local thrift store.”

The success of creating a business is something she thoroughly enjoys, she said. Being involved in the process of changing a once donated piece into something completely renewed is an accomplishment.

“When thrifting, I ask myself potential questions to make sure that I thoroughly enjoy an item,” Baxter said.

“That I am not going to potentially donate it back

OLIVIA RAYMOND/The Daily Toreador

A photo of Hailey Lowe’s, a first-year pre-nursing major from Fort Worth, residence hall room, which displays pops of yellow within her side of the dorm room interior. Thrifting decor can help students find ways to organize and decorate without breaking the bank. because it did not match with my next idea, that I cannot picture it with someone’s home or this piece not matching my personality.”

Sadie Finch, a first-year interior design student from

Dallas, uses secondhand pieces to complete her vision.

Keeping up with trends, Finch said she employs different techniques, along with inspiration from diversified sources.

Sustainability in thrifting is a factor that influences Finch in her choice of style and trends, she said. In addition, Finch’s artistic background incorporates her creativity into her work as a designer.

“I manipulated a room with the materials of acrylic markers, paper and many different types of media as an artistic piece,” Finch said.

“Through this variation of media, I grew a love for the interior design career. This piece of art represents the textures that I look for when choosing a piece to thrift.” @SydneyBanovicDT

LA VIDA

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

LIFESTYLE

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 Riley said the youngest woman in the program is 18 and the oldest is 84.

“They’re every race and color you can imagine, there’s just no — breast cancer knows no boundaries,” Riley said. “They’re every socioeconomic stage in life you can imagine; a homeless woman that we helped get in a home to really one of the most affluent women in our community, and everything in between, you know, breast cancer isn’t picky.”

Four percent of breast cancer diagnoses in the United States occur in women under 40, according to the American Cancer Society; however, an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes can cause abnormal cell growth, which can lead to cancer.

Natalie Island, a fourthyear general studies student

from Aledo, said she found out this past August that she had inherited a mutation in the BRCA2 gene. Island’s great-grandmother, grandmother and mother all had breast cancer at one point.

“Because I was so young when my great-grandma got breast cancer, I just knew breast cancer,” Island said.

“I knew that’s what took her life, and I didn’t know what it was.”

Island said her mother was diagnosed with cancer at 32 and is now a survivor of six years.

Island’s grandmother is currently battling cancer, and Island visits her in Aledo every Thursday to play bingo and cook and clean for her family.

Knowing she can pass on the gene mutation to her future daughter, Island said, has affected her outlook on motherhood and caused a strain in her most recent romantic relationship. De-

spite these struggles, she tries to maintain a positive outlook and try not to let the future weigh her down now, Island said.

“So like, if I could try to just do things that I want to do and not question it, because I’ve seen it so quickly take someone’s life, and slowly take someone’s life,” Island said.

Dr. Rakhshanda Rahman, director of the University Medical Center Cancer Center and professor of surgical oncology at Tech, began specializing in breast cancer when she worked in Pakistan as a cancer surgeon.

Rahman said she noticed nine out of 10 patients at the clinic were women with breast problems. In many cultures, she said, women do not go to male doctors for such things, and this inspired her to specialize in breast cancer treatment.

“So I said, ‘Well, if this is going to be the major part

of my practice, I should do some specialization in the field so I can do a good job,’” Rahman said. “That’s when I got into the fellowship training and came to the United States.”

They’re every race and color you can imagine, there’s just no — breast cancer knows no boundaries.

JENNIER RILEY

DIRECTOR OF WOMEN’S HEALTH AT YWCA LUBBOCK Rahman said with cancer patients, her relationship with them goes beyond the traditional doctor-patient dynamic. They are lifetime patients, she said, and they become like an extended family for her.

Cancer is a bombshell

Page 3A Thursday, OCT. 21, 2021

that drops on patients, Rahman said. Some patients’ families can withstand the pressure of caring for a family member with cancer, but some cannot.

“And it doesn’t affect one person, it affects the entire family,” Rahman said. “I mean, if a mom has been undergoing cancer therapy, their kids are affected, the husband’s affected, whatever, their social circle and friends, they’re affected.”

Riley said hormones from cancer treatment can make patients feel like they have premenstrual syndrome everyday for months. This, on top of financial stressors and other life responsibilities, can ruin relationships and mental health.

“Well, I will tell anybody diagnosed with breast cancer, and I feel like I’ve worked with enough women to say this with all authority, that there is an 80 percent chance six months after

you start treatment, you’re gonna lose your mind for a bit,” Riley said.

On top of this, Rahman said breast cancer can have an added impact on patients’ self image because breasts are a visible part of womanhood. Though every individual is different, this can affect them physically, socially and sexually.

The UMC Cancer Center has psycho-oncology specialists and support systems to help patients with this transition, she said. Cosmetic surgery is also an option patients may use to reconstruct their breasts after treatment.

“Many times, we take a lot of things for granted — our health, our money, our friends — and when all of that seems to be at risk, that gives a very good opportunity for people to introspect on what life really is about,” Rahman said. @TOsibamowoDT

FACILITY

Student athletes focus on nutrition for success

By MICHAEL ALVAREZ Sports Reporter

The Cash Family Sports Nutrition Center, which opened in 2020, provides student athletes opportunities to be successful before they enter game day.

The director of sports nutrition, Dayna McCutchin, said athletes of all sports go through intense physical training and activity that can cause a major toll on the body. McCutchin does a lot of work with the strength and conditioning staff to help athletes recover and adapt to training.

“Everything we do on a nutritional side is just trying to build up and have anabolic effect on the body,” McCutchin said. “Working alongside our strength and conditioning staff to help make sure we are helping our athletes recover to the very best that we can. This can help mitigate injury and help them try and perform at 100 percent.”

McCutchin started her position in 2013 and became Tech’s first sports dietitian.

McCutchin said the sports nutrition team manages fueling stations and oversees training table menus where athletes can optimize their individual pre-game and postgame meals.

“Each athlete has different nutritional needs, depending on whether they have any individual body composition goals,” McCutchin said. “Some athletes, when they get here, need to develop and put on a

lot of lean body mass, or some need to increase lean body mass, so we work with them individually on how to do that.”

The kids perform to their peak when they’re fueling the tank properly.

BYRON WATERS

UNIT MANAGER FOR TECH’S TRAINING TABLE Byron Waters, unit manager for Tech’s training table, said it is the nutritionist’s job to work with the student athletes on what they need to be eating, and it is their job at the training table to provide those items. Waters works alongside McCutchin to create menus that provide a variety of items to all athletes.

“We have all different kinds of students,” Waters said. “Students who need to gain weight, students who need to lose weight and we have all kind of different food allergies. So, what we try to accomplish here is offer a variety of items that all athletes will be able to eat.

They should have no problem coming in and finding an item that they want to eat, number one, and that they can eat, number two.”

The Student Training Table is located at the Cash Family Sports Nutrition Center.

There, athletes come in and work with nutritionists to help

create their ideal meal that will recharge them and help them be the best they can come game time, Waters said.

“The kids perform to their peak when they’re fueling the tank properly,” Water said. “We buy only lean meats, we don’t provide any processed foods, everything we make is fresh.

Fresh hamburgers, fresh fish, six to eight different fruits, we offer a salad bar with 24 items.

I think product specification is a very important part of athletes’ success and that’s what we do at the training table.”

The nutritionist and training tables are not just to provide athletes with their specific meal plan, but to also educate them on the means of production and food choice so they can carry on what they learn here and apply it to their eating habits at home and later in life,

Waters said.

“Dayna does a great job educating student athletes on what they should be eating from the time they come on campus,” Waters said. “We have a demonstration kitchen, the chef in there will hold classes teaching kids how to prepare foods and their meals at home.

They actually prepare foods; they learn how to handle their knife and how to do a skillet.

We have all the tools here to help them succeed.”

Grant Stovall, senior associate athletics director for Student-Athlete Health & Wellness, said students can only benefit from having a professional dietitian, like McCutchin, to guide them in taking the next step in performance, recovery and proper eating habits. “...Getting our student ath-

letes to understand the importance of nutrition, the difference between good nutrition and bad nutrition,” Stovall said. “So it’s very important to have a dietician to manage those athetes through that process.”

Stovall said athletic directors, nutritionists and coaches work hard to make sure athletes are getting the best accommodations and care, so they perform at their best.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in that success.

“It’s huge from a performance and then also a recovery standpoint,” Stovall said. “If you have the right gas in the tank, then you’re going to perform at your optimal level. At the same time, from a post-workout postperformance standpoint, you got to recover, and nutrition is a big part in that.” @MikeAlvarezDT

OPINIONS

Page 4A Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021

COLUMN

@DailyToreador www.dailytoreador.com

Students should avoid fast fashion O

ur closets are getting bigger, our clothes are becoming cheaper and the impact of our fashion choices are becoming greater.

As the result of the unethical manufacturing of clothes, or fast fashion, global clothing consumption is on the rise. Making conscious choices to buy from better fashion brands can help not only ourselves, but others as well.

While it is almost impossible to avoid fast fashion, especially as a college student, there are ways to cut down on our consumption of unethical clothing.

When weighing the options of clothing, it is important to look at the longterm effects of buying fast fashion, the alternative companies to utilize, and the small steps toward buying better. Companies who produce fast fashion make unsustainable clothing and accessories.

Unsustainable or unethical clothing items are

Caroline Ragland is a first-year education major from Canyon.

typically priced as low as possible on websites and in stores. Companies like H&M, Shein, Forever 21 and Gap Inc. are able to sell merchandise at such a low cost because of their reckless business model.

These companies manufacture clothing in factories that are environmentally damaging. These corporations also use child labor, pay their workers poorly and maintain unsafe working conditions in their factories.

It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of buying fast fashion.

After buying cheap clothes, we wear the clothes for a short period of time, then the items rip, loose color in the washing machine or

go out of style.

This happens every three months, with new trends, seasons and colors popping up everywhere in stores and online. Breaking the cycle is especially difficult with the rise of Tik Tok, where the idea of re-wearing outfits or falling out of trend is ridiculed in some spheres on the app.

Getting out of the cycle of buying fast fashion is difficult, especially for college students. Some rely on fast fashion to fill their closets, while others are able to purchase a mix of ethical and unsustainable clothing.

In college, many are limited by financial means. When we need new clothes, we have to choose between buying ethical or using the money on something more important like textbooks or rent.

Fast fashion becomes even easier to purchase from when college students start internships or move into the work force, where many switch

from sweatpants and T-shirts to formal work attire. Luckily, there are options for college students to buy from better companies.

Great companies sell sustainable clothing options both online and in person.

Target is a great option for b o t h m e n ’s a n d w o m en’s clothing. Target has begun transition towards selling ethical clothing, as well as other products that are sourced sustainably.

Nordstrom offers ethically sourced clothing lines, and brands like Nike and Lululemon are making strides toward sustainable fashion.

Amazon also sells several different clothing brands committed to sustainability.

These companies offer a range pricing for ethical clothing, with many products priced out of reach for most consumers, let alone college students. In addition, the sizes some brands provide are limited.

A cost-efficient source of shopping is secondhand stores like Goodwill and Plato’s Closet, which have different brands in a range of sizes for all shoppers. There are plenty of options to shop sustainably.

It’s important to remem-

Luckily, there are options for college students to buy from better companies. ber to not expect perfection in every purchase. Buying clothes from a completely ethical source is impossible; it’s the effort that counts.

Overconsumption can still happen when purchasing from ethical brands, and shopping only secondhand can be difficult.

The best method of shopping sustainably is to evaluate each item. Don’t shop

s e c o n d h a n d f o r u n d e rwear, socks and swimsuits.

Look for jeans and skirts at thrift stores, not shoes.

Buying products that will last longer is more important than trying to be as clothing conscious as possible.

It’s OK to buy fast fashion sometimes. It’s nearly impossible to avoid fast fashion manufacturers.

If there are a few items in your closet from fast fashion companies, that’s OK. Perfection is not the goal; it’s the effort towards a better future that counts.

Fast fashion isn’t going away anytime soon, but we can do a little bit at a time to become less dependent on unethical companies.

Our fashion choices impact people across the world. Make a statement with your outfit both here and there.

@DailyToreador

COLUMN

True crime entertainment desensitizes the public With Gabby Petito’s disappearance becoming one of the main discussion topics of the Internet and national news, true crime cases have made their way to the front of public consciousness once again.

And unlike missing person cases of the pre-Internet age, Petito’s disappearance has empowered thousands of social media users to put on their sleuthing hats.

This is nothing new; longrunning shows like “Criminal Minds” and “Law and Order” wouldn’t be as popular as they are without our

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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Mateo Rosiles (806) 742-3395 editor@dailytoreador.com News Editor Mateo Rosiles news@dailytoreador.com

Toluwani Osibamowo is a fourth-year education major from Plano.

widespread fascination with crime. But honestly, something about people’s obsession with true crime reeks of ethical violation, especially now that true crime has become an entire genre of entertainment from which anyone can make a huge profit if they have time for research and good storytelling abilities.

While the aforementioned TV shows are often based on real-life cases, they are, at the end of the day, fictionalized accounts.

As the name entails, true crime relies on the shock value caused by the fact that these are real accounts of people’s brutal deaths.

True crime as a genre is tactless and insensitive, and

neither its creators nor its viewers are innocent. Where there is a demand, there is a need to supply, and this system has worked in favor of those who get a thrill from dissecting crimes for profit and those who find a sadistic pleasure in it.

It’s understandable; while there is a good possibility that anyone could be the victim of some tragedy, we find a certain solace in the idea that it’s unlikely for you or I to experience such things. By maintaining that distance from the topic at hand, we as media consumers can continue to consume and suspend our belief; that is to say, reside comfortably in our disbelief.

Admittedly, I was quite a fan of one true crime/ makeup/lifestyle YouTube creator who I will not name.

I thought she was doing it right; she had a fun, bubbly personality, but she gave due seriousness to the gruesome true crime cases she made

weekly videos on.

She was well-researched and tactful. But on a particularly boring night, I bingewatched her videos and noticed some off-putting trends.

Not every one of her true crime videos was sponsored, but when they were, the shift from the sponsored message to the murder or missing person case was jarring. And then I made the mistake of venturing into the comments under her videos.

Among the normal comments discussing the case, people would comment gushing about how much they looked forward to this YouTuber’s true crime videos, how after a long day of school or work, they would binge-watch her videos about these horrific tragedies to lose themselves in something detached from them. After just coming off a marathon of true crime videos, I thought, “Are we watching the same content?”

Hearing story after story about domestic abuse turned

murder, child abductions and the like, I was left shaken, paranoid and unable to disconnect from the case after the video had finished. And yet for others, true crime was a form of escapism.

From a creator stand-

True crime as a genre is tactless and insensitive, and neither its creators nor its viewers are innocent. point, what exactly is the point of these quirky true crime videos where one applies a full face of makeup while describing people’s very real torture and death?

Dredging up years-old cases week after week, editing sensationalized thumbnails for clickbait, making sure the Squarespace sponsorship

comes through to account for the potential demonetization caused by including photos of a ravaged corpse in a YouTube video.

This isn’t even to speak of true crime podcasts, which are an equally if not more popular medium. While I’ve never listened to fan favorites like “My Favorite Murder,” “Serial” or “Crime Junkie,” these likely follow the same structure as true crime YouTube videos.

It is not my place to make judgments on people’s character based on what they enjoy; however, it is important that we critically reflect on what we consume, especially when real people and their mourning families are involved.

I don’t predict this obsession with true crime will ever go away. If anything, we as a general public will just become more and more desensitized to it and see crime as a genuine form of entertainment. @TOsibamowoDT

CARTOON

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Chapelle special spurs Netflix walkout; ‘Trans lives matter’ LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix employees who w a l k e d o u t We d n e s d a y in protest of Dave Chappelle’s special and its antitransgender comments were joined by allies who chanted “Trans lives matter,” getting pushback from counter protesters who also showed up.

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A pre-noon rally at a Netflix office-studio complex drew about 100 people, most on the side of an estimated 30 workers at the streaming giant that joined in afterward.

Some were willing to identify themselves as Netflix employees, but all declined to provide their names.

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Joey Soloway, creator of the groundbreaking Emmywinning comedy “Transparent,” was among the speakers at the rally.Chappelle’s decision to share “his outrage as comedic humiliation in front of thousands of people, and then broadcasting it to hundreds of millions of

people is infinitely amplified gender violence,” they said.

“I want trans representation on the Netflix board, this (expletive) week,” the writer-director said.

Ashlee Marie Preston, an activist and the event’s organizer, addressed the rally and spoke to The As-

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sociated Press afterward.

She said that calling out Chappelle for his remarks wasn’t enough.

“It was important to shift the focus to the people that sign the checks, because Dave Chappelle doesn’t sign checks, Netflix does,” Preston said.

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Page 5A Thursday, OCT. 21, 2021

Tech volleyball makes defensive changes

By JUSTIN APODACA

season, according to Tech

Sports Reporter

The Texas Tech volleyball program’s change in defense practice has helped the Red Raiders to lead the conference in digs and come second in total blocks.

The Red Raiders have gone from last in the Big 12 conference in blocks in 2019 to leading the category in the 2021 season, according to Big 12 Sports.

Because of the teams work on the court, Tech holds a 13-8 overall and 3-5 conference record this

Athletics Head coach Tony Graystone said the coaching staff and team made blocking a point of emphasis throughout the offseason.

“It is something that we committed to last season, we made a couple changes in what we were thinking about philosophically about the skill,” Graystone said.

“We got to work and saw some things changing over the spring, and now in the fall we’ve seen a big jump.”

Statistically, the team has seen a spike in the

category over the past year.

In 2019, the Red Raiders finished ninth in the Big 12 in the category with 108 total blocks on the season, according to Big 12 Sports.

Tech ranked seventh in the Big 12 in 2020-21 in total blocks with 169 on the season.

We’ve been focusing a lot on blocking because we did want to improve that.

BROOKE KANSAS SENIOR MIDDLE BLOCKER

ERIN DIGIACAMO/The Daily Toreador

Tony Graystone, head coach of the volleyball watches the court during the Tech v. Kansas volleyball game in United Supermarkets Arena on Sept. 24, 2021.

Tech now leads the conference in blocks with 204 on the season.

The Red Raiders are led in the category by senior middle blocker Brooke Kanas with 79 blocks, according to Tech Athletics.

Kanas ranks third in the Big 12 in the category, trailing Oklahoma’s senior middle blocker Paige Anderson and Iowa State’s senior middle blocker Candelaria Herrera, according to Big 12 Sports.

In 2020, Kanas averaged 0.47 kills per set and now has 1.13 kills per set this season, according to Tech Athletics. Kanas said the team’s offseason work was crucial to her improvement.

“For me, this year, it just clicked a little more,” Kanas said. “We’ve been focusing on blocking because

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we did want to improve that. We have improved at blocking better together.”

The Red Raiders also are leading the conference in digs with 1,181, according to Big 12 Sports. Tech is led by graduate libero KJ Adams with 360 digs.

Adams said her teammates blocking well allows her to tally digs and have success on the back line.

“If we aren’t winning and putting up a good block, I cannot do that anyways. It is all because of my teammates,” Adams said.

Kanas said the Red Raiders are trying to create synergy between the defense and offense, and Adams has helped the team be better blockers.

“We all talk about connecting back and front row. If our block is looking sketchy, they’ll let us know that we should adjust,” Kanas said.

Tech will continue its conference schedule on the road at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday Oct. 27-28 and play against Kansas State.

The Red Raiders have two final series at home and will conclude its season at the United Supermarkets Arena against the Texas Longhorns.

The final home games will take place after Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 and 27th. Both games will be at 6 p.m.

To purchase tickets for the final home games this season visit Texastech.com. @JustinApodacaDT

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6A OCT. 21, 2021 FOOTBALL

CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 “In that game I thought Henry played well,” Wells said. “He’s cool, he’s calm, I think our guys around him have confidence in him and he’s been fairly accurate…

He’s not going to be a huge runner but he can pull the ball down and move the chains.”

The Red Raiders had three offensive drives after Kansas State took the lead late in the fourth quarter of their 2020 matchup, with the first resulting in Colombi’s lone interception of the game. After Tech’s defense forced a three-and-out and gave the offense the ball back down only three points, they gained a total of negative 3 yards in a three-and-out of their own.

The Red Raider offense got the ball once more after Kansas State added on another touchdown to increase their lead to 10 points, but they only traveled 32 yards in seven plays before a missed field goal ended the drive and sealed Tech’s fate.

I credit my players for the resiliency of bouncing back, because that’s hard and they’ve done that. Now we’ve got to take another step and stack success.

MATT WELLS HEAD FOOTBALL COACH Wells said the Kansas State special teams unit was a big factor in their victory over Tech last season and will be an area that the Red Raiders need to improve on ahead of their game on Saturday.

“Last year I thought special teams basically won them the game in a lot of ways,” Wells said. “We had a punt blocked on our own side of the field that gave them the ball in their redzone, basically handed them a touchdown. But then we missed

SPORTS two red zone field goals last year in the game so singlehandedly you could say the special teams for us cost us 13 points.”

The Wildcats have continued to put up good numbers when their special teams unit is on the field, boasting two kick return touchdowns on the year and average kickoff return rate of 32.6 yards, both figures the highest in the conference according to Big 12 Sports.

“They’ve got some guys on the special teams that keep you up at night,” Wells said, mentioning Kansas State’s kick returner and junior receiver Malik Knowles “Punt returns and kickoff returns are a big part of their game, and we’re gonna have to do a very good job in that phase of the game this week.”

Tech will aim to bounce back from last season’s loss with a win over the 3-3 Wildcats, who have suffered all three of their losses to Big 12 opponents this season and rank the third lowest in the conference in average points-per-game (27.3), according to Big 12 Sports.

Kansas State’s offense features sophomore running back Deuce Vaughn, standing at 5-foot-6 and weighing in at 173 pounds according to KState Sports. Averaging five yards per carry and boasting a total of five rushing touchdowns with two receiving touchdowns, the running back drew a comparison to Darren Sproles from Wells.

Sproles, a former probowler who stands atop Kansas State’s all-time rushing yards leaderboard after rushing for 4,979 yards in college prior to the Chargers selection of him in the 2005 NFL Draft. The runner-up John Hubert has 1,996 fewer yards than Sproles, according to Sports Reference.

“Same guy they had there before,” Wells said.

“This guy’s a pro… catches the ball extremely well in the backfield, he’s strong, he’s physical, and he has great vision as a runner.

He’s a really good player, I mean he’s an all-Big 12 player, easy.”

Tech’s defensive coordina-

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Remaining Schedule: vs. Kansas State

Sat, Oct. 23 - 11:00 a.m.

@ Oklahoma Sat, Oct. 30 - 02:30 p.m.

BYE vs. Iowa State

Sat, Nov. 13 - Time TBD

vs. Oklahoma State

Sat, Nov. 20 - Time TBD

@ Baylor

Sat, Nov. 27 - Time TBD

Big 12 Standings:

KATIE PERKINS/The Daily Toreador

Senior quarterback Henry Colombi calls the play and waits to receive the snap during Texas Tech’s homecoming game against Texas Chirstian University on Oct. 9, 2021 at Jones AT&T Stadium. Tech will look to improve their 3-3 record when they take on Kansas State on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. tor Keith Patterson said he will look to keep up his unit’s momentum this week after holding Kansas to less than 15 points last week, and said a large emphasis will have to be placed on stopping the run as they prepare for playing against Vaughn.

“He does a nice job coming out of the backfield catching the ball,” Patterson said.

“You’ve got to make sure that you’re smart in coverage and do some things to stop the run so they can’t keep you off balance.”

Kansas State’s defense has given up an average of 248.2 passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks, lower than only two other teams

in the Big 12 (West Virginia, Oklahoma). The Wildcats have also allowed 134 completions on 186 pass attempts for a conference-high completion rate of 72 percent.

Tech’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Sonny Cumbie is tasked with scheming up a game plan to take advantage of Kansas State’s defense, and said they’re similar to Baylor’s defense from last year that forced 12 interceptions last season according to Big 12 Sports.

“They’re probably one of the most physical defenses,” Cumbie said. “They have a defensive front that, at times they only rush with three, and they’re able to

create a pass rush and create negative plays.”

Cumbie will also be in charge of assisting Colombi in his fourth start of the season, and said he has seen a lot of growth in the quarterback since his first game behind center for the Red Raiders last season against Kansas State.

“I think he’s definitely used that experience from last year in terms of his ability to prepare,” Cumbie said.

“I think the speed of the game does not surprise him… His poise and his resiliency on the field, it shows.”

With a win over Kansas State, Tech will be only one game away from the seven-

1. Oklahoma (4-0, 7-0) 2. Oklahoma St (3-0, 6-0) 3. Baylor (3-1,6-1) 4. Iowa State (2-1, 4-2) 5. Texas (2-2, 5-2) 6. Texas Tech (2-2,5-2) 7. TCU (1-2, 3-3) 8. Kansas State (0-3,3-3) 9. West Virgina (0-3,2-4) 10. Kansas (0-3,1-5) Source: Big 12 Sports

win minimum for Bowl eligibility. Searching for their first two-game win streak over Big 12 opponents this season, Head coach Matt Wells said the Red Raiders have stressed the importance of stacking success.

“I think there’s a huge sense of urgency around here this week,” Wells said.

“There’s a lot of talk about that, a lot of internal drive from our captains to do our very best and see what happens… I credit my players for the resiliency of bouncing back, because that’s hard and they’ve done that, now we’ve got to take another step and stack success.” @BishopVB_DT